The Sunbird is a moving, lyrical book that is sure to touch young readers hearts and connect them to what is occurring in Palestine through a narrator who is not unlike them
The Sunbird is the children’s edition of the adult novel of the same name, adapted for middle grade readers. This small but profound book is the story of Nabila Yasmeen, a young Palestinian girl whose life is turned upside down in the wake of the Nakba (“the catastrophe” in Arabic). The story is told to a young boy at a March for Palestine in 2025 from the perspective of Nabila as an older woman.
Nabila loves to play outside and collect fossils, inventing imaginative games for herself and her best friend Kahlil. She longs to start school, often watching classes from the window. At the beginning of another day of harvest, bombs begin to fall, and Nabila is forced to survive amidst destruction, violence and displacement.
The Sunbird is a moving, lyrical book that is sure to touch young readers hearts and connect them to what is occurring in Palestine through a narrator who is not unlike them. The book also includes an authors note with further reading on the events of the Nakba and a glossary of Arabic terms utilised in the book.
Age 8+