Overview
A young Palestinian girl living in diaspora struggles to find her homeland on a map in this gentle and heartfelt picture book. At school, Falasteen and her classmates are tasked with finding their families' home countries on a map, but no matter how hard she looks, Falasteen can't find Palestine. Can a place exist if it's not on a map? Confused, Falasteen turns to her family for answers. Her grandfather, grandmother, and Mama encourage her to see their homeland from a different perspective, and each of their stories helps her understand her people's history and her own place in the world. Filled with beautiful, inspiring illustrations and thoughtful back matter that outlines key terms and historical moments, this is a story of family, resilience and home always being where the heart is.
Full Product Details
Author: Maysa Odeh ,
Aliaa Betawi
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Imprint: St Martin's Press
Dimensions:
Width: 25.10cm
, Height: 1.50cm
, Length: 14.00cm
Weight: 0.476kg
ISBN: 9781250896704
ISBN 10: 1250896703
Pages: 40
Publication Date: 22 October 2024
Recommended Age: From 4 to 8 years
Audience:
Children/juvenile
,
Children / Juvenile
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
"★ ""[A Map for Falasteen] fills a gap in representations of the Palestinian diaspora, offering a much-needed insider's perspective. . . . A haunting, powerful, and crucial tale of culture and identity."" --Kirkus, starred review"
"★ ""[A Map for Falasteen] fills a gap in representations of the Palestinian diaspora, offering a much-needed insider's perspective. . . . A haunting, powerful, and crucial tale of culture and identity."" --Kirkus, starred review ★""Betawi renders Falasteen's immediate surroundings in yellows and oranges that give way to deep-blue remembrances, while Odeh sensitively narrates this double debut about a family's culture and homeland."" --Publishers Weekly, starred review"
Author Information
Maysa Odeh is a Palestinian writer who grew up between Amman, Jordan and the United States. Her debut picture book was written during the assault on Gaza in 2021, which sparked a conversation between herself and her inner child. A Map for Falasteen answers the questions she was too shy to ask as a child of Palestinian refugees. Maysa resides in California with her four year old daughter, Malak, who asks questions all day long in Arabic and English, and sometimes even in her sleep. Aliaa Betawi is a self-taught Palestinian artist based in Alexandria, Egypt who developed her craft by observing her gifted mother. She believes that every kid deserves a childhood filled with magical, joyful memories and this is what she works to give to all kids, including herself. A Map for Falasteen was her opportunity to capture a single elusive memory in Palestine, a memory she could not enjoy as a Palestinian child in exile.
