It is the wise old woman of the village who teaches young Sofia about the secrets in the fire. Within the flames hide all things past and all things yet to be. But not even old Muazena can see the horrors the fire holds for Sofia and her family--not the murderous bandits who drive them from their home, and not the landmine that takes Sofia's legs. In her long journey toward recovery, Sofia must still deal with growing up. Along the way, she discovers friends, and foes, in places she'd never expected. Through it all, Sofia draws on a strength she never knew she had, a fire of her own that's been a secret all along. In beautifully spare, unsentimental language, Henning Mankell's stunning novel puts a very human face on the suffering in Africa.

 

There are 176 pages in this book. This book was published 2003 by Annick Press Ltd .

Dusan Petricic is the award-winning illustrator of such children's classics as "Mattland" and "Bone Button Borscht. " He lives in Toronto, Ontario. Henning Mankell is a well-known writer of novels and plays in Sweden. Anne Stuksrud was born in Sweden but now lives in Australia. She is a trained teacher, a writer and a student of psychology.