Children's Books about the Middle East

Biography & Informational PK-3
Abouraya, Karen Leggett. (2012). Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt's Treasured Books. Illustrated by  Susan L. Roth. New York: Dial.
Aliki. (1985). Mummies Made in Egypt. New York: HarperCollins.
Khan, Hena. (2012). Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors. Illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
Demi. (2013). Tutankhamen. Tarrytown, NY: Two Lions.
Milton, Joyce. (2000). Hieroglyphs. Illustrated by Charles Micucci. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.
Navarro, Dominique & Richard Hoath. (2013). Egypt's Flora and Fauna: An AUC Press Nature Foldout. Cairo: American University in Cairo.
Navarro, Dominique & Matthew Lammana. (2013). Egypt's Prehistoric Fauna: An AUC Press Nature Foldout. Cairo: American University in Cairo.
Navarro, Dominique &John Wyatt. (2013). Birds of the Nile Valley: An AUC Press Nature Foldout. Cairo: American University in Cairo.
Navarro, Dominique & Salima Ikram. (2013). Ancient Egypt's Wildlife: An AUC Press Nature Foldout. Cairo: American University in Cairo.

Sabuda, Robert (1997). Tutankhamen's Gift.  New York: Aladdin.

Winter, Jeanette. (2005). The Librarian of Basra. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

Biography & Informational Grade 4+
Ellis, Deborah. (2010). Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.
Ellis, Deborah. (2006). Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.
Filipovic, Zlata. (2006). Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries, from World War I to Iraq. New York: Penguin Books.
Hart, Georgia. (2008).  DK: Eyewitness Books: Ancient Egypt. New York: DK Publishing.
Maydell, Natalie and Sep Riahi. (2007). Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World. Paintings by Heba Amin. Lancaster, PA: Global Content Ventures.
Macaulay, David. (1982). Pyramid. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
Stanley, Diane. (2002). Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam. New York: HarperCollins.
Stanley, Diane. (1997). Cleopatra. Illustrated by Peter Vennema. New York: HarperCollins.
Steele, Philip. (2007). DK: Eyewitness Books: Mesopotamia. New York: DK Publishing.
Wilkes, Sybella. (2010). Out of Iraq: Refugees' Stories in Words, Paintings and Music. Foreword by Angelina Jolie. London, UK: Evans Brothers.

Morteza Zahedi's illustration from Good Night, Commander

Myths, Traditional Tales, Poetry, and Stories: K-6

Akbarpor, Ahmad. (2005). Good Night, Commander. Illustrated by Morteza Zahedi. Toronto, ON: Groundwood. (Although a picture book, I would recommend it for older children & teens.)
Alrawi, Karim. (2000). The Girl Who Lost Her Smile. Illustrated by Stefan Czernecki. Vancouver, BC: Tradewinds.
Azzoubi, Rana. (2007).  Through a Mud Wall. Rana Azzoubi
Climo, Shirley. (1992). The Egyptian Cinderella. Illustrated by Ruth Heller. New York: HarperCollins.
Foster, Karen.  (1999). City of Rainbows: A Tale from Ancient Sumer. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Museum.
Heide, Florence Parry  and Judith Heide Gilliland. (1995). Day of Ahmed's Secret. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. New York: HarperCollins.
Heide, Florence Parry  and Judith Heide Gilliland. (1992). Sami and the Time of the Troubles. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. New York: Clarion.
Henderson, Kathy. (2006). Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up in a War: An Epic Tale From Ancient Iraq.  Illustrated byJane Ray. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. 
Hickox, Rebecca. (1998). The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story. New York: Greenwillow.
Hughes, Vi. (2001). Aziz the Storyteller.  Illustrated by Stefan Czernecki. Vancouver, BC: Tradewinds.
Khan, Hena. (2008). Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story. Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
Khan, Rukhsana. (2001). Muslim Child. Illustrated by Patty Gallagher. Toronto, ON: Napoleon Publishing.

from Shahnameh.

Laird, Elizabeth. (2014). Shahnameh. Illustrated by Shrin Adl.  London, UK: Frances Lincoln. (Stories and myths from Iran).
Laird, Elizabeth. (2008). A Fistful of Pearls and Other Tales from Iraq (Folktales from Around the World). Illustrated by Shelley Fowles. London, UK: Frances Lincoln.
Laird, Elizabeth. (2008). Kiss the Dust. New York: MacMillan.
Logan, Claudia. (2002). The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Lumbard, Alexis York. (2012). The Conference of the Birds. Illustrated by Demi. Bloomington, IN: Wisdom Tales.

MacDonald, Read.(2012). Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!: A Palestinian Tale. Illustrated by Alik Arzoumanian. Las Vegas, NV: Two Lions.

McCaughrean, Geraldine. (2003). Gilgamesh, The Hero. Illustrated by David Parkins. Grand Rapids, MN: Eerdmans.

McDermont, Mustafa Yusuf. (2009). Muslim Nursery Rhymes. Leicestershire, UK: The Islamic Foundation.

Nye, Naomi Shihab. (2002). The Flag of Childhood: Poems From the Middle East. New York: Aladdin.

Nye, Naomi Shihab. (1997). Sitti's Secrets. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. New York: Aladdin.

Robert, Na'ima. (2009). Ramadan Moon. Illustrated by Shirin Adl. London: Frances Lincoln.

Rumford, James. (2004). Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta 1325-1354. New York: HMH Books.
Rumford, James. (2003). Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphics. New York: HMH Books. 
Sands, Emily & Duglad Steer. (2004). Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris. Illustrated by Nijk Harris and Helen Ward. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Tarnowska, Wafa’. (2000). The Seven Wise Princesses: A Medieval Persian Epic. Illustrated by Nilesh Mistry. Barefoot.
Wharnsby, Dawud. (2014). A Whisper of Peace. Illustrated by Shireen Adams. Leicestershire, UK: The Islamic Foundation.
Wharnsby, Dawud. (2013). Colours of Islam. Illustrated by Shireen Adams. Leicestershire, UK: The Islamic Foundation.
Wharnsby, Dawud. (2011). A Picnic of Poems: In Allah's Green Garden. Illustrated by Shireen Adams.  Leicestershire, UK: The Islamic Foundation.Williams, Marcia. (2013). Ancient Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharaohs. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Zeman, Ludmila. (1998). Gilgamesh the King (The Gilgamesh Trilogy).  Toronto, ON: Tundra Books.

Zeman, Ludmila. (1998). The Revenge of Ishtar (The Gilgamesh Trilogy). Toronto, ON: Tundra Books.
Zeman, Ludmila. (1998). The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (The Gilgamesh Trilogy). Toronto, ON: Tundra Books.

Poetry/Memoir/Novels (Grades 7-12)

Abdel-fattah, Randa. (2010). Where The Streets Had A Name. New York: Scholastic.
Alareer, Refaat (ed). (2014). Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza, Palestine. Charlottesville, VA: Just World Books. (Teens/Adults)

Barakat, Ibtisam. (2007). Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Carmi, Daniella. (2000). Samir and Yonatan. Translated by Yael Lotan. New York: Arthur A. Levine.
Clinton, Cathryn. (2010). A Stone in My Hand. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
Hicyilmaz, Gaye. (1992). Against the Storm. New York: Little, Brown.
Laird, Elizabeth. (2008). Oranges in No Man's Land. London, UK: Haymarket Books.
Laird, Elizabeth. (2006). A Little Piece of Ground. London, UK: Haymarket Books.
Levine, Ana. (2009). Freefall. New York: Greenwillow.
Marsden, Carolyn. (2012). The White Zone. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books
Nye, Naomi Shihab. (2008). Habibi. New York: Simon Pulse.
Nye, Naomi Shihab. (2002). 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. New York: Greenwillow.
Nye, Naomi Shihab. (1998). The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems and Paintings from the Middle East.  New York: Simon & Schuster.
Powers, Kevin. (2012). The Yellow Birds: A Novel. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
Satrapi, Marjane. (2007). The Complete Persepolis. New York: Parthenon.
Stamaty, Mark Alan. (2012). Alia's Mission. New York: Dragonfly Books.
Zenatti, Valerie. (2008). A Bottle in the Gaza Sea. New York: Bloomsbury.
Zenatti, Valerie. (2007). When I was a Soldier. New York: Bloomsbury.

Graphic Novels/Texts (Late High School/Adult)

Delise, Guy. (2012). Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City. Translated by Helge Dascher. Montreal, QC: Drawn and Quarterly.
Guibert, Emmanuel. The Photographer: Into War-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders. New York: First Second.
Pekar,Harvey. (2012). Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me. Illustrated by J.T. Waldman. Epilogue by Joyce Brabner. New York: Hill and Wang.
Sacco, Joe. (2010). Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel. New York: Metropolitan.

Sacco, Joe. (2001). Palestine. Introduction by Edward Said. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics.

And So I Dream A Bass Will Join Me: The Pleasure of We

I have been thinking about a line of thought that begins with Descartes' Cogito ergo sum, tours through American literature with its overt celebrations of the individual, and ends by wondering how we might shift schools from privileging thinking as a solo act to ensuring we design learning at schools that privileges neighbor interactions (Davis & Simmt 2003). Brent Davis and Elaine Simmt explain that ‘neighbors’ that interact ‘are not physical bodies or social groupings ... Rather ... these neighbors that must “bump” against one another are ideas’ (156). Neighbor interactions are group members’ ideas that are blended and juxtaposed through discussion, resulting at times in novel ideas that do not belong to any one individual.

It is in schools organized to leverage neighbor interactions that complexity of ideas bloom.  In many ways it is what happens in social media when ideas bump into ideas at such a rate that the origin of an idea becomes murky with the intentions of other.  Think about a twitter exchange such as the furious and fast exchanges via an Edchat  or English or social studies chat.  Ideas get retweeted, altered, morphed, triggering other ideas, slightly different and if you are like me, I often leave with some new understanding that would be impossible to trace as the idea(s) did not originate from one other person, but rather via the group in a nomadic fashion.

Yet in school we model assessment (think report cards, state testing) as if it is the lone individual who can best demonstrates knowledge. Why? Doesn't it seem foolish that in a world where we know knowledge is unstable that we keep issuing measures based on stability and say that these are our most profound indicators of learning? 

We need new narratives to guide us.

We continue to maintain the myth of the individual. American literature, like recounted U.S. history, is filled with stories about the plight and triumph of the individual, even when the official story does not adhere to such renderings.  Consider the distance between Longfellow's Hiawatha based on the trickster-transformer of the Ojibwe and the realities that framed Native Americans at the time from native perspective. In retrospective it is less than imaginable to think that a Native American would tell tribe members to trust the white man as if the missionaries arriving on the shore as Hiawatha is leaving were bringing justice, empathy, and cultural understanding alongside their desire to "get religion into the Indian".  The distance between the two is immeasurable and yet, Longfellow's Hiawatha emerges as a purveyor of cultural truths.

We have been told to love the individual and believe in his triumph.  Consider young Huck who reckons he has to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, or Nick who watches Jay Gatsby reach out his arms towards the water--towards the elusive green light at the end of Daisy' dock, or Holden who desires to be the catcher in the rye in order to save kids from falling off a cliff.  The individual be it boy, youth, or man is part of our make-up--our mythical sense of self and it has informed the way we produce schools and our emphasis on "the student."

From the very beginning, our education story has been a story about the individual rising up, acquiring the "smarts" on his (and later her) own to light out for the new territory.  We so believe this mythology that we have invented single user measures to ensure that students learn stuff as if the stuff was stable.  We hear the myth echoed in the SWBAT (student will be able to) statements based on Standards (fixed and measurable ideologies of power) and expressed through individual assessments that are routinely used in curriculum documents and teachers' plans.  We see it privileged in how we communicate learning: we issue report cards to individuals based on how they did or did not do or testing statements that recount how individuals have performed on a specific measure.  Our most privileged measurements that are tied to funding are supposed to tell us and the public how "much" each student knows based on a finite sense of content knowledge.  We neither invest in, nor represent the individual or the group in actual participatory practices.

And so I am wondering, are we myopic in our narrow expression of self as solitary hero; student as solo thinker?  The journey from "I think therefore I am" to "We participate therefore we are" is a difficult, albeit necessary, transition for U.S. schools. Instead of racing to be at the top, we need to be embracing participatory learning.

When I think of disrupting the myth of the individual, I considered all we can learn from a small song Harry Chapin recorded years ago, Six-String Orchestra. I think I am hearing strings way off in the distance.  How about you?




Work Cited
Davis, B., and E. Simmt. 2003. Understanding learning systems: Mathematics teaching and complexity science. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 34, no. 2: 137–67.