-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
Summary | Discuss | Reviews | More Information | Read-Alikes
A World War II Story
by Daniel Nayeri
Page-turning WW2 hidden history masterfully told by award winner Daniel Nayeri.
1941. The German armies are storming across Europe. Iran is a neutral country occupied by British forces on one side, Soviet forces on another. Soldiers fill the teahouses of Isfahan. Nazi spies roam the alleyways.
Babak and his little sister have just lost their father. Now orphans, fearing they will be separated, the two devise a plan. Babak will take up his father's old job as a teacher to the nomads. With a chalkboard strapped to Babak's back, and a satchel full of textbooks, the siblings set off to find the nomad tribes as they make their yearly trek across the mountains.
On the treacherous journey they meet a Jewish boy, hiding from a Nazi spy. And suddenly, they are all in a race for survival.
Against the backdrop of World War II comes an epic adventure in the faraway places. Through the cacophony of soldiers, tanks, and planes, can young hearts of different creeds and nations learn to find a common language?
Master storyteller Daniel Nayeri keeps you on the edge of your seat, uncertain to the very end.
2025 National Book Awards Finalists Announced
Here's the list! Which ones have you read? Which are on your radar? Fiction : Rabih Alameddine, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) Megha Majumdar, A Guardian and a Thief Karen Russell, The Antidote Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther Bryan Wa...
-kim.kovacs
National Book Awards, 2025
"Heart-piercing… Babak's palpable love for his sister emphasizes the novel's suggestion that there is power in kindness, even in the face of tragedy. Lush details and taut plotting distinguish this immersive, profound offering." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Gripping… a remarkably intimate story of a neutral nation caught between warring powers, seamlessly integrating philosophical questions about God, family, and cross-cultural understanding and suggesting that truly listening to those different from us can be a sacred and transformative act… A compelling testament to the power of education and empathy to light the way in even the most perilous circumstances." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The artfully detailed setting and strong values depicted through Babak's endeavor to teach others will leave readers inspired. A powerful novel about an often-forgotten region and era that highlights the power of education through shared communication to create bonds." —School Library Journal (starred review)
This information about The Teacher of Nomad Land was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Award-winning author Daniel Nayeri, who was born in Iran and immigrated to Oklahoma as a refugee, captivated readers with his poignant memoir Everything Sad Is Untrue (Printz Award) and the epic adventure The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams (Newbery Honor). A former publisher, editor, and pastry chef, he resides along the East Coast with his family.
If you liked The Teacher of Nomad Land, try these:
by Burkhard Bilger
Published 2024
A New Yorker staff writer investigates his grandfather, a Nazi Party Chief, in this "unflinching, gorgeously written, and deeply moving exploration of morality, family, and war" (Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain).
by Steve Sheinkin
Published 2023
From three-time National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin, a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust - one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape.
by Judy Batalion
Published 2022
One of the most important stories of World War II, already optioned by Steven Spielberg for a major motion picture: a spectacular, searing history that brings to light the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who became resistance fighters - a group of unknown heroes whose exploits have never been chronicled in full, until now.
Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
