Author Visit: Deborah Ellis!
Join us for a visit with award-winning Canadian author and peace activist Deborah Ellis! At Albert Campbell branch on Wednesday April 9, 2014, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Deborah Ellis is the internationally acclaimed author of many fiction and non-fiction books for children, teens, and adults. She is perhaps best known for her novels about courageous young people in difficult circumstances, such as The Breadwinner Series (The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey, Mud City, and My Name is Parvana), which was inspired by the true story of a young girl who cut off her hair and pretended to be a boy so she could earn money to support her family in war-torn Taliban-era Afghanistan.
Deborah Ellis has received several awards for her beautiful and challenging books, including the Governor General's Award, the University of California's Middle East Book award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, and the Order of Ontario. Her most recent book is Looks Like Daylight: Voices of Indigenous Kids, a compelling collection of interviews with Aboriginal and Native American youth aged nine to eighteen.
This program is suitable for teens and adults. For more information or to register please visit the branch or call us at 416-396-8890.
The Breadwinner Series
- The Breadwinner – Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in Kabul, Afghanistan. When Parvana's father is arrested for having a foreign education, and conditions in the city become more difficult, Parvana must disguise herself as a boy to become the breadwinner of the family. Translated into 25 languages, with over two million copies sold worldwide.
- Parvana's Journey – In this sequel to The Breadwinner Parvana sets off from Kabul in search of her missing mother and siblings.
- Mud City – The third book of the series is the story of Parvana's best friend Shauzia who leaves the refugee camp in Pakistan to join other homeless children on the streets of Peshawar.
- My Name is Parvana – Parvana, now fifteen, is imprisoned by American authorities on a military base in post-Taliban Afghanistan and recalls the past four years of her life.
Selected Novels by Deborah Ellis
- Looking for X – Kyber is a smart, bold, eleven-year-old girl from Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood who sets out to find her friend X, a mysterious homeless woman who has gone missing. Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award.
- No Ordinary Day – An orphan girl lives on the streets of Calcutta unaware of her leprosy until she meets a doctor who helps her get treatment and find hope for the future. Starred review in Book List Review.
- I Am a Taxi – Twelve-year-old Diego runs errands and delivers goods to a prison in Bolivia where he lives with his mother who has been wrongly incarcerated for drug trafficking. Winner of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award.
- True Blue – An eight-year-old girl is murdered and Jess' best friend Casey is accused of the crime. A gripping murder mystery that will appeal to readers age 12 and up.
Selected Non-Fiction by Deborah Ellis
- Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War – Meet the children of Afghanistan, whose real life experiences inspired the The Breadwinner Series, in these interviews conducted in Afghanistan with 27 young people ages ten to seventeen in 2011.
- Looks Like Daylight: Voices of Indigenous Kids – These first-person stories from 45 Indigenous youth aged nine to eighteen, from across Canada and the United States, range from harrowing to inspiring. Starred review in Book List Review.
- Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak – Interviews with 20 Jewish, Christian, and Muslim young people the author met during her travels to the region in 2002.
- Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk About AIDS – Short autobiographical vignettes of children and teens living in Malawi and Zambia whose lives have been affected by AIDS.
Biography of Deborah Ellis
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