This was absolutely beautiful in every way. I learned a lot from this story that I had never heard before, and I felt it had a really great message.

Some of the pages seemed very rudimentary and a little hard to follow for students in my classroom but overall a good book. A nice way to get immersed in a new culture.

A great book introducing a fabulous world leader, Queen Goharshad. She was a poet and architect.
Illustrations are beautiful and very informative on someone I had never heard of

Brave with Beauty has wonderful illustrations and lyrical prose. It tells us the story of Queen Goharshad, married to the powerful ruler Shah Rukh. Queen Goharshad was an outstanding woman of her time. She engaged in artistic projects from mosques to a library and a college for girls, creations that unfortunately were destroyed by time and war. However, the book is lovely and I'm glad such a woman existed and I got to know her through this little gem that is suited for all ages.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review (Thank you!).

Goharshad was the queen of Herat (western Afghanistan) during the 15th century. Goharshad was focused on the arts and creating beautiful things. This is a children's book outlining her life and accomplishments. The book was centered on beautiful and detailed illustrations. The story itself was a bit odd, but interesting nonetheless. Overall 4 out of 5 stars.

Goharshad is an historical figure I'd never heard of before, which is a real shame because her story is fascinating. Living in a world that did not value the feminine, she did not make her mark by embracing the masculine. Instead, she found ways to encourage the things that she valued in society - beauty and fairness instead of aggression and self-importance. Young readers will learn from Goharshad's story the values of beauty and of being true to yourself.

Your review illustrated, historical-figures, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, near-east, Afghanistan, women

What a wonder filled book! It is history wrapped in a story with beautiful imagery in prose and visual artistry and color. It will be read and cherished by young and old alike for its visuals and for the story of a woman of vision and the wise husband who did not demean her but supported her vision.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Yali Publishing, LLC/IBPA via NetGalley. Thank you so much!

I was unaware of this Queen and the history of Herat before reading this book. What a both beautiful and tragic story. I absolutely love how the illustrations were inspired by real life illuminated manuscripts - stunning! I also appreciated the addition of the word guide at the end. I would buy this as a gift.

This book is absolutely beautiful! The original draw for me was the cover and the inside does not disappoint, either! A historical fiction story of the life of a woman who grows up in a land that ends up troubled with war. A great short story for a classroom that provides historical value and very well-written!

The illustrations in this book are stunning, a beautiful story with facts behind it. It tells the story of an ancient afghan queen. Perfect for the classroom and library to introduce children to a new story/history. Excellent as part of a HerStory project.

Surprise, surprise, this is a beautiful book. Each page is filled with beautiful details and storytelling. I would actually love to read this to my niece. Goharshad is such a wonderful idol for a young girl to look up to.

Thanks to Netgalley for an eArc of this book.

'Brave with Beauty: A Story of Afghanistan' by Maxine Rose Schur with illustrations by Patricia Grush, Robin DeWitt, and Golsa Yaghoobi is a picture book based on a real person and how she took it as her mission to bring beauty to the world.

Taking place in the 15th century in Herat in western Afghanistan, we meet Queen Goharshad when she was just a small girl. She liked art and poetry, but her brothers preferred fighting. When Goharshad is married, she hires musicians to play music in the palace, but also the city. She builds a mosque that bears her name. She builds a university and a library. She was a poet and architect.

The book is filled with beautiful pictures and poems. The art in the books layout is inspired by that of the period of the Timurids. There is a nice afterword, as well as a reading list for further study.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Yali Publishing LLC, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

I wasn't really aware of what this book was about before I picked it up, but I'm glad I did. This was a gorgeously written and illustrated book. I had never heard of Queen Goharshad before, but she is quickly becoming one of my favorite historical figures. While this book was fiction, it was based on historical facts about Queen Goharshad and her reign in the 15th century. I would have loved to walk through the city she created, with the beautiful music, art and just the community of people she would have reigned over. She was a beautiful spirit. So glad I read this book! I will have to research more about her.
#Netgalley

My rating is 4.5 stars.

There are so many things that make Maxine Rose Schur’s Brave with Beauty such a unique read. It is set in Afghanistan. The central character is a woman, a queen who lived in the 15th century. It is a story about pursuing what you believe despite the times you live in.

The lush illustrations in the book transport you to 15th century Herat, once a bustling city that was an important part of the ancient trading routes. Very little is known about Queen Goharshad other than that she was a staunch promoter of beauty in the arts. The book tells us how little Goharshad always “loved to make words” and “imagine beautiful things to draw” even as a child. Her brothers teased her for being buried in books all the time but Goharshad didn’t really care. Her love for music, paintings, and beautiful structures only grew stronger after she got married to King Shah Rukh. As Queen, she commissioned many magnificent monuments and gardens. Sadly, very little remains of the paradise that Goharshad envisioned and built today.

I loved reading this little gem of a book. I had not heard of the legendary Queen before and I am intrigued by the strength of her character. Given the times that she lived in she was brave to assert herself and leave behind a glittering legacy. In fact, she is now thought to have been one of the most powerful women in history.

I wish the book was broader and told me more about this fascinating woman. Even for a children’s book it felt very bare, lightly touching upon just the most important milestones in Goharshad’s timeline. The illustrations, though, are gorgeous and detailed, and they really brought ancient Herat alive for me.

All in all, I relished Brave with Beauty and I hope to read more books like it!

A big thank you to Yali Books who sent it to me for a review!

This was a great and rare find. Brave with Beauty by Maxine Rose Schur made a beautiful graphic historical novel. I read through it twice. One of my favorite lines after stating she is brave with beauty, and not knowing exactly what being 'brave with beauty' meant, she vowed, "I will not be afraid. Not now. Not ever! One day I will make the most beautiful things in the world."
From the author's note, this tale is about a 15th century Queen from Afghanistan. Queen Goharshad ruled with her husband Emperor Shah Rukh in the Timurid Empire for over fifty years. The story is about her life before and after she became Queen. Queen Goharshad enthusiastically supported the arts and during her reign poetry, painting, calligraphy, and architecture flourished as never before.
I love when books create such wonderful and interesting facts that now I will go hunt down more books on the same topic to learn more.

A beautifully illustrated children's book about the life of Queen Goharshad and a reminder that Afghanistan wasn't always the war-torn country we know now, but under Goharshad's reign Herat was considered the Florence of Asia, as she was known for her patronage of the arts, music, architecture, education and religion.

I did feel like the text was a bit too heavy at times for younger readers, but it had the feel of early 90s children's books from the font and detailed illustrations.

Taliban suicide bomber attacks and forbidding girls from attending school are only two disturbing headlines connected to 21st-century Afghanistan, but 700 years ago was a completely different reality. Herat, once the capital city of the Timurid Empire, which ran from Turkey to the border of China, was known as “the Florence of Asia” during Queen Goharshad’s reign of 50 years. Exquisite illustrations rendered as lush tapestries of saturated pigments and intricate design details project from the pages with the layered dimensions of a diorama. Paired scrollwork motifs pop in contrast against plain white page borders. Hafiz, Rumi, gorgeous mosques as architectural splendors, and a college for girls are referred to as reminders that the ancient culture of the Hindu Kush region was an advanced civilization in the arts and sciences long before many currently powerful western countries.

Schur uses creative license in describing Goharshad’s upbringing with her warmonger brothers to examine themes of martial arts versus marshaling the arts to generate peace and prosperity. Brave with Beauty recognizes the successful audacity of a woman who valued the arts as essential to society’s stability and evolution.

A very brief glossary, a guide for parents and educators, plus selected titles for reference and further reading conclude this enlightening historical nugget that will entice many readers to hunger for more information about Queen Goharshad and Afghanistan’s ancient cultural legacies.

Brave with Beauty is the story of Queen Goharshad. She ruled along with her husband during the 5th century in present-day Afghanistan.
We see her from childhood with her brothers and the beauty she saw in the world. She was always in artist and a very strong young woman, ahead of her time. She was married to the king at the age of 14 and was able to rule alongside him. From this book, we can see that she ruled alongside him and was allowed freedom to do what she wanted.

Overall I really love learning about history this way. The part of Queen Goharshad we learned about in this book is inspiring and make me want to keep learning more about her. I truly know nothing about the middle east queens and kings so this was a very eye-opening book for me.

"She wanted to be braver with beauty than she had ever been before.
And she was.
She wanted to make the most beautiful buildings that ever soared into the heavens.
And she did." pg 30

An interesting read. I haven't read many books set in Afghanistan. It was nice to learn about this relatively unknown Queen.
Complimented with vibrant illustration that brought the story to life. It definatly gives a slightly different image of a country than what we usually read about in the media.

I like this story about Queen Goharshad. Some younger children may not like the death part of this story. Otherwise, it is a lovely story, but maybe for a bit older children. I love the illustrations and the whole design of the book.