Loujain believes that one day she will fly.
At night Loujain dreams of a field of sunflowers. Every morning when she wakes up she remembers her dream and in that dream she flies to a place of a million sunflowers.
But in reality every morning she and her father head out to the family shed where he reaches in and brings out the wings he keeps there for himself and the wings he keeps there for Loujain. Then, Loujain watches as her father lifts off and flies higher and higher and farther and farther away and she wants so dearly for the day to come when she can put her wings on and fly...fly all the way to that field of sunflowers. But in Loujain's world, only boys can put on their wings and fly. No girls allowed.
At school the boys tell Loujain you will never fly...you are a girl and girls can't fly. Will Loujain let her dream disappear? Will she believe that because she is a girl she cannot fly?
This story is inspired by human rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul. When this story was being written, the real Loujain, a social activist in Saudi Arabia, was being held in "detention" for fighting for a Saudi woman's right to drive a car.
A powerful story written to inspire girls all over the world to see their own value and to stand up for their human rights.
40 pages 978-1662650642 Ages 6-10
Keywords: social activist, dreams, Middle East, human rights, women's rights, standing up for yourself, social issues, social conditions, empowerment, self image, self reliance, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old, girls and women, Social Studies Curriculum, oppression
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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A courageous girl follows her dream of learning to fly in this "clever narrative" filled with “extraordinary spirit… gorgeous colors… a magical quality” (New York Times). Inspired by formerly imprisoned human rights activist Loujain AlHathloul, this sparkling fantasy story is perfect for fans of Malala’s Magic Pencil and the Rebel Girls series.
Loujain watches her beloved baba attach his feather wings and fly each morning, but her own dreams of flying face a big obstacle: only boys, not girls, are allowed to fly in her country. Yet despite the taunts of her classmates, she is determined to do it—especially because Loujain loves colors, and only by flying can she see the color-filled field of sunflowers her baba has told her about. Eventually, he agrees to teach her, and Loujain's impossible dream becomes reality—and soon other girls dare to learn to fly.
Based on the experiences of co-author Lina AlHathloul's sister, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Loujain AlHathloul, who led the successful campaign to lift Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving, this moving and gorgeously illustrated story reminds us to strive for the changes we want to see—and to never take for granted women's and girls' freedoms.
