Awards

• Commended for CCBC Spring Best Books for Kids & Teens 2022 (Canada)
• Short-listed for Harvard Book Store New This Week: Kids & Young Adult 2021 (United States)
• Short-listed for Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2021 Celebrating Community 2021 (United States)
• Short-listed for The New York Times What to Read: Four Children's Books 2021 (United States)
• Short-listed for The New York Times “What to Read: Four Children’s Books” 2021 (United States)
• Winner of ALA Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book 2022 (United States)
• Winner of Foreword Reviews Book of The Day (Nov 3rd) 2021 (United States)

Overview

It's Afghan schoolgirl Aria's first day back at school since her accident. She's excited, but she's also worried about sitting on the hard floor all day with her new prosthetic ""helper-leg."" Just as Aria feared, sitting on the floor is so uncomfortable that she can't think about learning at all. She knows that before the war changed many things in Afghanistan, schools like hers had benches for students to sit at. If she had a bench, her leg would not hurt so much. The answer is obvious: she will gather materials, talk to Kaka Najar, the carpenter in the old city, and learn to build a bench for herself. In A Sky-Blue Bench, Bahram Rahman, author of The Library Bus, returns again to the setting of his homeland, Afghanistan, to reveal the resilience and resolve of young children-especially young girls-who face barriers to education. Illustrator Peggy Collins imbues Aria with an infectious spunkiness and grit that make her relatable even to readers with a very different school experience. An author's note gently introduces an age-appropriate discussion of landmines and their impact on the lives of children in many nations, especially Afghanistan, which has the highest concentration of landmines of any country in the world. Don't miss The Library Bus,also by Bahram Rahman Winner of the Middle East Book Award Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award Finalist for the Florida Literary Association Children's Book Award Finalist for the OLA Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award Winner of the Northern Lights Book Award: Multicultural Category

Full Product Details

9781772782226

Table of Contents

Reviews

Praise for A Sky-Blue Bench 2021 The New York Times What to Read: Four Children's Books selection 2021 Kirkus Reviews 'Best Books of 2021 Celebrating Community' selection 2021 Foreword Reviews Book of The Day (Nov 3rd) 2021 Harvard Book Store New This Week: Kids & Young Adult selection 2021 Quill & Quire 2021 Best of Fall guide: Kids' books selection 2021 49th Shelf Books for Back to School selection STARRED REVIEW A timely, eye-opening portrait of resilience, community, and hope. -Kirkus Reviews Together with her mother and brother, Aria decides to build a bench herself, painting it skyblue: the color of courage, peace and wisdom. -Foreword Reviews [A] heartwarming story about a resilient young girl who faces a barrier to her education. -Quill & Quire Illustrator Peggy Collins imbues Aria with an infectious spunkiness and grit that make her relatable even to readers with a very different school experience. An author's note gently introduces an age-appropriate discussion of landmines and their impact on the lives of children in many nations, especially Afghanistan... -CBC Books How beautiful and heart-breaking to read this lovely picture book about a young girl...who finds a way to be comfortable at school by building her own bench. The ingenuity and determination of Afghani women and girls is explored... -Youth Services Book Review The narrative was powerful and impactful and drew specifically on some experiences the author had growing up in Afghanistan. There is an authors note with terms that I think will be helpful to parents/caregivers if they read this will children. -Bookishrealm, Goodreads [An] inspiring story of resilience, determination, and grit. -Little Bookworm Club Peggy Collins fills her spreads...with digital artwork that reveals the emotions felt, the support of community, and the determination of a child to make a difference for herself and others... -Sal's Fiction Addiction Beautiful story, beautiful lessons and beautiful illustrations... -Book Time

Praise for A Sky-Blue Bench [A] heartwarming story about a resilient young girl who faces a barrier to her education. -Quill & Quire

Praise for A Sky-Blue Bench 2021 Quill & Quire 2021 Best of Fall guide: Kids' books selection 2021 49th Shelf Books for Back to School selection STARRED REVIEW A timely, eye-opening portrait of resilience, community, and hope. -Kirkus Reviews Together with her mother and brother, Aria decides to build a bench herself, painting it skyblue: the color of courage, peace and wisdom. -Foreword Reviews [A] heartwarming story about a resilient young girl who faces a barrier to her education. -Quill & Quire How beautiful and heart-breaking to read this lovely picture book about a young girl...who finds a way to be comfortable at school by building her own bench. The ingenuity and determination of Afghani women and girls is explored... -Youth Services Book Review The narrative was powerful and impactful and drew specifically on some experiences the author had growing up in Afghanistan. There is an authors note with terms that I think will be helpful to parents/caregivers if they read this will children. -Bookishrealm, Goodreads

Praise for A Sky-Blue Bench STARRED REVIEW A timely, eye-opening portrait of resilience, community, and hope. -Kirkus Reviews [A] heartwarming story about a resilient young girl who faces a barrier to her education. -Quill & Quire

Author Information

Bahram Rahman was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and grew up during the civil war and the Taliban regime. He earned a medical degree at Kabul Medical University and a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Erfurt, Germany, while also working as an activist in Afghanistan in the areas of gender equality and youth political participation. Bahram came to Canada as a refugee in 2012, and today he is a senior policy advisor at the Ministry of Health in Ontario. His first picture book, Governor General’s Literary Award finalist The Library Bus, was praised by the New York Times for documenting the barriers to education experienced by girls in war-torn countries and their resilience and ingenuity in overcoming them. His Fall 2021 picture book A Sky-Blue Bench has received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, which calls it “a timely, eye-opening portrait of resilience, community, and hope.” Peggy Collins is an award-winning children’s book author-illustrator with more than 35 titles to her name, including Hungry for Math: Poems to Munch On, In the Snow, and In the Garden. She has also written and illustrated for animated apps teaching math, indigenous history, and education. Peggy lives in Newburgh, Ontario with her two children. 

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