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Yesterday, I discussed the book Three Cups of Tea. When I posted the link on my Facebook page, people praised the book, and some people had actually heard Greg Mortenson speak on college campuses. So, if you haven’t read it yet, put it on your to-do list. If you want to share his message with your children or your classroom, then check out this book: Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea.

Not only is the story of Greg Mortenson told simply in this picture book, but the murals by Susan L. Roth are fantastic. Children will love to look at these illustrations over and over again–I do! The story goes like this: The children of Korphe, a village in the Pakistan mountains, have school outside and do their lessons with sticks. A teacher comes to teach them 3 times a week. One day, Dr. Greg stumbles into their village (because he was trying to climb K2 and failed). The villagers keep him there until he recovers. When he leaves, he asks the wisest man, Haji Ali, what he can do to help the village to repay them for their kindness, and Haji Ali says, “Listen to the wind.”

When Greg listens to the wind, he hears the voices of the children outside doing their lessons, and he gets the idea to build them a school. He promises to come back with materials to build a school, and he does. However, he realizes they will need to build a bridge first to get the materials to the remote village, and they do that, too. In the end of the book, the children have a school building, and their teacher can now afford to come every day to teach them.

In the back of the book are real photos of Dr. Greg, the children, and the villagers. There are also facts such as now Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute have built over 131 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They educate 58,000 children–40,000 are girls. Children can also read how in Pakistan and Afghanistan, one penny buys a pencil and $1.00 pays for an education for a month! Students, their families, and/or classrooms are encouraged to check out the Pennies for Peace program at www.penniesforpeace.org.

The Children's Book Council hosts the Children's Choice Book Awards. The favorite book finalists for this year were determined by close to 15,000 children and teens. I highly recommend checking out these books!

This year for the first time, PaperTigers was invited to submit nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. We have just heard that the jury is now sifting through the nominations and that the complete list will be made public on 25 September at the Gothenburg Book Fair; it will also be on their website so we’ll let you know when it’s available.

In the meantime, here are our “Grounds for Nomination” statements for artist and author, Allen Say, and author and promoter of education in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Greg Mortenson.

Often drawing on his own background, Allen Say captivates his readers through beautifully honed prose and luminous watercolors. He embraces a striving for happiness with a blend of gentle humor and realism, and touches on many aspects of being human, such as race, migration, disability and age. Even young children can empathize with and find echoes in many of his stories. Say opens young hearts and minds both to new cultures and to their own potential; and his portrayal of the human condition provides a forum for children to recognize their own value and to dream.

Allen Say is featured in a Gallery in our current issue of PaperTigers, and offers some fascinating insight into his latest book, Erika-San. You can also read an interview with him, in which he talks about his semi-autobiographical book for young adults, The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice, as well as some of his other picture-books. Sally recently chose his Music for Alice for a Books at Bedtime post.

Greg Mortenson is a humanitarian whose motto is “Books, not Bombs.” Since 1993 he has been committed to promoting and supporting education and literacy (with an emphasis on girls’ education) in rural, underserved regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Through his work as co-founder/Executive Director of the Central Asia Institute, as of May 2009, he has established over 78 schools, supported the training of 600+ teachers and offered scholarships to hundreds of disadvantaged students, thus providing education to over 28,000 children (including 18,000 girls) who would otherwise have no opportunities.

Greg Mortenson is also founder of the Pennies For Peace program and author of the Kiriyama Prize-winning book Three Cups of Tea, which has been translated into 29 languages. It has been adapted into a version for young adults and a beautiful picture-book, Listen to the Wind, illustrated with wonderful collages by Susan L. Roth.

Please do share with us your thoughts and comments about our two nominations - we’d love to hear from you.