Reading Nasreen's Secret School

I love teaching picture books to elementary children of all ages. When I weary of explaining yet again to a parent that picture books offer exquisite literary and visual style and help young readers develop empathy, I simply hand over a stack and say, "Try these before you read Harry Potter aloud to your six-year old." The chapter book arms race and the dangers of unilateral disarmament....

Recently I've been teaching Jeannette Winter's subtle, gorgeous and moving picture book, Nasreen's Secret School. Like poetry, it conveys volumes with few words. A little girl in Afghanistan, living in a Taliban-controlled area, is not allowed to go to school; her determined grandmother finds her a secret one to attend. I have read it to children from ages 7 to 11 and their responses are intense, fierce, indignant and smart.

Herewith, a few:

From a 7 year old boy: "I would do that-- I would distract soldiers so that my sister could go to school."

From an 8 year old boy with a lisp (try saying it): " That makes me so mad! That's so sexist!"

From a 9 year old girl: "I'm really glad that I don't have to worry about getting blown up when I go to school. All I have to worry about is that I didn't do my math homework."

From a 9 year old boy: "I heard about that. I heard that the Taliban have killed teachers and that they drive around on motorcycles and throw acid in girls' faces." (Not details that I cared to bring up, but wow...)

From a 9 year old girl: "Wait a minute. You mean this is happening NOW? This isn't from long ago? This is terrible!"

From a 10 year old boy, when I mentioned how grateful I am for our school: "I'm really grateful I get to go to this school. At my old school there were bullies but there aren't any real bullies here. Those Taliban are just big bullies."

A 9 year old boy: "I'm glad the U.S. is fixing everything there."
Me: "I know we are trying, but I'm not sure we're able to fix everything."
Boy: "Yes, but we are doing our best. We are killing them every day!"

and from a girl who has a serious health condition,

"I'm just so glad that my [health condition] isn't as bad as other kids. Some kids with my problem have to... well, it's embarrassing to say this, but some of them don't get the signal that they need the bathroom and so they have to wear diapers. I'm just so glad I don't have to wear diapers."

Outrage at injustice, gratitude for our own everyday lives, curiosity about the inner lives of Afghanis, compassion for one little girl a world away, ... What more could I want in response to this jewel of a book?