The Librarian of Basra - Jeanette Winter - ★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Jeanette Winter

GENRE: Children's Picture Book

PUBLICATION DATE: January 1, 2005

RATING: 3.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A picture book about a real-life Iraqi librarian who saved books during the 2003 attacks on the country. Great intent, decent execution. Doesn't fill all gaps due to the limitation of format. A good way to learn about a brave woman.

"In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was ‘Read’." – Alia Muhammad Baker.

Alia Muhammad Baker was the chief librarian working with the Central Library in the Iraqi port city of Basra. The library was a welcoming place for all bibliophiles to indulge in bookish discussions. But when news of the war came , the discussions changed to personal issues such as anxiety and uncertainty. Alia was also worried that her beloved books would be destroyed in the fires of war. When the governor refused to give her permission to move out the books, several of which were rare old editions, Alia took matters into her own hands. The rest of the story shows us how she, taking help from some other members of the community, saved thirty thousand books. Just nine days after she moved out whatever books she could, the library burnt down.

The above snippet from Alia’s life should be more than enough to tell you that the book is about yet another ordinary, extraordinary woman whom the world will hardly remember. But book lovers ought to respect her efforts: she almost single-handedly saved 70% of her library's collection using the little resources she had available. Her story is one of courage, faith, and determination.

Unfortunately, the book decides to stick mainly to the above event and offers no other important details. We do not learn basic details such as Alia's age or her family members or her qualifications or how long she had been working with the library. Even the year of the attack and the identity of the attacking nation isn't revealed, forget about the purpose of the war. The story is thus quite vague in details.

I'd have still accepted the above as a deliberate writing choice to keep the picture book simple and straightforward for its young readers. But what I find tougher to understand is why the book ended with Alia's dream of rebuilding the library after the war. Even the author's note doesn't specify the further fate of the library. The library was destroyed in 2003 but it was rebuilt within a year, and Baker was even reinstated as its chief librarian. This book was published in 2005. So it could have easily incorporated that final detail and left its little readers happier. Bittersweet endings, even if hopeful, aren't for picture books!

The book makes good use of the page space. The illustrations on each page are in a box slightly more than 50% of the page length in size. The text, relatively easy to understand considering the slightly-brutal content, is written under the above box in a neat sans serif typeface, with not more than 4-5 sentences at the most per page.

The illustrations, drawn by the author herself, are in watercolour style. They look like drawings from old-timey children's books, making the story appear a bit more historical than it is. Regardless, they complement the writing well. The scenes of war and fire and rifle-wielding soldiers might be a bit upsetting to younger kids, even though the graphics cleverly use subtle hues for the scarier scenes, thereby mitigating the effect.

Despite the issues, the book still works well to highlight an unsung hero who helped save her library’s books from destruction. I've never read any picture book set in Iraq, so it's great to see the place being used in such an inspiring true story.

Recommended. This ought to work well for classroom discussions on the futility of war, of the difference even a single determined person can make, and on how obsessed bibliophiles can get when it comes to their books. 🤭 The official target age is readers aged 4 to 7 years. (Grades P to 3)

This was a library read.