about the book
From out of one country there came two brave young people willing to take a stand against the injustice they saw in their world. The country is Pakistan. The two are Malala Yousafzai and Iqbal Masih.
Iqbal came first. In the 1990s his parents, needing to pay off a debt of just twelve U.S. dollars, and being very poor, sold him to a carpet industry. Iqbal hated the work, and when the Pakistani government outlawed debt enslavement, he declared himself free and stopped working. He talked to other child workers about the new law, but before he could help, Iqbal was shot and killed.
More than a decade later, Malala takes a stand for herself and all Pakistani girls. She cannot bear it that the Taliban think they can deny her and all women the basic right of an education. Speaking out put her on the Taliban kill list, and while a gunman succeeded in shooting her, Malala recovered, and her voice has now been heard by millions.
about the author/illustrator
Jeanette Winter’s parents were born in Sweden, immigrating to Chicago, Illinois, just before Jeanette was born—their only child. They lived in an apartment with a view of trees and sidewalks out their window, which afforded Jeanette the opportunity to daydream and imagine.
Ever since that window with the trees and the sidewalk, Jeanette has tried to have “something to look at” wherever she works on her paintings and drawings: when she lived in Texas that something was hills and desert; in Maine, pine trees and a meadow; and today in New York City it is the skyline of the skyscrapers.
One of Jeanette’s earliest and greatest influences on her imagination and art was her great-uncle. He painted houses for a living, but he painted everything else for fun—postcards, floors, canvases, even clothing, and wooden figures he had carved himself! Jeanette also loved reading, both comic books and library books—like “Little Lulu,” “Henry,” and “Walt Disney Comics.”
Jeanette lives with her husband, painter Roger Winter, in New York City, where their two sons, Jonah and Max, both poets, live as well.
Sources:
Author biography: JRank
Author interview: A Mighty Girl
Also by Jeanette Winter:
Nanuk the Ice Bear. Beach Lane Books. November 2015.
Mr. Cornell’s Dream Boxes. Beach Lane Books. 2014.
Henri’s Scissors. Beach Lane Books. 2013.
Kali’s Song. Schwartz & Wade. 2012.
Biblioburro : A True Story from Colombia. Beach Lane Books. 2010.
Nasreen’s Secret School : A True Story from Afghanistan. Beach Lane Books. 2009.
Wangari’s Trees of Peach : A True Story from Africa. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 2008.
The Tale of Pale Male : A True Story. Harcourt Children’s Books. 2007.
Mama : A True Story in Which a Baby Hippo Loses His Mama During a Tsunami, But Finds a New Home, and a New Mama. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 2006.
The Librarian of Basra : A True Story from Iraq. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 2005.
Calavera Abecedario : A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 2004.
read more!
Kali’s Song by Jeanette Winter
Young Kali lived thousands of years ago. Soon, his mother says, he will be a man, and must hunt wild mammoths like the men of their tribe. However, when Kali is first given a bow and a quiver of arrows, instead of shooting it, Kali finds he can make music with it! Soon even the mammoths and the stars want to come and listen to Kali’s music.
Separate Is Never Equal : Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh
Before Brown v. Board of Education, there was Mendez v. Westminster School District. Sylvia Mendez, an American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, was denied enrollment at a “whites only” school. Her parents fought the decision with the support of the Hispanic community. Their successful battle helped end school segregation in California.
Sit-In : How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney
In a determined peaceful protest, four black students sat down at a “whites only” lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960. The actions of this quartet spurred others to similar protests and eventually led to the 1966 Supreme Court ruling against racial discrimination.