Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye.

A.Bibliographic Data:
Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1999. Habibi. Simon & Shuster Children's Publishing Division: New York, New York. ISBN 0-689-80149-1(hc.) ISBN 0-689-82523-4 (pbk.).

B. Plot Summary:
Habibi is a coming of age story of a young girl named Liyana who was born and lived in the United States until she was fourteen years old when her father decides that the family needs to move to Jerusalem with their Pakistanian family. Liyana is not very happy about moving but gradually begins to let go and starts learning about and taking in her families culture. She meets a young boy and they become intimate friends, and who she discovers is Jewish. She introduces him to her family who at first has difficulty accepting him because he is Jewish but who soon overcome their prejudices and accept him.

C. Critical Analysis:
Naomi Shihabb Nye has created a wonderful story in which we see events that are actually occuring in the middle east through the eyes of a teenage girl who is an intermediate and is struggling to understand why the fighting can't simply stop. Naomi does a great job using examples in this book that help readers relate to the story. She uses scenes such as the one where the Abbouds are discussing why people fight and Mrs. Abboud tells her children, “How many fights are there in families, very day. People in families love each other, or want to love each other, but they fight anyway. With strangers you don't care so much. Think about it.” After reading this Naomi really does make readers stop and think about the concept of fighting and how natural it is, and the story becomes more intriguing. The cultural markers in this book are the detailed descriptions of the places that Liyana is experiencing for the first time, and the historical accuracy in the story.

D. Review Excerpt:
From Horn Book Magazine:
“The message isn't preachy and remains almost secondary to the story of Liyana's search for her identity as she goes from feeling homesick to feeling very much at home. Habibi, or darling, is what Liyana's father calls her and her younger brother; it is a soothing, loving word, and Liyana gradually finds herself comfortable "living in the land of Habibi," where she is showered with love by her huge extended family. The leisurely progression of the narrative matches the slow and stately pace of daily life in this ancient land, and the text's poetic turns of phrase accurately reflect Liyana's passion for words and language.” By Jennifer Brabander.

E. Connections
Divide students into two groups, have one group and research and represent the Jewish community, and the other group research and represent the Pakistanian community. The two groups will represent their research to each other, then they will sit as a whole group and brainstorm strategies to help stop the fighting.

Work with technology instructor and have students set up buddy mail with students from Jerusalem and keep a journal of the interaction going on between each other.