Afghan Celebration

We finished "The Breadwinner" this week, which was about a girl living in Afghanistan at the time of the Taliban. After her father is imprisoned, the young girl has to pretend to be a boy to go to the marketpace and earn money for her family to live. The book gave us tremendous insight into Afghani culture and history, and lended for some wonderful discussions about persistence, bravery, honoring our families, etc. The girls really identified with Parvana, the main character.
To celebrate the end of the book, we shared a meal, simliar to how Parvana would have shared a meal with her family. We sat on the floor with pillows, listened to Afghan music, watched a slideshow of Afghan images, and dined on Afghani treats - hummus, cookies, date bars, dried apricots, and tea. As we ate, we had a book discussion. They drew cards that had questions asking them to predict what happened to the characters after the story ended. We had great fun! They are very insightful and thoughtful girls.