These Olive Trees
by Aya Ghanameh (Author) Aya Ghanameh (Illustrator)
The story of a Palestinian family's ties to the land, and how one young girl finds a way to care for her home, even as she says goodbye.
It's 1967 in Nablus, Palestine.
Oraib loves the olive trees that grow outside the refugee camp where she lives. Each harvest, she and her mama pick the small fruits and she eagerly stomp stomp stomps on them to release their golden oil. Olives have always tied her family to the land, as Oraib learns from the stories Mama tells of a home before war.
But war has come to their door once more, forcing them to flee. Even as her family is uprooted, Oraib makes a solemn promise to her beloved olive trees. She will see to it that their legacy lives on for generations to come.
Debut author-illustrator Aya Ghanameh boldly paints a tale of bitterness, hope, and the power of believing in a free and thriving future.
Locate at a Library Near You WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online.
Find books about:
Kirkus Reviews
A sorrowful tale of the impact of warfare, infused with hope.
Publishers Weekly
The importance of olive trees to one Palestinian family is magnified in this picture book focused on a child's awareness of her family's history. Drawing on personal background, per an author's note, Ghanameh introduces Oraib, a girl who lives in "a makeshift canvas house in the Balata refugee camp... the only home she's ever known." Just outside the camp, Oraib's family carries on her ancestors' tradition of caring for olive trees: before war prompted them to flee, her family "tended the olive trees... for hundreds of years" in the coastal village of Al-Tira. As war again draws close and the family prepares to journey from the camp, Oraib worries about the future of the local trees, and resolves to ensure that they endure. In an earthy palette and velvety textures, Ghanameh's hand-drawn, digitally finished illustrations portray the family's ancestral home and the camp, while ghostly arms suggest rising threats. Bittersweet in both words and images, this moving debut conveys one girl's powerful attempt to secure her family's legacy despite uncertainty. Ages 3-5. (Aug.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV016210 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Middle East
