Kids of Kabul (15 page)
Authors: Deborah Ellis
Tags: #Children—Afghanistan—Juvenile literature. Children and war—Afghanistan—Juvenile literature. Afghan War, #2001Children—Juvenile literature
Islam — A religion that follows the holy book of the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
land mine — A bomb planted in the ground, so it explodes if it is stepped on.
Maristoon — An Afghan term that refers to a place where destitute people can find help and refuge.
mosque — A place where Muslims go to pray.
mullah — A religious expert and teacher of Islam.
Muslim — Someone who follows the religion of Islam.
nan — Afghan flatbread.
NATO — North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance of North American and European countries formed after World War II.
NGO — Non-governmental organization.
opium — An illegal drug made from a kind of poppy.
Pashtu — One of the two main languages spoken in Afghanistan.
Qur’an — The holy book of Islam, believed to be the word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
refugees — People who must leave their home country because their lives are in danger.
Soviet — A citizen of the former Soviet Union or USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), including Russia and other Communist countries.
surah — A chapter or section of the Qur’an.
Taliban — The army that took over Afghanistan in September 1996. Although it was forced from power at the end of 2011, it continues to fight against the government and foreign forces.
terrorist — Someone who uses violence or the threat of violence to force others to behave in a certain way. In general, terrorists target civilian populations.
toshak — A narrow mattress used in Afghan homes as a chair or bed.
tuberculosis — A contagious bacterial infection that usually attacks the lungs.
UN — The United Nations, an international organization that promotes peace, security and economic development.
UNHCR — The United Nations High Commission on Refugees.
UNICEF — The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, an agency that helps governments (especially in developing countries) improve the health and education of children and mothers.
visa — A document that allows a person to enter another country.
warlord — A military commander who acts in his own interests rather than in the interests of the national government.
About the Author
DEBORAH ELLIS is best known for her Breadwinner Trilogy, set in Afghanistan and Pakistan — a series that has been published in twenty-five languages, with more than one million dollars in royalties donated to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Street Kids International. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California’s Middle East Book Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She recently received the Ontario Library Association’s President’s Award for Exceptional Achievement, and she has been named to the Order of Ontario.
Deborah lives in Simcoe, Ontario.
About the Publisher
GROUNDWOOD BOOKS, established in 1978, is dedicated to the production of children’s books for all ages, including fiction, picture books and non-fiction. We publish in Canada, the United States and Latin America. Our books aim to be of the highest possible quality in both language and illustration. Our primary focus has been on works by Canadians, though we sometimes also buy outstanding books from other countries.
Many of our books tell the stories of people whose voices are not always heard in this age of global publishing by media conglomerates. Books by the First Peoples of this hemisphere have always been a special interest, as have those of others who through circumstance have been marginalized and whose contribution to our society is not always visible. Since 1998 we have been publishing works by people of Latin American origin living in the Americas both in English and in Spanish under our Libros Tigrillo imprint.
We believe that by reflecting intensely individual experiences, our books are of universal interest. The fact that our authors are published around the world attests to this and to their quality. Even more important, our books are read and loved by children all over the globe.
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