Suzanne Fisher Staples Books In Order

Shabanu Books In Order

  1. Shabanu : Daughter of the Wind (1989)
  2. Haveli (1993)
  3. The House of Djinn (2008)

Novels

  1. Dangerous Skies (1996)
  2. Storm (1998)
  3. Shiva’s Fire (2000)
  4. The Green Dog (2003)
  5. Under the Persimmon Tree (2005)
  6. Under the Same Stars (2007)

Shabanu Book Covers

Novels Book Covers

Suzanne Fisher Staples Books Overview

Shabanu : Daughter of the Wind

‘This first novel is, on several counts, one of the most exciting YA booksto appear recently. Staples is so steeped in her story and its Pakistanisetting that the use of a first person voice for a desert child ringsauthentic the voice is clear, consistent, and convincing. Shabanu and hersister are to marry brothers as soon as they all come of age. But she willeventually lose her betrothed and be promised to a wealthy landowner to settlea feud. The richness and tragedy of a whole culture are reflected in the fateof this girl’s family. Through an involving plot Staples has given readersinsight into lives totally different from their own, but into emotionsresoundingly familiar.’ starred Bulletin, Center for Children’s Books.

Haveli

The world of Newbery Honor book Shabanu is vividly re created in this novel of a young Pakistani woman’s heartbreaking struggle against the tyranny of custom and ancient law. Shabanu, now a mother at 18, faces daily challenges to her position in her husband’s household, even as she plans for her young daughter’s education and uncertain future. Then, during a visit to the Haveli, their home in the city of Lahore, Shabanu falls in love with Omar, in spite of traditions that forbid their union.

The House of Djinn

It has been ten years since Shabanu staged her death to secure the safety of her daughter, Mumtaz, from her husband’s murderous brother. Mumtaz has been raised by her father s family with the education and security her mother desired for her, but with little understanding and love. Only her American cousin Jameel, her closest confidant and friend, and the beloved family patriarch, Baba, understand the pain of her loneliness. When Baba unexpectedly dies, Jameel s succession as the Amirzai tribal leader and the arrangement of his marriage to Mumtaz are revealed, causing both to question whether fulfilling their duty to the family is worth giving up their dreams for the future.A commanding sequel to the novels Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind and Haveli, The House of Djinn stands on its own. Suzanne Fisher Staples returns to modern day Pakistan to reexamine the juxtaposition of traditional Islamic values with modern ideals of love. The House of Djinn is a 2009 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year.

Dangerous Skies

A Season of ChangeAlong the Virginia shoreline where their families have lived for generations, Buck and Tunes Smith defy tradition. Raised together like brother and sister, they are bound by surname, but not by skin color. And just as Buck has come to rely on Tunes, Tunes has come to trust that even in a place where race can mean so much, their friendship will remain as dependable as the tides. But then the horrifying events of one spring afternoon tear them apart and change their world forever. Desperate to hang on to the thing that he values most, Buck struggles to uphold their friendship without realizing that his efforts are pushing Tunes farther and farther away. From a Newbury Honor winning author, this is a powerfully moving story of friendship in the face of racism, and betrayal in the name of loyalty. Dangerous Skies is a 2007 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year.

Shiva’s Fire

On a day when fish leap among the stars and birds soar beneath the waters, a remarkable girl named Parvati is born in a village in the South of India. As she grows, she becomes known for the peculiar events that seem to spring from beneath her dancing feet, and is widely thought to have supernatural powers. When a great master of Indian classical dance comes to see for himself, he recognizes in Parvati a rare talent and invites her to study with him at his gurukulam in the city of Madras. There she commits herself to a rigorous and solitary program of study, dance, and devotion. But when she meets a boy with his own extraordinary powers, her life is turned upside down, and she must question the one thing of which she has always been most sure that she was born to dance. In this powerful novel rich with mysticism, Suzanne Fisher Staples tells the poignant story of a strong girl who refuses to squander her magical gifts in the face of life’s ordinary but perplexing mysteries.

The Green Dog

By the author of Shabanu, a Newbery Honor BookThe summer after fourth grade, a lonely girl wants just one thing: a dog. It’s all she can think of. She tries everything to convince her parents to let her have one, but nothing works. She is sure that she will spend another whole summer alone dogless and friendless with no one to share her adventures in the woods and waterways of northeastern Pennsylvania. Just when things look bleakest, a dog appears on the side of the road and needs rescuing. He looks exactly like the dog she’s been dreaming of. Together they spend long, golden days fishing, swimming, and exploring the woods. Jeff works his magic on everyone in the house, but it’s soon evident that he has a nose for trouble, like digging up the neighbor’s rhubarb patch and overturning a pail of green paint. Suzanne’s father rapidly loses patience. ‘One more incident,’ he warns, ‘and that dog is going to the farm.’ This heartwarming story, taken from the author’s childhood, will remind readers of all ages what it s like to wish for something so hard and to love something so completely it makes your heart ache.

Under the Persimmon Tree

Intertwined portraits of courage and hope in Afghanistan and Pakistan Najmah, a young Afghan girl whose name means star, suddenly finds herself alone when her father and older brother are conscripted by the Taliban and her mother and newborn brother are killed in an air raid. An American woman, Elaine, whose Islamic name is Nusrat, is also on her own. She waits out the war in Peshawar, Pakistan, teaching refugee children Under the Persimmon Tree in her garden while her Afghan doctor husband runs a clinic in Mazar i Sharif, Afghanistan. Najmah’s father had always assured her that the stars would take care of her, just as Nusrat s husband had promised that they would tell Nusrat where he was and that he was safe. As the two look to the skies for answers, their fates entwine. Najmah, seeking refuge and hoping to find her father and brother, begins the perilous journey through the mountains to cross the border into Pakistan. And Nusrat s persimmon tree school awaits Najmah s arrival. Together, they both seek their way home. Known for her award winning fiction set in South Asia, Suzanne Fisher Staples revisits that part of the world in this beautifully written, heartrending novel. Under the Persimmon Tree is a 2006 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year.

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