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https://bookclubs.scholastic.ca/en/-the-library-bus%2Fa-sky-blue-bench-2-pack-/78785496-cec-ca.htmlDescription
This pack contains 2 hardcover picture books by Bahram Rahman - The Library Bus and A Sky Blue Bench.
In The Library Bus - it is still dark in Kabul, Afghanistan when the library bus rumbles out of the city. There are no bus seats - instead there are chairs and tables and shelves of books. And there are no passengers - instead there is Pari, who is nervously starting her first day as Mama's library helper. Pari stands tall to hand out notebooks and pencils at the villages and the refugee camp, but she feels intimidated. The girls they visit are learning to write English from Mama. Pari can't even read or write in Farsi yet. But next year she will go to school and learn all there is to know. And she is so lucky. Not long ago, Mama tells her, girls were not allowed to read at all.
A Sky Blue Bench - It's Afghani schoolgirl Aria's first day back at school since her injury. She's excited, but she's also worried about sitting on the hard floor all day with her new prosthetic "helper-leg." Readers will find Aria's perseverance and determination to learn inspiring.
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Author Bahram Rahman grew up in Afghanistan during years of civil war and the restrictive Taliban regime. He wrote The Library Bus to tell new generations about the struggles of women who, like his own sister, were forbidden to learn. Brought to life by the pensive and captivating art of award-winning illustrator Gabrielle Grimard, The Library Bus is a celebration of literacy, ingenuity, and the strength of women and girls demanding a future for themselves.
In A Sky-Blue Bench, Bahram Rahman, author of The Library Bus, returns again to the setting of his homeland, Afghanistan, to reveal the resilience and resolve of young children - especially young girls - who face barriers to education. Illustrator Peggy Collins imbues Aria with an infectious spunkiness and grit that make her relatable even to readers with a very different school experience. An author's note gently introduces an age-appropriate discussion of landmines and their impact on the lives of children in many nations, especially Afghanistan, which has the highest concentration of landmines of any country in the world.