Cover Reveal: Daniel Nayeri’s The Teacher of Nomad Land WITH Alternative Book Jacket Designs!

We have quite the treat for you today, folks. First and foremost, the important thing to know is that Daniel Nayeri, fresh off his Newbery Honor win for The Many Assassination of Samir the Seller of Dreams, has a brand new middle grade novel out this year! Called The Teacher of Nomad Land and out August 12th, the book focuses on Iran during WWII.

Usually at this point I’d include a publisher’s description, but you know what’s even better than that? Getting the facts straight form the author himself. I asked Daniel to give us a couple sentences about the book and he provided not a “couple” but a “slew” (which, let’s admit it, I think we all prefer). On the topic of the book he says:

I have always been fascinated by the history of Iran during World War 2. It’s complicated, of course, but whenever I’m telling friends about it, I begin by telling them that in 1941, as Hitler marched across Europe, British and Soviet forces conducted what is called The Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran. 

In short, the idea was that Iran had a railroad running from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea called “The Persian Corridor,” which supplied a great deal of petroleum to the surrounding countries. So even though Iran had declared itself neutral in the war, the Allies felt that it was too important strategically to let it fall into the hands of the Axis Powers. 

The invasion turned Iran into an occupied territory, where Polish refugees, British and Soviet soldiers all crowded into the tea houses of Isfahan, and Nazi spies lurked in the shadows. 

On top of that, you have a group of Polish Jewish Orphans who were settled temporarily in Tehran called “the Tehran Children,” and you’ve got yourself a panoply of characters to work with. 

At the heart of the story are these two siblings who lose their father in the invasion, and who decide to take up his old job of being a teacher to the nomadic tribes of Iran. The older brother straps a chalkboard to his back and they go walking into the Zagros mountains. Along the way they meet a whole host of characters, and for me, the theme of the story comes forth, which is that all conflict, whatever the magnitude, begins at a point of miscommunication. 

The characters of this story almost all speak different languages, and one of the great challenges was to express that for young readers, the sheer difficulty of making yourself understood in a warzone. 

Today, you get a real treat. Not just the final book jacket itself, but also a plethora of jackets that were considered and ultimately rejected.

First, the cover itself. The jacket art is by artist Jim Tierney, who also designed the type and the entire book:

And here are the alternative covers. Which one is your favorite?

Great gobs of thanks to Daniel for telling us a bit more about the book today as well as Antonio Gonzalez Cerna and the team at Levin Querido for this peek into not simply the cover but the process as well. The Teacher of Nomad Land is, as I say, on shelves August 12th. Pre-order your copy today!

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