Sharing Our Homeland: Palestinian and Jewish Children at Summer Peace Camp - Hardcover

Trish Marx

3.65

23 ratings by Goodreads

9781584302605: Sharing Our Homeland: Palestinian and Jewish Children at Summer Peace Camp

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1584302607 ISBN 13: 9781584302605

Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 2010

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Alya, a Palestinian Israeli girl, and Yuval, a Jewish Israeli boy, live a short distance from each other in Israel, yet they have totally different and separate lives. Then one summer they have a chance to meet when they attend Peace Camp, a day camp operated by Givat Haviva, an educational organization that works toward Jewish-Arab peace.

At Peace Camp, the Jewish and Palestinian children experience two weeks of fun in close contact with each other. They participate in sports, arts and crafts projects, field trips, and other camp activities. They begin to understand what their shared ancient homeland means to the "other side." Most of all, they learn not to be afraid of each other. Maybe they even become friends.

This eye-opening story offers hope for breaking down the distrust and violence that define the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The children's experiences at Peace Camp may well help their generation build a foundation for living together peacefully in one homeland.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

TRISH MARX has written several books for children and has collaborated with Cindy Karp on four other titles. Marx specializes in nonfiction, especially current events and environmental issues, interests that stem from her background in teaching and journalism. Marx lives in New York City.

CINDY KARP has had a distinguished career as a photojournalist. She worked for a decade in Latin America as a photographer for Time, and has traveled the world covering wars, political figures, and breaking news stories. She now works freelance for a wide variety of publications. Karp lives in Miami, Florida.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3- 6 Alya, an Israeli Palestinian girl, and Yuval, an Israeli Jewish boy, attend Peace Camp where kids learn respect for one anothers' cultures. This photo-essay explores the home lives of both children, and follows them through the camp experience. The author provides very basic history and context for the Middle East conflict, always circling back to its effect on Alya's and Yuval's lives. She paints a compelling portrait of the camp, which combines familiar activities like swimming and crafts with more serious ones like a bomb-squad demo or field trips to Jewish and Arab communities. Quotes from interviews with the children, their families, and camp staff add life to the narrative. Large, clear, colorful photos create a "you are there" feeling. While the depiction of the two ethnicities is fairly evenhanded, the subtitle's descriptors may trouble some adult readers. Why not "Arab" and "Jewish" or "Muslim" and "Jewish"? However, the editor has stated that the people at Peace Camp, all of whom are Israeli citizens, preferred to be identified this way. The lens of summer camp provides a positive introduction to a troubled region. The book's hopeful tone may inspire readers to explore the topic further. Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.