Editor: Our
Western Washington University librarian has compiled this list of classroom
book suggestions to help young people understand Israeli & Palestinian life. A special thank you to Sylvia Gabrielle
Tag, WWU Librarian & Associate Professor, for her contribution to our
understanding. For an earlier post that provided an annotated bibliography
for educators and youth on Ukraine, click here.
Israeli & Palestinian Youth Come Together: An Annotated Bibliography
Sylvia Gabrielle Tag
This list highlights books
for young people that contain both Israeli and Palestinian characters,
settings, and narratives. The list is heartbreakingly short – one might say
tragically so considering the current conflict. The list begins with true
stories, providing evidence of our shared humanity. Recently, librarians and
educators are using the term “true stories” versus the traditional genre of
nonfiction. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is true for
the photographs in true stories as well as the images in picture books. Middle
school readers are ready to tackle tough issues and still look to grown-ups for
guidance. Realistic fiction, fantasy and documentary books are provided for
teens. We hope that more books will be published that connect us - these books
offer a place to start.
True Stories / Nonfiction
Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak by Deborah Ellis – Based on interviews of children and teenagers in Israel
and Palestine. Ellis alternates Israeli and Palestinian
voices and prefaces each of the accounts by an informative discussion of pertinent
issues and a profile of the interviewee and his/her experiences. A perceptive and empathetic presentation.
Sharing Our Homeland: Palestinian and
Jewish Children at Summer Peace Camp by Trish Marx - Summer
is here, and Alya, an Israeli Palestinian girl, and Yuval, an Israeli Jewish
boy, are off to Peace Camp. At camp, Alya, Yuval, and the other campers enjoy
two weeks of fun in close contact with one another. They participate in sports,
create arts and crafts projects, and go on field trips. The children begin to
understand what their homeland means to both sides. They learn not to be afraid
and to respect one another.
Neve Shalom Wahat
Al-Salaam: Oasis of Peace by Laurie
Dolphin - This cooperative school
outside of Jerusalem brings Jews and Arabs together in the hopes that by
raising their children together, they will create a peaceful co-existence. Told
from the point of view of two 10-year-old boys, with photographs throughout.
Picture Books
Yaffa and
Fatima: Shalom, Salaam by Fawzia
Gilani-Williams – A touching picture book about two
neighbors―one Jewish, one Muslim― who have always been best friends. In Gilani's
retelling of a folktale―which has both Jewish and Arab origins―differences are
not always causes for conflict and friendship can overcome any obstacle.
A
Moon for Moe and Mo by Jane Breskin
Zalben - Moses Feldman, a Jewish boy, lives at one end of Flatbush Avenue in
Brooklyn, New York, while Mohammed Hassan, a Muslim boy, lives at the other.
One day they meet at Sahadi's market while out shopping with their mothers and
are mistaken for brothers. A friendship is born, and the boys bring their
families together to share rugelach and date cookies in the park as they make a
wish for peace.
Snow
in Jerusalem by Deborah Da Costa - Avi and Hamudi are
two boys who live in Jerusalem's Old City―Avi in the Jewish Quarter and Hamudi
in the Muslim Quarter. To each boy, the other's neighborhood is an alien land.
And although neither boy knows it, both are caring for the same beautiful white
stray cat. One day the boys follow the cat as she travels the winding streets
and crosses the boundaries between the city’s quarters.
Middle Grades
Wishing Upon the Same Stars by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman - When twelve-year-old
Yasmeen Khoury moves with her family to San Antonio, all she wants to do is fit
in. When Yasmeen meets her neighbor, Ayelet Cohen, a first-generation Israeli
American and the two girls become friends. But when Yasmeen’s grandmother moves
in after her home in Jerusalem is destroyed, Yasmeen and Ayelet must grapple
with how much closer the events of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are than
they’d realized. Can peace begin with them?
Samir and Yonatan by Daniella Carmi - Samir, a Palestinian boy, is sent for surgery to an
Israeli hospital where he has two otherworldly experiences, making friends with
an Israeli boy, Yonatan, and traveling with him to Mars where Samir finds peace
over his younger brother's death in the war.
Running on Eggs by Anna Levine - It all starts when
Karen and Yasmine trade lunch boxes. Such an act would hardly raise eyebrows
anywhere else, but Karen lives on an Israeli kibbutz and Yasmine in a nearby
Palestinian village, and distrust between the two cultures runs deep. Running
on Eggs offers a frank portrayal of modern-day Israel and recounts the story of
two girls whose loyalty to each other helps them overcome the obstacles in
their path.
Young Adult
Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed – A book about dating, friendship,
families, and resistance. Two teen activists canvas the streets of New York
City and learn to navigate cross-cultural differences that run deep.
You Asked for Perfect
by Laura Silverman - The story follows Ariel, a Jewish teen, as he fights for
valedictorian all while falling for Amir, the Muslim son of family friends. Significantly,
Ariel and Amir are never challenged regarding their religion and sexuality. These
novel resists assumptions that necessitate cultural conflict.
Internment by Samira Ahmed – In this disturbing fantasy novel,
17-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for
Muslim American citizens. With the help of newly made friends also trapped
within the camp, and her Jewish boyfriend on the outside, Layla begins a
journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment
camp's director and his guards.
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valérie Zenatti - Seventeen-year-old Tal Levine of
Jerusalem, despondent over the ongoing Arab Israeli conflict, puts her hopes
for peace in a bottle and asks her brother, a military nurse in the Gaza Strip,
to toss it into the sea, leading ultimately to friendship and understanding
between her and an "enemy."
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan - For older readers, this book is based on a 43-minute radio
documentary that Tolan produced for "Fresh Air," this volume pursues
the story into the homes and histories of the two families at its center
through the present day. Their stories form a personal microcosm of the last 70
years of Israeli-Palestinian history
Growing Self-esteem in
Israeli and Palestinian Young People
Jewish Readers Deserve to See Themselves Outside of the Holocaust and
Holidays by BrocheAroe
Fabian
12 Children's and YA Books by Palestinian Authors by Hannah Moushabeck
Resources
on Grief, Loss, and Understanding
Not If But When: Books for Young
People About Death and Loss is a website of book titles. Children and teens facing the loss of
friends and family, or their own mortality, need help navigating the emotional,
physical, and practical upheavals and restorations. Books offer opportunities
to ask questions, wonder, and simply acknowledge the realities of their
circumstances. https://www.notifbutwhen.org/
Hello, Dear Enemy: Picture Books for Peace is a traveling exhibit from the International Youth Library in Munich,
Germany. The exhibit is divided into four
themes: Experiences of War, Destruction, and Displacement; Power Struggles and
the Origin and Escalation of Violence; Prejudice, Ostracism, and Imagined
Enemies; Utopias of Peace and Anti-War Books. List of exhibit books here: https://libguides.wwu.edu/clic/hello-dear-enemy
The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is a non-profit organization which represents an
international network of people from all over the world who are committed to
bringing books and children together in order to promote international
understanding through children's books https://www.ibby.org/
