Stories Like Me
The Camel Library: A True Story from Pakistan
The Camel Library: A True Story from Pakistan
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Hardcover
Synopsis
Meet Roshan the camel. He spends his days carrying firewood with his human, Murad, to feed their family. One day, a pandemic sweeps through their home country of Pakistan, closing the schools and public libraries. Many children, especially in rural areas, were left without access to learning materials.
Then Roshan and Murad get a call from an organization that wants to help, and they accept a new mission: instead of carrying firewood, they'll carry books. Day after day, they set out to different villages, Roshan's back loaded with books to lend out to the children they meet. But they don't just bring stories—they also carry joy, hope, and connection.
Alongside warm and soft illustrations by Anain Shaikh, Marzieh Abbas lovingly weaves the heartfelt true story of Pakistan's first camel library, which reconnected Pakistani children to the light of books in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The back of the book includes photos and more information about the camel library program, as well as fun facts about camels.
Author
Raised between the bustling cities of Dubai, UAE and Karachi, Pakistan, Marzieh Abbas loves traveling, baking, reading and samosas. She is also the author of A Dupatta Is... and Henna Is…, a member of SCBWI, 12x12PB, and a life-long learner. authormarzieh.wordpress.com
Illustrator
Anain Shaikh is an illustrator and communication designer based in Karachi, Pakistan. She graduated from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture with a major in Design and a minor in Illustration. She loves reading books and believes they are doors to tiny universes in your hands. In her free time you would usually find her painting murals on the furniture around her house or playing games on her Switch. She is a huge animal lover and has two cats named Bunny and Smoll.
Praise
* "Roshan’s naivete adds humor and creates an authentically childlike voice that engages young readers and makes it easy to follow the narrative. ... Shaikh’s digital illustrations show the contrast between Roshan’s 'dull and dreary' life before the pandemic and the joyful exuberance he helped to foster in the communities he served. ... This celebration of creativity and resilience is a first purchase for school and public libraries." —School Library Journal, starred review
"This is a true story, outfitting readers with additional information in the back matter, that shines in its charm and substance—a story of hope and hard work in the face of gloom and a reminder of the power of books to free us from our worries." —Booklist
"Based on true events and told from Roshan’s perspective, this heartening story traces the origin of camel libraries across rural Pakistan. Abbas’ earnestly enthusiastic prose captures the ways that Murad’s and Roshan’s lives shift from a mundane existence to one devoted to brightening the lives of children in gloomy times. ... In Shaikh’s illustrations, earth tones depicting the dusty desert contrast with brightly colored textiles and the cheer-filled youngsters. An uplifting tale about spreading the joy of reading." —Kirkus Reviews
Product Details
ISBN: 9781250322029
32 pages
9.1 in H | 11.2 in W | 0.4 in T | 0.9 lb Wt
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