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15th out of 19 books
—
4 voters
Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood
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 Baraka...more
“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 Baraka...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
February 20th 2007
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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It’s 1981. 17-year-old Ibtisam’s bus is stopped and boarded by Israeli soldiers. One of the soldiers casually claims that her hometown of Ramallah is no more. While she waits to be released from the detention center, Ibtisam wonders what she is more afraid of . . . that her home is gone forever, or that her mother will ask where she has been all day and why. Thus begins her tale, as she puts it, of two occupations (one of home, and one of country), beginning with the Six Day War in 1967.
Most of...more
Most of...more
I just finished reading this exquisite book by a writer I met 10 years ago at a writing retreat for women. Ibtisam struck me then as an exceptionally vibrant and talented young writer who gave me her favorite book of poems by Hafiz. She had just begun writing her memoir, Tasting the Sky, at the time so it was with delight I read that it had been published. The stars must have been dancing around this young woman as she wrote because her words sing across the pages, even while narrating the traum...more
I read this book by sheer coincidence the day before I went to the occupied territories for the first time. I read it because I had just been given the book by the author, a lively, highly educated woman with whom I shared much in common during her short visit to Abu Dhabi. This was her memoir about growing up in Ramallah during and after the 1967 war that put the last of Palestine under Israeli control. As I read it, I realized how little our childhoods had in common and I thought of how much s...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jan 19, 2012
L12_markmesserly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mc-literature
--- This review is based upon the Feb. 2007 Kindle edition ---
This is an expressive memoir of the author’s experience as a child during the Six Days’ War of 1967. The narrative begins and ends with brief letters written in 1981. The opening letter recounts her experience at an Israeli checkpoint while riding a bus to Birzeit to collect letters from pen pals. In this opening reflection, Barakat is reluctant to answer questions about her childhood. Barakat was just over three years old when her fa...more
This is an expressive memoir of the author’s experience as a child during the Six Days’ War of 1967. The narrative begins and ends with brief letters written in 1981. The opening letter recounts her experience at an Israeli checkpoint while riding a bus to Birzeit to collect letters from pen pals. In this opening reflection, Barakat is reluctant to answer questions about her childhood. Barakat was just over three years old when her fa...more
Ibtisam Barakat has an inspiring passion for life, for peace, for family, and for words. All this makes the memoir of her West Bank childhood much more than a political document of hardship. For Barakat, the Palestinian settlement of Ramallah was a cherished home, and her story is a universal testament of joy and discovery as well as danger.
Her memoir is at its best in describing the small details of her family life – with five very strong wills, including her father, her mother, and her two ol...more
Her memoir is at its best in describing the small details of her family life – with five very strong wills, including her father, her mother, and her two ol...more
I have never been to the middle east nor was I alive during the six day war between Israel and Palestine but Ibtisam Barakat made me feel like I was right in the middle of the conflicts through out the book. I cant even imagine going through what Ibtisam Barakat along with her family and many others went through during The six day war. The main characters in this book include Ibtisam’s two older brothers as well as her mother and father who she referrers to as Yamma and Yaba.
When Barakat was...more
When Barakat was...more
I would love to know Ibtisam Barakat personally. To read about the Six-day War from the perspective of a Palestinian child, is a memory I hope I never forget. Barakat shares her story to promote understanding of both Palestinians and Israelis. Her hope is that "together, these stories can show us how all people are interdependent and have the same basic needs."
Like Naomi Shihab Nye, Barakat's prose reads like poetry:
"My tears drip onto my shoes. Tears are my secret ink, in the absence of real i...more
Like Naomi Shihab Nye, Barakat's prose reads like poetry:
"My tears drip onto my shoes. Tears are my secret ink, in the absence of real i...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book starts out in a period of war. Ibtisam is on her way home from the city in which her PO box is located. Her PO box is the delight of her life. Her escape. And in some ways, her savior. Her bus gets stopped by army officials and we learn that she can't go home. Her home, from which she left a few hours before, is no more.
Then the book back tracks to 20 years earlier. Her young childhood. This is the main section of the book. She is 3 1/2 where she starts the story. It's incredible how m...more
Then the book back tracks to 20 years earlier. Her young childhood. This is the main section of the book. She is 3 1/2 where she starts the story. It's incredible how m...more
Barakat writes her memoir of growing up in the West Bank during the 6-day war and the subsequent occupation of the West bank and the Gaza Strip. The majority of the book takes place when she is very young, around ages 4 - 6. It describes relocation, separation, poverty, and fear, but without a lot of pity or sadness.
Some reference to inappropriate behavior by a boy towards her when she is 6 (subtle sexual content). There is a scene describing a soldier's car wreck and subsequent suffering. The...more
Some reference to inappropriate behavior by a boy towards her when she is 6 (subtle sexual content). There is a scene describing a soldier's car wreck and subsequent suffering. The...more
I am looking to find a book that takes place in the Middle East and has their voices and values and concerns in it in order to use it in the classroom and I really liked this book. It was wonderfully written, memorable, nonpolitical, and very 'human.'
The prose language was poetic and I really enjoyed the last chapter of the book, which was essential a poem of her childhood that touched on some of the poignant things she remembers. I am worried about bringing this book the admin in order to see...more
The prose language was poetic and I really enjoyed the last chapter of the book, which was essential a poem of her childhood that touched on some of the poignant things she remembers. I am worried about bringing this book the admin in order to see...more
Tasting the Sky is about how writing became important to Ibtisam Barakat. A series of events in her life and her non-emotionally friendy mother are major contributing factors to Barakats growing love for literature. She loves her father and her brothers and cares for her mother. I would say that Ibtisam is the author she is today because of her indifferent mother. I enjoyed reading this book because it was nice to read about the kinds of things that happen in foreign countries; things i didn't k...more
Dec 10, 2009
Andrea
added it
This book was written by Ibtisam Barakat from the point of view of her childhood years. She describes what it was to live throughout the war and having to change her life. She went from being a normal civilian to a camp refugee. She is around the age of 3 when all of this starts so she still isn't sure what is going on around her. She doesn't let the war affect her and tries to live on a normal life. I give this book a two thumbs up for its great point of view that it gives of a child during the...more
A gorgeous, devastating memoir of the Six Day War of June 1967. Palestinian author Barakat tells her family's story as seen through her young eyes--their terrifying flight to Jordan once fighting broke out, their life as refugees, and their eventual return to a bullet-riddled Ramallah under Israeli occupation. Infused with poetry, her graceful prose encompasses the hardships and fear that defined much of her early life, but Barakat's genius lies in her ability to let the everyday miracles of chi...more
I had a chance to see what Ibtisam went through while she was a little girl and a war was going on in her city. I explored many places in this book from Jordan to Ramallah. In real life I have visited Jordan last summer and Ramallah and both places are beautiful the way Ibtisam descibes them. I actually live close to Ramallah. I would love to meet the author and talk to her one day. I think you should read this because its really nice and it shows you what kids go throw while there is a war goin...more
About growing up in the West Bank. I kept forgetting that it took place in the 70's, and dealt with the 1967 war, because the situations and day-to-day struggles were exactly what I witnessed in the 90's, after the first intifada. A simple Palestinian lifestyle that hasn't changed in centuries, and a fear of the unknown caused by soldiers and checkpoints everywhere. It almost made me wish this was still the situation today in the West Bank, but now things seem more extreme and desperate than in...more
"Sinking in the sea
Of forgetfulness
I reach for the raft
Of remembering."
This childhood biography is told with poetic language that makes the story all the more bittersweet. While the audience is intended to be for middle school age, I think it could be the prelude to more of the story. I hope there will be more to come, more about her family, especially her mother who seemed to me an especially intriguing and complex person whose inner turmoil is only hinted at here. Also, she intersperses a few...more
Of forgetfulness
I reach for the raft
Of remembering."
This childhood biography is told with poetic language that makes the story all the more bittersweet. While the audience is intended to be for middle school age, I think it could be the prelude to more of the story. I hope there will be more to come, more about her family, especially her mother who seemed to me an especially intriguing and complex person whose inner turmoil is only hinted at here. Also, she intersperses a few...more
I never considered what would be like for Palestinians to have their land taken away and given to Israel. This book is a memoir of a girl who experienced the war between the Palestinians and Israel. The author writes beautifully and honestly of what it was like to live through the conflict. It's not a diatribe against Israel; it is just the story of a child living through turmoil in her world. I decided to get the book for my school library, though it may be a little too much for all but the upp...more
Winner of the 2007 Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction book, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood is Ibtisam Barakat's memoir of her childhood growing up on the war-torn West Bank.
The story begins in 1981. 17-year-old Ibtisam is on a bus heading home to Ramallah when Israeli soldiers board the bus and order the driver to take the passengers to a nearby detention center. It is here when we first get a glimpse into the fear that has consumed Ibtisam's life for nearly 15 years since the 6-day w...more
The story begins in 1981. 17-year-old Ibtisam is on a bus heading home to Ramallah when Israeli soldiers board the bus and order the driver to take the passengers to a nearby detention center. It is here when we first get a glimpse into the fear that has consumed Ibtisam's life for nearly 15 years since the 6-day w...more
There aren't many books on the Palestinian situation available for children, and fewer still that are memoirs. I actually managed to pick up and read Ibtisam Barakat's, "Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood," without ever realized that it was more than mere historical fiction. As a bilingual author and poet, Ms. Barakat could have written a straight up autobiography, but somehow the slightly fictionalized memoir is just as moving and intense a portrait as anyone could ask for. It gives her s...more
When I first read the summary of this book I though it would be really interesting. But I'm really disappointed because it didn't pull me in and the story wasn't as appealing as the way i thought it would be. What amazes me the most though is that the author remembers these specific events from her childhood from when she was only three. Truthfully I don't think anyone has ever remembered such vivid events happening in their lifetime the same way that Ibitisam remembered them. The thing I hate a...more
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This memoir of a childhood in Palestine is textured with descriptive similes, as embroidery on plain cotton. An unremarkable childhood is made remarkable by the conflict surrounding Ibtisam Barakat and her family, as they do what they can to rise above the loss and chaos of living in the midst of war. A sample of similes: "...shaking my foot affectionately, the way one shakes the hand of a friend." (Page 52) "With his face as pale as a lemon..." (Page 53) "...where hills and valleys curved like...more
I didn't finish this book, and it is short. Her experience, growing up in Palestine during the 60s and 70s, living through the 6-day war, is an experience I think needs to be shared and I appreciate that she intentionally wrote her memoir for a young audience. She writes very well too; I found many descriptions in the story beautifully written. Somehow though there was something unsettlingly dispassionate and disjointed in her narrative that just didn't sustain my interest and I found myself not...more
Much of what we know about the Arab-Israeli conflict in the US comes from the point of view of the more Western Israelis. But what about the Palestinians? Especially the average, powerless Palestinian? Without assigning or accepting blame, Barakat, who is Palestinian, begins her powerful memoir in Surda, in the West Bank, when, as a teenager, she is detained at a check point by Israeli soldiers. Extremely descriptive and vivid, Barakat's memoir is an important read for several very strong reason...more
This beautifully written memoir gives us a glimpse into the childhood of Ibtisam Barakat, a Palestinian refugee in Israel. Although Ibtisam grew up in a country ravaged by war, not all of her memories are unhappy ones. She held on to a strong sense of home and family and her love for writing helped her deal with some of the scary things that happened to her. Although a lot of things about her childhood were very different from an American child's, many things were the same. I think this book is...more
I read this for my multicultural lit class and liked the insight it provided into the Palestine/Israeli conflict. It's focus is the 1967 war, but there are a lot of things that still happen today. I LOVED how Ibtisam talked about how language and writing were her "escape" - she talks about the letter A as if it was a friend because learning the alphabet opened a whole new world.
It's rare for many Americans to appeciate the Palestinian perspective of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I was reminded there are two sides to every story by reading Barakat's account of her childhood experience. I also learned a few tibits of Arab culture in the process. I better understand the challenge of implementing a two state solution after reading this narrative.
The author supposedly recalled her childhood memories from age 3 and wrote about them. The writing was high school level and the analogies were completely cliche. Her character did not develop in the least. The only interesting part of the whole book was learning about the circumcision ritual that occurs in Palestine. Besides that, this book was not worth reading.
Jun 02, 2008
Iowa Girl
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
young adults memoirs, current history, refugee stories
Shelves:
young-adult
I didn't give this a five star simply because the writing, to me, is a bit loose. I enjoyed reading it, if enjoyed is the right word. The author writes of her childhood as the Six Day war breaks out. Heart-breaking is the choices parents make under the pressures of regional discord. One wonders how many children & families simply were overwhelmed and lost to poverty, violence or despair as they were displaced and asked to re-invent their lives. I liked the tone of 'attitude' the author seeme...more
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“To Alef, the letter
that begins the alphabets
of both Arabic and Hebrew-
two Semitic languages,
sisters for centuries.
May we find the language
that takes us
to the only home there is -
one another's hearts.
...
Alef knows
That a thread
Of a story
Stitches together
A wound.”
—
15 people liked it
More quotes…
that begins the alphabets
of both Arabic and Hebrew-
two Semitic languages,
sisters for centuries.
May we find the language
that takes us
to the only home there is -
one another's hearts.
...
Alef knows
That a thread
Of a story
Stitches together
A wound.”
Nov 15, 2011 11:39am