LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
Selected by a distinguished independent panel of experts including our editorial expert, Julia Eccleshare, for Diverse Voices - 50 of the best Children's Books celebrating cultural diversity in the UK.
A compelling and engrossing story about a girl living in war-torn Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Parvana must disguise herself as a boy to save her mother and sisters from starvation. Every day, it is a fight for survival.
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About
The Breadwinner Synopsis
"All girls [should read] The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis." - Malala Yousafzai, New York Times
The first book in Deborah Ellis's riveting Breadwinner series is an award-winning novel about loyalty, survival, families and friendship under extraordinary circumstances during the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan in the late 1990s.
Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city. Parvana's father - a history teacher until his school was bombed and his health destroyed - works from a blanket on the ground in the marketplace, reading letters for people who cannot read or write. One day, he is arrested for the crime of having a foreign education, and the family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food.
As conditions for the family grow desperate, only one solution emerges. Forbidden to earn money as a girl, Parvana must transform herself into a boy, and become the breadwinner.
The fifteenth anniversary edition includes a special foreword by Deborah Ellis as well as a new map, an updated author's note and a glossary to provide young readers with background and context. All royalties from the sale of this book will go to Right to Learn Afghanistan. Parvana's Fund supports education projects for Afghan women and children.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781554987658 |
| Publication date: |
18th June 2015 |
| Author: |
Deborah Ellis |
| Publisher: |
Groundwood Books |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
160 pages |
| Series: |
Breadwinner Series |
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Press Reviews
Deborah Ellis Press Reviews
It answers the question; What's it like to be an Afghan child? It makes it clear that Afghans aren't the enemy, that children all over the world hate helping with the washing up, whether they are starving or not. It allows children to draw their own conclusions about why we are fighting. Most importantly, it humanises the war ... it deserves to become a bestseller ... The Daily Telegraph
Very remarkable and highly topical. The horrors of life under the Taliban are balanced by loyalty, courage and hope. Read it. Independent on Sunday
I was gripped by this series and couldn't drag myself away from it. Ellis beautifully captures childhood in war-torn Afghanistan and Pakistan. The stories are very moving. Malala Yousafzai All girls [should read]: The Breadwinner, by Deborah Ellis [...] I think it's important for girls everywhere to learn how women are treated in some societies. But even though Parvana is treated as lesser than boys and men, she never feels that way. She believes in herself and is stronger to fight against hunger, fear and war. Girls like her are an inspiration. The Breadwinner reminds us how courageous and strong women are around the world. Malala Yousafzai
Author
About Deborah Ellis
Deborah Ellis has achieved international acclaim with her courageous, sensitive, and dramatic books that give western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in developing countries. Her Breadwinner trilogy has sold hundreds of thousands of copies in twenty-five languages, and she was awarded the Governor General’s Award for her book, Looking for X.
Deborah grew up in Ontario, Canada and from the age of 17 has been a political activist, advocating non-violence. After high school she went to Toronto and worked in the Peace Movement. Later she got involved in the Women’s Movement, focusing on women’s rights and economic justice. She has spent a lot of time in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan, talking to women and documenting their lives through 20 years of war.
The stories she heard and the children she met were the inspiration for The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey, Mud City, My Name is Parvana and One More Mountain.
More About Deborah Ellis
