For September we have four countries to celebrate. How sad is it that all the books we have about Armenia are about the genocide? For further reading please refer to the GLLI blogs on Brazil, Mexico Armenia and Saudi Arabia.
By Nadine Bailey – middle school teacher librarian, currently living and working in Dubai, formerly in Beijing China, Singapore and a bunch of other cities around the world. Passionate about our students seeing themselves and their worlds in literature and developing curiosity and a passion for reading and learning.
The views, opinions, and thoughts expressed in this blog post are solely my own and do not reflect the positions, policies, or opinions of any current or former employer. Any references or examples provided are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as endorsements or official statements from any organization I have been associated with.
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 
There is a picture book by an Armenian-born writer that does not mention genocide. It’s called Babo: A Tale of Armenian Rug-Washing Day by Armenian-born Astrid Kamalyan, illustrated by Armenian-born Anait Semirdzhyan. There’s another picture book by an Armenian-born writer and artist that talks about the diaspora and Armenian heritage called The Brighter I Shine, by Armenian-Canadian writer Kamee Abrahamian, illustrated by Armenian-born artist Lusine Ghukasyan, published by Lantana.
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A book I loved from Saudi Arabia was Daring to Drive by Manal al-Sharif. Goodreads users voted it a top global memoir the year it came out. Daring to Drive is a page turner and one can learn so much about the Kingdom from reading the book. It is appropriate for high school readers.
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