An Artist's Journey emphasises the values of loyalty and belonging to one's homeland, speaking to teens in an eloquent and beautiful language while raising contemporary issues of immigration and problems faced by expatriates, as well as the value of art and cultural integration. It is a captivating story told by an enlightened grandmother in the Hakawati style. She uses sound effects, masks and drawing tools while nar-rating the tale. Told from the perspective of small and colourful birds, the story is a miniature example of desired civic life in the Arab Islamic so-cieties based on the values of justice, equality, respect for the supremacy of law, tolerance, love, cooperation, national identity, and defending the homeland. This book encourages educators to teach in different ways, such as using art to engage children to pursue knowledge, acquire life skills and develop their intelligence.

A gripping story of survival and hope from acclaimed author Carol Matas. Ruth survived the Holocaust and the long journey to Palestine. Now she finds herself once again in a war zone as Israel battles for its existence. Her brother is on the front lines. Ruth and her boyfriend are injured and cannot fight, so they care for children in a hospital. Ruth tells the children stories to distract them and help them make sense of their situation. As she recovers, she too must return to the fight. A trauma forces her back to another time when she told stories: to her fellow prisoners in Auschwitz. We discover what Ruth went through in the camps, the horrors she saw, the friends she made and lost. Through it all Ruth comes to understand that she must find a new way to live, a way that does not give up on hope.

Twelve-year-old Yasmeen Khoury is unhappy that her family has moved from Detroit to San Antonio, Texas, leaving her friends and Arab Christian community behind; from the very first day at school Yasmeen feels completely isolated and out of place, but she slowly makes friends with a Mexican boy, Carlos, and her Jewish neighbor, Ayelet Cohen, although she feels like she has to hide these friendships, especially from her Palestinian father, a native of Jerusalem--more than anything Yasmeen just wants to be American but it seems like she can not escape the ethnic tensions that swirl around her.