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“…The Breadwinner is a potent portrait of life in contemporary Afghanistan, showing that powerful heroines can survive even in the most oppressive and sexist social conditions.” –Booklist

The Breadwinner (Breadwinner Series #1)

Written by Deborah Ellis
Published by Groundwood Books

The first book in Deborah Ellis’s riveting Breadwinner series is an award-winning novel about loyalty, survival, families and friendship under extraordinary circumstances during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan in the late 1990s.

Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city. Parvana’s father — a history teacher until his school was bombed and his health destroyed — works from a blanket on the ground in the marketplace, reading letters for people who cannot read or write. One day, he is arrested for the crime of having a foreign education, and the family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food.

As conditions for the family grow desperate, only one solution emerges. Forbidden to earn money as a girl, Parvana must transform herself into a boy, and become the breadwinner.

The fifteenth anniversary edition includes a special foreword by Deborah Ellis as well as a new map, an updated author’s note and a glossary to provide young readers with background and context.

All royalties from the sale of this book will go to Right to Learn Afghanistan. Parvana’s Fund supports education projects for Afghan women and children.

Don’t miss the rest of the series! Explore:

Primary ISBN: 9780606372329
Publication Date: May 2015
Available As: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Middle Grade, Age 11 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , ,

Setting: Afghanistan (Kabul)

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: In Home Country

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