The Sky of Afghanistan

by Ana Eulate, Sonja Wimmer (Illustrator), Jon Brokenbrow (Translator)

Overview

Beautifully illustrated and undeniably moving, this is the story of a little Afghan girl’s dreams of peace. As her country is wracked by war, a girl’s imagination drifts toward the idea of peace for her people and for her country. Her powerful dreams soon take wing and fill the homes and hearts of those around her, uniting a people in their common desire for peace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788415619000
Publisher:	Cuento de Luz
Publication date:	09/10/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	24
Lexile:	AD1020L (what's this?)
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Ana A. de Eulate is the award-winning author of "Gaspar y las zapatillas magicas" and "Little Cloud Lamb." Sonja Wimmer is an award-winning illustrator whose work has been featured in books, posters, and magazines. Her illustrations for "The Word Collector "earned her Best Illustrator at the 2011 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. She is also the illustrator of "Could It Happen to Anyone? "and "Story of a Cockroach."

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Powerful images of dancing kites, ascending doves, women in burqas, a child playing with toys made from trash and flowers sprouting from tanks juxtapose the real and the aspirational. Ardent advocacy for Afghan peace."  —Kirkus Reviews (September 2012)

"Ana A. de Eulate's prose is poignantly lyrical. Her sophisticated style is warm and welcoming, as are Sonja Winter's illustrations. Her eye-catching lines and stylized depictions are masterfully rendered. Her use of light—stunning."  —www.CrackingTheCover.com

Editorial Reviews

Eulate and Wimmer offer a forceful vision of hope for Afghanistan’s future, told from the perspective of “a little Afghan girl who doesn’t stop dreaming.” A kite that “struggles against the wind” serves as a metaphor for the country’s efforts to rise up; in one of Wimmer’s sweeping pencil spreads, a map of Afghanistan becomes a kite itself, its red tails unspooling toward a crowd that includes a woman in a burqa, a father holding his daughter, and a soldier. Red poppies, a flower blooming from a tank, and a ragtag collection of toys with joined hands are among the many inspirational images that underscore the book’s message of peace. Ages 5–7. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Ardent advocacy for Afghan peace." —Kirkus Reviews

"In this glowing picture book translated from Spanish, a small Afghan girl dreams of peace. (…) True to a child’s experience, the story’s power is in the contrasts, and young children will recognize that the basic things they take for granted are missing in others’ daily lives." —Booklist

From the Publisher

K-Gr 2—An Afghan girl dreams of peace. She imagines herself and her fellow countrymen flying like kites in the sky, a metaphor that is repeated ad nauseum throughout the book. There is no plot, just this redundant wishing for a different world. No background as to what has prompted this longing is provided. It is difficult to imagine a child of any age being able to make sense of such statements as, "We are all given a new opportunity to leave our footprints for all eternity" or "please forgive me if my eyes fill with tears" when there is no context. At times the text is awkward and ungrammatical. The illustrations, which appear to be done in pastel, are well composed but cannot salvage the text. Jeanette Winter's Nasreen's Secret School (S & S, 2009) and Dedie King's I See the Sun in Afghanistan (Satya House, 2011) are better choices for introducing children to the situation in Afghanistan.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

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