A Map for Falasteen
A Palestinian Child's Search for Home

Name: A Map for Falasteen
Brand: Macmillan Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Maysa Odeh
ISBN: 9781250365996

Author: Maysa Odeh

Narrator: Dalia Ramahi

Unabridged: 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners

Published: 10/22/2024

Categories: Children's Fiction, Regional Stories, Children's Social Themes

Synopsis

A Map for Falasteen: A Palestinian Child's Search for Home features music and special effects. Listen along and enjoy the fun!

A young Palestinian girl living in diaspora struggles to find her homeland on a map in this gentle and heartfelt audiobook.

At school, Falasteen and her classmates are tasked with finding their families' home countries on a map, but no matter how hard she looks, Falasteen can't find Palestine.

Can a place exist if it's not on a map? Confused, Falasteen turns to her family for answers. Her grandfather, grandmother, and Mama encourage her to see their homeland from a different perspective, and each of their stories helps her understand her people's history and her own place in the world.

Including thoughtful back matter that outlines key terms and historical moments, this is a story of family, resilience and home always being where the heart is.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

About Maysa Odeh

Maysa Odeh is a Palestinian writer who grew up between Amman, Jordan and the United States. Her debut picture book was written during the assault on Gaza in 2021, which sparked a conversation between herself and her inner child. A Map for Falasteen answers the questions she was too shy to ask as a child of Palestinian refugees. Maysa resides in California with her four year old daughter, Malak, who asks questions all day long in Arabic and English, and sometimes even in her sleep.

About Aliaa Betawi

Aliaa Betawi is a self-taught Palestinian artist based in Alexandria, Egypt who developed her craft by observing her gifted mother. She believes that every kid deserves a childhood filled with magical, joyful memories and this is what she works to give to all kids, including herself. A Map for Falasteen was her opportunity to capture a single elusive memory in Palestine, a memory she could not enjoy as a Palestinian child in exile.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sunny on November 19, 2024

Not me crying at work again......more

Goodreads review by Daryan on November 12, 2024

i read a lot of picture books for work and normally don't log them (even though i could) BUT i really felt like i needed to give this one a review. what a beautifully heartbreaking, well-crafted story about a little girl who can't find her country on a map. the illustrations were stunning and the me......more

Goodreads review by Kurt on December 13, 2024

You should read this picture book......more

Goodreads review by Imane on September 16, 2024

I listened to this as an audiobook, and though I feared that the experience would be lacking (since this is initially a picture book), it exceeded all my expectations. The narrator and the quality of the production elevated the reading experience, and exceptionally conveyed the meaning and feeling o......more

Goodreads review by Zainab on October 15, 2024

"A Map for Falasteen" by @maysaodeh, illustrated by @aliaabetawi, is perhaps one of the most important picture books of the year. When Falasteen looks for her family's country on the map - she can't find it! She turns to her family for answers... and they tell her the full, rich, heartbreaking story......more

Quotes

★ "[A Map for Falasteen] fills a gap in representations of the Palestinian diaspora, offering a much-needed insider’s perspective. . . . A haunting, powerful, and crucial tale of culture and identity." —Kirkus, starred review

★"Betawi renders Falasteen's immediate surroundings in yellows and oranges that give way to deep-blue remembrances, while Odeh sensitively narrates this double debut about a family's culture and homeland." —Publishers Weekly, starred review