Review Jeanette Winter, The Librarian of Basra, A True Story from Iraq, Harcourt Children’s Books, 2005

Winter, Jeanette, The Librarian of Basra, A True Story from Iraq, Harcourt Children’s Books, 2005

 

I didn’t know there were children’s books about Iraq in English until I saw The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter. It’s a picture book telling the story of Alia Muhammad Baker during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As you can guess it’s about how she saved the Basra city library during the war.

 

The pictures are full of color and detail. There’s one for example when the government placed armed men on top of the library and in the windows you see all the books and Baker highlighting her plight that she was afraid that the building would be bombed by the Coalition.

 

The story is very easy to follow as any kids’ book should be. It emphasizes the determination of Baker and her community to save the books which was an awesome task since there were so many.

 

If you ever wanted to introduce your children to Iraq than The Library of Basra would be a good choice. The story and the illustrations are very engaging. It shows how women played an important role in protecting the culture of Iraq during war.

 

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