Razia's Ray of Hope: One Girl's Dream of an Education (CitizenKid) Paperback – Illustrated, 5 Mar. 2020

This is a very attractive and informative book for primary/Year 7/8 schoolchildren that brings into focus the lives of children denied an education by virtue of their gender.Amazon have categorised this with adult books, and I ordered this thinking I was going to read a biography of Razia. This is a children's book, however.What this is, is a beautifully illustrated children's story that tells how, as a child, educationalist Razia Jan was initially denied an education by her father and brother. It tells of how she overcame their objections with the help of her grandfather and the female teacher of the new girls' school opening in her neighbourhood.Swatches of vividly patterned, coloured and textured clothing incorporated in to the illustrations make this a visually interesting book. There is plenty here for children to think about and discuss, a vocabulary which introduces new words from the Pashto/Dari cultures, and helpful teaching notes to enable teachers and home educators to get the most out of the book.At the end of the book is a short biography of the 'real Razia Jan', a wholly inspirational and remarkable woman.A useful cross-cultural classroom resource, a thought-provoking and inspiring story.

Razia's Ray of Hope: One Girl's Dream of an Education=== OVERALL ===This book is in a high quality large hardback format with an unusual and beautiful style with original illustrations throughout making it highly attractive. The book aims to teach children to value their education by putting them in the shoes of another child who has to fight for it and contains an engaging story about a little girl in Afghanistan who wants to go to school, and it succeeds to some extent.However, I was sorely disappointed because, for a book aiming to educate children, there is a lack of educational material. The story launches straight in with no background or context and there is no educational information at the back of the book from which children or teachers can draw. If you have a good factual source of information about what life is like for children in Afghanistan, patriarchal societies and misogyny then this book could make a really lovely adjunct to teaching children the value of education. Otherwise, it does leave a giant hole in its usefulness.=== THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK ===* Big format hardback book that's perfect for balancing on the knees when reading a child a bedtime story or having an older child read to you* Colourful, attractive and unusual design with lovely illustrations* Engaging story about a little girl who wants to go to school* Beautiful quality book=== NIGGLES ===* Assumes an awful lot of knowledge about life in Afghanistan without providing any source of information or pointing readers/teachers towards any sources. The book would've been vastly improved by including some background information at the back together with sources of reference for further reading. Since the aim of this book is to educate, its absence from the book is a serious flaw.* The book launches straight into the story without any introduction or background - nothing at all. For a book aiming to educate children about the value of education this again is a serious flaw.* It's not till you get to the back of the book that you come across the list of Dari words used in the book - why not have the list at the front so children know where they are and can quickly refer to them as they read the book?For sale at the time of writing this review £12.99.

This is a book to be read often and treasured. It's a large hard-backed book with beautiful illustrations, telling the story of a girl from Afghanistan who desperately wants to go to school. It's based on a true story of a girl who convinced the men in her family that she should have an education.I love this book because it introduces young readers in the west to issues happening around the world - and lets them see how lucky they are to have the right to an education. My 8 year old daughter really absorbed the message of this book and it made her think about what it means when she complains about getting up early to go to school or having to do homework.This is an important book and a wonderful one to share with young girls and boys.

This is a lovely book, telling the story of a girl in Afghanistan who was desperate to go to school, and in the end she does get that chance. The story is told very simply, so that it's accessible for young children, and with beautiful illustrations on every page. This book is a simple and effective way to bring up topic of education with children, and that not everyone has such easy access to schooling as we do in the UK - especially for girls. The book is based on a true story too, and has some facts at the back of the book.

Razia's Ray of Hope written by Elizabeth Suneby is a beautiful book filled with a beautiful story as it tells of one girl's love and hope for an education. The book is well written and I know our 11 year old absolutely loved it, and she thought it fascinating how this girl would do anything for the chance to go to school, while she says she would do anything for a day off from school! I liked this book as it told a story of bravery and hope for this young girl who simply wanted an education.Personally, this is going to be a book which will be treasured through the years and brought out to tell the story of one girl called Razia as she simply tells how much she wanted to learn.I would recommend this book to all, the message it holds is strong and personally, I loved not only the excellent writing, it also had the added advantage of being beautifully illustrated throughout.

Very inspiration book about an amazing woman. She shows how one person can make a difference, even when going against a culture that opposes her idea of educating girls. I look forward to reading it with my nephews.

Was going to give as a gift But it was a sad story. Donated to the local library.

Amazing story!