I sent this to Laura but it came bouncing back:
Two books come to mind:. The first is about the friendship of a Jewish and a Moslem
boy. The second is about a brave Moslem librarian (head covered in pictures).
Snow in Jerusalem by Deborah DeCosta
From Publishers Weekly
In her affecting but message-driven debut children's book, da Costa relays the
story of two boys who live in Jerusalem's Old City Avi in the Jewish Quarter and
Hamudi in the Muslim Quarter. A fluffy white cat wanders between the homes of the
two boys, relishing the scraps each feeds her. Then weeks pass without any sign of
the cat, alarming each boy. Looking skinny and dirty, the cat at last visits Avi,
who then follows her to Hamudi's neighborhood, where the youngsters begin to argue,
each claiming the cat is his. As a rare snowfall begins, the boys stop bickering
and, fearing that the beloved animal will freeze, follow her through Jerusalem to a
dark alley where they discover four kittens in a box. As the mother purrs loudly
and rubs against the boys, they conclude, "She does not want us to fight.... She
wants peace." The watercolor art by this husband-and-wife team (Mei-Mei Loves the
Morning) balances precise, close-up portraits of the boys with softly focused
backgrounds that depict the various cultural nuances of the setting. A glossary
defines the Hebrew and Arabic words integrated into the text. Ages 6-10.
The Librarian of
Basra by Jeanette Winter
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 2-4 - When war seemed imminent, Alia Muhammad Baker, chief
librarian of
Basra's Central Library, was determined to protect the library's holdings. In spite
of the government's refusal to help, she moved the books into a nearby restaurant
only nine days before the library burned to the ground. When the fighting moved on,
this courageous woman transferred the 30,000 volumes to her and her friends' homes
to await peace and the rebuilding of a new library. In telling this story, first
reported in the New York Timeson July 27, 2003, by Shaila K. Dewan, Winter artfully
achieves a fine balance between honestly describing the casualties of war and not
making the story too frightening for young children. The text is spare and
matter-of-fact. It is in the illustrations, executed in acrylic and ink in her
signature style, that Winter suggests the impending horror. The artist uses color
to evoke mood, moving from a yellow sky to orange, to deep maroon during the
bombing, and then blues and pinks with doves flying aloft as the librarian hopes
for a brighter future. Palm trees, architecture, dress, and Arabic writing on the
flag convey a sense of place and culture. Although the invading country is never
mentioned, this is an important story that puts a human face on the victims of war
and demonstrates that a love of books and learning is a value that unites people
everywhere
Josephine Dervan, MLS -Online Instructor
School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Stout
dervan at optonline.net
He who has a library and a garden, wants for nothing- Cicero
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