Brave with Beauty

Such a fabulous book! I love the title, the illustrations, and the text. This book is very well done!

The story and text are reminiscent of De Paola's Legend of the Bluebonnet, in that both have a longer story and both have a foreign, yet familiar feel. It is a historical story in a very different place and culture than where I live, yet the experiences and desires of Goharshad, both as a child and as an adult, are familiar to anyone, any age.

The illustrations are beautiful, and fit the story perfectly. Some of the illustrations are exquisite. Sometimes the illustrations are smaller on the page than I would like, but they are still beautiful, and the book does have full-page illustrations, too.

The book has a slow pace (which also reminded me of De Paola's Bluebonnet, etc.), but it fits the book well. This is a longer picture book, and great for an adult and child to read together. (It's not a simple picture books with just 1-2 sentences per page.) At the end there is a glossary with pronunciations, and an author's note with additional history and recommended books. The ending is bittersweet, as it touches on Goharshad's eventual death, and the destruction of her beautiful buildings and gardens over the centuries. It is sad, but also real. There is still some hope, and the appreciation of the beauty that she brought her people for as long as it lasted.

This book would be an excellent addition to any family or library picture book biography collection. It's a beautiful introduction to this strong, caring woman, and a brief introduction to her culture. I wish I knew about her and her determination to be "brave with beauty" when I was growing up. Highly recommended!