Children's Book Suggestions | Middle Eastern & North African Heritage Month 2025

Celebrate Middle Eastern & North African Heritage Month with these books featuring a variety of the region's cultures. To find more books, view last year's picture book and chapter book lists.

Updated March 14, 2025
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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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. A BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Salam's grandpa says that olive trees are strong and that...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Memory garden
Ghahremani, Zohreh
Paper Book
A lively afternoon together in Nana's garden is full of laughter, discovery, and connection. In lyrical text that blends past and present, Memory Garden takes us to the places we leave behind but never forget. Written and illustrated by a loving mother daughter duo, the nostalgic...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Step into my shoes
Halikia, Alkisti
Paper Book

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

The boldest white : a story of hijab and community
Muhammad, Ibtihaj
Paper Book
In this call to bravery from Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad, Faizah learns to overcome her fears and stand in front of the crowd in this beautiful celebration of family, fencing, and community.   Faizah loves being part of the community at her mosque, and...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Drawn onward
Nayeri, Daniel
Paper Book
In this enthralling and emotional palindrome picture book by Daniel Nayeri and Matt Rockefeller, a young boy grieving the loss of his mother embarks on a lushly fantastical adventure that illuminates what remains when our loved ones are gone. All alone He was not so...

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Sister friend
Thompkins-Bigelow, Jamilah
Paper Book
Ameena feels invisible. It's been that way since she started at her new school. But now there is another new girl in class. Ameena sees her brownness and her hijab, even though the other kids do not. Ameena wants to be her friend, but she can't seem to find the right words or do the right things....

Picture Book (Age 4-8)

Salma joins the team
Ramadan, Ahmad Danny
Paper Book

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

Safiyyah's war
Khan, Hiba Noor
Paper Book

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

A strange thing happened in Cherry Hall
Warga, Jasmine
Paper Book
From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of A Rover's Story and Other Words for Home comes an extraordinary story about two friends, a ghost, a missing painting, and a turtle named Agatha. The perfect next read for fans of The Swifts, Kate DiCamillo, and Erin...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Shiny misfits
Zayid, Maysoon
Paper Book

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

Daughters of the lamp
Lewers, Nedda
Paper Book
A USA Today Bestseller · A stunning middle grade fantasy inspired by Arabian legends about a girl who becomes the guardian of Ali Baba's treasure. Believe in fairy tales. Sahara Rashad lives by logic. Loves science. And always has a plan....

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Kareem between
Safadi, Shifa Saltagi
Paper Book
This award-winning, heartfelt coming-of-age novel in verse tells the powerful story of a seventh-grade Syrian American boy and his struggles, big and small, as he navigates middle school. "The exact type of book I would've loved, and needed, as a kid." -Jasmine Warga, New...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Rumi : poet of joy and love
Kheiriyeh, Rashin
Paper Book
"Enthralling" -Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Kheiriyeh transforms a distant and revered figure into a warm, bright focal point in this biography" -School Library Journal, starred review "Be a friend to everyone." Rumi's words are needed now...

Children's Nonfiction (Age 4-8)


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