Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, 11-year-old Parvana has rarely been outdoors. Barred from attending school, shopping at the market, or even playing in the streets of Kabul, the heroine of Deborah Ellis's engrossing children's novel
The Breadwinner is trapped inside her family's one-room home. That is, until the Taliban hauls away her father and Parvana realizes that it's up to her to become the "breadwinner" and disguise herself as a boy to support her mother, two sisters, and baby brother. Set in the early years of the Taliban regime, this topical novel for middle readers explores the harsh realities of life for girls and women in modern-day Afghanistan. A political activist whose first book for children,
Looking for X, dealt with poverty in Toronto, Ellis based
The Breadwinner on the true-life stories of women in Afghan refugee camps.
In the wily Parvana, Ellis creates a character to whom North American children will have no difficulty relating. The daughter of university-educated parents, Parvana is thoroughly westernized in her outlook and responses. A pint-sized version of Offred from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Parvana conceals her critique of the repressive Muslim state behind the veil of her chador. Although the dialogue is occasionally stilted and the ending disappointingly sketchy, The Breadwinner is essential reading for any child curious about ordinary Afghans. Like so many books and movies on the subject, it is also eerily prophetic. "Maybe someone should drop a big bomb on the country and start again," says a friend of Parvana's. "'They've tried that,' Parvana said, 'It only made things worse.'" (Ages 9 to 12) --Lisa Alward
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Gr. 5-7. Ever since the fundamentalist group Taliban secured power in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Parvana and her family have suffered. The group's relentless oppression makes it impossible for the women of the family to leave the house without their father. When Parvana's elderly father is arrested on the grounds that he is a scholar, the women are trapped in their cramped apartment. Eventually, running out of food and hope, Parvana dresses as a boy and becomes the family's breadwinner, doing whatever is necessary to keep the family alive--from reading letters for the illiterate to digging up and selling the bones of her ancestors. Unfortunately, the novel never deals with the religious facets of Afghan life, failing to explain that the Taliban sees itself, essentially, as a religious group. Nonetheless,
The Breadwinner is a potent portrait of life in contemporary Afghanistan, showing that powerful heroines can survive even in the most oppressive and sexist social conditions.
John GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
Review
It answers the question; "What's it like to be an Afghan child?" It makes it clear that Afghans aren't the enemy, that children all over the world hate helping with the washing up, whether they are starving or not. It allows children to draw their own conclusions about why we are fighting. Most importantly, it humanises the war . . . it deserves to become a bestseller . . . (
The Daily Telegraph)
Very remarkable and highly topical. The horrors of life under the Taliban are balanced by loyalty, courage and hope. Read it. (
Independent on Sunday)
I was gripped by this series and couldn't drag myself away from it. Ellis beautifully captures childhood in war-torn Afghanistan and Pakistan. The stories are very moving. (
Malala Yousafzai)
All girls [should read]: "The Breadwinner," by Deborah Ellis [...] I think it's important for girls everywhere to learn how women are treated in some societies. But even though Parvana is treated as lesser than boys and men, she never feels that way. She believes in herself and is stronger to fight against hunger, fear and war. Girls like her are an inspiration. "The Breadwinner" reminds us how courageous and strong women are around the world. (
Malala Yousafzai)
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
From the Inside Flap
Read by Rita Wolf
approx. 3 hours
2 cassettes
Imagine living in a country in which women and girls are not allowed to leave the house without a man. Imagine having to wear clothes that cover every part of your body, including your face, whenever you go out.
In this powerful and realistic tale, eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city during the Taliban rule. Parvana's father- a history teacher until his school was bombed and his health destroyed- works from a blanket on the ground in the marketplace, reading letters for people who cannot read or write. One day he is arrested for the crime of having a foreign education, and the family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food. As conditions in the family grow desperate, only one solution emerges. Forbidden by the Taliban government to earn money as a girl, Parvana must transform herself into a boy and become the breadwinner.
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
About the Author
Deborah Ellis is the author of more than two dozen books, including The Breadwinner, which has been published in twenty-five languages. She has won the Governor General's Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She has received the Ontario Library Association's President's Award for Exceptional Achievement, and she has been named to the Order of Canada. She has donated more than $1 million in royalties to organizations such as Women for Women in Afghanistan, UNICEF and Street Kids International.
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
Review
'It answers the question; "What's it like to be an Afghan child?" It makes it clear that Afghans aren't the enemy, that children all over the world hate helping with the washing up, whether they are starving or not. It allows children to draw their own conclusions about why we are fighting. Most importantly, it humanises the war . . . it deserves to become a bestseller . . .',
The Daily Telegraph'Very remarkable and highly topical. The horrors of life under the Taliban are balanced by loyalty, courage and hope. Read it.',
Independent on Sunday'I was gripped by this series and couldn't drag myself away from it. Ellis beautifully captures childhood in war-torn Afghanistan and Pakistan. The stories are very moving.',
Malala Yousafzai'All girls [should read]: "The Breadwinner," by Deborah Ellis [...] I think it's important for girls everywhere to learn how women are treated in some societies. But even though Parvana is treated as lesser than boys and men, she never feels that way. She believes in herself and is stronger to fight against hunger, fear and war. Girls like her are an inspiration. "The Breadwinner" reminds us how courageous and strong women are around the world.',
Malala Yousafzai'An eye-opening experience for readers who are not acquainted with such a difficult reality',
Exploring Possibilities, Teacher Academic Forum
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
Set in Afghanistan, this book paints a bleak picture of life under Taliban rule. Rita Wolf creates a lively, engaging young Parvana, through whose eyes we witness Taliban oppression. Parvana's mother and sister are trapped at home, forbidden to leave unless chaperoned and swathed in the ubiquitous burqa. (Ellis defines such terms.) Although Wolf's accent may seem simulated to an Afghan ear, most Western listeners are unlikely to mind. Based on real-life interviews with children, this timely story of courage in extreme circumstances is sobering and chilling (Parvana unearths human bones for money, witnesses an amputation, and suffers a beating) and is best-suited for older children--ideally those listening with an adult. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
Book Description
Starvation or survival - a girl's life under Taliban rule
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
![The Breadwinner by [Deborah Ellis]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51um6410OvL._SY346_.jpg)
