Eleven Words for Love: A Journey Through Arabic Expressions of Love
Description
A lyrical narrative of a Palestinian family in exile explores universal bonds of family, loyalty, and friendship through the lens of eleven Arabic expressions for love.
A family has fled their homeland in search of safety in another country, carrying a single suitcase. As their journey unfolds, the oldest child reflects on the special contents of that suitcase: photo albums that evoke eleven of many names for love in Arabic. From sunshine-warm friendship to the love that dissolves all tears; from the love that makes you swoon to the love that leaves you yearning for the heart’s homeland—her family has experienced it all. Illustrated in vibrant watercolor pencil and collage on textured card stock, this moving scrapbook shows a family embracing an unknown future even as they honor the past, casting immigration and the refugee experience in the light of universal human connection.
Praise for Eleven Words for Love: A Journey Through Arabic Expressions of Love
Alongside the lyrical definitions of love, the textured, bright, collagelike illustrations beautifully chronicle the family’s journey. The photographs of cherished memories are deftly interwoven alongside scenes of the characters building a new life. . . Relying on cultural touches such as a keffiyeh that one character wears, the story offers a glimpse into the lives of a Palestinian family uprooted from their home. A tender tale of love and remembrance.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
We all know that language can be nuanced, but the idea of there being 11 different words for 11 different sorts of love is simply delightful. . . Vibrant pastel illustrations from Clarke add depth and context, depicting love among intergenerational, biological, and chosen families. Eleven Words for Love can be described as a bilingual concept book and can be integrated creatively in writing, SEL, and art activities.
—Booklist
An affirming picture book that will be particularly welcomed by libraries seeking stories about refugees and the migration experience.
—School Library Journal
[A] lovely book, which illustrates the many different ways there are to care. . . Each kind of love is illustrated by Clarke's vibrant double-page watercolor pencil collage paintings, which show both brown- and pink-skinned people embracing, playing, chatting over the fence. Abdel-Fattah's poignant rhyming story celebrates the many ways we cherish the world and the people in it.
—The Star Tribune
Current events add sharp poignancy to this explanation of the nuanced meanings of 11 Arabic words that describe love. Besides introducing the foreign language and its calligraphy, the book will help children understand distinct relationships recognized by English speakers, too.
—The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
If you’ve ever thought English needed more words for different kinds of love, you’ll appreciate the Arabic expressions highlighted in this book.
—We Are Teachers