The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq [Hardcover]

I recently asked my seven year old granddaughter what her favorite school subject was and she immediately said, "Library, because there are so many books there and I love to read." A few days later I read the review of "The Librarian of Basra" in the Washington Post and decided this was the perfect book for her. I just read it myself today and can't wait to share it with Maria. I am also going to order a copy for her school library because I think it sends a double message - the importance of books in our lives and the terrible effects of war on everyone. Jeanette Winter's illustrations are beautiful. I would truly recommend this book to elementary school children.

Writing current picture books about the war in Iraq is difficult for a number of reasons. First of all, people tend to shy away from writing picture books that have strong political messages in them. And it is clear that any view of American involvement in Iraq is going to contain a slant one way or another. Second, picture books are supposed to inspire and instruct. How inspirational is it to look at the rising death toll and innocent lives taken during the course of this most peculiar of wars? So it's little wonder that when several children's authors heard the story of Alia Muhammad Baker they felt moved to write her story out for children everywhere to hear. One of the best of these is Jeanette Winter's, "The Librarian of Basra". Though no book about Iraq is completely bereft of a political view of what we did, this story speaks beyond the immediate problems and looks to the future in a truly moving way. It stands as perhaps one of the best ways to instruct little children about the war and its aftermath.

As librarians go, Alia Muhammad Baker is a inspiration to her brethren. When people started predicting the impending war in Basra, Alia was certain that the books would be destroyed. These aren't just your shabby paperbacks or romance novels either. Alia's collection was privy to owning a biography of Muhammad that was 700 years old, amongst its other treasures. When pleas with the authorities to move the books yielded nothing, Alia went out and rescued the books herself. She took them home, recruited friends and neighbors to help her remove them from the library, and hid them in her friend Anis Muhammad's restaurant. Then, when the worst of the initial war was over, she transferred them into the homes of different people. In the last pages the book notes that as the continuing skirmishes plague the landscape, "Alia waits". She hopes for peace and a beautiful new library but until that happens she will keep her books safe and sound, wherever they may be.

I'm a political beast by nature. If I get the inkling that a picture is simplifying an issue to the point of banality (or idiocy) then I get upset. I never got upset with "The Librarian of Basra". Winter treats her subject with respect, dignity, and an even hand. She gives us person who's life goal is understandable to kindergartner and senior citizen alike. Alia was a rescuer of books. A librarian who went beyond and above the call of duty. If that isn't an example of heroism, what is? It is clear from the book, also, that the war that plunged Alia into this trouble in the first place was not exactly necessary. Oh, it never says this in so many words. But kids who have somehow remained unaware of the cause behind the war may be confused as to why it suddenly bursts out of a clear blue sky the way it does. Adults may have difficulty coming up with any answers, too.

How well "The Librarian of Basra" will age is up for speculation. The book ends with the fighting in Iraq continuing during American occupation. How long that'll last is something few pundits agree on. In any case, the tale of one woman's courage in the face of an inevitable war is stirring and heartening. As a librarian myself, I have to admit I've a fondness for it on a personal level that may skew my otherwise faultless sense of what makes a book bad or good. But it's important to remember that this book is a parable and, due to that format, will remain beloved long after Iraq reaches its final destiny. For the sake of Alia, let us hope it is soon.

Miles C-S

The Librarian of Basra

by: Jeanette Winter

Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian at a local library in Basra Iraq. People would just go there and talk about things on their mind. She is worried that the library will get blown up because it is the time of war. Books are more important to her than mountains of gold. She asks the governor for permission to move the books somewhere safe, but he says no. Alia takes matters into her own hands; she moves all the books one by one into her friend's restaurant. After nine days of this awful war the library is burned down. When the town settles down she hires a big truck to bring the books to her friends houses as well as hers. To this day the war is still going, but she still dreams of a new library.

I thought this was a great book. It is a book that any level of a reader can read and enjoy. It may look like a children's book but its content will make you think differently. I think that this is a great book for everyone. There is lots and lots of color. The color of the pages represent the mood of the page. If you buy this book some of the money will go to help rebuild a new library for Alia.