This was a wonderful read. I am a big fan of The Kiterunner and Thousand Splendid Suns. These works however are not appropriate for all ages. I am glad that The Breadwinner is there for younger audiences. Pavana is a tenacious character. I liked that this focused on the women’s rights, often the rights that we take very much for granted in this country. The characters seemed real with sibling rivalry, depression and just plain fear taking their toll on the family. The other aspect that I really liked about this book is that the author describes the time before the war when Afghanistan had been a free-thinking, progressive place. This in a way makes this novel even more chilling. To think that educated, self-sufficient people are reduced to a semblance of their previous life is rather frightening. I think kids think that these things could not happen here or to them. This book shows that our freedoms need to be cherished. This book would be accessible to most students and I think most kids could identify with the characters. My father grew up in Budapest during World War II. Literally his yard was a battle field between the Russians and the Nazis. Before the war life for my grandparents was very good. Their world was ravished by the war. I saw the same harrowing details in The Breadwinner. I think students can get a better understanding of a different culture by reading this book.
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This story is told from the perspective of a young girl in a culture that the U.S. citizens have come to be skeptical of. Since 9/11, people of the U.S. have been afraid of the people of Afghanistan. Children have grown up in a constant state of worry because of the past terrorist accounts. Children have not learned about Afghan people who do not have the same beliefs as the terrorists and this story really exemplifies a girl who falls into this category.
I wouldn’t say children have grown up in a constant state of worry but people in general do have a tendency to think bad of the Taliban because of the 9/11 attack and fear another possible attack, but it is not a constant fear. I do however like that this book gives children an understanding of the Afghan people and the hardships they have endured under Taliban rule. I believe this book shows students that the Afghan people are not associated with the Taliban and that they are in fact citizens like people in the U.S.
I agree with Amanda’s comment. This book would definitely be beneficial in the classroom. It is a very enlightening story told from a perspective that the American public generally does not get to hear. This story would hopefully help young students feel empathy for people who are from a culture that they normally only hear bad things about. It would be good for them to see how others were affected by the reign of the Taliban.
I agree with Amanda. I think that this story could definitely help students to gain a deeper understanding of other cultures and may help them to understand what these people are going through on a regular basis. Due to the fact that Afghanistan is such a hot topic in the United States, I think that students could definitely benefit from hearing the story of people who are non-extremists from there. Now whenever you hear Afghanistan, you just think of the bad people, but this book could show students that there are good hearted people over there as well.
I totally agree with this comment. I think that this book would be a good way to explain to children what is happening in Afghanistan and who the Taliban are. The book explains that how even people in Afghanistan don’t want the Taliban rule and how it affects their life.
I would have to agree with Amanda that this book truly does give insight to adults as well as children who read this novel, that people within the Afghan area are affected by the Taliban rule. The book provides the reader with a main character who they can really become ‘friends’ with. The feelings that Parvana has throughout the novel are in great detail where one could feel as though they are right there with the character.So yes, I do feel as though this a great book for children at the middle school age to read in order to get more information about the experiences that people have in Afghanistan and not just judge the area by what they hear from their parents or the news.
It is upsetting that children do have to live in a constant state of worry during this time period but it is important to provide books such as this novel within the classroom for students to understand and learn about the various cultures around the world, whether they have positive or negative aspects. Doing activities with students where they can study the different cultures and compare to their own experiences is very beneficial to student growth during their young years.
I agree with you here, in that this book does a good job separating the innocent Afghan people from the cruelty of the Taliban. I think many young people do not recognize or understand this difference which can lead to major problems in the relationships between students. This can be a good way to highlight the difference and can be connected to lessons on or about racism.
I agree with you that the US elementary students of today only know about past terrorist accounts and only think of Afghanistan of being a bad country. I really think they need to be informed about the country as a whole and not just this group of people who have done harm to our country. This book does a great job of this.
I agree with all of the above. I think it will help children develop more of an understanding of the Taliban and Afghanistan people and culture. This is something that could hit close to home for them so it may make them want to read more due to their relation with the subject of the book.
I agree with all of the above comments. I believe that this topic is important for students to learn about because they hear about it on the news. And I think that it will be an eye-opener to all students as it was to me. I think many people forget that there are children and families suffering under the Taliban, so I think that it would be good for students to experience this book.
I agree with Lindsay that US elementary students need more of an understanding about what is going on in the world. When they hear Afghanistan in the news now it is because of our war on terror efforts. These students need to realize that it is not the majority of people in Afghanistan we are fighting with. One extremist group, the Taliban, have taken over a beautiful people and a beautiful country and in the process have subjected women and young girls to unspeakable atrocities. Our students need to realize just how lucky they are.
I agree with what everyone has said, especially with what Kim said, about people forgetting that there are other people in the country. In my last class with Dr. Marasco, we talked about the consequences of war and how people on either side seem to forget that there are people and families living on the other side. It’s kind of like when we pray that our troops will win the war and come home, we are basically asking that the soldiers in the other army all die or that the other side gives up because the damage to their country is so great. We forget that there are people who are NOT fighting the war against us, and that may not even support the war or their country’s reasons for fighting. As everyone has said, this book allows students, who have heard only bad things about the Middle East, a chance to peak through a window into the life of one of these forgotten by-standers.
I agree with this comment about children not learning about this culture but only hearing the negative aspects in the news. But I think it is important for students to be aware that even though they may not be able to directly relate to Parvana, i am positive that there are some students who are currently having to find a job at a young age in order to pay for food and clothes for the rest of their family due to immigration laws or disability issues within their families. It important to bring these issues up within the classroom in order for students to feel as though they are not alone in those issues that arise.
I think that ever since 9/11 we watch the news and hear horrible things that are going over in the war zone. It becomes every day news and no one thinks much into it anymore. With this book, it really opened my eyes to what is happening to the families and the children. We Americans are so lucky for not being completely controlled. This book was able to put new things in perspective and would be benefical for students in the classroom to read about.
I agree that it is beneficial for students to read. I believe it is easy to take for granted the freedoms that we have and after reading the novel it truely made me understand how lucky we are. The novel discussed many hard topics such as gender inequality and family members being taken away. Although the topics are hard to talk about the book made it relatable to students and the novel also made the topics easier to discuss. I believe it is important for students to understand what is happening in different countries, and The Breadwinnder is a novel that brings many of these issues to the table.
Katie, I completely agree with your comment. In this day and age of 24/7 news coverage we do become desensitized to what has and what is happening to the real people living in these situations on a daily basis. This book definitely opened my eyes to a culture that I know so little about. I’m sure that it would do the same thing for young readers in the classroom. It would help them get a sense for what life is like in other parts of the world where people don’t have the same freedoms that we tend to take for granted.
I agree with you and I think that students can really begin to understand events that seem “historical” to them, but are still so prevalent in society today. Thinking of children going through things like the characters in these books are not something I think students are entirely aware of, but it is not too graphic for them to handle.
I agree Katie. I feel that we really dont have a good idea of what really goes on in these war torn countries. Doing some research, I read that the author interviewed hundreds of women and children in Afghanistan to get a good idea of how hard life really was growing up in fear of the Taliban. Like you said, we Americans are very lucky for not being controlled and being able to live freely in this country. For the character Parvana and her family, they weren’t that lucky.
I really enjoyed reading this book as well. I’ve always found the lifestyles of citizens in Afghanistan to be very interesting. I read it in about an hour because I just couldn’t put it down. I found it really interesting how such a well established family could be reduced to a one room apartment. When Pavana describes how her family used to live and what they have been reduced to is really heartbreaking because she eludes to the fact that many of other families have been reduced to much less. After the Taliban attacked our country in 2001 many people have discriminated against people of middle eastern descent, and this book does a good job of showing that the Taliban are a separate, extremist organization that not only attacked our country but caused destruction and devastation in their own. This is a great book to introduce the conflict our country has in the middle east, and help the students understand the difference between people of middle eastern descent and the extremist group, the Taliban.
I found this book very interesting as well. I love learning about different cultures, and this book really opened my eyes to the life of the people of Afghanistan, especially the women. I can’t even imagine ever having to live in those conditions and in such fear. We hear about the Taliban all the time, but we never really get a full understanding on what kind of impact they have had on middle eastern countries. This book did a great job of showing what the Taliban has done. We only really pay attention to the effect that Taliban has had on the United States, so I liked that I was exposed to the effect they have had on their own countries.
I also loved reading this book. I started reading it and I just couldn’t put it down. This book really does open your eyes to the life of the people of Afghanistan. The women are poorly treated and it was so hard to read about all of the hardships they had to endure. I agree with Katie when she says that we hear about the Taliban all the time, especially after 9/11, but we never get a full understanding of what kind of impact they have on the Mideast. The book depicts how the Taliban treat the men, women, and children of Afghanistan in a view that is suitable for young children, but still leaves a lasting impact.
I agree, the book did a great job of showing the harsh rule of the Taliban and it truely helped me open my eyes on what other people in different countries are living with. This is a hard topic to discuss but I believe that the novel was able to talk about it in a way that younger students would be able to understand.
I agree with you. I know very little about the Afghanistan country and culture and I think that reading this book opened my eyes. I now realize how lucky I am to be American. I could not imagine living under the conditions that Parvana and her family did, especially, in a culture where women are not important and not appreciated. I think that it would be great for students to see how the Taliban has affected the Afghan culture and look beyond the effects they have had in the United States.
Besides the obvious connections of this book to 9/11, I think some students could also relate to this book by a well established family being reduced to a one room apartment. Today’s economy are hurting a lot of families. Students who once had no worries about where their next meal might be coming from now might begin to worry. They might have this connection and want to keep reading this book.
I agree with this. I think many students will be able to relate to this book do to the relation with 9/11. To many it may hit close to home to them which may make them want to keep reading. They may even find comfort in reading this book because it may help them develop a better understanding of their own feelings, etc.
I completely agree with these comments. I think that a great deal of students will be able to relate to the book either because they are military families, or they are suffering from the economy. They may not be able to relate completely because of all the horrible things Parvana went through, but they can have sympathy for her and her family and relate in other ways. There might be some children in your class that are doing whatever they have to, to feed their families. I think this book may hit home for a bunch of students and open the eyes of the others.
So true, Lindsay! Many students can relate to having to be in a small apartment because of the rough economy and their parents losing jobs. I also saw a connection in that some students may have to help provide for their families like Parvana did in the novel. Reading about Parvana could give students hope that they too can survive and be happy.
I completely agree becuase I think it is very important for students to understand the difference and not fear people just becuase they are culturally different. Also I read A thousand Splendid suns and I felt the same way about that book, they both give a new outlook on the lives and experiences of people who are different.
The breadwinner by Deborah Ellis chronicles the struggle of a family to stay together in the time when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Parvana is the voice of the story and she sees war rip apart the fabric of her family and has to take on new responsibilities during this difficult time. Parvana is forced to grow up quickly and as a result learns how harsh the world can be, but also learns to see the beauty behind the wreckage of modern day Kabul. The breadwinner raises a plethora of ethical and moral issues such as self-love and acceptance, respect for others, issues of social justice such as women and human rights, and social movements and change. For example, Parvana and her family show a lot of acceptance, pride, and love for their culture. When many educated people left Afghanistan, Parvana and her family stayed in their homeland. However, despite all of the critical issues the story brings up the most admirable strength the novel has is its ability to show the courage of Parvana and her family. Parvana dressed up as a boy to try and support her family. If your family were in trouble would you show courage and support like Parvana. How far would you go to protect your family? Would you risk your life and dress up like a boy?
Looking at the questions you pose makes me think this book would supply a fantastic lead into all kinds of writing for all level of readers and writers. Students could write creatively, writing letters to Parvana about her troubles. They could write persuasively, asking the taliban to stop the destruction of their own country. They could even write critically about the consequenses of war and how their life, or the life of someone they know has been affected by it. Reading this book may inspire some students to research the topic and read for themselves what has happened during the war. The possiblities are endless.
The Breadwinner was an interesting and insightful novel. The novel was about a family who has had their father taken away by the Taliban. Parvana, the main character, must dress up as a boy in order to provide for her family. The story tells of her experiences as a girl dressed as a boy and all of the sad events that happen throughout the story. Parvana must find a way to help her family without getting caught. This is an eye opening story and helps in understanding what is happening in Afganistan. I believe this is an important book for students to read because it is important for them to read about different cultures.
Michelle, I completely agree. I think many students today take everything that they have for granted, and I think that this book will help them to understand that we are extremely priveliged, and there are many countries that are a lot less fortunate than we are. I thought this book was so interesting because you really wanted to know if Parvana’s family was going to be okay. This book really opened my eyes because even though I knew that Afghanistan was in much worse shape than the United States, I did not realize how extreme and harsh everything was over there.
Kimmy, I agree with you, and with Michelle. I think that when children grow up here, they take for granted all they really have. This book would be a great eye-opener to how, even today, there are countries going through traumatic and horrible circumstances that need attention. I think that this book would be a good way to incorporate a social studies lesson about other countries. I think it would be cool to try to get students to become involved in helping out these less fortunate countries, and this book would do a good job of sparking their interest.
The Breadwinner is an amazing story of one family’s struggle to overcome extreme circumstances. The strength of young Parvana is amazing as she strives to take care of her family in light of overwhelming conditions. This young girl is amazing as she does what needs to be done to take care of her family. Her strength is a testament to the fact that both of her parents are educated and know that they deserve to be treated better and that conditions for their people should be better. Parvana is a strong, determined, young woman, who may not agree with everything she has to do but knows that their aren’t any other options if her family is to survive. I highly recommend this book for all ages to see another side of the war on terror.
I liked how you spoke about the amazing strength Parvana had while supporting her whole family. This book put a students life in prospective and how good they have it compared to kids in other parts of the word. This book allows students to learn about a completely different culture and country that is half way around the word in one easy to read book.
I too liked the way this book showed Parvana’s strength and courage in helping her family. This book showed that everyone, including children, will go to any length to protect and help their family. With all of the luxuries that American students have it’s hard for them to imagine being in a place like that. This book drives home the fact that not everyone in the world has access to basic human rights and dignity. Could be a huge wake up call for students.
The Breadwinner is an amazing story of how a young girl struggles to provide for her family after the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan. After her father is arrested and taken away it is up to the young Parvana to take over his role in the family. As females are not allowed out of the home she is the only memeber of her family that can pull off dressing like a boy to earn money to buy food for her family. This book would be an essential addition to any classroom library. Young readers would benefit from learning about this other culture that they hear so much about yet know so little about and young girls would benenfit from reading about such a strong female character.
I definately agree that Parvana would be a fantastic, strong female character to introduce to young girls. Many young students today, especially in rougher neighborhoods, do not have a role model to look up to when they are confronted with difficult, grown up issues and situations, as many are on a daily basis. I also believe that young boys would admire Parvana as well, so she could be a positive influence on both young girls and boys alike.
I agree that while the book has a great, strong female lead, the book would be intriguing for male readers as well. The story is compelling, and I think young boys would appreciate it as much as young girls would. You raise some great points, and I think that you’re right in saying that Parvana would be a positive influence for young readers.
The Breadwinner is an amazing story about the struggles that Parvana must face on a daily basis while living under the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Parvana must take extreme measures just to make sure that her family can survive, and even then she still isn’t sure that they are all going to make it. I think that this book would be excellent to have in a classroom library because it could really help students to see what other people have to go through in order to survive. Teachers could also use this book to make connections to social studies due to the fact that the book deals with another culture, and it is a culture that many students will be interested in due to the fact that we are at war with them.
I really enjoyed this book because it tells a story about how the Taliban have invaded a girls home country of Afghanistan. It shows young readers that not all Afgans are correlated or or believe in the Taliban way of life. Most Afgans are scared and are victims to the Taliban rule. The book also discusses women’s rights and how they have been stripped due to the Taliban taking over. The story discusses her struggles with family, Taliban rule, siblings, women’s rights, and family money difficulties. I think that this book is great for students to read especially due to the war over seas. It helps students understand that just because we’re at war does not mean that all of the people follow the Taliban.
I agree with you Kelly. I think this is a great book for kids to be reading right now with the war going on overseas. I think it can help them develop more of an understanding of other cultures, their beliefs, etc. The womens rights concentration in the book is also a good thing for children to read about due to the fact that they don’t see that kind of issue here in the US anymore.
I would love to have the Breadwinner among one of the books in my classroom library. American students need to be exposed to what life is like in Afghanistan and that not all Afghan people are bad. This book can lead into a study of their culture and their way of life. Post 9/11 has a negative view of Afghan people and that wall needs to be broken. This book also sheds light on how women have no rights in Afghanistan. Many students in American have to help support their families once they are old enough to work so they may be able to relate to Parvana about earning money for her family.
I completely agree that this book should be used in the classroom. It is important to teach our students about what life is like in other countries, and this book can be very helpful due to the events in our world at this time. Like you said, this book is extremely necessary for children to read because of the war, and 9/11. I think this could be a very useful tool to help the children gain some empathy for the people affected by this war outside of our American soldiers.
Lindsay-
I comnpletely agree with you. I think that American people should realize that not all Afghan people are bad. Because of the events of 9/11 and the current war on terror, the Afghan people have been given a bad reputation. This book allows students to realize that there are good people everywhere and that one should not stereotype or judge a whole group of people based on something like the Taliban rule.
I thought the Breadwinner was a wonderful read. It was both interesting and captivating to read about everything the poor girl had to go through upon her father’s arrest. I also was extremely interested in this book becuase I just read A Thousand Splendid Suns last year. Both were wonderful books that better helps one to understand affairs which are going on so far away. We feel so detached from events like this until we realize how connected we actually are to them.
I feel that this book could be invaluable in a classroom in order to promote racial equality and racial tolerance. This book makes it easy for students to see that no matter where we live, what we look like, or what religion we believe in, we all have feelings and the need for basic human rights. There are groups in this world who would like to suppress these basic human rights for all people. Without knowledge, compassion and tolerance, the human race puts itself at risk for more extreme groups such as the Taliban to establish footholds in thriving societies.
Sherry-
I felt that this book would be valuable to children as well. In fact, no matter where people live, people have similar qualities and characteristics in common. This is showcased through the relationship of Parvana and her father. Parvana’s father went to great lengths to support his family. Another example would be the relationship between Parvana and her older sister Nooria. The two girls were always competing and participating in sibling rivalry. Young readers can see that people from all over the world face similar conflict and have similar characteristics.
The Breadwinner is an amazing book to read and really gives you incite on how different childrens lives are in other countries. In a country, like Afghanistan, where the Taliban have instilled fear in people for years, lives for children especially girls is very hard. The story of Parvana is one of courage, selflessness, and love. A young girl becomes the one who provides for her family after her father is taken away by the Taliban. I feel that many students can connect to Parvana. Not in the sense that they have fear of the Taliban, but some students have to be put into an adult role to provide for their families. Great book!
Matt- I completely agree with your post! Even if students are not in this direct situation, they can still easily relate to the book and Parvana’s general experiences. Students can learn from Parvana’s determination to help her family and also find strength in themselves to get through their struggles in life. It was an awesome book to read! It’s really important to see a young individual’s perspective that is easily relatable for young students.
The Breadwinner was a wonderful book. The novel was well written, and the story is excellent. I have rarely come across books that tell about life in Afghanistan, and this book really opened my eyes. It was heart-wrenching to read about how tough a life the people face, constantly fearing the Taliban. It was especially interesting to read about the women in the country, since they are so oppressed and often overlooked. The courage of Parvana in this story is so impressive, and I think this is an essential read for young girls. I would definitely recommend this book to readers of all ages as well.
Jacquelyn-
I agree with you! I enjoyed the novel as well and believe that it is a great read for young girls. I did not think about using the novel as a story of courage that young girls can connect with. As an activity to go with the book, the students could create a diary and write entries from the perspective of Parvana. This way the girls would be able to relate to the novel a bit more and would be able to see the world through Parvana’s eyes.
I completely agree with you that there are not many books written about life in Afghanistan from a local prospective. I think that this story would be wonderful for young girls to read because as you said it shows an inspiring story of a young girl while living through struggles and hardships. I thought this was a great read for any age level as well, not just young readers.
The Breadwinner was a great novel that explores the historical events that took place during the Taliban-era in Afghanistan. Young Parvana experiences a great deal of hardships to keep her family togehter. I feel that the details that Deborah Ellis included in this novel help the readers put themselves in the shoes of all of the characters. To do so, Ellis included many character relationships that readers can relate with. For example, the sibling rivalries and love of a family allow readers to relate to the characters. Readers can than imagin themselves from the character’s perspective and imagine the life during this time. The book does a great job of intorducing readers to the harsh rule of the Taliban. This book would definitely be a great class read!
I thought that this book would be great to include in a classroom library because it brings about a side of Afghanistan and its people along with hardships for families. This book allows students to somewhat see hardships and an important prospective of the people in Afghanistan that they would normally read about. In addition, the book is very well written as it describes a young girls life named Parvana and her struggles.This book could be used in a lot of classroom assignments such as journal entries for students to reflect upon what they have read.
I agree that the book was a great book, but that you need to be careful with what ages you allow kids to read it. It has some dark scenes and could easily scare or upset many young students. However I would also agree that it is a great book for students to be introduced to different cultures, and in particular to appreciate the freedom we have here in America. I think lots of students would gain a lot from reading this book and would highly recommend it for students as long as the students are able to handle to content.