Parvana’s Journey
Deborah Ellis
Series:
Breadwinner Series 2
Type:
Fiction
Categories:
Girls & Women | Social Issues | People & Places | Places
Themes:
Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance, Middle East
Language:
English
Publisher:
Grade Level:
5-9
Age Range:
10-14
Description
The second book in the internationally-bestselling series that includes The Breadwinner, Mud City and My Name Is Parvana
In 2001, a war is raging in Afghanistan as a coalition of Western forces tries to oust the Taliban by bombing the country. Parvana’s father has died, and her mother, sister and brother have gone to a faraway wedding, not knowing what has happened to the father. Parvana doesn’t know where they are. She just knows she has to find them.
She sets out alone, masquerading as a boy, her journey becoming more perilous as the bombs begin to fall. Making her way across the desolate Afghan countryside, she meets other children who are strays from the war — an infant boy in a bombed-out village, a nine-year-old girl who believes she has magical powers over land mines, and a boy with one leg who is so obnoxious that Parvana can hardly stand him. The children travel together because it is easier than being alone. And, as they forge their own family in the war zone that Afghanistan has become, their resilience, imagination and luck help them to survive.
The reissue includes a new cover and map, an updated author’s note and a glossary to provide young readers with background and context. All royalties from the sale of this book will go to Right to Learn Afghanistan.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.9
Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.
Contributors
Formats
Awards
OLA Red Maple AwardLong-listed
Governor General's Literary Award: TextLong-listed
YALSA BBYACommended
CLA Book of the Year for Children Award (Honour Book)Commended
Ruth Schwartz AwardWinner
Tiny Torgi AudioLong-listed
Manitoba Young Reader's Choice AwardCommended
Jane Addams Children's Book AwardWinner
Red Cedar Book AwardWinner
OLA Golden Oak AwardWinner
Garden State Teen Book AWards (NJLA)Long-listed
Amazon.ca Top TenCommended