PARVANA’S JOURNEY by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books 2003)

(Winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award – Canada). After 11-year-old Parvana  and her father are separated from their family during war in Afghanistan, her father dies, leaving her an orphan. Disguised as a boy so as not to incur the wrath of the Taliban, Parvana sets out across a scarred landscape to find her mother. Along the way, she picks up two other orphaned children, plus a baby. Together, they form a new family that gives them the strength and courage they need to complete their dangerous journey. This is the third book in The Breadwinner Trilogy. (Ages 10 and up)