CCBC-Net Archives
[CCBC-Net] Post-9/11 Publishing: Ask Me No Questions
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman>
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:36:47 -0500
One new book I can think of that addresses changes in our post-9/11 world is "Ask Me No Questions" by Marina Budhos, which looks at the life of Nadira, a fourteen-year-old girl whose family immigrated illegally to the United States. They live in New York. Because they are illegal Muslim immigrants (originally from Bandladesh), a U.S. government that paid them no notice prior to the events of 9/11 becomes a danger and a threat in its aftermath, when any Muslim in the country became, it seemed, a suspected threat in the eyes of many. Nadira's father is arrested when her family tries to cross the border into Canada. which represented relattive safety in their minds. He becomes--like many people they know--the subject of an investigation and threatened with deportation. And Nadira and her sister are left to cope on their own with carrying on with their lives
Budhos's novel tells a story that is specific to her fictional characters and yet represents the reality of lives for many Muslims in this country--illegally or not--after 9/11. It illuminates for teens one of the many ways 9/11 has changed our country and the world in which we live.
Literature can help children and teens understand why they should care about something that they may have known little or nothing about prior to cracking the covers of a book. Whether or not they will care is another matter--one that is individual to the reader. But as in many books that seek to inform us about our world, it certainly seems it must have been a strong motivation for the author--to help teens to understand what is happening, and to encourage them to give a damn. For other readers, of course, it's a book that may come close to making visibile the reality of their own lives.
Megan
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:36:47 -0500
One new book I can think of that addresses changes in our post-9/11 world is "Ask Me No Questions" by Marina Budhos, which looks at the life of Nadira, a fourteen-year-old girl whose family immigrated illegally to the United States. They live in New York. Because they are illegal Muslim immigrants (originally from Bandladesh), a U.S. government that paid them no notice prior to the events of 9/11 becomes a danger and a threat in its aftermath, when any Muslim in the country became, it seemed, a suspected threat in the eyes of many. Nadira's father is arrested when her family tries to cross the border into Canada. which represented relattive safety in their minds. He becomes--like many people they know--the subject of an investigation and threatened with deportation. And Nadira and her sister are left to cope on their own with carrying on with their lives
Budhos's novel tells a story that is specific to her fictional characters and yet represents the reality of lives for many Muslims in this country--illegally or not--after 9/11. It illuminates for teens one of the many ways 9/11 has changed our country and the world in which we live.
Literature can help children and teens understand why they should care about something that they may have known little or nothing about prior to cracking the covers of a book. Whether or not they will care is another matter--one that is individual to the reader. But as in many books that seek to inform us about our world, it certainly seems it must have been a strong motivation for the author--to help teens to understand what is happening, and to encourage them to give a damn. For other readers, of course, it's a book that may come close to making visibile the reality of their own lives.
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, UW-Madison 600 N. Park St., Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706 ph: 608-262-9503 fax: 608-262-4933 schliesman at education.wisc.eduReceived on Wed 06 Sep 2006 11:36:47 AM CDT
