About this item
Highlights
- A Kirkus Best Book of 2024A Booklist Editors Choice 2024A young Palestinian girl living in diaspora struggles to find her homeland on a map in this gentle and heartfelt picture book.
- 4-8 Years
- 10.25" x 10.35" Hardcover
- 40 Pages
- Juvenile Fiction, Family
Description
About the Book
"At school, Falasteen and her classmates are tasked with finding their families' home countries on a map, but no matter how hard she looks, Falasteen can't find Palestine. Can a place exist if it's not on a map? Confused, Falasteen turns to her family for answers. Her grandfather, grandmother, and Mama encourage her to see their homeland from a different perspective, and each of their stories helps her understand her people's history and her own place in the world"--Book Synopsis
A Kirkus Best Book of 2024
A Booklist Editors Choice 2024
A young Palestinian girl living in diaspora struggles to find her homeland on a map in this gentle and heartfelt picture book.
Review Quotes
A Kirkus Best Book of 2024
A Booklist Editors Choice 2024
★"[A Map for Falasteen] fills a gap in representations of the Palestinian diaspora, offering a much-needed insider's perspective. . . . A haunting, powerful, and crucial tale of culture and identity." --Kirkus, starred review
★"Betawi renders Falasteen's immediate surroundings in yellows and oranges that give way to deep-blue remembrances, while Odeh sensitively narrates this double debut about a family's culture and homeland." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "There is an aching thrum of grief that moves though this thoughtfully nuanced picture book, and . . . the tone capably balances that sense of melancholy with quiet, celebratory notes, underscoring the book's main message that culture is lovingly grown by people." --BCCB
About the Author
Maysa Odeh is a Palestinian writer who grew up between Amman, Jordan and the United States. Her debut picture book was written during the assault on Gaza in 2021, which sparked a conversation between herself and her inner child. A Map for Falasteen answers the questions she was too shy to ask as a child of Palestinian refugees. Maysa resides in California with her four year old daughter, Malak, who asks questions all day long in Arabic and English, and sometimes even in her sleep.
Aliaa Betawi is a self-taught Palestinian artist based in Alexandria, Egypt who developed her craft by observing her gifted mother. She believes that every kid deserves a childhood filled with magical, joyful memories and this is what she works to give to all kids, including herself. A Map for Falasteen was her opportunity to capture a single elusive memory in Palestine, a memory she could not enjoy as a Palestinian child in exile.