Reviewed by Katharine Davies Samway
Review Source: Rethinking Schools
Book Author: Middle East Children's Alliance
A Childs View of Gaza: Palestinian Children’s Art and the Fight Against Censorship is equally compelling for children, older students, and adults. The captioned illustrations were created by Palestinian children who lived through the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in 2008-09. The pictures were drawn as part of an effort to help children deal with the horrors they had experienced. A Bay Area nonprofit, Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), arranged to display a collection of these pictures at the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland, California. However, under pressure from the Jewish Federation of the East Bay and other organizations, the museum backed out of the agreement at the last minute. MECA held an art exhibit as demonstration in front of the museum and then moved the exhibit to a nearby storefront. A Childs View of Gaza includes a foreword by Alice Walker. The children’s pictures are detailed, colorful, and provide a matter-of-fact yet powerful window into the reality of being a child under attack by planes, bombs, and soldiers. Continue reading on Rethinking Schools.
A Child's View from Gaza by Middle East Children's Alliance
Published by Middle East Children's Alliance on January 1, 2012
Genres: Palestine
Reading Level: Grades 6-8, High School
ISBN: 9781881896357
Review Source: Rethinking Schools
Publisher's Synopsis: A Child's View from Gaza is a collection of drawings by children from the Gaza Strip, art that was censored by the Museum of Children's Art in Oakland, California. With beautiful, high-resolution print images of the exhibit, the book also features a special foreword by celebrated author, Alice Walker, as well as an essay by MECA Executive Director, Barbara Lubin, describing the struggle against the censorship.
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