Book Recommendation: A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird

A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird is a work of historical fiction for children set in Palestine in 2003. The story is told from the point of view of 12 year old Karim Aboudi, who lives in Ramallah with his family, his Baba and Mama, older brother Jamal and younger sisters Farah and Sireen. Karim loves to play football and video games, and dreams of becoming a world famous footballer and living in freedom.

Karim’s house has been under curfew for two weeks, there is an Israeli tank parked right across his house and he longs to be able to go outside and play football and meet his friends.

Kick, bounce, catch-ball-on-end-of-foot, kick, bounce…

“When the game went well, his mind would click into neutral. His head would empty out, and his legs and arms would take over. The rhythm would satisfy and soothe him.”

When the curfew was lifted Karim discovers a new friend ‘Hopper’ and a small piece of ground where they create a fantasy world for them to escape to, they make a football pitch with a special hideout. They are soon joined by Karim’s childhood friend Joni and the trio escape from their daily struggles with the constant conflict around them. The story captures Karim’s journey from a boy who fights with his older brother and gets annoyed with his younger sister, while grappling with his own lack of bravery and daily frustration, to becoming a boy who becomes empathetic and courageous through his experiences through conflict.

Karim’s uncle Abu Feisal plays an important role in Karim’s life and has a conversation with him after a retaliation by a bombing in a cafe where some young Israeli students were killed, “So, does it make it right for us to go and bomb them? Those schoolkids who died today - they were probably the same age as you and Jamal. Did they deserve to die?...It’s not really that simple at all.”

The reason I recommend this book is that the book fills a big void in the space of literature for children and young adults from the Middle East, specifically Palestine. It makes one realize that children are the same no matter where they are born and they are entitled to a safe and happy childhood, simple things like the ability to go out and play football with your friends. It humanizes people from this region and gives them a voice and books like this albeit sometimes tough to read, must be read and shared.

[reading is resistance, historical fiction, children’s books, palestine, family, football, conflict]