Two stories that depict real life child activists. Learn about Malala and Iqbal's story to see what it looks like to fight for children's rights, be brave, take a stand, and persevere through oppression, becoming a hero of Pakistan.
What is this story about?
This book discusses both the story of Malala and Iqbal, child activists from Pakistan. Malala defied the Taliban and fought for her right and the right of other girls, to go to school. She spoke out publicly about the importance of education. At the age of 15, she was shot by the Taliban and survived. Malala is still an active advocate for education. Furthermore, Iqbal was an activist that stood up against child labor. He was forced to work as a carpet maker to pay off a debt his family owed. Finally, the government outlawed that children could not be forced to work to pay off loans, freeing Iqbal and other child laborers. Iqbal continued to speak out, traveling across the country to free other children. Sadly, Iqbal was shot and killed at the age of 12 by people who opposed his cause.
Meet the Author:
Jeanette Winter
Jeanette Winter is a celebrated picture book creator whose acclaimed works include Diego; Oil; and The Secret Project, all written by Jonah Winter, and her own Sisters: Venus & Serena Williams; The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid; Nanuk the Ice Bear; Henri’s Scissors; Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia; Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan; and The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq.
-Simon and Schuster Publishing
My Critique/Review:
Before reading this book, I had heard of Malala and her story, however, had not heard about Iqbal, so I was eager to learn about him. This book does an amazing job of depicting both real life individuals, their oppression, and their perseverance. The images in this book were so detailed and real, depicting the events as they occurred. I love how this book included two different stories that both represent to readers that children can be advocates and create change. I think this book is a spectacular book to include in the classroom because it has a very valuable lesson. Lastly, this book meets my expectations of a good children's book because it is empowering, educational, visually appealing, and an overall essential lesson for children.
Thoughts:
Over the past couple of months we have been discussing critical literacy and how it plays a role in the classroom. I think this book would be a great book to introduce and further discuss critical literacy. "Lewison, Flint, and Van Sluys (2002) argue that critical literacy is a multifaceted practice characterized by four dimensions: 1) disrupting the commonplace, 2) interrogating multiple viewpoints, 3) focusing on sociopolitical issues, and 4) taking action and promoting social justice" (Edwards, n.d.). This book is from the perspective of two real life, marginalized, young child activists, which are not typical viewpoints in children's books. Furthermore, this book introduces and educates students on the issues of child labor and the right of education for all, which are huge issues affecting people world wide. A quote that I love from the article "WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom", comes from 5th grade teacher Amy Edwards reading: "My work as a teacher is not to define the issues for them, but to engage them in learning experiences and literature that support and challenge them to define these issues for themselves" (Edwards, n.d.). I think this quote is so important because part of critical literacy requires students to take action and promote social justice. By engaging students in learning about issues through literature, it allows them to critically think about a book and form their own opinions, giving them more advanced knowledge to take action. It is imperative that we engage students in critical literacy so they can gain the skills and practice to read and manipulate critical texts in the future.
A huge theme from both stories in this book is being brave and taking a stand. Both Malala and Iqbal recognize the oppression in their lives and stand up for it. Not only are they standing up for themselves and others affected, but they are inspiring and creating change for children around the globe. Malala took a stand against the Taliban, a terrorist group who was burning schools and killing students and teachers in an attempt to keep girls from getting an education. Iqbal took a stand against the carpet trade and ultimately, all organizations who endorsed child labor. (Winter, 2014). Both of their actions stirred much conflict, but created a change much bigger. Their actions made them heroes in their home country of Pakistan and continue to make a difference today across the world.
One thing that really stood out to me from this book were the illustrations. The illustrations that incorporated a kite, a symbol throughout the book, really stood out to me in particular. I noticed that in both stories, a kite can be seen in the background in almost every picture. To me, I took the kite as being a representation of Malala and Iqbal's voices and speaking up for what they believed in. The image in the center of the book where both Iqbal and Malala are depicted together with their kites really struck me as powerful. In this image, Malala is holding onto the string of her kite, while Iqbal seems to have let his string free. To me, this represents their fight to speak out against oppression. Malala continues to fight for education today which is why she is still holding onto her kite. Iqbal, sadly was killed because of his advocacy, however, his kite looks as if it is floating over to Malala. This could mean that yes he is physically gone, which is why he is colored white, however, his advocacy and work is not gone. He has passed it on to others like Malala to continue the fight for children's rights.
The question of "who had the power to make choices for a better world" is a very important and prominent question to raise for this book. In this book, Malala and Iqbal had the power to make choices to create a better world for themselves and for others. The important thing about Malala and Iqbal is not only do they represent marginalized groups, but they are children. This detail makes the book so powerful and necessary to incorporate into a classroom, showing students that they too can create change. Children have the power to speak up when they notice an injustice and should advocate for it. So, this book is a wonderful example of two real life children who did just that.
Making Connections:
When thinking about how to incorporate this book into the classroom, there are thousands of ideas that jump into my head. First, I would read this book to students and discuss Malala and Iqbal's stories. I would make sure to show video clips, images, newspaper clippings, and other artifacts about these real life individuals to make the story more real for students (Laminack & Kelly, 2019, pg. 89). Then, I would ask students "after reading these stories, what are you inspired to do? What do they make you want to be brave, stand up, and speak out about? Do you notice any injustices or things that are not fair in our school, classroom, community?" Students could either think about and brainstorm ideas or do a quick write about this. I think it would be important to discuss some ideas and make a class list of what students want to stand up against and how they can do this. In the chapter, Advocating for Change, students took action by raising money to build a school, wrote a book, wrote and performed a play, and made connections to real life people when taking a stand against bullying and raising awareness about a friend who does not have a school building to get an education (Laminack & Kelly, 2019, pg. 88). I think it is so important to bring this advocacy discussion into the classroom and really have students think about themselves and what they can do in real life. A quote from the article that really stood out to me is: "Even young children can take a stand on issues that affect their classroom, school, or communities when we make it relevant to their lives and their curiosities" (Laminack & Kelly, 2019, pg. 88). This shows how important it is to show students examples of real life advocates and encourage them to be one.
Another activity that could be done in relation to this book is to create a venn diagram. This diagram would have students compare and contrast Malala and Iqbal, just like chapter 5 did with Rosa Parks and Malala (Laminack & Kelly, 2019, pg. 94). I think this would allow students to dive deeper into these individuals, put themselves in their shoes, and think more critically about the book.
Useful Links:
Educators guide provided by the author: http://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/tagged_assets/15510/jeanette%20winter_cg.pdf
Bonded Labor Liberation Front of Pakistan (Iqbal's story): https://www.endslaverynow.org/bonded-labour-liberation-front
Malala's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hx0ajieM3M
Resources on teaching who the Taliban are for kids: https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Taliban/627261
Resources: https://wowlit.org/catalog/9781481422949/
About the author: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Jeanette-Winter/64041479
Children's books set in Pakistan: https://coloursofus.com/childrens-books-set-in-pakistan/
Iqbal's story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXpUwIeaZNo
Ted Talk by Malala's father Ziauddin Yousafzai: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4mmeN8gv9o
Teaching resources: https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=42474
Malala discussing her book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGL6YY6oMs
Malala's UN speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SClmL43dTo
Reebok Human Rights Award Iqbal received in 1994: https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Reebok_Human_Rights_Award
Sources:
Edwards, A. (n.d.). WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom. Retrieved from
Jeanette Winter. Photo of Author Jeanette Winter. Reprinted from TeachingBooks.net, n.d., Retrieved from
Laminack, L. L. & Kelly, K. (2019). Advocating for Change. Reading to make a Difference. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Winter, J. (2014) Malala: a Brave Girl from Pakistan & Iqbal: a Brave Boy from Pakistan. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division.