Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

By Rebecca | Published: October 29, 2008

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.

This entry was posted in Biography, Israel, Palestine, Young Adult (Gr. 9-12) and tagged , , , , , , , , Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

2 Trackbacks

  1. By WOW Currents » Immigration Literature: Bridging Global Cultures for Classroom Communities on October 26, 2009 at 8:54 am

    [...] the people” if only a select few are recognized. As Ibtisam Barakat gives shape to her story in Tasting the Sky as a child in Palestine, she is also giving substance to the creation of the American story. The [...]

  2. By WOW Currents » Windows on the World — Part 1 on January 25, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    [...] in Ibtisam Barakat’s Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood, the author recounts her family’s experiences beginning with the Six Day War in 1967, and their [...]

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