Nour’s Secret Library
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley April 14, 2024
Author Wafa' Tarnowska. Illustrations Vali Mintz
Distributor: Barefoot Books
ISBN: 978-1646862924
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Release Date: March 2022
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War was coming to Damascus, it is somehow undefined, but none the less there. Nour and her cousin Amir played happily in the street outside their homes, went to school and like all girls and boys, went on amazing secret adventures to find hidden treasures.
One day they decided to form a secret society, a special Club just for their friends, just like the one in the story book. They would have a secret location, password and even a secret handshake. Until, one morning planes started flying over their once peaceful City and war had come to Daraya.
Nour and her family, her neighbours and friends spent the night sheltering in the cellars of the houses, reading books by torch light, huddled together for comfort and warmth. Bombs dropped on the City during the day and night, destroying their houses, their business and their City.
During the day when it was a safe to go outside, Amir would go out to get some bread, and on the way he began to collect books he found lying on the streets. He told his friends about this and they began collecting them as well. Soon the piles and piles pf books became so large they had to be taken to somewhere else to be stored.
The friends decided that they should form a Secret Library which they called ‘Al-Fajr’, which in Arabic, the language they spoke, means ‘dawn’ and so began a library filled with books, big ones, small one and all sorts in between.
Over time the library grew to be very large and people from everywhere came to Nour’s Secret Library where they felt safe and happy way from the terrible war raging above them.
Nour’s Secret Library is a beautiful story based on fact from Wafa’ Townaska and illustrated in bold, bright and happy colours by Vali Mintz which perfectly captures the resilience of the human spirit and that no matter how young you are, you can make a very real difference to so many people.
The final pages of the book contain a little History about the war still raging in Syria, the real Underground Library created from books hurled into the streets as houses and building were bombed and an excellent Glossary of Terms used in the book.
Nour’s Secret Library is highly recommended for children between the ages of 6-10 years old but in reality, any age will enjoy the story filled with hope for a better future.