Mud City by Deborah Ellis. California: Groundwood Books, 2003.
Plot summary: Shauzia
is not happy with her role in life. She pretends to be a boy, leaves her home
country of Afghanistan, and rebels against the life she is offered in the
Widows Compound in Pakistan. She dreams of a life in France among the lavender
fields rather than the mud walls of the compound. Will she get there?
Awards: 2003 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award – Special Commendation
for the entire series of The Breadwinner
Trilogy. The award is given for books that “engage children in
thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all
people” (Jane Addams Peace Society).
Canadian Awards:
2005 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award - Nova Scotia, Canadian
children select winner (Hackmatak Book Award).
2006 Red Cedar Book Award - British Columbian children select winner (Red
Cedar Book Awards)
Audience: Ages 10 - 12 The book
addresses the need for independence and going it alone in the world. It also
allows the reader to transport to a different culture and world to learn more
about what others experience in life. A mature reader of 8 - 9 years who can
read for sustained periods of time would be able to enjoy the book; however,
this age group prefers books with more action. The text is written at a level
that is appropriate for a 3rd – 8th grade at a 740 Lexile
or roughly 5th grade reading level.
Strengths and
Weaknesses: (Plot spoilers are present in this section.) The book is the third
in a trilogy called The Breadwinner
Trilogy. Reading this book first was not an issue; it was easy to follow.
A strength in the book
is the character Shauzia, whom is well developed. Shauzia is a sassy and high-spirited
girl. She has decided exactly what she wants in life and is willing to stand up
to authority and break the rules to achieve some independence. I found her a
bit too adversarial towards adults, but a modern reader will identify with her
head strong and stubborn attitude. For a girl from Afghanistan, her spirit is
surprising.
Another strength is the
way the plot is presented to the reader. Each step Shauzia takes is dangerous.
She doesn’t fully realize the dangers of living in a Pakistan city. The reader
learns about the dangers with Shauzia. The reader will empathize with Shauzia
as she attempts to live on the streets and earn enough money to reach the lavender
fields of France. By allowing the reader to discover the dangers with Shauzia,
the reader feels more connection to the character and invests in the plot.
Ellis could have presented the plot using foreshadowing to build suspense.
Instead, Ellis achieves suspense as the reader has to wait for an event to
occur to discover the consequence.
One weakness of the book
is that the relationship between Mrs. Weera and Shauzia isn’t better developed.
The relationship is central to the plot and the two characters are foils of
each other. It is possible the relationship is established in the earlier
books. It is Mrs. Weera, the manager of the Widows Compound, which Shauzia
blames for her problems and rebels against by refusing to accept the options
that Mrs. Weera offers to Shauzia in terms of schooling and care. Shauzia
finally concludes at the end of the novel that Mrs. Weera might have some wisdom.
The emotional connection though is never fully explored.
Creative Uses: This book can be used as part of a Middle Eastern Culture Heritage Month
typically celebrated in April. Although many school librarians recognize Poetry
month in April, adding an extra book display would be worth the effort. The
book is also prime fodder for discussing and researching child poverty,
children in warfare, and women’s rights. You could create a display about
humanitarian issues that are raised in the book.
Teaching artist: Shauzia would make a good character to dress up as and
have a librarian pose as a “teaching artist.” That is the volunteer or
librarian would pretend to be Shauzia and after talking a bit about her life
and her experiences permit children to ask the “teaching artist” questions.
While, Shauzia is a fictional character, her story can still be used to learn
from and the character would have quite a bit to teach children regarding
Afghanistan culture and children humanitarian issues (Frazier History Museum).
Lesson plan ideas: As
for a school librarian, a lesson plan and project ideas are available on http://deborahellis.com/ for this book and the other titles in the
trilogy. The lesson plan has links to various resources such as Afghanistan
websites, author information, photo galleries of Afghanistan, Red Crescent
information, and sites regarding children issues: poverty, war, trouble with
law, access to food and clean water. The lesson plan set is mainly focused on
language art ideas and research (Ellis).
Read-Alikes:
Journey to Jo’burg – A South
African Story by Beverly Naidoo – features two children that are as
courageous as Shauzia. Naledi and her brother Tiro set off on foot on a misson
to bring their mother back home as their baby sister is very ill and might die.
Along the way, Naledi and Tiro discover the differences on their journey that
exist under the Apartheid laws of South Africa. The characters are a tad
underdeveloped and could be stronger; Naidoo made them too innocent and naïve.
The plot carries the book and the need to save their baby sister. The novel
explores children rights and human rights like Mud City, so would
be a good text to extend knowledge of these issues into other cultures and
countries. Both books have strong children willing to take big risks for what
they want in life and children growing up in cultures where they are not free.
A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert
Bulla – is a story of three orphaned English children. Their father helped
settle Jamestown, but he could not afford tickets for the entire family. Left
behind in England, Amanda Freebold and her younger siblings Jemmy and Ellie
live with their mother as servants for a rich family in London. Their mother
passes. Amanda decides they will go to the New World and join their father in
Jamestown. Amanda is a much calmer and industrious girl compared to Shauzia. Both
Shauzia and Amanda are comfortable pushing forward in life and achieving what
they want. Readers will enjoy the story as the writing is delightful and has
just the right amount of tension and drama for younger readers 8 - 10. Bulla
doesn’t dwell on the sad things in life they encounter, so in that regard this
is a weakness. Life is sad and readers can handle more of reality than Bulla
relates. The children are blessed at nearly every turn, even when things go
rough, just like Shauzia. The children will have a hard life in Jamestown, but
they are a family again.
Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes – is a
novel comprised of poems. Garvey wants to have a relationship with his father
but the two have nothing in common. Just like Shauzia, Garvey rebels against
the plans adults have made for him. He finds his own way thanks to a supportive
mother, a sister, and his friends. He discovers that he has talent as a Tenor
soloist. When he finally is brave enough to tell his father, the two discover
something they both have in common- a love of singing. Shauzia was able to find
something she had in common with Mrs. Weera too, just like Garvey found his
connection with his father. Readers will love Grimes’ poetry and can connect
with Garvey’s desire to be himself rather than the plan a determined adult can
impose.
Other
Considerations: A reader of Mud City would be interested in
reading the rest of the trilogy. The first book of the trilogy was made into an
animated film The Breadwinner. The movie was nominated for
best animated film for the 2018 Academy Awards. It has been released to dvd and
blu-ray (The Breadwinner 2017).
Works Cited
“The Breadwinner (2017).” IMDb, IMDb.com.
Ellis, Deborah. “Teacher Resources.” Deborah Ellis,
deborahellis.com/.
Frazier History Museum. “Daily Live Performances.” Frazier
History Museum, fraziermuseum.org/daily-live-performances/.
Hackmatak Book Award. “About the Award.” Hackmatak
Book Awards, hackmatak.ca.en/.
Jane Addams Peace Association. “What is the Jane
Addams Children’s Book Award?” Jane Addams Peace Association, www.janeaddamspeace.org
Red Cedar Book Awards. “About Red Cedar.” Red
Cedar Book Awards, www.redcedaraward.ca/.
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