The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter

📚 The Librarian of Basra 📚

Author/Illustrator: Jeanette Winter

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Age: 4-8

Islamic Content: Muslim story/characters

Concerns: War

Summary:

Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian in the city of Basra in Iraq. When the war got close to home, Alia takes matters into her own hands to save most books before the library gets destroyed.

Review:

I have previously borrowed this book from the public library a few years ago but my kids were a little sensitive when they looked through the pictures of war and soldiers. Now that they are older I purchased this book and I was able to read it with them with no issues.

This book is based on the true story of the Iraqi librarian, Alia Muhammad Baker. He story to save the library is very inspiring and brings about discussions about war and the importance of library contents.

I am afraid I will need to be a little politically critical with this book. I understand that it is published in 2004 so it definitely is outdated. However, if I was able to easily purchase a brand new copy, I believe it should be reviewed with honesty.

What irritated me is that this book does not mention that the USA is responsible for causing the war in Iraq. It was intentionally excluded. Yet an American author decided to write, sell and profit from Alia's story based on a New York Times article. Uplifting the story of an individual's struggle in Basra while ignoring the main perpetrators who have caused her to come in that situation is frustrating as a reader.

#purchased #thelibrarianofbasra #muslimkidsbooks #islamickidsbooks #muslimkidslit #raisingmuslimreaders #muslimkidsbooknook