Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan Deborah Stevenson Winter, Jeanette . Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan; written and illus. by Jeanette Winter. Beach Lane/Simon, 200940p. ISBN 978-1-4169-9437-4$16.99 Ad 6-9 yrs The narrator describes the depredations of life in Herat, Afghanistan, a city where "art and music and learning once flourished" until the Taliban came and forbade girls to attend school. The speaker's granddaughter, Nasreen, not only loses her opportunity for education but also her parents, as her father is taken away by soldiers and her mother goes in search of her husband. The young girl, stunned into muteness by her loss, is sent by her grandmother to a "secret school for girls," and there she eventually opens up to a classmate. The title is labeled "A Global Fund for Children Book," and though it's not clear exactly what that means, the book is more suited to a fundraising effort than to a child readership: the simplicity of the text suggests a young audience, but there's more message than story, and key elements (what, for instance, is the Koran?) are left undefined. Nonetheless, the personal nature of the story individualizes the conflict in Afghanistan (though the story is set a decade or so ago, prior to the Taliban's 2001 fall, which might not be clear from the narrative itself), and the quiet, tightly focused approach helps make the situation accessible. The notion of school as a privilege revoked rather than a mandatory sentence may also elicit some thoughtful kid consideration. Winter's [End Page 173] acrylic art offers a contrast between firm geometric control in its layered borders and lush saturated color in the scenes themselves; though the figures sometimes become a bit cartoony, the portraits of a somber Nasreen, dispiritedly dragging herself through her sad life, are sympathetic and evocative. While this won't offer enough information on its own for real effectiveness, it could be a useful element in a current-events discussion or even a provider of perspective on schooling around the world. Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois