Razia's Ray of Hope: One Girl's Dream of an Education (CitizenKid) - Hardcover

Suneby, Elizabeth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1554538165 ISBN 13: 9781554538164

Publisher: Kids Can Press, 2013

Synopsis

Razia dreams of getting an education, but in her small village in Afghanistan, girls haven't been allowed to attend school for many years. When a new girls' school opens in the village, a determined Razia must convince her father and oldest brother that educating her would be best for her, their family and their community. Razia's Ray of Hope is the latest inspiring story from the CitizenKid collection. It is based on the true stories of the students of the Zabuli Education Center for Girls just outside of Kabul, founded by a generous and resourceful woman named Razia Jan, a CNN hero, who also appears in the story.

About this title

About the Author:

Elizabeth Suneby loves words! Writing helps Liz come up with new ideas, learn new things, figure out her feelings and express them to others.
Writing is also how Liz earns a living. She writes content for companies large and small. She writes magazine articles. And she writes books for children and teens that help kids find their voice in a hopeful world.

Suana Verelst was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and grew up in Kortrijk, a Belgian town close to the French border. She studied drawing and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders, before leaving for Canada to continue her studies in Art History, Fine Arts and Graphic Design.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 3-5–This story was inspired by Razia Jan, an Afghani woman who lived in the U.S. but returned to Kabul to build the first girls' school there. A fictional youngster named Razia longs to go to the newly opened school for girls but must have permission from her father and oldest brother. Both the prose and the plot are predictable–her relatives refuse: “Next you'll want Razia to go into town to shop by herself,” says her father to the child's supportive grandfather. “Or for women to shed their burqas in public,” her brother adds. In the end, the real Razia Jan appears to convince the men, and the child is permitted to go to school. In contrast, there is nothing ordinary about the mixed-media illustrations. Each spread is a combination of muted colors, block-print designs, and evocative collage portraits of elders, active children, and the blue backs of burqa-clad women, interspersed with photographs of everyday objects: a teapot, a wool blanket, colored pencils in the school. Back matter includes a glossary of Dari words, and suggested classroom activities and discussion. Also included is a short biography of Razia Jan and a photo of her with three grinning schoolgirls. The photo brings the fictional story to life, illuminating that part of the world in which girls beg to go to school, then bring their workbooks home to teach their mothers.–Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, ILα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kids Can Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1554538165
• ISBN 13: 9781554538164
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Verelst Suana