Sue Corbett (Miami Herald) (Children's Literature)
My second-grader has a number of friends whose parents are in the military which has lead to his rock-solid belief in this: Iraq is the enemy. So I was only too glad to find not one, but two, new books this spring that not only made him aware of Iraqis who were NOT Saddam Hussein or his allies, but which also filled out the picture of war he had in his head--one that amounted to good guys (us) killing bad guys (them). Even better, the main character in these books is a heroic . . . librarian. And the fact that both The Librarian of Basra and Alia’s Mission by Mark Alan Stamaty (Knopf, $12.95, ages 8 to 12) are based on true events helped humanize “the enemy” for him. Winter, who has written exceptionally good picture book biographies of Georgia O’Keefe and Beatrix Potter, learned about Alia Muhammad Baker in a New York Times article in July 2003. That article, written by reporter Shaila K. Dewan, began by describing Baker’s house in Basra, the second-largest city in Iraq. Every chair, every cupboard, every surface was covered with books. Stack upon stack upon stack of books. Baker, head of Basra’s Central Library, had smuggled all of them out. As war marched toward her, she first asked her government for permission to get the books out of harm’s way. The answer was no. But to Baker, a voracious reader since youth who ran the library like a “salon” for her city’s professionals and intellectuals, it was unthinkable to not do something to protect the books. She worried that Hussein’s troops would use the library as a base precisely because it wouldn’t be targeted by invading forces. So she quietly sneaked out books, filling her car repeatedly. When bombs did start dropping on Basra, she enlisted friends and the owner of an adjacent restaurant to form a human chain, carrying books from the stacks, out of the library, into the restaurant, onto a truck and, finally, to temporary safety in private homes. Nine days later, the library burned to the ground. Baker and her army had saved 30,000 books. The way Winter tells this story is to take the politics out of it--the name of the invading country is never even mentioned--and make it a tale of a community coming together to save an treasured part of its heritage. Her folk-art style paintings, done in vivid shades of lavender, lemon, orange, blue and pink, are beautiful without sugarcoating the situation. Though no blood or gore is depicted, there are snipers on a rooftop, fighter jets in the skies, and a city on fire. A crescent moon in one scene, palm trees, head scarves and Arabic writing convey a strong sense of place. 2005, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
This inspirational story was lost under the headlines about the war in Iraq. Alia Muhammad Baker, the librarian of the library in the city of Basra, is concerned that when the war comes the precious books in her library will be in danger. So every night she secretly moves some of the books to her home. As bombs begin to fall and parts of the city catch fire, her friend, the owner of a nearby restaurant, works with her and other friends to hide more books in his restaurant before the library burns. Alia waits patiently for peace, dreaming of a new library for the books she has saved. The visual tale is told rather formally with single-page acrylic paintings set in framed squares on colored backgrounds, first yellow anticipating war, then purple during the bombings, and finally blue during the time of waiting for eventual peace. There is almost too decorative a quality to Winter’s depiction of what was a dreadfully destructive time in Basra. Even the fire-generated orange clouds that light up the skies have strong esthetic overtones. Alia is shown on the jacket/cover as a simple woman, in long skirt and head scarf, courageously and resolutely guarding her stacks of books. A note adds background factual information. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to help rebuild the book collection of the Basra Central Library. 2005, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 5 to 8.

Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Whenever I read of a war or conflict, I think of the American Revolution and how not all colonists were supportive of overthrowing the king. I think of all of the people who are affected by war but are not necessarily a part of the conflict, people who have to cope with the circumstances in which they find themselves. So it was with Alia Muhammad Baker whose prime concern as the librarian in Basra is to protect the books. By protecting the books she was protecting a civilization of culture and ideas that might be forgotten should the books perish. This apolitical story brings the war down to the impact it has on the individual. It works on many different levels at once: a dedicated librarian trying to save her books, the futility of war, and the hope of peace. Winter’s illustrations are understated--no blood or gore--and accessible. This would make a wonderful read aloud to children to open a discussion of the costs of war. 2005, Harcourt, $16. Ages 7 to 10.

Rosemary Hollett (CM Magazine, September 16, 2005 (Vol. XII, No. 2))
Alia Muhammad Baker is the librarian in Basra, Iraq. "Her library is a meeting place for all who love books. They discuss matters of the world And matters of the spirit." This true story is a moving tale of one librarian’s attempts to save the beloved books in her library as war becomes imminent. As the battle begins and the city is “lit with a firestorm of bombs and gunfire,” Alia and her friends manage to move thousands of books to a nearby restaurant. Nine days later, the library burns to the ground. As the war moves on, Alia knows that, if the books are to be safe, they must be moved again. In all, 30,000 books are moved to her home and those of her friends. "In Alia’s house, books are everywhere, filling floors and cupboards and windows- Leaving barely enough room for anything else." As the story ends, Alia waits for war to end and for peace return to her country. She dreams of a new library. "But until then, the books are safe- safe with the librarian of Basra." Jeanette Winter has written a picture book that deals effectively with war and its impact on everyday life. “It puts a human face on war and maybe breaks down the idea of ‘otherness,’” says Winter. The book is also a testament to one librarian’s love of books, something with which kids can readily identify. With the use of simple, evocative text, Winter does an excellent job of making this true story personal, specific and accessible to children. The accompanying illustrations are acrylic and pen on watercolour paper, beautifully crafted by the author. The subtle use of colour evokes a feeling of peace and harmony. The war intrudes with bright splotches of orange giving impact and reality to the scene. The simple line of the illustrations speaks to the reader and infuses the story with life. Picture books sometimes offer a gentle way of handling difficult subject matter. This book has been promoted as an exceptional point of discussion for children with concerns and questions about the war in Iraq. This purpose holds true more for Americans as the war is a significant part of their daily lives with family and friends actively involved. In Canada, however, exposure is limited for this age group, and so the focus may be a discussion of the difference one person can make in the lives of many and of one person’s love for and recognition of the power of books. Highly Recommended. Rating: **** /4. Grades 1-7. 2005, Harcourt (Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books), 32 pp., cloth, $21.95. Ages 6 to 12.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2006)
Alia Muhammad Baker is the librarian of Basra, Iraq. “Her library is a meeting place for all who love books. They discuss matters of the world and matters of the spirit. Until now—now they talk only of war.” In 2003, with the U.S invasion of Iraq imminent, Alia wondered what would happen to the books in Basra’s Central Library if their city was attacked. When the governor refused her request to move the books to a safe place, she began smuggling volumes out of the library each night after work. When the war reached Basra and bombs began to fall, Alia frantically called upon nearby neighbors of the library to help her save more books while buildings in the city burned. Over the course of one night, they packed books in crates, sacks, and curtains, passing them over a seven-foot wall to hide them in the restaurant next door. In all, they saved 30,000 volumes, which Alia later hid in her own house and the houses of friends. There they remain, while Alia dreams of peace, and a new library for Basra. Jeanette Winter’s riveting picture book account of the real-life, heroic efforts of Alia and others to save the books of Basra’s library combines a tense, spare, present-tense narrative with stirring visual images that suggest the panic, destruction, and despair of war, but always in the context of the hope that grows from the actions and dreams of individuals determined to make a positive difference. CCBC Category: Contemporary People, Places, and Events. 2005, Harcourt, 32 pages, $16.00. Ages 8-11.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 24))
Living history is not always sweet, but Winter, who has made beauty from contemporary horror in September Roses (p. 815) does it anew. Alia Muhammad Baker was the chief librarian of the Central Library in Basra, Iraq, a meeting place for many and quite near one of Basra's best restaurants. When war comes to Basra, Alia saves the books in the only way she can see: She takes thousands of them to her own home, to the homes of friends, and to the restaurant next door. Alia saved 70 percent of her collection before the library was firebombed and destroyed. Winter tells this story in simple, clear declarative sentences. Her beautiful acrylic-and-pen illustrations are filled with the rose and violet, blue and gold, russet and orange colors of the desert, and she uses pattern to great effect in the shelves and piles of books, in the dark array of planes and bombs over the city, and in the parti-colored headscarves and clothing of the people of Basra. Created with strength and courage, like Alia's devotion to the books in her charge. (author's note) 2005, Harcourt, 32p, $16.00. Category: Picture book/nonfiction. Ages 5 to 9. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jackie Keith (Library Media Connection, August/September 2005)
Like other books by Jeanette Winter, this title was inspired by a true story. This colorful, bright picture book tells the story of Alia Muhammad Baker, the chief librarian in Basra, Iraq. It opens with a quote from the librarian: "In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was 'Read.'" Winter writes and illustrates a tale, which will be interesting to young readers and inspirational for adults. Alia knew the library's collection was not safe since war was coming. She hid most of the books, sneaking them over a wall into a restaurant with the help of friends. Thanks to her, although the library burned, the books were saved. The serious topic of war is made more accessible to students through the well-matched illustrations and text and ends with hope for peace and a new library. An author's note at the end of the book adds more information about Alia. The publisher is donating a portion of the book's sales to a fund to help rebuild Basra's library collection. Recommended. 2005, Harcourt, 32pp., $16 hc.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 6))
As fighting draws near Basra in 2003, librarian Alia Muhammad Baker’s chief concern is the safety of the city library’s books. Denied official permission to move the collection, she enlists the aid of a local restaurant owner to haul away whatever they can and store it at his business. They’re just in time, for “nine days later, a fire burns the library to the ground.” Soldiers visit the restaurant owner, but although they do not discover the secreted books, Alia knows the collection must be moved once again. This time she hires a truck and distributes thirty thousand volumes among her friends for safekeeping: “She waits . . . and dreams of a new library. But until then, the books are safe--safe with the librarian of Basra.” Winter’s brightly colored, doll-like figures in stylized, shallow-perspective scenes bring the details of war to child-accessible scale without trivializing its perils, and the scenes of Alia’s fears (tanks firing on flaming buildings) and dreams (a reed boat peacefully punting through the marshes) are neatly juxtaposed. In an closing note Winter traces the source of her story to an article in the July 27, 2003 New York Times, but although the simple veracity of Ms. Baker’s accomplishment may impress youngsters with limited understanding of the Iraq war, this account leaves out information available in Stamaty’s (reviewed above) and may well raise more questions than it answers. Why wouldn’t the governor allow the books to be moved before the coming invasion? Why would books need to be hidden from soldiers? For that matter, who were these soldiers? And why, in this war-torn country, does Ms. Baker think her books are temporarily safe? The audience can only hope this story-in-progress has a happy ending, and that we will be privileged to learn it. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Harcourt, 32p, $16.00. Ages 6-9 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2005)
Winter's picture book describes Alia Muhammad Baker's attempt to save her library's collection when war comes to the Iraqi city of Basra in 2003. The illustrations represent the terrors of war realistically but not graphically. This tale provides a good way to talk about war and demonstrates the quiet heroism of fighting for something important without using violence. Category: Nonfiction-History. 2005, Harcourt, 32pp, 16.00. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Lynn Butler (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 17, No. 4))
The effects of war are brought home in this fact-based story about a brave librarian in Basra, Iraq, who rebels against authority in order to save the library from the fires of war. For 14 years, Alia Muhmmad Baker has presided over the library in Basra where all kinds of people from all walks of life come together to read and discuss ideas. But when war comes to her country, Alia is afraid the library and its books will be destroyed. She embarks on a dangerous mission to save the books, and her bravery and determination in the face of war and all its evils will touch every reader’s heart. A note from the author about the real Alia completes this tale of courage and persistence. Nonfiction (020). Grades K-2. 2004, Harcourt, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 5 to 8.