The Breadwinner

Parvana, 11, hasn't spent much time outside since the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan. The protagonist in Deborah Ellis's gripping children's book The Breadwinner is imprisoned inside her family's one-room house, unable to go to school, buy at the market, or even play outside in the streets of Kabul. That is, until her father is kidnapped by the Taliban, at which point Parvana finds herself having to take on the role of "breadwinner" and pass for a guy in order to provide for her mother, her two sisters, and her infant brother. This contemporary book for middle readers, which is set in the early years of the Taliban administration, examines the difficult circumstances that face women and girls in contemporary Afghanistan. Ellis, a political activist whose first children's book, Looking for X, explored poverty in Toronto, drew inspiration for The Breadwinner from the actual experiences of Afghan refugee camp women.

Ellis crafts a character that kids in North America would easily identify with in the cunning Parvana. Parvana, whose parents attended universities, has a very Westernized perspective and way of thinking. Parvana, a miniature replica of Margaret Atwood's Offred from The Handmaid's Tale, hides her criticism of the oppressive Muslim regime under her chador. For any youngster who is interested in learning more about average Afghans, The Breadwinner is a must-read, despite the somewhat clunky speech and sadly vague finale. It is also uncannily prescient, much like a lot of the books and movies on the topic. A friend of Parvana's comments, "Maybe someone should drop a big bomb on the country and start again." "'They've tried that,' Parvana said, 'It only made things worse.'" (Youngsters 9–12) -- Alward Lisa