Picking up where Tasting the Sky left off, Balcony on the Moon follows Ibtisam Barakat through her childhood and adolescence in Palestine from 1972-1981 and chronicles her desire to be a writer. 
A Junior Library Guild Selection A Palestine Book Award Shortlist Selection A VOYA Nonfiction Honor Roll Selection A Skipping Stones Honor Book An Arab-American National Museum Honor Book A Bank Street College of Education Best Book An American Library Association/Amelia Bloomer Project Top Ten Book A Notable Book for a Global Society A News &amp; Observer Newspaper's Wilde Best Book Award Winner A Middle East Book Award Honorable Mention In this follow-up to Tasting the Sky, a young Ibtisam finds inspiration through writing letters to pen pals and from an adult who encourages her to keep at it, but the most surprising turn of all for Ibtisam happens when her mother decides that she would like to seek out an education, too. This memoir is a touching, at times funny, and enlightening look at the not often depicted daily life in a politically tumultuous area.
A Margaret Ferguson Book

Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine

Barakat, Ibtisam

Children's Books

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Winner, Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children's/YA Literature, among other awards and honors.
"When a war ends it does not go away," my mother says."It hides inside us . . . Just forget!" But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want to remember.
In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home.
Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace.

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

Teen & Young Adult

Biographies

"When a war ends it does not go away," my mother says."It hides inside us . . . Just forget!" But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want to remember.
In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of life in the Middle East as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home.
Transcending the particulars of politics, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood is an illuminating and timely book that provides a telling glimpse into a part of the Middle East that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace.
Winner of the Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children's/YA Literature
“In vivid, beautiful prose, Ibtisam Barakat transports readers into a place few Westerners have ever seen―the interior life of a young girl and her family in the occupied West Bank. This book, appropriate for readers young and old, holds literature’s great power: the power to humanize the ‘other,’ and to therefore change the way we understand our world.” ―Sandy Tolan, author of The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East

Square Fish

From award-winning Palestinian author Ibtisam Barakat comes a touching account of coming of age against a backdrop of political turmoil in the Middle East. 
Picking up where Ibtisam Barakat's first memoir, Tasting the Sky, left off, Balcony on the Moon follows her through her childhood and adolescence in Palestine from 1972-1981 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. 
This memoir about pursuing dreams in the face of adversity chronicles Ibitsam's desire to be a writer and shows how she finds inspiration through writing letters to pen pals and from an adult who encourages her to keep at it. But the most surprising turn of all for Ibtisam happens when her mother decides that she would like to seek out an education, too. 
Enlightening and at times funny, Balcony on the Moon is a not often depicted look at daily life in a politically tumultuous region. 
A Margaret Ferguson Book
Praise for Balcony on the Moon: 
“This is a compelling personal history, brimming with humor, wisdom, and empathy.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review 
“This intense memoir paints a dark picture of growing up in Israeli-occupied Palestine, where ‘we are made to live with no land, no country, no rights, no safety, and no respect for our dignity.’ . . . A poetic, deeply felt coming-of-age story.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“[A] memoir and winner of the Arab American Book Award, Barakat moves beyond her early school years during the Six-Day War and its uprooting aftermath. She focuses on the years 1971–81, when she―a feisty protofeminist―and her family shifted about in the occupied West Bank, trying to find a place that felt safe and like home. . . The beauty of the writing is its clear-eyed matter-of-fact-ness.” ―Booklist
“Highly recommended for upper middle school and high school libraries.” ―School Library Journal

Two Homes In Omar's Heart

San Francisco : Room to Read

The Lilac Girl

Literature & Fiction

Bookland Press Inc.

Tastant el cel

Editorial Bambú

A powerful and groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, this work captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. Candid and courageous, it stitches together the haunting memories of the narrator’s life: the fear and confusion felt as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family, the harshness of life as a Palestinian refugee, and her unexpected joy when she discovers the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. As language becomes her refuge, she begins to piece together the fragments of her splintered world. Una biografía conmovedora y vanguardista ambientado en Ramala a finales de la Guerra de los Seis Días, este relato captura lo que es ser una niña cuyo mundo está trastornado por la guerra. Sincero y valiente, reúne las memorias evocadoras de la juventud de la narradora: el temor y la confusión que sentía cuando caen bombas cerca de su casa y ella es separada de su familia, la dureza de la vida como una refugiada palestina y su gozo imprevisible al descubrir la primera letra del alfabeto árabe. A la medida que el lenguaje se convierte en su refugio, ella comienza a construir pieza por pieza su mundo astillado.

Saboreando el cielo: Una infancia palestina (Bambú Vivencias) (Spanish Edition)

Bambú

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Books by Barakat, Ibtisam

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Barakat, Ibtisam. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine

Two Homes In Omar's Heart

The Lilac Girl

Tastant el cel

Saboreando el cielo: Una infancia palestina (Bambú Vivencias) (Spanish Edition)