The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Whelan, Gloria

Waiting for the Owl's Call

32 pp. | Sleeping Bear | September, 2009 | Trade ISBN 978-1-58536-418-3 $17.95

(3) K-3 Tales of the World series. Illustrated by Pascal Milelli. Eight-year-old Zulviya and the girls in her family spend their days weaving rugs, just like their mothers and grandmothers have always done. Impressionistic paintings in muted colors accompany Zulviya's lyrical description of her Afghan homeland and her yearning to escape "the shadow of the loom." An author's note provides details about illegal child labor in the Afghani rug-making industry.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth