Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter (2009) is expertly crafted to include a lot of content. The first two pages are an "Author's note" -- content of this story was actually written by someone in Afghanistan. The jacket flap says this book is "based on a true story." To me, this means it's impossible to know how closely Winter's version adheres to the original. Nevertheless, it's a gripping tale with insightful illustrations.
This is a Global Fund for Children publication. This organization contacted Winter to request she base a book on "a true story from one of the groups they support." Winter was drawn to "an organization in Afghanistan that founded and supported secret schools for girls during the 1996-2001 reign of the Taliban." She gives statistics to highlight the role of women before Taliban rule and a full page to the life of women and girls after, from 1996-2001. So, immediately upon opening this book, readers are confronted with a stark reality. This book is not for the sensitive stomach.
Nasreen's age is not given, so the story suitable for the older reader who values picture books. It's told from the point of view of Nasreen's grandmother. She knows the life of art and culture that existed prior to the terror of Taliban rule. If the second illustration of soldiers with guns entering the city of Herat isn't frightening enough, Winter shows us a soldier abducting Nasreen's father, and later, a soldier finding the secret school. Winter shows us how a burqa completely covers a woman's body when Nasreen's mother leaves home to search for her husband, "even though going out alone in the streets was forbidden for women and girls." Winter tries to depict life under extremist rule.
Nasreen sits at home all day because girls cannot go to school. It's a sad and lonely existence and she responds with silence. Her grandmother's "worry is deep." Grandmother learns of a secret school and takes Nasreen there. "Luckily, no soldier saw us." The school is a room in someone's home. Boys distract soldiers that go near the school. When a soldier demands to be let inside, he sees "a room filled with girls reading the Koran." The girls are clever. Eventually, Nasreen makes a friend.Then, she smiles, talks, and begins learning.
Winter's text has enough linguistic complexity to make the reader think. "A full moon passed our window many times as Nasreen and I waited." So how long is that? Grandmother remained religious in the face of extremism. "Please Allah, open her eyes to the world," she prays on Nasreen's first day of school. "Windows opened for Nasreen in that little schoolroom." What does this mean? There's a handful of challenging vocabulary too.
The illustrations in this book are exquisite. This story about windows to the world has illustrations inside square borders, as if the reader is looking through windows into Nasreen's world. Black clouds in a red sky appear in several scary scenes. Brightly colored patterns represent the characteristic fabrics of Afghanistan and contrast starkly against solders' fatigues. When I Googled Afghanistan clothing, I learned that much of it is embroidered! Purple mountains show that Herat is in a mountainous area of the world, and a quick research of the region describes the value of its location over centuries.
It would be easy to say that Nasreen is the main character in the story. But reread the book several times, and the main character is revealed to be the grandmother. She describes the setting, the problems, attempts to address her granddaughter's situation, success - and her heartfelt satisfaction. She still waits for the return of Nasreen's parents but "the soldiers can never close the windows that have opened for my granddaughter." The grandmother's expression on the final page is worth a thousand words.
