Thursday Winter, David and I went to our first book launch ever. It was a project two years in the making spreading across two continents-Australia and Asia. The book Kinglake to Kabul is a compilation of pieces written by both Afghan and Australian students. The pieces share their thoughts, their tears, and most of all their stories. Kinglake had a day of tragedy when wildfires overtook the town. Kabul has had many days of tragedy through its years of struggle. In this book, the students give each other a chance to see what life is like where they live and how they feel. Many of Winter’s classmates were actually authors in the book.
The book launch had speeches by the editor from Australia, our English teacher who did tons of work on the project and the principal congratulating and encouraging the students. We heard from students reading not only the pieces they wrote but also pieces from the kids in Australia. Tears came to my eyes as I sat by one of my student’s mothers as her daughter told the story of what it was like living as a refugee. From a teacher’s perspective, it was great to see my students in a different light and to celebrate with them the honor of being a published author. Winter and I can’t wait to get our own copy of the book to read the stories for ourselves. Here are a few pictures from the event.
