Waiting for the Owl's Call

January 1, 2010
Gr 2-5-Eight-year-old Zulviya lives in Afghanistan. She, her sister, and her cousin all join the women and girls of the village in weaving rugs all day. The work is hard on their hands, on their eyes, and on their legs and feet as they tie knots, stare at the loom, and sit for hours working with rough wool. Zulviya weaves her mother's and grandmother's pattern, but "the second pattern I weave in my head. It is all my own." In her daydreams, her patterns are filled with the sights, sounds, and things she likes, such as mulberries, "which would take away our thirst, but we are not allowed to eat them. The juice would stain our fingers." In reality, when her fingers bleed, her mother binds them so the blood does not get on the rug. At lunch, Zulviya and her sister speak of school, but school is a two-day walk from her village. By story's end, Zulviya's back aches, her fingers stumble, and the pattern in her mind is gone. She waits to hear the owl, because its call means that she is finished for that day. This sad, poignant story, accompanied by Milelli's large, evocative paintings, portrays the stolen childhoods of youngsters involved in illegal child labor. An author's note informs readers that many of the beautifully woven rugs sold today are made by child workers like Zulviya."Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH"

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