The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri

The Teacher of Nomad Land

A World War II Story

Daniel Nayeri

Levine Querido c/o Chronicle Books · Print & ebook · September 16, 2025

Winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Page-turning WW2 hidden history masterfully told by award winner Daniel Nayeri 1941.

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Who it’s for
A brisk wartime adventure opens onto a less familiar landscape: occupied Iran and its mountain routes.
Themes
Sibling bonds and separation, Survival under wartime danger, Finding common ground across cultures
Pacing
Fast

About this book

Winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature 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.

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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.

History on the Move

A brisk wartime adventure opens onto a less familiar landscape: occupied Iran and its mountain routes.

Come here for

  • World War II beyond Europe’s familiar fronts
  • Adventure threaded with questions of language and belonging

Expect

  • High-stakes travel through a vividly unsettled Iran
  • A meeting across faiths and nations

Where it sits

Historical Middle East53%
Holocaust Stories53%
Wars & Military History49%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Holocaust for Kids
  • Historical Middle East
  • War & Military Stories
Authors
Daniel Nayeri
Publisher
Levine Querido c/o Chronicle Books
Published
September 16, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Sibling bonds and separation · Survival under wartime danger · Finding common ground across cultures
Reading lane
Holocaust for Kids