Day of Ahmed's Secret by Florence H. Parry
"In this admirable introduction to life in an alien culture, readers are whisked to the busy streets of Cairo--where young Ahmed is making his daily rounds on a donkey cart, delivering large canisters of butane gas. The city is presented through his eyes, and text and illustration work together in harmony to produce a sense of place so vivid that readers can almost hear the cry of vendors in the crowded marketplace and feel the heat rising from the streets. ..." -From Publishers Weekly

Sami and the Time of the Troubles by Judith Heide Gilliland
"Ten-year-old Sami lives in Beirut, Lebanon. Because of gunfire and bombing in the streets, he and his family spend much of their time in the basement of an uncle's house. There they listen to the radio or stare at the carpets Sami's mother insisted on bringing along as reminders of a normal life... " -From School Library Journal

Santa Claus in Baghdad and Other Stories about Teens in the Arab World (Paperback)
by Elsa Marston
"Though few examples of popular culture depict Arabs in a positive light, Marston's collection is one of the exceptions. Marston, who worked and traveled extensively to the Middle East, has an uncanny ability to understand the Muslim culture and relay her characters' innermost thoughts to Western audiences." -Chantal Walvoord, ForeWord, July/August 2008

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (Hardcover)by Ibtisam Barakat
" In a spare, eloquent memoir, Barakat recalls life under military occupation. In 1981 the author, then in high school, boarded a bus bound for Ramallah. The bus was detained by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint on the West Bank, and she was taken to a detention center before being released. The episode triggers sometimes heart-wrenching memories of herself as a young child, at the start of the 1967 Six Days' War, as Israeli soldiers conducted raids, their planes bombed her home, and she fled with her family across the border to Jordan. She also recalls living under occupation and the thrill of being able to attend the United Nations school for refugees. The political upheaval is always in the background, but for young Barakat, much of the drama was in incidents that took place in everyday life.^B What makes the memoir so compelling is the immediacy of the child's viewpoint, which depicts both conflict and daily life without exploitation or sentimentality. An annotated bibliography will help readers fill in the facts." -From Booklist

United Arab Emirates (Enchantment of the World. Second Series) by Liz Sonneborn
"This attractive title enhanced with full-color photographs provides everything that most students need for a basic understanding of the country. The presentation begins with an interesting overview of this 31-year-old nation and covers its climate; the flora, the fauna, and the environment; the human history from 6000 B.C.E. to Nintendo; the politics and governing of such a conglomerate of emirates; the diverse population and the changing role of women; education, culture, and sport; the vital importance of Islam; and the overwhelming influence of oil in all aspects of modern life. "
-From School Library Journal

The Arabs In The Golden Age (Peoples of the Past) (Paperback) by Mokhtar Moktefi
"Arabs in the Golden Age is a must for any elementary school teacher who covers Medieval Times in their social science curriculum. It gives a view into Islamic Medieval times and the height of the Islamic cultural empire. It has great illustrations and appropriate reading level for grades 3-6. Please buy this book for your teacher-librarian and the students at your school!" -Amazon
Reviewer Suzanne Muir - Teacher Librarian Valleyfield ... (Toronto, Canada) -

Arab Science and Invention in the Golden Age (Hardcover) by Anne Blanchard
"From the eighth-century, the Muslim world led an amazing scientific revolution for hundreds of years with breakthroughs in math, geography, physics, astronomy, and medicine. This large-size, attractive volume packs in a wealth of information about the rise and fall of the immense empire and the groundbreaking scientists in Cairo, Damascus, Palermo, Baghdad, and Isfahan, including al-Idrisi, who mapped the known world, and al-Khwarizmi, who invented the decimal system. "
-From Booklist

One More River (Paperback)
by Lynne Reid Banks
From School Library Journal
"...spoiled, rich Lesley, 14, moves with her parents from Canada to an Israeli kibbutz because her father feels that the family has lost any sense of what it means to be Jewish...The story is fleshed out with numerous details about kibbutz life, farming, and military maneuvers, which bring a sense of realism. The style is more polished, with the characters' actions, rather than the author's voice, revealing motivation. Some Hebrew and Yiddish words are transliterated more accurately, and Lesley now speaks to Mustapha in his language, thanks to her Arabic lessons, which lends a greater air of authenticity. The glossary is more comprehensive, but readers won't need to refer to it often. A map is a welcome new addition."

Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak (Paperback)
by Deborah Ellis
From School Library Journal
"This collection of accounts from young people between the ages of 8 and 18 portrays the sapping toll of war on their lives. Instead of looking toward their futures, these kids are watching their backs. Instead of playing games of pick-up ball in the street, they're lobbing rocks at soldier's and dodging tear gas and bullets. Israeli students are pressed into military service. In Palestine, the scanty settlements are overcrowded and unsafe. Each narrative is prefaced with a short historical or personal background description providing a point of reference for the sentiments expressed. Ellis effectively remains absent, serving as chronicler for these ordinary kids in traumatic circumstances who are tinged by varying degrees of anger and despair. One Palestinian student, 11, states: "I don't know any Israeli children. I don't want to know any. They hate me, and I hate them." Another child comments: "If I had three wishes I would become a doctor and I would be famous, maybe as a writer. And I would be able to walk..."

Habibi (Mass Market Paperback)
by Naomi Shihab Nye
From School Library Journal
"When Liyana's doctor father, a native Palestinian, decides to move his contemporary Arab-American family back to Jerusalem from St. Louis, 14-year-old Liyana is unenthusiastic. Arriving in Jerusalem, the girl and her family are gathered in by their colorful, warmhearted Palestinian relatives and immersed in a culture where only tourists wear shorts and there is a prohibition against boy/girl relationships. When Liyana falls in love with Omer, a Jewish boy, she challenges family, culture, and tradition, but her homesickness fades..."

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East (Hardcover)
by Naomi Shihab Nye
Amazon.com Review
"As she grieved over the "huge shadow [that] had been cast across the lives of so many innocent people and an ancient culture's pride" after September 11, 2001, poet and author Naomi Shihab Nye's natural response was to write, to grasp "onto details to stay afloat." Accordingly, Nye has gathered over four dozen of her own poems about the Middle East and about being an Arab American living in the United States..."

Ghaddar the Ghoul and Other Palestinian Stories (Folktales from Around the World) (Paperback)
by Sonia Nimr
"Why do snakes eat frogs? What makes a man-eating ghoul become a vegetarian? How can a woman make a bored prince smile? And what’s a king to do when a princess refuses to marry him? The answers are found in this engaging compilation of Palestinian folk tales, cleverly retold by Sonia Nimr. The charismatic women, genial tricksters, mischievous animals, and other colorful characters who appear in the stories are imbued with a wry sense of humor, delighting readers young and old alike. Hannah Shaw’s deft illustrations are the perfect complement to Nimr’s upbeat storytelling. - Amazon

Albucasis Aka Al-zahrawi: Renowned Surgeon of the Arab World (Great Muslim Philosophers and Scientists of the Middle Ages) (Library Binding) by Fred Ramen
" Acknowledging the skimpy historical record on his subject, Ramen fleshes out this profile of an influential Spanish physician with sweeping histories of ancient Mediterranean civilizations, early medicine, the rise of Islam, and the rise and fall of Muslim culture in Spain. Readers will come away impressed by the surgeon's contributions to medicine, which ranged from an encyclopedic surgical text to the invention of the forceps to the pioneering use of sutures." -Amazon

Al-biruni: Master Astronomer And Influential Muslim Scholar of Eleventh-century Persia (Great Muslim Philosophers and Scientists of the Middle Ages) (Library Binding)
by Bill Scheppler
The Moslem scholar Al-Biruni was born in what is now Uzbekistan in 973 A.D. A devoted believer in Islam, al-Biruni made great advances in many areas, especially math, astronomy and the study of history. Unfortunately, much of al-Biruni's life was often at the mercy of his patrons--good and bad. The books in this series would be best used by middle-school to high-school age readers and researchers." -Amazon Reviewer Cathy "Multicultural Book Reviewer"