Curiouser & Curiouser


Picture Window:
Children's Books about the Middle East

Jeffrey Canton


Jeffrey Canton has complied a list of children's books about the Middle East for teachers and librarians to use in classroom discussions and cross-cultural projects. Most of these books are picture books and several have received awards for their wonderful illustrations and content.


Aziz the Storyteller by Vi Hughes; illustrated by Stefan Czernicki

The Day of Ahmed's Secret by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland; illustrated by Ted Lewin (Cairo)

From Far Away by Robert Munsch and Saoussan Askar; illustrated by Michael Martchenko (Beirut)

The Girl Who Lost Her Smile by Karim Alrawi; illustrated by Stefan Czernecki (Baghdad)

Muhammad by Demi

The Roses In My Carpet by Rukhsana Khan; illustrated by Ronald Himler

Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam by Diane Stanley

Sami and the Time of the Troubles by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland; illustrated by Ted Lewin (Beirut)

The Silence in the Mountains by Liz Rosenberg; illustrated by Chris Soentpiet (Lebanon)

Sitti and the Cats: A Tale of Friendship by Sally Bahous; illustrated by Nancy Malick (Northern Palestine)

Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye; illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Palestinian village on the West Bank, Israel)

Snow in Jerusalem by Deborah da Costa; illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem)

The Stars in My Geddoh's Sky by Claire Sidhoun Matze; illustrated by Bill Farnsworth

Travelling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354 by James Rumford



Volume 8, Issue 2, The Looking Glass, April, 2004

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"Children's books about the Middle East"
© Jeffrey Canton, 2004.
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