The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq
by Jeanette Winter
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jeanette WinterEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-01-01
ISBN: 0152054456
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Book Reviews of The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq
Book Review: 4 1/2 The Woman Who Saved a Library
Summary: 5 Stars
This contemporary story about an Iraqi librarian rescuing 70% of the Basra Central Library's books speaks of both individual courage and the irreplaceable value of books. It's based on actual events: With Allied bombers approaching Basra in April 2003, chief librarian Alia Muhammad Baker asks the local government for permission to move the books. For reasons not explained to the reader, official deny her request, "so Alia takes matters into her own hands." At first, she drives small loads to her home, but when the bombing begins and the library staff flees, she adopts a larger plan to save the books. A network of friends and relatives (most notably neighboring merchant Anis Muhammad) race to hide 30,000 books in Muhammad's nearby restaurant:
"'The books must be saved.' All through the night, Alia, Anis, his brothers, and shopkeepers and neighbors take the books from the library shelves, pass them over the seven-foot wall, and hide them in Anis' restaurant. The books stay hidden as the war rages on. Then, nine days later, a fire burns the library to the ground." As first reported by New York Times journalist Shaila K. Dewan, Baker and her friends waited out the bombs and then moved the thousands of books to the homes of friends, where, presumably, many of them still wait out the violence. An afterward explains that Alia Muhammad Baker suffered a stroke not long after and underwent heart surgery; she is "healing, and despite all, she is determined to see that the library is rebuilt."
The story begins weakly, largely due to some rather conventional pictures that evoke Saturday morning TV shows. Smooth, Western-looking faces speak about the impending war ("Will planes with bombs fill the sky?"), but the multitude of talking heads seems flat. (Older readers might like M. A. Stamaty's 32-page "Alia's Mission : Saving the Books of Iraq" for a more detailed and realistic version of the story.) However, Winter's introduction of the librarian personalizes the story, and her increasingly authentic pictures add realism and a sense of urgency to the rescue. In several dramatic scenes, Winter's bombing planes fill the fiery night sky, tanks shoot long lines of gunfire, and citizens flee against silhouetted minarets, domes, and palm trees. No bloodshed is shown, but Winter convincingly and appropriately shows the ensuing devastation. (There's also a 4-page daydream sequence about a peaceful Iraq, beautifully illustrated with colorful colors and motifs.) The Iraqi people who participated in Baker's "underground" book relocation probably risked their lives to save the books, and I expect that their story will evoke emotion and strong emotions and passionate discussion.
Summary of The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq
"In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was 'Read.'"*
--Alia Muhammad Baker
Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian in Basra, Iraq. For fourteen years, her library has been a meeting place for those who love books. Until now. Now war has come, and Alia fears that the library--along with the thirty thousand books within it--will be destroyed forever.
In a war-stricken country where civilians--especially women--have little power, this true story about a librarian's struggle to save her community's priceless collection of books reminds us all how, throughout the world, the love of literature and the respect for knowledge know no boundaries.
Includes an author's note.
*From the New York Times, July 27, 2003
(20050901)
--Alia Muhammad Baker
Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian in Basra, Iraq. For fourteen years, her library has been a meeting place for those who love books. Until now. Now war has come, and Alia fears that the library--along with the thirty thousand books within it--will be destroyed forever.
In a war-stricken country where civilians--especially women--have little power, this true story about a librarian's struggle to save her community's priceless collection of books reminds us all how, throughout the world, the love of literature and the respect for knowledge know no boundaries.
Includes an author's note.
*From the New York Times, July 27, 2003
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