Tuesday, December 13, 2022

The Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman and Peggy Collins - ESSENTIAL

The Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Peggy Collins
. PICTURE BOOK. Pajama Press, 2021. $19. 9781772782226

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Aria, who lives in a small Afghan village, lost her leg in an accident. Now she has a hard time sitting on the floor, but that is what she must do, because her classroom has no seats. Determined to go to school, Aria scrounges everything she needs to build her own bench, even if girls are told they can’t do such things.

The back matter tells us that Aria lost her foot to a land mine. I love that instead of dwelling on what the war did to her and to her village, Rahman shows us Aria’s perseverance and courage. An excellent way to show children some of the consequences of war and a way to talk about reclaiming our lives.

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS 

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