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Winner of the Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children’s/YA Literature

“A spare elegant memoir . . . What makes [it] so compelling is the immediacy of the child’s viewpoint, which depicts both conflict and daily life without exploitation or sentimentality. There’s much to talk about here.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

Written by Ibtisam Barakat
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home.

Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace.

Primary ISBN: 9780374357337
Publication Date: February 2007
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Memoir, Young Adult, Age 11 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , ,

Setting: Palestine

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Refugee

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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