Rest In My Shade:
A Poem About Roots

By Nora Lester Murad and Danna Masad
(Olive Branch Press, 2019)
46 pgs.

Rest in My Shade is a poem from the perspective of an olive tree. The tree grows from an abandoned olive pit to become part of a Palestinian olive grove. After many years, it is violently uprooted by an Israeli bulldozer, thrown on a truck, and eventually replanted in a public square. The poem focuses on the pain and longing of displacement and the importance of resilience.

Because of the thematic focus on displacement, Rest in My Shade can open up discussions about the reasons why people are displaced, and how that feels. The poem only alludes to the occupation in Palestine and the forced exile of Palestinians. So, for example, there is no explanation of why the bulldozer uproots the tree. It is left to individual educators to provide context.

Each page of Rest in My Shade is illustrated with the work of a different Palestinian artist, providing opportunities for comparison and art projects.

More resources for teaching: https://www.restinmyshade.com/teaching-resources/

Grade Level: Early Elementary and Up

We Are Palestinian: A Celebration of Culture and Tradition

By Reem Kassis
Illustrated by Noha Eilouti
105 pgs.
Crocodile Books (2022)

We Are Palestinian is a nonfiction introduction to Palestinian culture. From crafts to agriculture, and geography to food, each page celebrates the depth of Palestinian history and the diversity of its people and traditions. An excellent introduction to explorations of culture in general.

Grade level:Upper elementary and above.

Ida in the Middle

By Nora Lester Murad
224 pgs.
Crocodile Books (2022)

Ida in the Middle is a young adult novel that is as relatable and magical as it is informative. The story centers a Palestinian American experience through the eyes of Ida, a thoughtful and empathetic young girl who is trying to embrace her identity and family history while confronting anti-Arab/anti-Palestinian racism. In the beginning of the story, Ida is a middle-school aged youth who feels as if she does not belong. Through the creative use of magical realism, the author shows how Ida is able to find confidence and purpose by learning about the strength of her people living under occupation. Ida is a brave, caring, and inspiring young girl— a character that is sure to strongly resonate not only with Palestinian and other Arab American young girls, but also with immigrants and people of color of all ages as the themes of racism, exclusion, family, culture, diaspora, and the experience of straddling two worlds permeate the pages of this book. Ida in the Middle is also an effective teaching tool as it is able to artfully weave into the narrative the reality of Israeli military occupation for Palestinians in the West Bank while humanizing Palestinians’ determination to be free. The reader is sure to find inspiration in Ida and this profoundly human story of family, belonging, and resistance.

This book is written for upper elementary and above, and it would be a great accompaniment to units on immigration, forced migration, diaspora, the West Bank, or belonging. Or as literature on its own.

Luma Hasan and Sana Ben Nacef of Teach for Liberation have created excellent curriculum to accompany Ida in the Middle. It’s available at the Ida in the Middle website.

The Shepherd’s Granddaughter

By Anne Laurel Carter
Groundwood Books (2008)
221 pgs.

The Shepherd’s Granddaughter is the story of Amani, a young Palestinian girl living in the countryside near Hebron, in the West Bank. Her beloved grandfather tends the family’s sheep. As the story opens, six-year-old Amani is learning how to be a shepherd, too. But taking care of the sheep becomes increasingly difficult as Israeli roads and settlements take over more and more of the family’s land. First her uncle and then her father are beaten and imprisoned. As Amani grows into her teen years and searches for creative ways to protect her herd, she meets a young Jewish boy from the United States who opposes how his father and the other Israeli settlers are stealing Palestinian land. This is a rare Palestinian-centric introduction to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict for upper elementary and middle school students.

Grade level: 4th grade and up.

A Little Piece of Ground

By Elizabeth Laird with Sonia Nimr
(Haymarket Books, 2006)
216 pgs.

The first scene in A Little Piece of Ground describes the tensions in 12-year-old Karim’s family as they are crammed together in a small apartment during an Israeli-enforced curfew in Ramallah, Palestine. With “sheltering in place” omnipresent in the US during the Covid-19 crisis, this will be an immediate point of connection for students. Through Karim’s eyes, A Little Piece of Ground explores what it’s like to live under Israeli occupation. Schools are closed, then Karim’s school is destroyed. Karim witnesses his father and other Palestinian men stripped naked and humiliated at a checkpoint.

Karim and his friends discover a “piece of ground” that they decide to clean up to use as a soccer field. In the process, they stumble upon an old car buried under the ruins of an old building; they decide to make it into a hideout. When Karim is forced to hide in the car and then try to escape back to his home, he finds unexpected strength in himself and in his family.

A Little Piece of Ground is an excellent blend of relatable everyday life—including sibling conflicts and tensions between old and new friends—and critical information about Palestinian life. Themes for discussion include: The impact and the reasoning behind Israel’s humiliation of Palestinians at checkpoints; curfews as collective punishment;  the impact on Palestinian children’s education; the ethics of armed actions in the struggle for Palestinian rights;  the parallels to police brutality in the United States; how oppressed communities express resilience.

Grade Level: Middle school and up

Oranges In No Man’s Land

By Elizabeth Laird
(Haymarket books, 2008)
99 pgs.

In Oranges in No Man’s Land, Ayesha describes her family’s experiences during the civil war in Lebanon. When their neighborhood is bombed and Ayesha’s family dashes to escape, her mother is killed. Ayesha and her siblings are left under the care of her grandmother because her father is away. They find shelter in an abandoned building with other refugees from the fighting. When Ayesha’s grandmother runs out of her medicine and becomes desperately ill, Ayesha needs all her courage and ingenuity to cross two armed checkpoints and find her grandmother’s doctor. Along the way, we see many examples of resilience and compassion.

Oranges in No Man’s Land is an easy-to-read novel with challenging content, so a good choice for students who are learning English or struggling to read at their level of intellectual maturity. There is a realistic, although not overly graphic, depiction of the impact of war on children and their families. There is no overview of what led to the war. We’re left with the perspective that wars are a result of mutual prejudices—that if only people were nicer or wanted peace more, wars would cease to exist. This provides an opportunity for teachers to encourage students to think about why people get into fights, and why nations get into wars. Is it just about feelings? When is it a struggle for justice? Or a drive for more power?

In the abandoned building, Ayesha makes friends with Samar, a young girl who is deaf, and who teaches Ayesha sign. Ayesha pretends she is deaf to avoid capture at one of the checkpoints. This use of Samar as a plot device felt disrespectful to some reviewers. This would be an important point of discussion with students.

Grade level: Upper Elementary and Up

Grade Level: Middle school and above