Book Discussion Guide
Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai
As Afghanistan becomes a more dangerous place to live, Fadi and his family know they must leave. As they make their escape to the United States, Fadi’s six year old sister, Miriam, gets left behind. Fadi aches with guilt, thinking that it’s all his fault! In the meantime, when Al Qaeda terrorists attack the United States on September 11th, 2001, things get more dangerous, both in the Middle East and in America. As investigators lead a search to find his sister, Fadi has a plan of his own. If he wins a local photography contest, he will win a trip to India! Fadi hopes to use this opportunity to get back to the Middle East to search for Miriam. As you read this book together, your family’s eyes will be opened to life in a war torn country. You and your child will have rich discussions about life as a refugee and as a Muslim in America post September 11th.
Questions To Talk About
While Reading
Vocabulary
It's important to make sure that your child has an understanding of key words in the book. Talking about words while reading is a great way for your child to learn new words.
In this book, you might talk about these words:
- careeened (pg. 2)
- oppression (pg. 13)
- pursuers (pg. 28)
- strife (pg. 52)
- disciplinarian (pg. 61)
- compulsion (pg. 95)
- trepidation (pg. 127)
- foreboding (pg. 143)
You might use a question like:
What does the word “pursuers” mean on page 28? What “pursuers” is the narrator referring to here?
Key Ideas and Themes
In addition to words, it's important to talk about key ideas and themes and how they develop over the course of the book.
Here are some examples to get you started:
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1
Mood is a word used to describe how an author’s words make the reader feel. What is the mood in the first chapter as the narrator describes life in Afghanistan and Fadi’s family’s escape from Kabul? As a family, talk about the situations that create this mood. Ask your child to point out the words or phrases that describe these conditions and to explain how it makes him or her feel.
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2
In the first few chapters of the book, the author uses flashbacks to give the reader background on the current situation. Ask your child to find parts where the narrator flashes back to a previous time. Ask: When do you know there is a change in time? Where do you see that? What information do you learn from this flashback? Why is this information important to your growing understanding of the characters and the plot?
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3
What is each family member’s point of view of the night Miriam is left behind? As a family, talk about how Miriam’s separation affects Fadi, Noor, and their parents. What does the author do to help you understand their feelings?
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4
Talk about how the author develops the main conflict, Miriam’s separation from the family, throughout the text. You can begin by asking: How does the author introduce the problem? How does the problem develop throughout the remainder of the story? What steps does Fadi and his family take to try to solve this problem? Finally, talk about how the problem is eventually resolved.
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5
On page 137 it says, “By the end of the day, Fadi knew that the world as he knew it would never be the same again.” How does this statement prove to be true? As a family, talk about how the September 11 attacks affect the characters in the book, including other Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent in their community. How does this terrible event impact Fadi and his family?
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6
What do you think the author wants you to understand about an Afghan refugee’s experience in America? Talk about the hardships Fadi and his family faced as they escaped Afgahnistan and sought refuge in America. What lessons can you learn from Fadi’s challenges with bullies and overcoming the guilt he feels for losing his sister?
Extra Activities
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1
The book talks a lot about Afghanistan. Do you and your family know about this beautiful country? Take this opportunity to find out more by visiting websites such as National Geographic, National Geographic for Kids, and the Encyclopedia Britannica. These sites all have interesting facts, pictures and maps of the country. After taking some time on these sites, talk as a family about how something you learned impacts
your understanding of Shooting Kabul. -
2
In Shooting Kabul, the author gives readers background information on conditions in Afghanistan before and around the time of the September 11th attacks. What are conditions like in Afghanistan now? Using a kid-friendly news source, such as newsela.com, search for articles that describe more current conditions. Compare these conditions to Fadi’s experience in Kabul before their immigration to America.
Here are few articles to get you started: