Picture Book

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 Revenge of Ishtar

In this second volume in the Gilgamesh trilogy, Enkidu joins Gilgamesh in the quest to slay Humbaba, the monster who has attacked the city and caused great destruction, including the death of the beautiful singer, Shamat. Gilgamesh and Enkidu successfully slay the monster and in so doing, Gilgamesh attracts the attention of the goddess Ishtar. In rejecting her advances, he incurs her revenge and an attack by the Bull of Heaven. Enkidu manages to kill the bull, but is slain by Ishtar, striking at the bond between the two friends. Shattered, Gilgamesh vows he will destroy the last monster.

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.

 

The Elephant’s Child

This energetic book takes young readers on a journey with a very curious baby elephant who has one question on his mind: What do crocodiles eat for dinner? But whenever he asks this question, he gets a spanking! Though he’s never seen a crocodile before, the baby elephant sets out to the banks of a river to find the answer to his question.

 

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.