Books about Palestine & War for Kids

Books with soft introductions to Palestine and the concept and effects of war (including conflicts from regions beyond Palestine)

Updated October 24, 2024
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My olive tree
Elbayya, Hazar
Paper Book
In this simple, touching picture book about the healing power of a loving community, a girl's grandpa and her neighbors help her grow an olive tree in a war-torn land. Salam's grandpa says that olive trees are strong and that their roots run deep in their Palestinian land. They...
These olive trees
Ghanameh, Aya
Paper Book
The story of a Palestinian family's ties to the land, and how one young girl finds a way to care for her home, even as she says goodbye. It's 1967 in Nablus, Palestine. Oraib loves the olive trees that grow outside the refugee camp where she lives. Each harvest, she...
Eleven words for love : a journey through Arabic expressions of love
Abdel-Fattah, Randa
Paper Book
A lyrical narrative of a Palestinian family in exile explores universal bonds of family, loyalty, and friendship through the lens of eleven Arabic expressions for love. A family has fled their homeland in search of safety in another country, carrying a single suitcase. As their...
Homeland : my father dreams of Palestine
Moushabeck, Hannah
Paper Book
A father and his daughters may not be able to return home . . . but they can celebrate stories of their homeland! As bedtime approaches, three young girls eagerly await the return of their father who tells them stories of a faraway homeland--Palestine....
Story boat
Maclear, Kyo
Paper Book
When a little girl and her younger brother are forced along with their family to flee the home they've always known, they must learn to make a new home for themselves-wherever they are. And sometimes the smallest things-a cup, a blanket, a lamp, a flower, a story-can become a port of hope in a...
When we had to leave home
Lodding, Linda Ravin
Paper Book
Displaced by conflict in Ukraine, a young girl and her family must start again in a new country. When war comes to Sofiya's country, she and her mother and grandmother are forced to set off on a long journey to escape the violence and find safety. Sofiya doesn't know whether...
War
Letria, Jose? Jorge
Paper Book
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book An award-winning, stunningly illustrated, sober depiction of war. A recipient of the prestigious Nami Concours prize, this remarkable book of striking, often surreal illustrations and sparse prose reveals the many sides of...
Finding home : words from kids seeking sanctuary
Agna, Gwen
Paper Book
In this photographic picture book, the authors record and transcribe the words of displaced children, raising up their voices--who they are, where they came from, and the many different reasons that they had to leave their home countries. My parents told me we had to leave to...
We are Palestinian : a celebration of culture and tradition
Kassis, Reem
Paper Book
A stunning non-fiction children's book celebrating everything Palestinian! BOOKSTAGANG BEST BOOK OF 2023 WINNER  From culture and food, to music and literature, We Are Palestinian is a celebration of Palestinian heritage....
The cat at the wall
Ellis, Deborah
Paper Book
A remarkable and thought-provoking new novel set on Israel's West Bank, by the author of The Breadwinner. On Israel's West Bank, a cat sneaks into a small Palestinian house that has just been commandeered by two Israeli soldiers. The house seems empty, until the cat realizes that a...

For slightly older kids (9+)

Tasting the sky : a Palestinian childhood
Barakat, Ibtisam.
Paper Book
Winner, Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children's/YA Literature, among other awards and honors. "When a war ends it does not go away," my mother says."It hides inside us . . . Just forget!" But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want to...

Memoir for slightly older kids (10+)


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