Eleven Words for Love

September 15, 2023
A Palestinian family connects their past and present to 11 Arabic terms that express various types of love. The family flees their homeland with a rainbow-colored suitcase full of photo albums. They settle in a new place, and as their child looks through the photographs, the little one relates them to different Arabic expressions. An image of the child greeting another youngster is paired with the word al-Wud (the "sunshine-warm friendship that grows and glows after two people meet"). A wedding picture of the parents is accompanied by the term al-Ishq (a passionate love that unites two souls). A photo of an older relative is paired with al-Haneen, a sad love for those gone too soon, and an image of two people by the Dome of the Rock is accompanied by the term showq--a love that "yearns to touch homeland-heartland soil one last time." Alongside the lyrical definitions of love, the textured, bright, collagelike illustrations beautifully chronicle the family's journey. The photographs of cherished memories are deftly interwoven alongside scenes of the characters building a new life as they explore their new surroundings, meet new friends and neighbors, and connect with faraway relatives. Relying on cultural touches such as a keffiyeh that one character wears, the story offers a glimpse into the lives of a Palestinian family uprooted from their home. A tender tale of love and remembrance. (Picture book. 3-8)

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November 1, 2023
Grades K-3 We all know that language can be nuanced, but the idea of there being 11 different words for 11 different sorts of love is simply delightful. "There are eleven words for love, and my family knows them all," the unseen narrator announces, and then proceeds to describe each one, providing the word in large Arabic script along with an English pronunciation guide and a poetic description. There is the love between friends, al-Wud; the love for beloved ones no longer living, al-Haneen; and al-Shaghaf, the kind of love that sweeps you off your feet. Vibrant pastel illustrations from Clarke add depth and context, depicting love among intergenerational, biological, and chosen families. Eleven Words for Love can be described as a bilingual concept book and can be integrated creatively in writing, SEL, and art activities. Can be paired thematically with Matt de la Pe�a and Loren Long's Love (2018).

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December 2, 2023

PreS-Gr 2-This concept-driven picture book uses semantics as the basis for an immigration narrative, exploring 11 different types of love embodied in Arabic words while visually representing a Middle Eastern family's journey across the globe. The text presents each of the words for love in Arabic script and as it would be written in English, giving the book a valuable bilingual element. As the elementary-age narrator (presented as female) poetically defines each type of love in English, the illustrations reveal the story of her family as they leave their homeland with just a single suitcase of mementos and begin a new life in a hospitable, joyfully multicultural country. As they settle into their home-welcoming a new baby, the narrator beginning school, making friends, getting a dog-memories of their homeland and cherished relatives remain, extending the notion of love across time and space. Younger children will need guidance to unlock the book's narrative elements, but older ones will enjoy assembling the story from the visual cues. Clarke's illustrations reinforce the child's perspective: bright and deliberately simple, with hearts and rainbows serving as visual motifs of love and hope. The people are rendered with clear facial expressions and a one-dimensional quality reminiscent of na�ve art. The primary medium appears to be pastels and acrylics, thickly applied so as to evoke a child's drawings, with the texture of the canvas showing through and subtly reinforcing the notion of the past underpinning the present. VERDICT An affirming picture book that will be particularly welcomed by libraries seeking stories about refugees and the migration experience.-Leonie Jordan

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