What I Know

What I Want to Know

What I Learned

The setting is real because the story is non-fiction.

What part of Iraq is Basra in? (NE, NW, SE, SW).  Is there a name for the region that Basra is in?

Is Basra older than the United States? When was it founded?  When did people start living there?

 Basra is in Iraq.

How big is Basra (area)?  Is it the largest city in Iraq?

What other cities are near Basra?

What continent is Basra on?  What nations border Iraq?

 Basra is a port city.

What is the name of the body of water that makes Basra a port city?

What industries are in Basra?

Iraq is “sand-swept.”

What is “sand-swept” land like?  Is Basra in a “sand-swept” part of Iraq?

What kind of crops grow in Basra?

There was a war going on in Basra in 2003.

There is still a war going on in Iraq in 2009.

Alia went to the governor to talk about the books.

What kind of government is there in Basra?  Was the governor in charge of Basra?

Parliamentary democracy - a political system in which the legislature (parliament) selects the government - a prime minister, premier, or chancellor along with the cabinet ministers - according to party strength as expressed in elections; by this system, the government acquires a dual responsibility: to the people as well as to the parliament. 
 

Executive Branch:

chief of state: President Jalal TALABANI (since 6 April 2005); Vice Presidents Adil ABD AL-MAHDI and Tariq al-HASHIMI (since 22 April 2006); note - the president and vice presidents comprise the Presidency Council)
head of government: Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI (since 20 May 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Barham SALIH (since 20 May 2006)and Rafi al-ISSAWI (since 19 July 2008)
cabinet: 36 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council, plus Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI and Deputy Prime Ministers Barham SALIH and Rafi al-ISSAWI
elections: held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council of Representatives  

Is Basra the capital of Iraq?  If it’s not, what city is?

There were drawings of palm trees in the book.

How cold does it get in Basra?

There was a drawing of a flag in the book.

What flag is it?  Is it the Basra flag?  Is it the Iraq flag?

What kind of money does Basra have? (What is the currency?)

The book was written in English but the main character isn’t English.

What languages do people speak in Basra? 

Are there holidays in Basra?  What are they called? (religious or patriotic)

What religion(s) do people have in Basra?

There was a restaurant in the book.

What are some popular foods in Basra?

The Central Library was a meeting place for people. 

About how many people currently live in Basra?

2,010,000 people

(Found in 2009)

The Central Library burned down.

Who burned down the library?  Did the library ever get rebuilt?  Are there any libraries in Basra now?

Alia Muhammad Baker lived in Basra in 2003.

Does she live in Basra now?

Alia’s friends helped her save many books from the library.

How many books did Alia and her friends save?  Are the books still in Basra?  Who has the books now?

The author wrote the book because of a newspaper article she read about Alia.

Have the author and Alia ever met each other?

Yes, they met in 2006.