Odeh, Maysa. Map for Falasteen, A: A Palestinian Child’s Search for Home. Aliaa Betawi, Illus. Henry Holt, 10/2024. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $19.99. 978-1-250-89670-4. GRADES Kindergarten–3. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
When her teacher shows the class a world map and asks them, “Can each of you tell us where your family is from?” Falasteen asks, “Why isn’t Palestine on the map?” Her teacher’s ignorant and callous reply, “I think there is no such place,” makes her sad, so she asks her grandpa, grandma, and mother the same question. This picture book focuses on the author’s Palestinian American experience. The charming illustrations encourage empathy with the family’s hardships while maintaining hope for the future, and steering clear of blame. The Nakba is only depicted in the family holding hands as they escape; the soldiers, tanks, guns, destroyed villages, and burned trees are mentioned but not illustrated. While the art hanging in Falasteen’s classroom is typical of children ages three to six, finding a location on a world map is a skill typically developed in fourth through sixth grades, conflating the intended audience. This is a heartwarming depiction of displaced people maintaining hope of returning to their homeland. The author’s note succinctly explains where Palestine is and what has been happening there for the past seventy-five years.
Erica Siskind—Oakland Public Library