Parvana's Promise

Description

She could tell the woman was watching her through the small window in the door. The girl kept her back against the door and didn't move. 'We can keep you locked up here for a very long time,' the woman finally said, speaking softly. 'Talk to me. Is your name Parvana?' The girl remained with her back against the door. Silent. She heard the woman's boots walk away down the hall. She stood and waited, listening hard to see if the boots would come back. When she was sure she was alone, the girl in the dusty blue chador finally spoke. 'Yes,' she whispered. 'My name is Parvana.'

Deborah Ellis has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in developing countries. She has won the Governor General's Award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A long-time feminist and anti-war activist, she is best known for the Parvana series, which has been published around the world in twenty-nine languages, with more than two million dollars in royalties donated to organisations such as Women for Women in Afghanistan, UNICEF, and Street Kids International. In 2017, Parvana was adapted into an award-winning animated film called The Breadwinner. In 2006, Deb was named to the Order of Ontario and in 2016 she was named to the Order of Canada.