The Shepherd's Granddaughter Paperback – February 23, 2010

Personal reading material.

Great story about people we seldom hear from. Yes, only one point of view. but so little is printed about the people who are being squeezed out of their traditional home land and the trials they endure.

My son read this book for school project... He got very emotional, cried few times..

When I finished this book I couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to remove it from libraries. This book does not make Israeli's out to be evil people, but it does bring to light some of the issues that Palestinian's live with on a daily basis. I feel that this book is important because it gives notice to both sides of the story and portrays each side in favorable and unfavorable lights. Yes, Israeli's are portrayed, at times, as tyrants pushing their way into the lands occupied by Palestinians. But then the author shows how some Palestinian's want to react with violence and threats. We all know that this way of dealing with conflict can not continue, but how do you stop it??? Well, it sure as hell isn't by censoring and removing books that certain groups of people take issue with. We start by educating our children and showing them that violence, no matter which side of the fence you're on, is not the answer. And hope and pray that this new generation of humans will somehow bridge this cultural difference. Will it happen? I don't know, this conflict is ancient, but I do know that we need to have honest, thoughtful discussions about the issues. I for one will be talking about this book to the students at my school that I feel will appreciate the story within the covers and be smart enough to start asking questions, investigate, and make an informed decision about how they feel in regards to this situation. I urge you, the reader, to pick this book up and make that decision for yourself...should we allow groups who don't like that another point of view (other than theirs) is being brought to light and they want to stop you from questioning the information that you've gathered from the nightly news, newspaper, magazine, and the internet get away with censorship?????? Regardless of where you stand on this issue, this book deserves to be on the shelves of libraries worldwide. I am one librarian who will make sure that the copy at my middle school is never pulled from circulation.

All her life, Amani, who lives in Palestine, has wanted to be a shepherd. At first, her dream seems to be coming true, but then, the Israelis start to build a road and a settlement on land where her family has lived and pastured their sheep for hundreds of years. Without land to graze her sheep, her dreams will come crashing down.Normally, I don’t feel too much emotion while I’m a reading book but I got pretty misty-eyed when I read this one. As a person who has lived on a cattle ranch my whole life, I could relate well to Amani who wanted nothing more than to be a shepherd and live on her land even when her home was being taken.Overall, this was a good book about the situation in Palestine. I will warn that it is a very sad and depressing book, mainly because it is based off real situations.

I have looked at this book several times and was always put off by the cover. Last night I started reading it and was immediately drawn in. The story follows independent Amani (starting from age 6 to mid-teens) as she and her close-knit Palestinian family deal with the conflict with Israel. I am not able to speak to the accuracy of the portrayal of politics in the book, and it is obvious this story is told from Amani's point of view. All that aside, the story is riveting, Amani and her family are wonderfully rich characters, and I predict you will find the book hard to put down. This book would spark an interesting discussion on the conflict Middle East, and could be a stepping stone to finding other books (both fiction and nonfiction) that portrayed the situation from the Israeli point of view. Suggestion to the publisher: add a map, and change the cover.

I have only become interested in the Middle Eastern conflict because it seems that there is more to the eye than what is being printed in the media. This book is definitely one of them. I am also starting a collection of books for my sons to read; books that are being banned in other countries or talk about controversial issues that we may not be aware of. This book is definitely going to be included in that personal library.In this book, we meet Amani, who wants nothing more than to be a shepherd like her grandfather. Throughout this entire book, the story tells of how the Jewish settlers keep invading in the land that her ancestors have lived upon for hundreds of years. Not only that, the story also shows how her uncle and even her father got arrested for nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is anger being stirred up especially towards the end, but Amani and her family find encouragement and support from the least likely supporters that she would have never imagined.It is an insightful book and so very beautifully written. It is a moving account of a story told from a young child's eyes. If nothing else, this book will at least open your eyes to the fact that there are two sides to every conflict.4/22/10

It’s one of the very few nov­els attempt­ing to tack­le the sub­ject of the Israeli-Pales­tin­ian con­flict. At the ten­der age of six, Amani, the Pales­tin­ian pro­tag­o­nist, decides to fol­low in her grandfather’s foot­steps and become a shep­herd. As the book pro­gress­es, it shows the pain and dis­place­ment to the entire fam­i­ly as a result of what the Israelis do, If read­ers do not cry at the suf­fer­ing of the fam­i­lies in this book, they have hearts of stone. This earnest effort to cre­ate mean­ing­ful fic­tion from this dif­fi­cult sub­ject even­tu­al­ly falls flat because it is too one-sided. Ages 12 and up. The author even includes a glos­sary with trans­la­tions on the back to enable read­ers to learn some Ara­bic and Hebrew words, if they choose to do so. A very real and thought provoking book.NOTE: Amazon, what happened to the other reviews on this book? Its odd that you’ve removed them? Why is that?

I have just finished reading this book to my 7 and 9 year old children. They enjoyed it very much, but I often had to announce that I was stopping because I couldn't continue without crying. In a possible effort to be balanced, the author includes characters such as the disillusioned Jewish immigrant who decides toreturn to New York after being sickened at the way his father treats the natives on whose land their new settlement is built. Of course there is then the Israeli human rights lawyer who promises to get the heroine's uncle out of prison, when he is held without charge or trial. Not to mention the rabbi who brings a gift of two olive saplings to compensate the family for their entire grove, orchard and vineyard which is completely destroyed to make way for the new settlement. This great character then goes on to promise that he will raise the money to get a permit for this desolate family after their house is demolished. Of course such people exist, but for every family who is displaced (and recently add to that bombed), how many have these great Jewish saviours to come to their rescue?P.s. Amazon, what happened to the other handful of reviews that used to exist on this book (good and bad)?

Don't judge a book by its cover! Although the picture is atrocious, this is actually one of the best books I have read covering the topic of settler encroachment in Palestine. A must read. V moving.

A well written and researched book. A great read for middle schoolers and above.