As the school year is coming to a close, and you’re likely looking forward to a few days of peace and quiet, and perhaps even some well-needed rest, I would like to recommend a few of my favorite books. These can make for great personal reading, but are also great for use in the classroom. Either for student reading, or teacher led studies (depending on your classroom dynamics).
Kabul Beauty School is one I first read a few years ago and it is definitely a keeper! Its author, Deborah Rodriguez, a Michigan-born hairdresser, first travels to Afghanistan with one of the many human aid organizations following 9/11. She quickly makes friends with many of the locals (and expats) and sees the need for hairdressing service, so she gets right to work! After starting beauty salon, and then a beauty school, this is her story of how Afghanistan and its women changed her life, and allowed her to change their own. This would serve as excellent reading for a unit on Middle Eastern studies, or even current events as you address the current and recent wars and turmoil in the Middle East.
Amanda M. Orozco 