Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story From Afghanistan

As our children begin school each year with their backpacks and calculators and new shoes, other children sit in other lands and wish and wait for the opportunity to get an education. This is the story of Nasreen and her family. Her father has been taken away by soldiers and her mother has gone in search of him and has not returned after many days. The place is a village in Afghanistan and the soldiers are the Taliban. Nasreen's grandmother was lucky enough to have grown up in Afghanistan when music and art and learning were shared with boys and girls alike. Now, only the boys are permitted to go to school. Nasreen's fears have caused her to go silent. Her grandmother wonders what she can do to help her granddaughter claim her place in the world, no matter the enemies of violence and intimidation that build walls around her. Then, her grandmother hears of a secret school for girls. There, despite the challenges outside the school walls, Nasreen finds her voice and her strength through the power of education. The story throbs with the weight of the forces of oppression and then spreads its wings as Nasreen finds hope and her own power. 40 pages Ages 7-11