The sights, sounds, and vibrant spirit of the Turkoman people come alive in this story of one day in the life of a young girl in Afghanistan. Eight-year-old Zulviya, her sister and her cousin, her mother and her grandmother... they all belong to the loom. For generations the women of Zulviya's family have earned their living by weaving rugs by hand. The rugs are valuable and the women are proud of their beautiful handiwork. But the work is hard. It takes months to weave a rug; each one contains hundreds of thousands of knots. Before one work day has passed, Zulviya will tie thousands of knots. As she sits at her work, Zulviya weaves not one but two patterns. The pattern on the loom will become a fine rug. She weaves a second pattern in her mind. There she sees the green of the Afghani hills, the bright blue of the nearby lake, and the vivid orange of the setting sun. And Zulviya takes comfort in the landscape in her mind. Grade 2–5—Eight-year-old Zulviya lives in Afghanistan. She, her sister, and her cousin all join the women and girls of the village in weaving rugs all day. The work is hard on their hands, on their eyes, and on their legs and feet as they tie knots, stare at the loom, and sit for hours working with rough wool. Zulviya weaves her mother's and grandmother's pattern, but "the second pattern I weave in my head. It is all my own." In her daydreams, her patterns are filled with the sights, sounds, and things she likes, such as mulberries, "which would take away our thirst, but we are not allowed to eat them. The juice would stain our fingers." In reality, when her fingers bleed, her mother binds them so the blood does not get on the rug. At lunch, Zulviya and her sister speak of school, but school is a two-day walk from her village. By story's end, Zulviya's back aches, her fingers stumble, and the pattern in her mind is gone. She waits to hear the owl, because its call means that she is finished for that day. This sad, poignant story, accompanied by Milelli's large, evocative paintings, portrays the stolen childhoods of youngsters involved in illegal child labor. An author's note informs readers that many of the beautifully woven rugs sold today are made by child workers like Zulviya.— Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Gloria Whelan is a poet and the award-winning author of many children's books including Homeless Bird , for which she received the National Book Award. The Listeners is her third title in the Tales of Young Americans series. Her other picture books with Sleeping Bear Press include Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers (2008 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner); Yatandou (a Junior Library Guild selection); and Friend on Freedom River (a Jefferson Cup honor book). Ms. Whelan lives near Lake St. Clair in Michigan where you can often find her out walking. Pascal Milelli's illustration clients include Harper's , The Atlantic , and Scribner Books, and his work has been featured in Applied Arts and Communication Arts magazines. His picture book, The Art Room , by Susan Vande Griek, received the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award from the Canadian Library Association in 2003.