Homeland
My Father Dreams of Palestine
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
As bedtime approaches, three young girls eagerly await the return of their father who tells them stories of a faraway homeland—Palestine. Through their father's memories, the Old City of Jerusalem comes to life: the sounds of juice vendors beating rhythms with brass cups, the smell of argileh drifting through windows, and the sight of doves flapping their wings toward home. These daughters of the diaspora feel love for a place they have never been, a home they cannot visit. But, as their father’s story comes to an end, they know that through his memories, they will always return.
A Palestinian family celebrates the stories of their homeland in this moving autobiographical picture book debut by Hannah Moushabeck. With heartfelt illustrations by Reem Madooh, this story is a love letter to home, to family, and to the persisting hope of people that transcends borders.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Moushabeck makes her picture book debut with a quietly moving intergenerational reminiscence of a family's homeland, a place the narrator has "never been." The story opens on three sisters of Palestinian descent who treasure their father's bedtime stories of visiting his grandparents in the Old City of Jerusalem. His sensate accounts—accompanied by crisp, distilled digital illustrations from Madooh, also making her debut—bring to life the city's sights and sounds. He tells of beloved relatives (his sido, "a stern-looking, tarboosh-wearing, argileh-puffing, mustachioed man"), a drumming juice vendor who "played beautiful, intricate rhythms, using brass cups and saucers," the buzz of the family's café, and the homing pigeons Sido cares for, who instinctively understand "this is their home." The final scene returns to the present, showing the girls' family in a relaxed, happy mealtime preparation. But just outside the kitchen sits a key to the family's ancestral East Jerusalem home; it's an ever-present reminder both that "the ending of this story is not a happy one" and of their "hope of return." Though the vividly rendered lines don't contextualize the history behind the telling, the title's emotionally layered conclusion offers a strong jumping-off point for further discussion. Back matter includes a glossary of Arabic words and an author's note. Ages 5–8. Author's agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary.
