Alia Muhammad Baker's library in Basra, Iraq, has been a meeting place for those who love books for the past fourteen years. Now war has come, and Alia fears that the library - along with the thirty thousand books within it - will be destroyed forever.
Alia Muhammad Baker's library in Basra, Iraq, has been a meeting place for those who love books for the past fourteen years. Now war has come, and Alia fears that the library-along with the thirty thousand books within it-will be destroyed forever.
In this incredible true story of a war-stricken country where civilians seem powerless in the face of battle, this feminist and inspirational tale about a librarian's struggle to save her community's priceless collection of books reminds us how, throughout the world, the love of literature can unite us all.
* "This is an important story that puts a human face on the victims of war and demonstrates that a love of books and learning is a value that unites people everywhere."
- School Library Journal? "Winter isolates another true story of everyday heroism against a tragic backdrop. The librarian's quiet bravery serves as a point of entry into a freighted topic.
-Booklist "Timely and moving." -
Better Homes and Gardens "As spare yet penetrating as the narrative, Winter's boldly hued, acrylic and pen illustrations depict the frantic book salvaging effort against a bright orange and burnt sienna backdrop of bomb- and gunfire-lit skies and the subsequent, heartbreaking library fire." -
Publishers Weekly "Created with strength and courage, like Alia's devotion to the books in her charge." -
Kirkus 
