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A review by jecoats
Malala: Activist for Girls' Education by Raphaële Frier
5.0
I found Malala: Activist for Girls' Education while looking at Dora Guzman’s international bookshelf on Good Reads (Dora is another instructor at NLU who also teaches a section of RLR-520). Although it has not won any awards, it was nominated for the Mildred L. Batchelder Award in 2018.
The story begins with Malala’s birth in 1997. We get to know a bit about her father, specifically that he founded the Khushal school - a detail that will be important to the story later. The book then depicts Malala’s early life as a child, contrasting her world, which is filled with a sense of freedom, with the reality of life in Pakistan, in which women and girls are treated as second class citizens. We then learn of Malala’s struggles, from being an activist for female education in Pakistan to her attempted assassination carried out by the Taliban. The book also depicts her accomplishments, most notably that she is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The final line of the book ends on the message that access to a quality education is something that all children across the globe should be freely granted.
This is not only a great picturebook, but a wonderful way to introduce young readers to an important political figure like Malala Yousafzai. The story is simple and straightforward, only highlighting a handful of momentous events in Malala’s life. There is a lot of text on each page, but the short sentences help make the text comprehensible for younger readers. The images are bold and colorful, and they have a childlike quality about them that I think would help draw in readers of any age. I also think the whimsical art style is at its best when it is placed in contrast with some of the more harrowing moments of the book, such as Malala’s village being burned down and the attempt on her life. I think using such brightly colored images helps demonstrate the importance of a figure like Malala, but also highlights the theme of hope that is found throughout the narrative. I think it also helps make these moments seem a little less frightening overall, which might be beneficial for younger readers.
Malala: Activist for Girls' Education would be a useful picturebook to use in almost any grade level. As mentioned above, it would be a great way to introduce students of any age to Malala Yousafzai, the concept of what it means to be an activist, and ideas about gender and equality. This picturebook might also serve as a great way to introduce biographies (and autobiographies) to younger readers. I think this book would appeal to our female students as it depicts the life of a strong, contemporary female activist, something that could be very empowering for girls. Malala: Activist for Girls' Education can also serve as a window into certain aspects of Pakistani culture by “[opening] the eyes of readers in the United States to circumstances in countries about which they have very limited knowledge” (Children’s Books in Children’s Hands, p. 120) and revealing the misogyny and fundamentalist terrorism of a group like the Taliban. This is all to say that Malala: Activist for Girls' Education could be used in the classroom for a variety of educational reasons, and would also be a useful tool creating an inclusive and social justice oriented classroom.
The story begins with Malala’s birth in 1997. We get to know a bit about her father, specifically that he founded the Khushal school - a detail that will be important to the story later. The book then depicts Malala’s early life as a child, contrasting her world, which is filled with a sense of freedom, with the reality of life in Pakistan, in which women and girls are treated as second class citizens. We then learn of Malala’s struggles, from being an activist for female education in Pakistan to her attempted assassination carried out by the Taliban. The book also depicts her accomplishments, most notably that she is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The final line of the book ends on the message that access to a quality education is something that all children across the globe should be freely granted.
This is not only a great picturebook, but a wonderful way to introduce young readers to an important political figure like Malala Yousafzai. The story is simple and straightforward, only highlighting a handful of momentous events in Malala’s life. There is a lot of text on each page, but the short sentences help make the text comprehensible for younger readers. The images are bold and colorful, and they have a childlike quality about them that I think would help draw in readers of any age. I also think the whimsical art style is at its best when it is placed in contrast with some of the more harrowing moments of the book, such as Malala’s village being burned down and the attempt on her life. I think using such brightly colored images helps demonstrate the importance of a figure like Malala, but also highlights the theme of hope that is found throughout the narrative. I think it also helps make these moments seem a little less frightening overall, which might be beneficial for younger readers.
Malala: Activist for Girls' Education would be a useful picturebook to use in almost any grade level. As mentioned above, it would be a great way to introduce students of any age to Malala Yousafzai, the concept of what it means to be an activist, and ideas about gender and equality. This picturebook might also serve as a great way to introduce biographies (and autobiographies) to younger readers. I think this book would appeal to our female students as it depicts the life of a strong, contemporary female activist, something that could be very empowering for girls. Malala: Activist for Girls' Education can also serve as a window into certain aspects of Pakistani culture by “[opening] the eyes of readers in the United States to circumstances in countries about which they have very limited knowledge” (Children’s Books in Children’s Hands, p. 120) and revealing the misogyny and fundamentalist terrorism of a group like the Taliban. This is all to say that Malala: Activist for Girls' Education could be used in the classroom for a variety of educational reasons, and would also be a useful tool creating an inclusive and social justice oriented classroom.