Synopses & Reviews
After her critically acclaimed books of interviews with Afghan, Iraqi, Israeli and Palestinian children, Deborah Ellis turns her attention closer to home. For two years she traveled across the United States and Canada interviewing Native children. The result is a compelling collection of interviews with children aged nine to eighteen. They come from all over the continent, from Iqaluit to Texas, Haida Gwaai to North Carolina, and their stories run the gamut andmdash; some heartbreaking; many others full of pride and hope.
Youand#8217;ll meet Tingo, who has spent most of his young life living in foster homes and motels, and is now thriving after becoming involved with a Native Friendship Center; Myleka and Tulane, young artists in Utah; Eagleson, who started drinking at age twelve but now continues his family tradition working as a carver in Seattle; Nena, whose Seminole ancestors remained behind in Florida during the Indian Removals, and who is heading to New Mexico as winner of her local science fair; Isabella, who defines herself more as Native than American; Destiny, with a family history of alcoholism and suicide, who is now a writer and pow wow dancer.
Many of these children are living with the legacy of the residential schools; many have lived through the cycle of foster care. Many others have found something in their roots that sustains them, have found their place in the arts, the sciences, athletics. Like all kids, they want to find something that engages them; something they love.
Deborah briefly introduces each child and then steps back, letting the kids speak directly to the reader, talking about their daily lives, about the things that interest them, and about how being Native has affected who they are and how they see the world.
As one reviewer has pointed out, Deborah Ellis gives children a voice that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to express so readily in the mainstream media. The voices in this book are as frank and varied as the children themselves.
Review
Praise for
Kids of Kabul:"It's a gritty, poignant, and intensely personal glimpse into the effects of war and poverty." and#151; Publishers Weekly
Review
Winner of the Aesop PrizeWinner of the Social Justice Literature Award
Finalist for the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction
Finalist for the Red Maple Non-Fiction Award
"Itand#8217;s heartening that so many of these young people are positive about their lives, no matter how troubled, and about their futures. . . . Ellisand#8217; book is an excellent opportunity for classroom discussion and individual, empathy-inducing reading." and#151; Booklist, starred review
"Ellisand#8217;s transcriptions of these interviews allow the authentic voices of the young people to come through . . . Important and provocative, this is a good choice for libraries wanting to add a contemporary, youthful perspective on issues affecting indigenous people in North America." and#151; School Library Journal
"[T]hese young people embrace their distinctive cultural practices and almost without exception, express a buoyant attitude. As gay Chippewa 16-year-old Zack puts it, 'They tried really hard to kill us all off, and weand#8217;re still here!'and#151;a welcome and necessary reminder to all." and#151; Kirkus Reviews
"[O]ften simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful...Unflinching and informative, this volume will appeal to a broad range of readers." and#151; Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
About the Author
Deborah Ellis says her books reflect and#8220;the heroism of people around the world who are struggling for decent lives, and how they try to remain kind in spite of it.and#8221; Whether she is writing about families living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, street children in Pakistan, the coca protests in Bolivia, or the lives of military children, she is, as
Kirkus attests, and#8220;an important voice of moral and social conscience.and#8221;
A lifelong small-town Ontarian and#8212; born and raised in Cochrane and Paris and now living in Simcoe and#8212; Deb has won the Governor Generaland#8217;s Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of Californiaand#8217;s Middle East Book Award, Swedenand#8217;s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Childrenand#8217;s Book Award, and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She recently received the Ontario Library Associationand#8217;s Presidentand#8217;s Award for Exceptional Achievement, and she has been named to the Order of Ontario.
She is best known for her Breadwinner series, set in Afghanistan and Pakistan and#8212; a series that has been published in twenty-five languages, with more than one million dollars in royalties donated to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Street Kids International. Her novel, No Ordinary Day (about a young girl living on the streets of Kolkata), was nominated for the Governor Generaland#8217;s Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Childrenand#8217;s Book Award and the TD Canadian Childrenand#8217;s Literature Award, and it has received starred reviews from School Library Journal, Horn Book and Booklist. Her most recent novel is My Name is Parvana.
Loriene Roy lives in Austin, TX.