Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein
Written by Ali Fadhil
and Jennifer Roy
Published by Houghton Mifflin
At the start of 1991, eleven-year-old Ali Fadhil was consumed by his love for soccer, video games, and American television shows. Then, on January 17, Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein went to war with thirty-four nations led by the United States. Over the next forty-three days, Ali and his family survived bombings, food shortages, and constant fear. Ali and his brothers played soccer on the abandoned streets of their Basra neighborhood, wondering when or if their medic father would return from the war front. Cinematic, accessible, and timely, this is the story of one ordinary kid’s view of life during war.
Primary ISBN: 9780544785076
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback
Chapter Book, Age 09 or older
Community Represented: Iraqi/Iraqi American
Themes: Family Relationship: Parents, Family Relationship: Siblings, Loss of Childhood, Religious Background: Muslim
Setting: Iraq
Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: Refugee
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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