Nour lives in Damascus and it is/was a beautiful place until the war arrived with noisy guns and huge tanks. Nour and her cousin Amir decide to form a secret society but before the group can even meet bombs begin to fall on their part of the city. Everyone is evacuated to a basement. It is crowded and dark but people find comfort in reading by torch or candle light. During the day, while the soldiers rest, the people who have been hiding take the chance to grab a few things from their homes along with searching for the little food that is available. On a trip outside to find bread, Amir notices there are books in the streets. Soon everyone is gathering up small piles of books and carrying them to the basement so the children decide to start a secret library.
"Every book was like a person waiting to be loved, with a unique personality and soul."
The children find another empty basement where they can store all the books - moving only a few at a time so as not to be detected. Using discarded wood they build some shelves and they are also able to add other discarded furniture - chairs and cushions. Then people begin to use their library.
"I guess reading keeps everyone's mind busy ... books don't fight with each other like people do."
This book is based on true events. Young people in Daraya a town in the southwest of Damascus saved around 15,000 books and created a library.
This is a truly international book from the wonderful publisher Barefoot Books. The author was born in Lebanon and has lived around the world including India, Cyprus, Australia and UAE. She now lives in UK and Poland. The illustrator was born in Romania and she lives in Jerusalem. Vali Mintzi is the illustrator of The Girl with the Brave Heart which is a book which had a huge impact on me.
Here are some other picture books about the conflict in Syria:
This book would be a perfect addition to a high school library or to share with upper Primary students who have read or are reading any of these wonderful novels:
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