The Most Beautiful Village in the World

A young boy, Yamo, lives in the Afghan village of Paghman. The peaceful village is surrounded by the bounty of nature. Fruit trees burst into bloom in the spring, and in the summer, Yamo's whole family joins in harvesting apricots, plums, and cherries—breaking into song as they pick. This year, for the first time, Yamo goes to the market in town to sell their harvest with his father. He is filling in for his older brother, who is off fighting in the war. After they have sold their fruit, his father uses the income to buy a white baby lamb. Readers will feel experience the deep love of the family, enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the landscape, and vivid activities at the town market. Then on the final page, readers will be stunned to learn: "This winter, my village was destroyed by the war, and now it's all gone." This book, the first of three in the Yamo's Village series, leads the young reader to think in real terms about the meaning of war and its impact. And they understand that there used to be many beautiful villages in Afghanistan.

Yutaka Kobayashi (1946–) is a Nihonga (Japanese-style paintings) artist and picture-book author. In 1979, his very first submission was accepted for the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition (Nitten). He was a frequent visitor to the Islamic countries of Asia and the Middle East during the 1970s to early 1980s, and the main themes of his works reflect those visits.

“I wish the civil war in Afghanistan would end quickly, and. . . . And then I could see my old friends, and that their village could become, once again, the most beautiful village in the world.”
—Yutaka Kobayash