Nasreen's Secret School

October 5, 2009
Winter’s (The Librarian of Basra
) understated but powerful story is set in modern Afghanistan under the Taliban when girls were forbidden to attend school. Offering an adult’s perspective on the changes the country has seen, Nasreen’s grandmother serves as storyteller, her narrative obliquely noting that since the soldiers arrived in Herat, “The art and music and learning are gone. Dark clouds hang over the city.” After soldiers take Nasreen’s father away “with no explanation,” her mother defies the law by leaving home alone to look for him, never returning. Nasreen refuses to smile or talk, and her worried grandmother sneaks her into a “secret school” in a private home, where Nasreen eventually speaks again, makes friends and learns about Afghanistan’s brighter past. Though the child’s parents are still missing, her grandmother takes comfort in her realization that “the soldiers can never close the windows” that the school has opened for Nasreen. Framed by bright, striped borders, Winter’s handsome acrylic folk art effectively imparts the ominous omnipresence of Taliban soldiers, Nasreen’s social and intellectual transformation and the book’s hopeful final note. Ages 6–9.

September 1, 2009
Gr 2-4-This story begins with an author's note that succinctly explains the drastic changes that occurred when the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 1996. The focus is primarily on the regime's impact on women, who were no longer allowed to attend school or leave home without a male chaperone, and had to cover their heads and bodies with a "burqa". After Nasreen's parents disappeared, the child neither spoke nor smiled. Her grandmother, the story's narrator, took her to a secret school, where she slowly discovered a world of art, literature, and history obscured by the harsh prohibitions of the Taliban. As she did in "The Librarian of Basra" (Harcourt, 2005), Winter manages to achieve that delicate balance that is respectful of the seriousness of the experience, yet presents it in a way that is appropriate for young children. Winter's acrylic paintings make effective use of color, with dramatic purples and grays, with clouds and shadows dominating the scenes in which the Taliban are featured, and light, hopeful pinks both framing and featured in the scenes at school. This is an important book that makes events in a faraway place immediate and real. It is a true testament to the remarkable, inspiring courage of individuals when placed in such dire circumstances."Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2009
Grades 2-4 *Starred Review* Following titles such as The Librarian of Basra (2005), Winter tells another powerful story, based on true events, of an individual activist whose singular courage brings social change. In the Afghan city of Herat, little Nasreens father is abducted by Taliban soldiers. After her mother sets out in search of him, Nasreen lives with her grandmother, who laments that her granddaughter is forbidden to learn. Then the grandmother discovers a secret school for girls run by neighborhood women, and heartbroken Nasreen gradually begins to heal in the outlawed classroom. Winter artfully distills enormous concepts into spare, potent sentences that celebrate Herats rich cultural, Islamic history (art and music and learning once flourished here), even as they detail the harrowing realities of Taliban rule. And in her signature style of deceptively simple compositions and rich, opaque colors, Winters acrylic paintings give a palpable sense of both Nasreens everyday terror and the expansive joy that she finds in learning. In the storys conclusion, the grandmothers wrenching mix of sorrow and defiant hope is clear: I still wait for my son and his wife. But the soldiers can never close the windows that have opened for my granddaughter. An introductory authors note about Afghanistan today will help teachers lead discussions about Nasreens story and basic human rights for children around the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
After Nasreen's parents disappeared, the little girl "never spoke a word." Her grandmother takes her to a secret school for girls, where for months Nasreen remains silent. Winter's text is elegantly and eloquently spare; her reminder that education is a privilege worth fighting for is a powerful one. The accompanying acrylic paintings use many patterns and colors representative of Afghani fabrics.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2009
An author's note at the beginning provides background, contrasting the way women were allowed to live before and after the Taliban ascended in Afghanistan; Winter explains that her main character, Nasreen, is real, but her name has been changed. With explanations out of the way, Winter is able to keep her text elegantly and eloquently spare. The story is narrated by Nasreen's grandmother, who recounts how, after Nasreen's father was taken away by soldiers and her mother disappeared, the little girl "never spoke a word. She never smiled. She just sat, waiting for her mama and papa to return." Finally, the worried grandmother takes her granddaughter to a secret school for girls, where for months she remains silent until another little girl whispers (after the long winter break), "I missed you." Winter keeps to her characteristic art style, with each acrylic painting neatly enclosed in a frame, and uses many patterns and colors representative of Afghani fabrics. Dark clouds provide a recurring motif throughout, in the sky or echoed below on the pavement, until at the end, as Nasreen finally opens up again, the clouds turn pink and there are glimpses of blue sky. As in The Librarian of Basra (rev. 1/05), Winter celebrates the importance of education ("the soldiers can never close the windows that have opened for my granddaughter"), and the reminder to Western children that it is a privilege worth fighting for is a powerful one.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)