<i>Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan</i> (review)
2008; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 62; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.0.0517
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East
ResumoReviewed by: Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan Elizabeth Bush O’Brien, Tony Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan; by Tony O’BrienMike Sullivan; illus. with photographs by Tony O’Brien. Bloomsbury, 2008 73p ISBN 978-1-59990-287-6 $18.99 Ad Gr. 3–6 In this beautifully presented photo study, portraits of Afghan children are accompanied by brief excerpts from interviews, accompanied by the child’s name, age, and location. Each child has been affected in some way by the ongoing war; many have lost family members, have been forced from their homes or their country, have dropped out of school, have become breadwinners for their families. Their plainspoken observations are undeniably poignant, but the interviewers’ tendency to draw out the children’s plans for the future too often produces a tone of dreamy sound bites, and the brevity of the reflections does not afford readers the opportunity to develop much empathy with each individual subject. Although the division of the book into sections covering Kabul and rural regions allows the audience to compare experiences of children in different parts of the country (endpapers offer a map of the country for further geographical information), there’s no context provided other than an authors’ introduction, cast in the unadorned opening pages that are generally skipped by readers anxious to dig right in. Nonetheless, upper elementary age children with the patience and sensitivity to examine the photographs with care will begin to appreciate the daily struggles and amazing resiliency of these overlooked victims of war. Copyright © 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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