THESE OLIVE TREES, by Aya Ghanameh, Viking Books for Young Readers, Aug. 22, 2023, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 3-5)
These Olive Trees, by Aya Ghanameh explores the Palestinian refugee connection to the land and the olive trees that grew there.
It’s 1967 in Nablus, Palestine.
Oraib loves the olive trees that grow outside the refugee camp where she lives. Each harvest, she and her mama pick the small fruits and she eagerly stomp stomp stomps on them to release their golden oil. Olives have always tied her family to the land, as Oraib learns from the stories Mama tells of a home before war.
But war has come to their door once more, forcing them to flee. Even as her family is uprooted, Oraib makes a solemn promise to her beloved olive trees. She will see to it that their legacy lives on for generations to come. —Synopsis provided by Viking Books for Young readers
Debut author-illustrator Aya Ghanameh was inspired by her own family’s experiences as they were forced further and further from the place they called home. In her author’s note she explains how the olive tree has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance, longevity and identity because it represents the importance of ancestral lands.
At the heart of These Olive Trees is Oraib, a girl who has lived her entire life in a refugee camp. She is young and full of questions and at the center of everything are olive trees. They are used to make ornaments and tools; trimmings are used for kindling; and their fruits’ oil for cooking.
Ghanameh’s text is gentle, yet full of emotion. It offers hope amongst pain, and is plain enough for young readers to understand. Her illustrations, mirror that tone through expanses of green dotted with white, muted jewel tones, and a sense of movement.
These Olive Trees is a child-appropriate look at war and those who are affected by it.
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