the desert. Coalition â A collection of diverse groups coming together for a specific purpose. Democracy â A system of government where citizens choose their leaders and tell them what to do. Depleted uranium â Radioactive waste product from enriching uranium; it is added to weapons to make them more deadly. Dictator â A leader who rules by force and does not tolerate dissent. Dinar â A form of currency in several countries, including Iraq and Jordan. Guerrilla â An armed fighter who engages in unconventional warfare. Hijab â A head covering worn by some Muslim women. Inflation â When the price of goods goes up but the value of money goes down. Insurgent â Someone who takes up weapons against the official government. Kurds â An ethnic group from Kurdistan, an area that currently occupies parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Mandaean Sabians â Followers of a very old religion that reveres John the Baptist. Mehdi Army â A Shia Muslim guerrilla army, formed in Iraq after the US invasion in 2003. Muslim â A follower of the religion of Islam. NGO â Non-governmental organization. 9/11 â September 11, 2001, the day planes attacked the Pentagon in Washington and the World Trade Center in New York City. Refugees â People who have to leave their home country because their lives are in danger. Sanctions â Economic and diplomatic âpunishmentsâ one nation can impose on another to try to bring about policy change. Sectarian â An interpretation of a religion; sectarian violence refers to violence between different branches of the same religion. Shia â A branch of Islam. Sunni â A branch of Islam. Terrorist â Someone who uses violence or the threat of violence to force others to behave in a certain way; generally, terrorism targets civilian populations. UNICEF â United Nations International Childrenâs Emergency Fund; an agency that helps governments (especially in developing countries) improve the health and education of children and mothers. Visa â A document allowing someone to enter another country. White phosphorus â A chemical that can be used to light up areas of a battlefield; it is also mixed with explosives to create weapons that start large fires.
About the Author DEBORAH ELLIS has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the lives of children in developing countries. She is best known for her Breadwinner trilogy, which has been published around the world in seventeen languages, with more than half a million dollars in royalties donated to Street Kids International and to Women for Women , an organization that supports education projects for Afghan girls in refugee camps in Pakistan. Royalties from this book are being donated to the Children in Crisis Fund of IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People .
Also by Deborah Ellis FICTION Looking for X The Breadwinner Parvanaâs Journey Mud City The Breadwinner Trilogy (Anthology) A Company of Fools The Heaven Shop I Am a Taxi Sacred Leaf Jackal in the Garden: An Encounter with Bihzad Jakeman Bifocal (Co-written with Eric Walters) Lunch With Lenin and Other Stories No Safe Place NONFICTION Three Wishes: Israeli and Palestinian Children Speak Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk About Aids Off to War: Voices of Soldiersâ Children Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
About the Publisher Groundwood Books, established in 1978, is dedicated to the production of children's books for all ages, including fiction, picture books and non-fiction. We publish in Canada, the United States and Latin America. Our books aim to be of the highest possible quality in both language and illustration. Our primary focus has been on works by Canadians, though we