Parvana's Journey
79 pages • 2 hours read
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Summary and Study Guide
Parvana’s Journey by Deborah Ellis follows 13-year-old Parvana as she makes her way across war-torn Afghanistan in search of her mother and siblings. Published in 2002, this novel is a sequel to the international bestseller The Breadwinner, which was adapted as a 2017 animated film, and is the second in a series of four called The Breadwinner series. Although Parvana’s Journey is a work of fiction, Ellis bases the setting of the novel on the contemporary war in Afghanistan. Her work of children’s literature has been given several honors, including the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award Honor Book. This guide refers to the 2019 printing of the book by Groundwood Books.
Plot Summary
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In the midst of the Afghanistan war, 13-year-old Parvana buries her father. She was journeying with her father from Kabul in search of her mother and siblings, and now that her father has died, she must continue her journey alone. Parvana disguises herself as a boy, since it isn’t safe to be a young girl travelling alone, especially if caught by the Taliban. On her journey, she comes to a village that has been bombed and abandoned. In one of the houses, she finds a baby still alive near the body of his dead mother. She names him Hassan and brings him with her as she continues walking. Before long, Parvana comes upon a cave inhabited by a small boy named Asif . He is missing one leg, is covered in filth, and threatens to kill Parvana if she enters the cave. However, Parvana shares her food with him and encourages him to clean up. They eventually get along, although Asif maintains a harsh attitude towards Parvana, even as they move on from the cave and continue journeying together.
On the road, Asif, Parvana, and Hassan face starvation and thirst, are tricked by a man who gives very little food in exchange for work, and eventually find themselves in a minefield, unsure of how to move forward without triggering an explosion. At this moment of desperation, a little girl named Leila comes running up to them. Leila takes them to her house where she lives with her grandmother . Leila’s mother left months ago to search for her father and brother, and since then, her grandmother has been completely silent and unresponsive. Parvana and Asif help Leila clean up the house and property where she lives, and they find a sense of purpose in improving the homestead, which they name Green Valley. All of the children find a sense of home together there, and they think of each other as family . Since they are far from any neighbors or villages, and have the minefield to deter intruders, they feel sheltered and separate from the war while at Green Valley. However, soon they start hearing bombs at night, and each night the explosions grow closer. One night, after roasting a goat that wandered into the minefield, a bomb hits Green Valley, destroying the house and property and killing Grandmother.
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With nothing left for them at Green Valley, the children must get back on the road. As they travel across the Afghan countryside with no particular destination in mind, they endure cold nights, a lack of food and water, and constant fatigue. Hassan loses interest in their attempts to make him eat and drink, and they worry he will die soon. Eventually, they begin to see other people walking, and they make their way to a camp for Internally Displaced Persons. There, they get medical attention for Hassan, but their troubles are still far from over.
The conditions at the camp are crowded and dirty, and the camp borders a minefield. Parvana waits in line each day for food and water, but sometimes supplies deplete before she reaches the front of the line. One day, a plane drops supplies and food at the camp, but many of the packages land in the minefield. Thinking she will be safe, Leila runs into the minefield, but is severely injured by a mine explosion. A crowd gathers around Parvana and Leila as the little girl dies before reaching the medical clinic, and a woman in the crowd cries out. Parvana recognizes the woman’s voice as her mother’s. Parvana is reunited with her mother and sisters, but she learns that her baby brother is dead. Alongside her family and her new brothers, Hassan and Asif, Parvana buries Leila. Although she is thankful to be with her family, Parvana knows that her journey is still not over. The war still rages, and she doesn’t know what the future may bring, but at least she will not face it alone.
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Parvana's Journey Paperback – July 2, 2003
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- Reading age 10 - 12 years
- Book 2 of 5 Breadwinner Series
- Print length 176 pages
- Language English
- Grade level 5 - 6
- Lexile measure 700L
- Dimensions 5 x 0.5 x 7.25 inches
- Publisher Groundwood Books
- Publication date July 2, 2003
- ISBN-10 0888995199
- ISBN-13 978-0888995193
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Product details
- Publisher : Groundwood Books; First Trade Paper edition (July 2, 2003)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 176 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0888995199
- ISBN-13 : 978-0888995193
- Reading age : 10 - 12 years
- Lexile measure : 700L
- Grade level : 5 - 6
- Item Weight : 5.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5 x 0.5 x 7.25 inches
- #8,848 in Children's Books on Girls' & Women's Issues
- #13,298 in Children's Explore the World Books (Books)
- #66,424 in Children's Literature (Books)
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Deborah ellis.
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Parvana's Journey
By: Deborah Ellis
- Narrated by: Meera Simhan
- Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins
- 4.4 out of 5 stars 4.4 (94 ratings)
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Publisher's summary
"My life is dust and rocks and rude boys and skinny babies, and long days of searching for my mother when I don’t have the faintest idea where she might be".
Parvana is alone. Her father is dead. A refugee in a land full of dangers, she must travel across Afghanistan to find her mother and sisters.
As she travels, Parvana finds friends - a starving, orphaned baby; a strange, hostile boy; a solitary girl who darts in and out of the minefields to find food. Perhaps, with their help, she may one day be reunited with her family...
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What listeners say about Parvana's Journey
- 4.5 out of 5 stars 4.4 out of 5.0
- 4.5 out of 5 stars 4.3 out of 5.0
- 4.5 out of 5 stars 4.5 out of 5.0
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
Audible.com reviews, amazon reviews.
- Overall 5 out of 5 stars
- Performance 5 out of 5 stars
- Story 5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
this book has some amazing details in really absorbs you in and you just want more it is also sad and you get attached to the characters and it also teaches a lesson where you should be grateful of what you have because these are kids without parents going around destroyed homes this is not right so this book is really interesting and I recommend it
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Very worthwhile
A good story to portray the folly and tragedy of war. Good for young teens as well.
- Overall 4 out of 5 stars
- Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Another Compelling Listen
What made the experience of listening to Parvana's Journey the most enjoyable?
The continued story from The Breadwinner. It was heartfelt, plausible and very engaging. Myself and my 2 girls, aged 10 & 12, would definately recommend this listen.
Any additional comments?
Having listened to The Breadwinner first then Parvana's Journey, we were initially disappointed that the new narrator did not use the same pronunciations as in the first, however that distraction did not last long. She too spoke clearly and well paced and with clear and consistent characterizations.
- Yamil Narchi
A great book
I always enjoy this book. It is intelligent and humane. My middle school students love it to. Thank you, Deborah Ellis!
- Performance 2 out of 5 stars
Beautiful story
The story was a beautiful representation of the state that Afghanistan is in. Although the book is very sad the end and make up for it.
- Story 4 out of 5 stars
Easy reading
If you could sum up Parvana's Journey in three words, what would they be?
Life experience of the unknown
What was one of the most memorable moments of Parvana's Journey?
Having nothing but still being able to continue on
Which character – as performed by Meera Simhan – was your favorite?
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Laughter and sadness
- Anonymous User
It is such a good series I love it so much the book is super intresting
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Parvana's Journey
Deborah ellis. groundwood books, $15.95 (176pp) isbn 978-0-88899-514-8.
Reviewed on: 07/01/2002
Genre: Children's
Downloadable Audio - 978-0-7393-8581-4
Hardcover - 208 pages - 978-0-19-275285-7
Open Ebook - 202 pages - 978-1-55498-030-7
Paperback - 224 pages - 978-986-338-066-5
Paperback - 199 pages - 978-0-88899-519-3
Prebound-Glued - 199 pages - 978-0-7569-2926-8
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“Tanks were normal. Bombs were normal. Why couldn’t eating be normal?”
Parvana’s Journey by Deborah Ellis
July 13, 2020 by ElCicco Leave a Comment
Parvana’s Journey is the second book in Ellis’ The Breadwinner series and picks up shortly after Parvana and her father have left Kabul, Afghanistan, circa 2000, in search of the rest of their family. Ellis continues to focus on matters of war and violence from the perspective of Afghanistan’s refugee children. Like The Breadwinner , this is a short YA novel, appropriate for children age 10 or so and older. It shows the horrors of war and family separation through the eyes of Parvana and other children she meets on her journey to find her mother, sisters and brother.
The Breadwinner ended with Parvana being reunited with her father, who had been jailed by the Taliban. He had lost a limb in a past bombing, and the brutality of imprisonment had further weakened him. As Parvana’s Journey opens, Parvana — still disguised as a boy due to Taliban restrictions on women and girls — has just had to bury her father and now must make her way on her own to find her mother. Parvana and her father had been traveling for months, going without food, medicine and basic amenities while traveling through refugee camps and evading warring armies. Parvana, only about 12 years old, now must go it on her own. Bombings are common, villages are shattered, and refugees abound. Parvana knows she must avoid the Taliban at all costs since she is getting to an age where she can no longer hide her sex, and for a woman or girl to be out on her own, uncovered, will lead to capture, beating and perhaps death.
On her lonely and dangerous journey, Parvana comes upon a bombed out village where she finds some food and also a baby — the sole survivor of whatever violence happened there. She decides to call him Hassan and brings him along, even though this will make her life more difficult. He must be fed, changed, carried, while Parvana herself hasn’t much to eat and is exhausted, but she cannot imagine leaving him to die. When Parvana finds a small cave near a stream, she also discovers another child, a boy near her age named Alif. Alif is missing a leg and shows signs of beatings, and he is an angry and bossy child. Alif and Parvana have a somewhat testy relationship, but Alif needs Parvana and she sees that Alif is actually a good caretaker for Hassan, and so the unlikely trio journey on together.
Among Parvana’s few possessions are a book that had been her father’s and a journal that she keeps along the way. Before leaving Kabul, Parvana had had a friend, Shauzia, who, like her was pretending to be a boy in order to work and support her family. Shauzia’s dream was to move to Paris, a seemingly idyllic place full of beauty and far from war. The two girls agree that in 20 years, they will meet again in Paris. In her journal, Parvana writes to Shauzia about her life — the trials, the fears, the terror and exhaustion. One day, when things seem to be at their worst, when Alif, Hassan and Parvana are starving, unwell and exhausted, Parvana writes of an imaginary world — a place of beauty and plenty that only children can see. It’s not long after this that Parvana and Alif make a startling discovery — that they are in a mine field and that a little girl named Leila has seen them and can save them.
The four children become a kind of family and manage to put together a decent sort of life in Leila’s mud hut, but eventually the war catches up to them, forcing them to flee. The children find their way to a refugee camp, where the novel ends with a combination of sadness and hope.
Ellis’ overall message is about the horror of war and its impact on children. Parvana’s Journey is graphic in its description of this, but it is appropriate for kids. I think it could lead to worthwhile discussions about war, about the plight of refugees around the world, and about Afghanistan — a place that has been the site of fighting for thousands of years but about which many of us know very little. This series continues to impress me.
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Parvana's Journey (Breadwinner Series, 2) Paperback - May 1, 2015. The second book in the internationally-bestselling series that includes The Breadwinner, Mud City and My Name Is Parvana. In 2001, a war is raging in Afghanistan as a coalition of Western forces tries to oust the Taliban by bombing the country. Parvana's father has died ...
Parvana's Journey is a novel by Deborah Ellis and also the sequel to The Breadwinner. It's about a girl named Parvana who is living under Taliban oppression and must travel the Afghan desert to find her the rest of her family after her father dies. Despite it being a sequel, you do not need to read the first book to understand this one. ...
About Deborah Ellis. Deborah Ellis won Canada's Governor General's Award in 2000 for her first book, Searching for X. She is also the author of several other books, including Parvana's Journey, winner of the Jane Addams Award and the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book… More about Deborah Ellis
Parvana's Journey. DEBORAH ELLIS is the author of The Breadwinner, which has been published in thirty languages. She has won the Governor General's Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Deborah has donated more than $2 ...
Deborah Ellis won Canada's Governor General's Award in 2000 for her first book, Searching for X.She is also the author of several other books, including Parvana's Journey, winner of the Jane Addams Award and the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award, given annually by the Ontario Arts Council and the Canadian Booksellers Association.She lives in Ontario, Canada.
Parvana's Journey. Deborah Ellis. OUP Oxford, Mar 4, 2004 - Juvenile Nonfiction - 208 pages. A war is raging in Afghanistan as a coalition of Western forces tries to oust the Taliban by bombing the country. Parvana's father has died, and her mother, sister and brother have gone to a faraway wedding, not knowing what has happened to the father ...
Parvana's journey by Ellis, Deborah, 1960-Publication date 2002 Topics ... Parvana is alone. A refugee in a land full of dangers, she must travel across Afghanistan to find her mother and sisters. As she travels, Parvana finds many friends. Perhaps, with their help, she may one day be reunited with her family ...
Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis follows 13-year-old Parvana as she makes her way across war-torn Afghanistan in search of her mother and siblings. Published in 2002, this novel is a sequel to the international bestseller The Breadwinner, which was adapted as a 2017 animated film, and is the second in a series of four called The Breadwinner series.
Sequel to The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis follows the eponymous 12-year-old girl who, disguised as a boy, sets off from Kabul in search of her missing mother and siblings in Taliban-era Afghanistan. When war breaks out, she bands together with other displaced children.
Parvana's journey. by. Deborah Ellis. Publication date. 2004. Topics. Cultural Literacy and Humanities, Reading Level-Grade 4, Reading Level-Grade 5, Reading Level-Grade 6, Reading Level-Grade 7, Reading Level-Grade 8. Publisher. Douglas & McIntyre.
English. 199 pages : 19 cm. After her father's death, Parvana, now thirteen-years-old, continues to search for her mother in war-torn Afghanistan, joining with two younger children who are also struggling to survive. Sequel to: The breadwinner. Jane Addams Children's Book Award, 2004. Access-restricted-item.
47120972. Followed by. Parvana's Journey. The Breadwinner, also known as Parvana, [1] is a children's novel by Deborah Ellis, [2] first published in 2001. As of October 2013, the English-language edition of the book has had a run of 39 editions. The title of the book refers to the role of the protagonist, 11-year-old Parvana, who is forced by ...
Parvana's Journey. Author: Deborah Ellis. Start Reading. A war is raging in Afghanistan as a coalition of Western forces tries to oust the Taliban by bombing the country. Parvana's father has died, and her mother, sister, and... Read More. Book Info. Ages: 8-10.
PARVANA'S JOURNEY Deborah Ellis Winner of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award Deborah Ellis P ARV ANA 'S JOUR NEY GR OUND W OOD Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press Can $9.95 / USA $8.95 Cover illustration by Pascal Milelli Distributed in the USA by Publishers Group West Printed and bound in Canada Also available as an e-book ISBN 978 ...
Parvana's Journey. Paperback - July 2, 2003. A sequel to The Breadwinner, this novel tells the story of Parvana's journey once she leaves Kabul to search for her family. The Taliban still controls Afghanistan, but Kabul is in ruins, Parvana's father has died, and her mother, sister and brother could be anywhere in the country.
Parvana is alone. Her father is dead. A refugee in a land full of dangers, she must travel across Afghanistan to find her mother and sisters. As she travels, Parvana finds friends - a starving, orphaned baby; a strange, hostile boy; a solitary girl who darts in and out of the minefields to find food. Perhaps, with their help, she may one day be ...
Parvana's Journey. Deborah Ellis. Groundwood Books, $15.95 (176pp) ISBN 978--88899-514-8. Sequel to The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis follows the eponymous 12-year-old girl who ...
CBR12bingo Green. Parvana's Journey is the second book in Ellis' The Breadwinner series and picks up shortly after Parvana and her father have left Kabul, Afghanistan, circa 2000, in search of the rest of their family. Ellis continues to focus on matters of war and violence from the perspective of Afghanistan's refugee children.
ISBN: 9780192787361. Weight: 190 g. Dimensions: 200 x 130 x 15 mm. MEDIA REVIEWS. Paperback edition. Anne Cater. Upvote 21. Buy Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.