Tasting the Sky : A Palestinian Childhood

A powerful memoir of a girl growing up in the West Bank.

In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home; the harshness of life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home.

Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace.

Ibtisam Barakat is the author of Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood, which received three starred reviews and was the winner of the Arab American National Museum Book Award. She is also a poet, speaker, and social justice advocate, especially in the lives of children and teens. She was born in Beit Hanina, East Jersulaem, grew up in Ramallah, Palestine, and currently lives in Columbia, Missouri

"A compassionate, insightful family and cultural portrait." -Kirkus Reviews, starred

"Brims with tension and emotion." -Publishers Weekly

"Barakat strives to depict vivid details of everyday life . . . Well worth purchasing to provide a viewpoint not often available to young adults in the United States." -VOYA

"This is an astonishingly beautiful and heartbreaking book. The resurrected memories of a gifted girl growing up under the crush of war and occupation gave me hope: that if we read carefully, with open hearts, the world just might begin to change." -Suzanne Fisher Staples, author of Under the Persimmon Tree

"Tasting the Sky should be read by everyone with a humane interest in the story of Palestine." -Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Habibi