ARTiculate
Authors of the war-time stories offer tips and background for talking about their books with your children.
WITH MARLI GUZZETTA
With its One Book, One Island program, the Nantucket Atheneum has created an opportunity for you to engage with your children on issues relating to the Middle East. The program's intention is to edify the community through the shared reading of pertinent works of literature, which will be made available to students through their schools and other participating locations this week. Middle School students will be reading "The Breadwinner," by Deborah Ellis, while Elementary School students can participate with Jeanette Winter's "The Librarian of Basra."

In "The Breadwinner," Parvana is an 11-year-old Afghani girl who must dress like a boy in order to work to support her family after her father dies at the hands of the Taliban in the early years of its regime. All royalties from the book are donated to Women for Women in Afghanistan, an organization cofounded by Ellis that is dedicated to Afghani girls in refugee camps in Pakistan.

Based on a true story, the "Librarian of Basra" is a picture book that follows the efforts of one Iraqi librarian named Alia Muhammed Baker to save the books in her library during bombings by American forces. Winter wrote and illustrated the story after being inspired by an article about Baker in The New York Times. Some of the proceeds of the book's sales go to Baker's re-built library in Iraq.

Both pieces address the issues of war and poverty in the Middle East in age appropriate ways, but war is still a hairy concept for children to digest without help from adults.

We spoke with both authors to give you a better understanding of the books so that you can help your children digest their contents.

DEBORAH ELLIS "THE BREADWINNER"

In the '90s, you volunteered in Afghani refugee camps. Did those visits prompt the book, or did the book prompt the visit?

The visits prompted the book. After the Taliban took over Kabul in September of 1996, we got some women up here in Canada to do solidarity work in Afghanistan, and I met women in the camps who influenced the story.

How much of the language, opinions and events of the characters are based on things you heard or saw while volunteering in Afghanistan?

Alot of things that happened in the book are based on things I witnessed or heard about in the refugee camps, like what happened in the stadium.

What happened in the stadium?

The Taliban cut off someone's head.

It seems that you incorporated violent occurrences, but didn't go into much detail, in order to keep it age appropriate. What were your thoughts on incorporating violence into this book?

I wanted to make it balanced, so that when there was an incidence of brutality, I wanted to show that there were also incredibly kind, decent people looking after the kids.

How have kids responded to the story?

I find that it depends on the kids' experiences. Some kids live in different kinds of war zones here - kids experience different levels of violence in their homes or communities here, so those kids can relate to kids undergoing violence in other parts of the world. Other kids are just really struck by things we take for granted here when they realize kids are living in conditions that are very restricted compared to what we live in.

What tips would you offer parents and kids reading the book as to how to make the most of it?

I would suggest that they look for parallels in their own lives and try to imagine themselves in Parvana's shoes. And look at what's going on in the world today. Are there other Parvanas living in similar circumstances, and if so, why is that?

Ellis is currently working on a book about children with parents serving in the war and is looking for subjects. Interested parties can contact her at dellis@can.rogers.com.

JEANETTE WINTER "THE LIBRARIAN OF BASRA"

When you met Alia, was she what you expected?

I felt like she had stepped out of the book. … We were together with some groups of children, and they had a lot of questions about moving the books and hiding all the books in her house and other houses. Their main questions were about the books, rather than the war.

How have you made the concept of war accessible and suitable for kids?

I think I did it by having the main focus be on Alia's bravery. I think children can take in the circumstances that she was in maybe a little bit easier than if the focus was on the war and without getting into real specifics of the war.

What's the most remarkable response you've received to the book?

I've had comments on both sides. Some people felt it didn't go far enough. Then there are others who felt it wasn't appropriate for a children's book, or that it was anti-U.S. and so on. They felt it was too critical. ...My response is that I was writing about Alia, and her bravery in war. I think that children certainly know there's a war going on. ... I think this book humanized it - here's one real person and how this person is affected by the almost-abstract thing kids are seeing on television.

How did you handle drawing war for a children's book?

I didn't make the images realistic. They're stylized and simplified.

What are your tips for people reading this to their kids?

I think first of all, let the children lead with their questions. It is a really complicated topic if you get into the war. I think you might want to see what the children want to know about and what they're curious about, and go to those questions. ... I think it's also important for children to see that one person can make a difference and do something important. I think when you're a child, it seems overwhelming; you think you can't help, but this story proves that you can.

Winter's next book, "The Tale of Pail Male," is about a beloved redtailed hawk who made his nest on top of a Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan. It's due out in Spring

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