Title: Sharing Our Homeland: Palestinian and Jewish Children at Summer Peace Camp
Author: Trish Marx
Illustrator: Cindy Karp
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Concepts: human resources, economics of conflict, social justice
Review: Givat Haviva, a non-profit organization in Israel that promotes peace between people of Jewish and Arab descent, hosts a summer peace camp for two weeks. Close to 200 Israeli children, half of them Jewish and half Palestinian, descend on the camp from their homes all over Israel to have fun and work toward peace. With a long history of Isreali and Palestinian conflict, children are often caught in the middle of deep-seated hostility, misunderstanding, and violence. By introducing these children to each other in a neutral setting and engaging them in a host of educational and recreational activities, the camp organizers aim to build a foundation of mutual understanding and respect.
With its extensive narrative and action-packed photographs, this non-fiction children's book provides an interesting glimpse of a bold experiment that encourages children to work toward peace in a region plagued by long-term conflict. Included in the text are some important lessons about the economic repercussions of conflict, including discrimination and barriers in traveling to work. This unique book will inform readers about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute and encourage them to think about how children's education can work toward conflict resolution.
Review by: Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children