Amal Unbound written by Aisha Saeed. Aisha is a Pakistani American who now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and sons. Aisha speaks fluently in three languages (Urdu, Punjabi, and English), and has started writing as soon as she learned how to use a paper and pencil. She also loved reading, and learned to read when she was three years old. To learn more about her and her other books, check out her website at http://aishasaeed.com. Jeanette Winter is a celebrated picture book creator who has written and illustrated other books such as Our House is on Fire, Oil, and The world is not Rectangle. I wasn't able to find a lot of detailed information about Jeanette Winter, but check out the official publisher page to learn more about her other books at https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Jeanette-Winter/64041479. Amal UnboundFor this week’s reading, I was fortunate to read the book Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed. I don’t even know where to begin with this because it was such an enjoyable book. There were many things that I loved about this book. I loved the character in this book. Amal is the oldest daughter in her family. She has two younger sisters Safa and Rabia. Her mother later gave birth to another sister, Lubna, which she was not able to be part of her life growing up. Amal had stood up for what she believed was right against Jawad Sahib, the local landowner who was known for his cruel punishments. Ever since that moment, Amal’s life had changed. In order to repay her family’s debt, Jawad decided to have her work in his house away from her family. She left home to live and work in a new and unfamiliar environment where her dreams of going to college and becoming a teacher began to slowly vanish away from her. This story is about how Amal finds the courage to get through this adjustment, and found her courage to stand up for what she believed in. I really loved this book because of her courage and love for books. Amal depended on books to get her through the hardships of adjusting in a new place and away from home. It was the only thing that made it bearable for her. This is one of the reason why I think this is such a powerful book is because it shows the importance of having books, and how powerful it can be. To Amal, it wasn’t just a book. Books were her hope. It helped her cope with her situation, which is not a common thing in America. Children now a days aren’t very into books, yet Aisha was able to show us a perspective that proved us wrong, or at least me. Who knew that a book can be that powerful to a child? It’s absolutely amazing! There were also some connections I made while reading it, specifically the beginning of the book. Amal described and expressed the regret and disappointment her parents looked when her baby sister, Lubna, was born. She tried to ignore it, but the image kept flashing back to her. The conversation that she had with her mother on page 58 was heart breaking to me personally because I can relate to her. Amal: “Why is having a boy all anyone can talk about? Mom: “Who else will care for us in our old age? Who will run the farm and keep your grandfather’s dream alive?” Amal: “I could. Seema and I both would.” Mom: “You will get married one day. Then you’ll belong to a new family.” Amal: “But I’m part of this family!” This is how I feel as well. Just like Amal, I couldn’t understand why a son was better than a daughter. In the Hmong culture, having a son meant you had an heir to carry on your last name and carry on the family heritage/tradition. Having daughters were good, but it will NEVER be the same as having a son. Even if I were to graduate with my Masters degree in Reading Education, it wouldn’t change anything for them. I wouldn’t make my parents any prouder, well more like I couldn’t make them any prouder because I am a girl. Because I was born as a girl, all my accomplishments will be seen as wasted and unimportant because it will only benefit another family. I wouldn’t be able to come back to my family and use my knowledge to benefit them. That is how it is in the Hmong culture. The frustration is real and painful, so when I read this part, I really feel for Amal and her pain. To see the disappointment in your parents’ eyes is one of the worst feelings EVER that any child can experience. It’s not our fault that we were born as girls, and we never chose it. All we wanted was to be loved regardless of our gender, and to love our family. That simple yet so complicated ideology is so hard to obtain in cultures like Amal and mine. It’s something that we’ll have to keep fighting and prove to them that we are just as capable as sons are to them. Going along with this, on page 161 where Amal comes back home for the wedding, she was told to relax because she was their “guest” now. Her reaction was this: “They meant it kindly. But to call me a guest in the only place I ever belonged—the word cut like a jagged stone against my heart.” First of all, that last sentence was beautifully written. And secondly, I really resonated with that. As a Hmong women, being married off is like getting cut off from the family. Whenever we come back to visit our family again after getting married, we are viewed not as a daughter, but a guest. We no longer live with our parents, which makes us a guest in their eyes. That is why they say when you get married, it will no longer be the same as it used to. At least for the daughters. We are their daughter, but they have to treat us like an outsider. I see this everyday as my sister-in-law struggle with this and my older sister as well. Coming back to visit my parents, my older sister is not treated like the older sister that I grew up knowing, but a guest that my parents speak carefully to now. It’s as if they never knew her or watched her grew up. It breaks my heart to even think about how they would treat me when I get married, but I am determined to break that cultural aspect of it because no matter what, they are my parents and I will ALWAYS love them to my best ability. Sorry, going off on a tangent here, but I promise you it’s related. As I read that part, it broke my heart even more for Amal because it wasn’t like she was married off. She was forced to leave everything that she knew and yet to be called a “guest”…was heart breaking even for me. I really felt her pain and sadness there. Again, it’s something that women like Amal and I have to face and stand up for what we believe is right even if it goes against our cultural norms. Apart from that, I really liked how her character developed throughout the story as well. She was a child in my eyes who went to school and dreamed of what she could become. However, when she was taken away from her family, she was forced to stand on her own. This is a very difficult thing to do as a child. I can’t even imagine how scary that was for her. I loved how she transformed and became more mature than before. After working and living in Jawad’s house, she started to see the freedom that she truly had, and then started comparing her freedom with Nasreen’s freedom. Nasreen is Jawad’s mother and the one in charge of Amal. In other words, Amal is her servant. Nasreen treated Amal better than Jawad did. In fact, she was very fond of Amal through their talks, and it was through their talks that Amal had seen that even though Nasreen was rich, she was trapped within her own cage as well. As rich as Nasreen was, she was not able to see the people who she wanted to see nor do what she wanted to do. Amal described her cage as “nicer than mine, but it was still a cage”. Nasreen could have all the freedom she wanted if she knew how to break the chains that bounded her, but she didn’t unlike Amal. One thing Amal had from the very beginning was her voice. Yes she was scared and felt guilty for speaking up to Jawad, but that never stopped her from standing up continuously in what she believed in. Having her dreams and hope ripped away from her so unfairly broke her heart, yet it was part of the reason why she never gave up either. She kept fighting for her dreams, for her freedom to come true, and at last she did. Through all of this, Amal learned that life is not always fair. It’s something that we all can relate to no matter what age you are. She hated that phrase from her father, but her experiences changed that hate into reality for her. Therefore, it was a life changing experience for Amal amidst all the hardships she went through. I want to go on and on about this book because there is still more to say, but I also want to discuss Malala and Iqbal who were like Amal, brave and courageously standing up for what they believed in. Malala and Iqbal: Brave children from PakistanThis book was extraordinary in terms of power and voice. Malala and Iqbal were both born in Pakistan yet both had different experiences in injustice rights. Malala stood up for her right to education. Despite being threatened, she continued on this fight for women to take a stand and fight for education and the things they believed in. She was shot on a school van going back home. Fortunately for her, she survived from the gunshot. As for Iqbal, he was sold off by his father for twelve dollars. His family was in debt, like Amal, and in order to pay it off, he had to work for the carpet factory. He later freed himself from this debt and child labor, and spoke up against for all children. "Children should have pens in their hands, not tools" stated Iqbal. He, too, was shot one day, however, he was not fortunate enough to survive the gunshot and passed away. Both of these were brave individuals, yet they were just children. This made me realize that anyone can take a stand, and that children see the world just as how we see the world. Just like how Laminack and Kelly stated in Reading to Make a Difference (2019), “Apathy is an easy leader to follow, especially when our own life, your own way of being, is not threatened. Our experiences has shown that children see injustice more easily and more clearly than many adults do. Children are more likely to become incensed by conditions that they deem “not fair.” Children believe they can make a difference in this big wide world. And we believe in children.” I think that says a lot about how children see this world and how they see injustice. Children all around the world are fighting for something they believe in. I wonder, what are you fighting for? It doesn't have to be something big like what Amal, Malala, and Iqbal were fighting for. It can be anything you feel like is the right thing to do in your life. I think that's also the beauty of this message for "standing up for what you believe in" because it's SO much more than just injustice in the world. It can be injustice within your culture or family like me. I, too, am fighting a battle of what I believe is right. No one has to agree with you. If you feel like it's injustice, then do something about it. I think that's why I really enjoyed these two books. A scene that I want to talk a little bit about was the middle spread where Malala and Iqbal's world meets (shown below). When I first saw it, I saw it as Malala passing the torch on to Iqbal or vice versa. It shows that their story connects and that they were the same. In a way, they were supporting one another for what they were fighting for. The colors here are balanced and well contrasted. Then as I stared at this longer, I wondered why Iqbal was in a grayish color whereas Malala was in pink. It may be that the illustrator/author was just using the colors to contrast and balance the spread in general, but could it also portray something further? Could this be showing Iqbal's ghostly body because he didn't survive to see his fight become something bigger like Malala did? Whatever the reason may be, I think it's a great place to switch stories and have the readers interpret what this might possibly mean. Both of their story is worth discussing about and worth digging in deeper that I think anyone who stumbles upon this blog should take a moment to read this book and learn more about Malala and Iqbal. As much as I love this book and would love to talk about them, I think about ALL the other children that are not honored here like Malala and Iqbal and it breaks my heart. I respect and honor the fight they fought for so that all women and children can have the rights such as education and free from child labor, but I wonder what other child is also fighting for another injustice that I don't know about? What other struggle is a child currently going through RIGHT NOW that I am not aware about? I want to take a moment and honor all of those children ALONG with Malala and Iqbal, which is why I...don't feel the need to dig in deeper with this book. I think it's important to know who Malala and Iqbal is, which is also why instead of further discussing the book, I have provided information about Malala and Iqbal for YOU to explore. What other child do YOU know of that is fighting for injustice? If you know any others, leave a comment and let me know so we can take a moment to honor ALL the things they are fighting for OUR FUTURE. Thank you and hope you overcome your fight like how Amal, Malala, and Iqbal did in their fight. Laminack, Lester L., & Kelly, Katie. Reading to Make a Difference: Using Literature to Help Students Speak Freely, Think Deeply, and Take Action. Chapter 5. Heinemann, 2019. Saeed, A. (2018). Amal Unbound. Nancy Paulsen Books. Winter, J. (2014). Malala, a brave girl from Pakistan ; Iqbal, a brave boy from Pakistan. London: Simon & Schuster Childrens. Check out these resources about Malala and Iqbal! Read to find out why Pakistan Hates Malala Another RESOURCE about Malala and her story for what she fought for. To learn more about Iqbal, watch a short documentary about him titled, "Iqbal Masih Documentary" shown below. Loading Videos...
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AuthorI love books, writing, and music. Life's too dull without books. Archives
November 2019
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