(4) YA Essential Events series. These volumes examine background, primary players, and lasting impact of historic events. The Munich tragedy and the Hindenburg disaster, two unexpected and shocking occurrences, are graphically but sensitively described. The readable narratives are accompanied by numerous sidebars, archival photographs, and illustrations that, while useful, tend to encroach on the main texts. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Events titles: Terror at the Munich Olympics, The Hindenburg Disaster, and The United States Enters World War I.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) 4-6 Photographs by Cindy Karp. The text describes Summer Peace Camp in Israel, which allows Palestinian and Israeli children to share typical camping experiences; the counselors hope to promote understanding and bring the two groups closer together. Readers also visit with an Israeli boy and a Palestinian girl and their families. The culturally detailed text is accompanied by vivid photographs of campers just being kids. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(3) 4-6 Strong, clear writing energizes this account of Paris's Grand Mosque serving as sanctuary for Jews fleeing the Nazis. Exquisite oil-paint illustrations display both the beauty of Paris and the stately elegance of the mosque, in addition to the danger faced by Jews and Muslim resistance fighters alike. An afterword gives more details about the historical events. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(2) YA With customary zeal, Aronson speaks his mind on virtually every issue of Israeli-Palestinian relations. Throughout, he draws American parallels; some are a stretch, but most, however shaky, are thought-provoking. What he knows from experience, and airs, forthrightly, is what American and Israeli Jews of like mind think and, in closing, how American Jewish teens might help to heal the rift. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Barbara Bader | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009

(3) YA 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.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) YA Translated by Adriana Hunter. After a bomb explodes near her Jerusalem home, Tal, a seventeen-year-old Israeli, asks her military nurse brother to take a message in a bottle to Gaza. The serious, thoughtful young Palestinian man who answers the message cements her commitment to the potential--and necessity--for peace. Strong characterizations, emotional honesty, and vivid descriptions forge a memorable reading experience.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) YA Making of the Middle East series. This series presents the history and culture of the complex, influential Middle East region, from the early twentieth century to today. Maps and photographs (some gruesome) expand the dry, straightforward texts, which provide clear accountings of events, places, and political and religious figures. There are five other fall 2007 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Making of the Middle East titles: The First World War and the End of the Ottoman Order, The Palestine Mandate and the Creation of Israel, 1920–1949, The Middle East in the Age of Uncertainty, 1991–Present, The Cold War in the Middle East, 1950–1991, and The Rise of Nationalism.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale