In 2011, Ellis picked Parvana’s story up again when Parvana is 15 and captured by the U.S. Parvana’s story continues in Parvana’s Journey, while Ellis follows Shauzia in Mud City. The Breadwinner is the first in a series. During their time in power, the Taliban conducted massacres, razed entire towns and agricultural areas, and committed a number of war crimes. The Soviet-Afghan war had a death toll of anywhere between half a million and two million civilians, depending on the model. As Ellis writes in the forward to The Breadwinner, these conflicts killed or negatively affected more civilians than soldiers. late in 2001, after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. The Taliban were removed from power by the U.S.

They were internationally reprimanded for their harsh laws, refusal of international aide for displaced civilians, and their treatment of women in particular.

Following the Soviet retreat in 1989, Afghanistan fell into civil war-and in 1996, the Taliban (an Islamist fundamentalist organization) took control of the country. The United States, along with Pakistan, China, the UK, and other countries, supported insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 the resulting conflict was one of the final Cold War proxy wars. At one point, Parvana's mother and siblings go to Mazar-e Sharif, a city to the north that has not yet fallen under Taliban control.Afghanistan, as Parvana notes, has a long history of strife and conquest, but The Breadwinner focuses mainly on the events of the late 20th century. Kabul has been devastated by the war and most people live in poverty. The book takes place in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Therefore the time period is about 1997 or the late 1990s. The Taliban forbade women to leave the house unattended. Parvana says that her mother and sister have not left the house in a year and a half. The Breadwinner takes place after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 1996. Students can use a grid where they can illustrate and describe each aspect of the setting. Students will create a setting chart to identify the time and place of the story to gain a deeper understanding of the characters and their situation. The story begins about a year and a half after the Taliban has taken control of Kabul, Afghanistan and the main character, Parvana, and her family are living in poverty under the Taliban's oppressive and violent rule. Settings often play a crucial role especially in the case of historical fiction as is the case in the book The Breadwinner. The setting of a story is the location and time, or the where and when.

Deborah ellis the breadwinner trilogy