Fourteen-year-old Mitra, of royal Persian lineage, and her 5-year-old brother, Babak, whose dreams foretell the future, flee for their lives in the company of the magus Melchoir and two other Zoroastrian priests, traveling through Persia as they follow star signs leading to a newly-born king in Bethlehem.
Middle East
The Legend Of Wondering King
Motivated by jealousy and the desire to receive acclaim as a great poet, Walid ibn Hujr, a prince of ancient Arabia, commits acts, which completely change the course of his life.
Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War
An ancient Sumerian tale about the youngest and weakest of eight brothers who, caught up in an ill-advised war, uses his wits and courage and eventually becomes king.
Duel
In Jerusalem, when elderly Mr. Rosenthal receives a threatening letter accusing him of stealing a painting and challenging him to a duel, twelve-year-old David needs to find who really stole it before someone gets hurt.
Pancake Dreams
Stefan loves the way his grandmother makes pancakes, but she lives far from him. One day he has an idea on how to get some of his favorite treats.
The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq
When war comes, Alia Muhammad Baker, the librarian of Basra, fears the library will be destroyed, so she asks government officials for help, but they refuse, which means Alia must take matters into her own hands to protect the books that she loves.
The Key to My Heart
After Jonathan’s dad loses his keys, they retrace all of their steps throughout the day, from the post office to the playground, and all of the places in between.
The Flag of Childhood: Poems from the Middle East
In this stirring anthology of sixty poems from the Middle East, Naomi Shihab Nye welcomes us to this lush, vivid world and beckons us to explore. Eloquent pieces from Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, and elsewhere open windows into the hearts and souls of people we usually meet only on the nightly news. What we see through these windows is the love of family, friends, and for the Earth, the daily occurrences of life that touch us forever, the longing for a sense of place. What we learn is that beneath the veil of stereotypes, our human connections are stronger than our cultural differences.
Wishing Moon
After a fourteen-year-old orphan named Aminah comes to possess a magic lamp, the wishes granted her by the genie inside it allow her to alter her life by choosing prosperity, purpose, and romance.
Iblis
An Islamic version of the story of Adam and Eve and the fall from Paradise. In this Islamic version of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden, the devil is called Iblis.