Ali has arrived in Palestine for a visit just in time for the olive harvest. His grandfather, Seedo, and Hilwa, his favorite tree greet him in the grove, where Seedo explains that Hilwa has many gifts to share. Other family members whack the trees’ branches with sticks, singing, Zaytoon, ya zaytoon, while cousins clap and dance and happily pick up fallen olives. The next day, at the olive press, Ali watches the drip of gold liquid into a can, another of Hilwa’s gifts. Later, they picnic under the tree’s branches with hot mint tea, pita, and delicious olive oil swirled on hummus. Tradition is the greatest gift of all: the family gathering, generation after generation to celebrate a bountiful harvest.

• ISBN: 9781536229424
• Published: 2025 , Candlewick
• Descriptors: Database
• No. of pages: 40