SHAHANA

A series of six fiction titles that invites young readers aged 11-14 years to enter the fragile worlds of children living in contemporary war zones.

Every day, in an increasing number of countries, children are desperately trying to survive as their families and their whole way of life is destroyed by war. This new series is a tribute to such children and the themes of courage, determination, triumph and perseverance will inspire, challenge and engage young readers, creating greater cross-cultural understanding and informed empathy. Several stories for younger readers have been written about the two World Wars but very little has been published about more contemporary conflicts. War affects the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the boy or girl and these stories will appeal to all readers. Although this is a fiction series, the strong, character-driven storylines will ensure readers are aware of the specific time, place and military conflict. Shahana lives alone with her young brother in the shadow of the Line of Control, the border patrolled by Pakistani and Indian soldiers that divides war-torn Kashmir in two. Life is hard, but Shahana ekes out a living with her beautiful embroidery. Then she finds a boy lying unconscious near the border. Zahid is from across the Line of Control, and Shahana takes a terrible risk in sheltering him. But how can she give Zahid up to the authorities when she knows he’ll be imprisoned - or worse? Lyn White has been a primary school teacher-librarian and English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher for more than twenty years and recently completed postgraduate studies in Editing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. Lyn is passionate about children’s literature, committed to developing life-long reading habits in children and has great expertise in engaging students with quality texts and teachers with relevant high quality resources. Her work with refugee and migrant children motivated her to create a series that spoke of their experiences, and led to the ‘Through My Eyes’ series.