On a trip to the Moroccan market town of Rissani, Ali becomes separated from his father during a sandstorm.
Ali, Child of the Desert
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
Caravan
A ten-year-old boy accompanies his father for the first time on a caravan trip through the mountains of Afghanistan to the city below where they will trade their goods at market.
The Earth Shook
Little Parisa-Farsi, left alone after an earthquake demolishes her home of Bam, Iran. She doesn’t despair. She does what any little girl would do. She dances. She laughs. She shares. She reveals our common humanity.
Sitti’s Secrets
A young girl describes a visit to see her grandmother in a Palestinian village on the West Bank.
Azad’s Camel
In a big Arabian city, an orphan boy is forced to work as a camel jockey — a dangerous job he doesn’t like. But a new friendship and a magical escape into the desert are about to change his life.
Camel racing is a popular sport in the Gulf states of the Middle East, where child jockeys from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Mauritania, and Eritrea are used to ride the camels. Some impoverished families are persuaded to sell sons as young as five years old, who are taken away to be trained and often badly treated. Accidents are common, and when a little jockey falls off a racing camel, he can receive serious injuries. Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates have all banned the use of child jockeys and are returning children to their families so that they can go to school and live a normal life.
The Sandwich Swap
Lily and Salma are best friends. They play together and stick together through thick and thin. But who would have ever thought that ordinary peanut butter or plain old hummus could come between them? Lily and Salma don’t quite understand each other’s tastes, but does that mean they can’t be friends? They understand far better than a lot of gown ups that these things hardly matter and that friendship is the most important thing of all.Her Majesty,Queen Rania’s children’s book is inspired by her own experience.
Join the discussion of The Sandwich Shop as well as other books centered around relocation on our My Take/Your Take page.
Rama and the Demon King
An Indian folktale about how Prince Rama rescues his wife from the evil demon king.
Elephant Dance
Grandfather tells many stories about his native India in answer to Ravi and Anjali’s questions, such as the tale of a procession of elephants on the feast of Divaali when he was a boy. This story includes facts about life in India, a list of cooking spices, and descriptions of Indian animals.
Tiger and Turtle
Tiger says he saw the flower first, but Turtle disagrees. Through pages of glorious color, Tiger and Turtle continue their argument. They’re worthy opponents as a tiger’s claws could not harm a turtle’s shell any more than a turtle’s feet could outrun a tiger’s.
Geeta’s Day
Geeta’s day begins as most children’s do, but when she sets off to school, passing the kamar at the forge, the bhandari shaving a customer, and the mali weaving garlands of flowers to offer to the temple gods, her world begins to beat to the distinctive rhythm of Indian village life. Geeta’s Day highlights the unique things that make her world special, but it also reveals that much is the same for children everywhere.