The Roses in My Carpets
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A picture book by Rukhsana Khan
Illustrated by Ronald Himler
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Published in the US & Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside |
32 pg, Hardcover
$17.95 CDN / $15.95 US
ISBN 0-7737-3092-3
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32 pg, Softcover
$9.95 CDN / $7.95 US
ISBN 1-55005-069-9
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AR Quiz No. 56697 EN Fiction
IL: LG - BL: 4.4 - AR Pts:
2.0
AR Quiz Types: RP
Rating:
This book has been
featured by the Elementary Teacher's Federation Organization of
Ontario in their curriculum guide on banishing racism from the
classroom. They developed an excellent teacher guide in
their publication and assigned this book for the month of
October.
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A young Afghan boy finds hope amid the hardships of living in a refugee
camp. Click Here
to find out about the Libraries in Afghanistan Project.
- Honourary Januscz Korczak
Award (I.B.B.Y Polish Section) -
Click Here to See Rukhsana receiving the
Januscz Korczak Award in Capetown, South Africa at the IBBY Congress
“A young Afghan describes his grim life in the
refugee camp where he lives with his mother and younger sister . . . One
day his sister is hit by a truck. That night, after learning that she
will survive, he dreams of jets crossing the sky and dropping bombs, but
unlike his earlier nightmares of suffering a direct hit, he now dreams
that the three find a space “the size of a carpet” where no bombs can
strike."
-School Library Journal-
"A young refugee boy from Afghanistan struggles
toward adulthood in a compassionate tale from Khan about the healing of
the human spirit . . . In his graceful narrative, he names the colors he
works with: 'White for the shroud we wrapped my father's body in. Black
is for the night that cloaks us from enemy eyes. Green is the color of
life. Blue is the sky. One day it will be free of jets.' Leaden skies
and mud-colored walls contrast with the bright colors of the carpet;
Himler's watercolor and pencil drawings, spare as the text, build
poignantly to a portrait of a life."
-Kirkus Reviews-
"A young Afghanistan refugee finds a bit of
comfort and solace in his stark life from the colorful roses in the
carpets he weaves. The story presents very realistically the way the
boy, his sister and mother manage to survive in their war-torn world.
Highly recommended to aid in understanding the horrible effect of war on
families."
-Children's Book Review Service-
"Toronto author Rukhsana Khan's book, The Roses
In My Carpets, is filled with horror and honesty, humanity and heart . .
. Khan has written about this fatherless boy with heartbreaking realism.
She knows the young boy's story personally. She has met him and his
family. He is her sponsored child. Her simple yet painfully detailed
text will let your listeners know this boy's life through the bucket
handle that cuts into his hand, the rough mats that rub his ankles raw
and his nightmares of enemy jets screaming overhead. The author will
guide them through his day-- a day where he must struggle to help his
mother and sister survive while keeping a vision in his heart of a
better future . . . This inspiring young boy's spirit shines through is
stark contrast to the grimness of his life. As this powerful tale ends,
this hopeful young boy dreams 'we find a space, the size of a carpet,
where the bombs cannot touch us.' "
-The Toronto Star-
"In The Roses In My Carpets,
an Afghani boy lives in a mud-drenched refugee camp caring for his
mother and sister, and measuring his life by the next trip to the well
or finding the next piece of bread. Except, that is, when he escaped
into his work as an apprentice carpet weaver. Then 'with my fingers I
create a world the war cannot touch.' Spare, unsentimental prose from
Torontonian Rukhsana Khan and pictures by Tucson, Ariz. based Ronald
Himler make this a moving story."
-Macleans Magazine-