Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq [Hardcover]

Mark Alan Stamaty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 2004 | Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

The inspiring story of an Iraqi librarian's courageous fight to save books from the Basra Central Library before it was destroyed in the war.
It is 2003 and Alia Muhammad Baker, the chief librarian of the Central Library in Basra, Iraq, has grown worried given the increased likelihood of war in her country. Determined to preserve the irreplacable records of the culture and history of the land on which she lives from the destruction of the war, Alia undertakes a courageous and extremely dangerous task of spiriting away 30,000 books from the library to a safe place.
Told in dramatic graphic-novel panels by acclaimed cartoonist Mark Alan Stamaty, Alia's Mission celebrates the importance of books and the freedom to read, while examining the impact of war on a country and its people.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–A New York Times Book Review cartoonist recounts the heroic story of Iraqi librarian Alia Muhammad Baker in a swift, 32-page, comic-book format. Stamaty's soft gray-and-beige panels realistically capture Baker's tremendous undertaking as she rescues over 30,000 volumes from her library in Basra before it's besieged. The drawings themselves intensify the traumatic story, and the in-your-face, all-caps dialogue bubbles enhance the sense of impending doom about to befall the library and the people. A fast-paced and informative Middle Eastern study for younger audiences.–Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 4-7. The story of Iraqi librarian Alia Muhammed Baker, who, fearing looting and bombs, hid more than 30,000 books prior to the invasion of Iraq, is so compelling that two author-illustrators have retold it: Jeanette Winter, in her parable-like picture book The Librarian of Basra [BKL D 1 04], and Stamaty, in this graphic novel. Sequential panels concisely depict complex sequences of actions and emotions, allowing Stamaty to pack more detail into 32 pages than is possible in a traditional picture book. Stamaty's black-and-white ink, graphite, and wash artwork is equally nuanced; one can even discern the eerie, flickering shadows cast by the burning library across townspeople's faces. Younger readers will be instantly drawn by the story's anthropomorphic book emcee, but this sophisticated and timely work will also appeal to adult admirers of Spiegelman's Maus books and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis memoirs. An afterword about historical libraries of the Middle East sidesteps the knotty issue of current developments in Iraq, and Stamaty provides no source notes. Nonetheless, readers will come away powerfully moved by the expression of civilian life in the midst of wartime chaos. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; First edition (December 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375832173
• ISBN-13: 978-0375832178
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.4 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,048,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > Children's Books > History > Middle East

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, October 23, 2005

By 

psychprof "psychprof" (CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq (Library Binding)

This book is topical and beautfully illustrated. It is an excellent book to introduce children to the war in Iraq in a nonpolitical way and to break some stereotypes: I appreciated the strong but caring Muslim woman and the men who helped her. Adults will enjoy reading this book with their children, too, because of the good story and the wonderful drawings. (I am a child psychology professor).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have book, March 20, 2006

By 

J. Potter "teaching for meaning" (Portland, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq (Hardcover)

If you are teaching about the war in Iraq at any grade level this is a book you must have. Written in comic book format it is edgy enough to engage high school students and simple enough for upper elementary students to understand. It raises very fundamental questions about what we value and offers rich potential for classroom discussion. It has been reprinted in Arabic. Does Amazon have access to the Arabic version?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding intro to the heroes & tragedies of war, January 17, 2007

By 

C. Meiman (Washington, DC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq (Hardcover)

I've struggled for a while with how to introduce my 7-year-old to the reality of war, and this book provided the opening I was looking for. The focus is on the non-political actions of a strong, intelligent, middle-aged Muslim woman (headscarf and all) whose commitment to knowledge and history causes three-quarters of the books in the Basra library to be saved from destruction. Yet the unavoidable backdrop is the current war. The book does a good job of not explicitly naming names/ countries -- the only political figure specifically named is Saddam, who is described as a highly unpopular tyrant. But it led my child to ask questions -- why is the war happening? who started it? why do people loot? who dropped the bombs? etc. -- that led to difficult answers. But I was glad to have an opportunity to open this discussion with her at her pace, and to give her a positive figure/ action to focus on at the same time as she considers the tragedies of war.