Author Raphaële Frier and illustrator Aurélia Fronty join forces in this inspiring picture-book biography of education activist Malala Yousafzai, first published in France. The narrative follows Malala's story from birth, and chronicles how, as a result of her unusual upbringing - her father Ziauddin was an educator, and unlike many in his Pashtun culture, believed that schooling should be extended to girls - she became a vocal advocate for the right of young girls in Pakistan to get an education. Despite growing threats from the Taliban, Malala continues her advocacy, eventually surviving an assassination attempt. Even this did not stop her, and she continued her education and activism in the UK, going on to found the Malala Fund to advocate for girls' education worldwide, and winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. The book concludes with an extensive afterword giving more information about Malala, her people and country, and her struggle for education rights...

Originally published in France as Malala pour le droit des filles à l'éducation, this informative and beautifully-illustrated volume is the fourth picture-book I have read about Malala Yousafzai, following upon her own Malala's Magic Pencil, Lina Maslo's Free as a Bird: The Story of Malala, and Jeanette Winter's Malala: A Brave Girl from Pakistan / Iqbal: A Brave Boy from Pakistan. I initially sought it out because I enjoyed illustrator Aurélia Fronty's work on another French picture-book biography, Franck Prévot's Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees. I'm very glad that I did track it down, as I found it (not unexpectedly) absolutely gorgeous, from an aesthetic perspective, and quite well-told and informative, from a textual standpoint. I appreciated the fact that Frier delved into the factors which caused the rise of the Taliban in the Swat Valley - namely, the exploitation of a terribly destructive earthquake by a fundamentalist Imam, as a means of convincing people that Allah was angry with them - and that she highlighted the role of Malala's father, in encouraging both her education and her activism. These are elements of the story also ably explored in Maslo's book. The artwork is, as mentioned, just beautiful, and make me wish I could track down more of Fronty's work. All in all, a very worthwhile title, one I would recommend to picture-book readers interested in biography, or in inspirational stories of young people standing up for their rights, and making a difference in the world. ( )

Top 100 pick because:

Malala is one of the greatest and most inspiring people alive today (and of those not alive). She has mutliple books about her already, even though she is not even 25. This picture book biography explains her story with rich detail, color, and texture for illustrations and text. Another solid story about an incredible young woman with an incredible story and message to the world. ( )

"Malala grows up with the smell of notebooks in the air."
Every child should know who and what Malala has done, and continues to do: being a symbol of peace and of the right to learn. I admire her deeply and I highly recommend this book for children to get acquainted with a true role model. ( )

Malala Activist for Girls' Education is an inspirational book about Malala Yousafzai and how the events of her life lead to her to becoming the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner. We learn as readers where Malala grew up as well as how the threat of constantly loomed. I really liked how this book explained the events in Malala's life, telling the reader what was happening and why. I also enjoyed the beautiful illustrations, they really helped tell the story and were visually appealing simultaneously. Malala and her story of hope, perseverance, and striving for education are simply inspiring. She risked her life to fight for her own and other girls' educations. It also makes me and, I suspect, other readers appreciate the rights and privileges we have. Readers in the United States like myself have the freedom to attend school without the threat of the Taliban. Malala and many others had to fight and speak out against those who would rather girls and women oppressed than learning. I also really liked that there was more information after the story ended, pictures of Malala, a map of Pakistan, information about Malala's work, and explanations about different aspects of her life. There is so much important and useful information in this book, it is rather impressive.
This book has a lot of serious talking points, I think that would lead to great discussions. I will say that probably a disclaimer before reading would be beneficial and definitely an extensive discussion after would help tremendously. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. ( )