Author Daniel Nayeri is definitely on a roll. On the heels of his 2024 Newbery Honor Book, The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, his middle grade historical fiction novel, The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story, has again received a nod from the children’s literary community as a 2026 Newbery Honor Book. Although both are set in the Middle East, these books are quite different in literary style and subject matter. The backdrop of this book is the occupation of Iran by the British and the Soviets to keep Nazi Germany from taking control of the passage of oil during World War II.
The lead time from when a book is written to when it is published is ridiculously long. So, this book was conceived and written long before the events in Iran in the spring of 2026. Is it history repeating itself, coincidence, or eerie that the world is again in turmoil and that there is the same world attention and focus on controlling the passage of oil through and around Iran?
This is a short read that focuses on two children, a brother and sister, caught up in the cross hairs of powers out of their control. Babak and Sana are tenacious and loyal. Babak is doing better than he thinks he is at taking care of his sister. Sana is charming and precocious. In a story that feels all too real and all too relevant right now, there is a message of hope. With plenty of plot movement to engage young readers, this is also a great discussion book and highly recommended.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Report of death of parent, no details; report of death of a parent in act of bombing, brief details; many references to WWII fighting; adult slaps child on face as punishment; adult threatens children on multiple occasions verbally and with knife; child threatened and falls backwards, knocked unconscious; it is determined that an adult is looking for a child with intent to harm/kill; child contemplates hitting sleeping adult on head with rock; character contemplates being stabbed or shot in order to protect younger family member; character hit on head with rock (mention of blood) and knocked unconscious; multi-page account of young Jewish character recounting attacks on his family, forcing them onto train cars, seeing people hit by soldiers, people shot, a baby dying, and being hit in the knee with a baton; character threatens to throw child into ravine; character is tackled and knocked off high place and seen lying injured and unconscious; scene in which adult attacks with a knife and pursues children.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
War, death of a family member, WWII, persecution of the Jews by Nazi Germany, foreign occupation.
Drug/Alcohol Use:
None
