New Releases by Ibtisam Barakat

“Endearing . . . lyrical . . . depicts an adolescence that will be simultaneously familiar to readers . . . and very different in its backdrop of 1970s Palestine.” —School Library Journal A Junior Library Guild Selection A Palestine Book Award Shortlist Selection A VOYA Nonfiction Honor Roll Selection A Skipping Stones Honor Book An Arab-American National Museum Honor Book A Bank Street College of Education Best Book An American Library Association/Amelia Bloomer Project Top Ten Book A Notable Book for a Global Society A News & Observer Newspaper’s Wilde Best Book Award Winner A Middle East Book Award Honorable Mention Picking up where her award-winning first memoir, Tasting the Sky left off, Balcony on the Moon follows Ibtisam Barakat through her childhood and adolescence in Palestine from 1972-1981 and chronicles her desire to be a writer. A young Ibtisam finds inspiration through writing letters to pen pals and from an adult who encourages her to keep at it, but the most surprising turn of all for Ibtisam happens when her mother decides that she would like to seek out an education, too. This memoir is a touching, at times funny, and enlightening look at the not often depicted daily life in a politically tumultuous area. “Lyrical and moving, Barakat’s first-person, present-tense story catapults the reader into a time when political tensions and the battle for human rights rage on, and the fight, not only for survival, but to have a voice is in full swing. Not to be missed, this memoir is a wonderful additional to any library.” —VOYA, starred review “A compelling personal history, brimming with humor, wisdom, and empathy.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “A poetic, deeply felt coming-of-age story.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “As inspiring as it is engrossing.” —Booklist

Omar, an immigrant Palestinian child who grew up in Jericho and just arrived in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, U.S., makes his first wonderful friendship, and discovers that he does not have to lose a home to have a new home.

The author remembers her childhood in Ramallah and as a Palestinian refugee in the late 1960s.

Poderosas y demoledoras memorias que reflejan la infancia de la autora en un mundo hecho añicos por la guerra: la huida de su casa y la separación de su familia cuando estalla la Guerra de los Seis Días; la dura vida de los refugiados palestinos; la inesperada alegría al conocer el alfabeto árabe... La lengua será su refugio

Poderoses i demolidores memòries que reflecteixen la infantesa de l''autora en un món fet miques per la guerra: la fugida de casa i la separació de la família quan esclata la Guerra dels Sis Dies; la dura vida dels refugiats palestins; la inesperada alegria en conèixer l''alfabet àrab... La llengua serà el seu refugi en un món fragmentat.

Palestine, 1981. Ibtisam, 17 ans, est arrêté à un poste frontière par des soldats israéliens. Encore une fois la peur. Encore une fois la honte. Elle prend alors conscience qu''elle n''a rien connu d''autre que la guerre et l''exil. " Essaie d''oublier ", lui avait dit sa mère. Mais Ibtisam veut se souvenir, raconter et écrire son enfance palestinienne...

Ibtisam, een jonge Palestijnse vrouw, beschrijft haar leven tijdens en vlak na de zesdaagse oorlog met Israël in 1967. Vanaf ca. 14 jaar.

“A spare elegant memoir. . . . The immediacy of the child’s viewpoint . . . depicts both conflict and daily life without exploitation or sentimentality.” —Booklist, starred review “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 remember. In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home. Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace. Winner, Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children’s/YA Literature “Beautifully crafted. Readers will be charmed by the writer-to-be as she falls in love with chalk, the Arabic alphabet, and the first-grade teacher who recognizes her abilities.” —School Library Journal, starred review “A compassionate, insightful family and cultural portrait.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Brims with tension and emotion.” —Publishers Weekly