Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely through a Never-Ending War (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely through a Never-Ending War Karen Coats Ellis, Deborah . Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely through a Never-Ending War; written and illus. with photographs by Deborah Ellis. Groundwood, 2012. 143p. Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-55498-181-6 $15.95 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-55498-203-5 $15.95 R Gr. 6-9. This nonfiction counterpart to The Breadwinner and its sequels consists of interviews of twenty-seven survivors of the Taliban regime and the subsequent war in Afghanistan, all between ten and seventeen years old. The interviews are presented in paragraphs with the questions removed, although it is fairly clear in reading them what sorts of prompts were provided; each subject, for instance, talks in a fairly consistent order about his or her family, current life, school (if he or she attends one), memories, fears, and finally, his or her hopes for both a personal future as well as the future of Afghanistan. First giving the name and age of each interviewee and often a picture, Ellis then provides context for the interview in a brief introduction that describes the larger cultural and historical reasons behind the particular situation the person finds him or herself in; these introductions are extremely useful in helping readers see the big picture of how the prolonged war has proven devastating to domestic life. A subtle but informative contrast then emerges as the interviewees describe how much better their lives are now than when they lived under the Taliban, and most credit the value of the education they are now able to receive for the hope they have for their futures. Some of the interviews remain bleak, however; in particular, the voice of a ten-year-old boy living in a refugee camp with nothing to do and little hope of change is heart-rending. Obviously useful for current events curricula, this book will also be valuable for inspiring extracurricular service projects; resources are included for further research. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois