Patrons & Partnerships Podcast, presented by the Library Partnership Branch of the Alachua County Library District, hosted Sharon Brown, founder of Book Thrasher, a book review website covering a wide range of genres and topics.
Ep 38: Book Thrasher with Sharon Brown
https://bookthrasher.com/2022/06/18/nours-secret-library/Click Here to Listen to 17 minutes of books, reading, and library talk!
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Nour’s Secret Library Review by Sharon Brown
I’ve been quiet for a while, reading a lot but not writing much. Now I’m back with a review of a children’s book. Baby steps.
It’s impossible not to think of Ukraine when you read Nour’s Secret Library which is set in war-torn Syria.
Nour and her cousin Amir live in Damascus (which means fragrant place) and the illustrations by Vali Mintzi present a life filled with fruit trees and charming houses, gardens and cats. The kids love to adventure together, reading stories and pretending to be detectives. They want to form a secret society complete with a secret handshake!
One day the war arrives with its shelling and loud explosions. Soon all the neighbors gather in a basement where they’re crowded together and hungry, but safe.
They can see the city through the street-level window and it looks just like the images from Ukraine look – everything in ruins.
During lulls in the fighting brave Amir ventures out on his bicycle to find food for his family and friends. Along the way he starts to pick up books he finds on the streets and in crumbling buildings.
Soon Nour and other friends start helping him collect books and next thing you know they decide to find a location for a secret library, one for everyone to enjoy. It would soon become “a safe port in a sea of war.”
It felt safe and wonderful to be surrounded by books from floor to ceiling…”
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