The Breadwinner

I really enjoyed reading this book for class.  I loved how it dealt with a part of the world that is in the news all the time.  I thought Parvana was a strong main character and I enjoyed learning about how she dealt with the changes in her life.  I actually ended up using this book as a read aloud with my class because I enjoyed it so much.  My students were so engaged by it and I was able to pull in a lot of current events with the book reading.  We studied what a burqa was and how women are treated differently in many Middle Eastern countries than they are in the United States. I heard the phrase, "that's not fair" many times.  My students were amazed about arranged marriages and what happened to the prisoners in the stadium.   Even my students who are usually not that engaged by read alouds truly enjoyed this book.  

I thought that I really taught the children something through using this book in class that was meaningful.  Sometimes I feel we get away from meaningful curriculum due to standardized testing.  I was astonished how many of my students had no idea where Afghanistan was and how different life is in other parts of the world.   I am going to order the sequel to the book, Parvana's Journey to read since my students were begging to find out what happens next (plus I would like to know too!!!)