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Daniel Nayeri was born in Iran and spent some years as a refugee before immigrating to Oklahoma at age seven with his family. He has had a long career in publishing, first as a literary agent, then as an editor and publisher for houses such as HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Macmillan. More about this author >
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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. 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 faraway places. Through the cacophony of soldiers, tanks, and planes, can young hearts of different creeds and nations learn to find a common language?
There is a preponderance of books on World War II, but The Teacher of Nomad Land is unlike any other. With language that is simultaneously spare and incredibly powerful, Daniel Nayeri tells a story of empathy and survival to get at the core of what makes us human. Equipped with only a giant chalkboard and an equally immense heart, Babak navigates a country occupied by outsiders, fighting to keep his sister with him and to survive the ravages of war—all with chalk in hand.
Daniel Nayeri at the 2025 National Book Awards Finalist Reading
Daniel Nayeri, Winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature
