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The Shepherd's Granddaughter

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award for Children, the Society of School Librarians International Best Book Award and a Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor Book

Ever since she was a little girl, Amani has wanted to be a shepherd, just like her beloved grandfather, Sido. For generations her family has grazed sheep above the olive groves of the family homestead near Hebron, and she has been steeped in Sido's stories, especially one about a secret meadow called the Firdoos, where the grass is lush and the sheep grow fat, and about the wolf that once showed him the path there.

But now Amani's family home is being threatened by encroaching Jewish settlements. As she struggles to find increasingly rare grazing land for her starving sheep, her uncle and brother are tempted to take a more militant stance against the settlers. Then she accidentally meets Jonathan, an American boy visiting his settler father.

Away from the pressures of their families, the two young people discover Sido's secret meadow, the domain of a lone wolf. And Amani learns that she must share the meadow, and even her sheep, with the wolf, if she is going to continue to use it.

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    • School Library Journal

      December 1, 2008
      Gr 5-8-Palestinian teen Amani tends her extended Muslim family's sheep alongside her beloved grandfather, Seedo, and helps tend their vineyards and olive groves. When their quiet rural life is disturbed by Israeli settlers encroaching on their land, Amani's uncle reacts with anger, while her father tries to resist peacefully with the help of a sympathetic rabbi. After Seedo dies, Amani has sole responsibility for the diminishing flock and experiences physical threat and gunfire from the settlers as well as friendship with their son, who just wants to return to New York. The tension escalates until Amani's family compound is destroyed, and her father and uncle are imprisoned. Carter strikes a splendid balance in character development, portraying both parties' flaws while demonstrating Palestinian sympathies. Background and cultural information are seamlessly woven into the narrative, which is written simply and clearly in a skillful depiction of a sensitive situation.Joyce Adams Burner, formerly at Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS

      Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • The Horn Book

      January 1, 2009
      Amani wants nothing more than to carry on her grandfather's legacy and become a shepherd. However, a new Jewish settlement is threatening her family's entire way of life. She must reconcile peaceful protest and violence, the past and the future, and pride and friendship. A welcome addition to the subject of Israeli-Palestinian relations from a Palestinian character's point of view. Glos.

      (Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

    • School Library Journal

      December 1, 2008
      Gr 5-8-Palestinian teen Amani tends her extended Muslim family's sheep alongside her beloved grandfather, Seedo, and helps tend their vineyards and olive groves. When their quiet rural life is disturbed by Israeli settlers encroaching on their land, Amani's uncle reacts with anger, while her father tries to resist peacefully with the help of a sympathetic rabbi. After Seedo dies, Amani has sole responsibility for the diminishing flock and experiences physical threat and gunfire from the settlers as well as friendship with their son, who just wants to return to New York. The tension escalates until Amani's family compound is destroyed, and her father and uncle are imprisoned. Carter strikes a splendid balance in character development, portraying both parties' flaws while demonstrating Palestinian sympathies. Background and cultural information are seamlessly woven into the narrative, which is written simply and clearly in a skillful depiction of a sensitive situation."Joyce Adams Burner, formerly at Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS"

      Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.1
  • Lexile® Measure:600
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:2-3

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