Deborah Ellis’s best-selling YA novel The Breadwinner (Groundwood Books) is about to get a Hollywood-sized boost with news that Angelina Jolie Pitt will executive produce its animated-film adaptation.

The book and its three accompanying titles, which follow an 11-year-old girl named Parvana growing up in Kabul under Taliban rule, received a great deal of attention last year after being praised in the New York Times by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafza for “remind[ing] us how courageous and strong women are around the world.”

In a quote published in Variety, Jolie Pitt said, “Millions of young girls like Parvana are growing up today under oppression or conflict, and helping their families to survive in those conditions. This story is a reminder of the immense value of their contribution. I am delighted to be working with a talented team of artists who I know will do justice to the richness, creativity and strength of Afghan culture and to little girls like Parvana.”

Earlier this year, Groundwood released new 15th-anniversary editions of the series, which to date has been published in 25 languages, and sold more than two million copies worldwide. Ellis has donated more than $1 million of her royalties to related human-rights charities.