The Library Bus

By Bahram Rahman, Gabrielle Grimard (Illustrator)

A young girl helps her mother bring books to villages where girls were once forbidden to learn.

4.2/5 Goodreads · 648 ratings

32 pages

$18.95Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

In the early morning of Kabul, Pari embarks on her first journey as her mother's library bus helper. As they visit villages and refugee camps, Pari hands out notebooks to girls learning English, while she dreams of her own education. Once, girls like her were denied the chance to read. Now, Pari stands at the brink of a new future, where literacy and hope are within reach. Will she find the courage to embrace her own path to knowledge?

From the publisher

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. 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. 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.

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