Winner of the Middle East Book Award, Youth Fiction category
Jameela lives with her mother and father in Afghanistan. Despite the fact that there is no school in their poor, war-torn village, and Jameela lives with a birth defect that has left her with a cleft lip, she feels relatively secure, sustained by her faith and the strength of her beloved mother, Mor.
But when Mor suddenly dies, Jameela's father impulsively decides to seek a new life in Kabul. He remarries, a situation that turns Jameela into a virtual slave to her demanding stepmother. When the stepmother discovers that Jameela is trying to learn to read, she urges her father to simply abandon the child in Kabul's busy marketplace. Jameela ends up in an orphanage.
Throughout it all, it is the memory of Mor that anchors her and in the end gives Jameela the strength to face her father and stepmother when fate brings them into her life again.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
Winner of the Middle East Book Award, Youth Fiction category
Jameela lives with her mother and father in Afghanistan. Despite the fact that there is no school in their poor, war-torn village, and Jameela lives with a birth defect that has left her with a cleft lip, she feels relatively secure, sustained by her faith and the strength of her beloved mother, Mor.
But when Mor suddenly dies, Jameela's father impulsively decides to seek a new life in Kabul. He remarries, a situation that turns Jameela into a virtual slave to her demanding stepmother. When the stepmother discovers that Jameela is trying to learn to read, she urges her father to simply abandon the child in Kabul's busy marketplace. Jameela ends up in an orphanage.
Throughout it all, it is the memory of Mor that anchors her and in the end gives Jameela the strength to face her father and stepmother when fate brings them into her life again.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — May 1, 2009 |
| Specifications | 192 pages | 5 in x 7.5 in |
| Keywords | birth defect; cleft palette; Middle East; war and conflict; Afghanistan; identity; death and bereavement; family and family issues; growing up; courage; perseverance; respect for others; respect for self; first person narration; child as narrator; determining importance; visualizing; imagining; Common Core aligned; CC Literature Key Ideas and Details; CC Literature Craft and Structure; CC Literature Integration of Knowledge and Ideas; grade 4; grade 5; grade 6; Middle East Book Award; fiction; |
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Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
Excerpt |
| Written By |
RUKHSANA KHAN is an award-winning author and storyteller. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, she is an expert on books with international and Muslim themes. She has presented at schools and communities across Canada and the US, as well as at the 2006 ALA Conference in New Orleans and the 2008 IBBY Congress in Denmark. Her book, Wanting Mor won the Middle East Book Award. Rukhsana lives in Toronto with her family. |
| Written By |
|
RUKHSANA KHAN is an award-winning author and storyteller. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, she is an expert on books with international and Muslim themes. She has presented at schools and communities across Canada and the US, as well as at the 2006 ALA Conference in New Orleans and the 2008 IBBY Congress in Denmark. Her book, Wanting Mor won the Middle East Book Award. Rukhsana lives in Toronto with her family. |
| Audience | ages 10 to 14 / grades 5 to 9 |
| Reading Levels | Lexile 580L |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 |
Winner, Middle East Book Award, 2009
Long-listed, CYBIL Awards, 2009
Commended, SSLI Honor Book, 2009
Commended, USBBY Outstanding International Books, 2010
Commended, IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, 2010
Commended, Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens, 2010
Short-listed, Muslim Writers Awards Childrens Book, 2011
“...[T]he storyteller's descriptive language is lovely... Her characters are realistic...Young readers' eyes will be opened to life in another culture. Teens will enjoy this book, especially if the liked Three Cups of Tea...” —VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
“...Khan's account of [Jameela's] life...makes for good reading. As narrator, Jameela looks out in the world of Islamic Afghanistan from behind her chador, and it is her perspective...of that world that gives this book both its immediacy and its singularity.” —Globe and Mail
“...The unique hero sees open roads, where others might only squint at dead ends.” —Children's Book News
“A searing opening chapter...will draw readers into [Jameela's] story...[Readers] will certainly sympathize with her and rejoice in the ultimate outcome.” —Horn Book