The Librarian of Basra

Winter, Jeanette. The Librarian of Basra: A true story from Iraq. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. 2005.

Being a librarian, I love books that focus on libraries, librarians, and books. The Librarian of Basra is a picture book which does just that. Jeanette Winter has written and illustrated an informative book about the saving of the library of Basra during the Iraq War. She talks about the care and concern Alia Baker had for the books in her library. “The books are in every language – new books, ancient books, even a biography of Muhammad that is seven hundred years old.” Alia smuggled the books to her home after the governor refused permission to move them. Saving the books was more important to Alia than obeying the governor. Because of her willingness to disobey – 30,000 books were saved before the library building was destroyed.

Jeanette Winter used acrylic and pen on watercolor paper to create her illustrations which complement the text.

The students are always amazed that this really happened. I am happy to share a little bit of Iraq history with them through this book.

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq is available from Amazon. Thank you for using my affiliate link which helps support this children’s literature blog.