Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine

Picking up where Tasting the Sky left off, Balcony on the Moon follows Ibtisam Barakat through her childhood and adolescence in Palestine from 1972-1981 and chronicles her desire to be a writer.

A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Palestine Book Award Shortlist Selection
A VOYA Nonfiction Honor Roll Selection
A Skipping Stones Honor Book
An Arab-American National Museum Honor Book
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book
An American Library Association/Amelia Bloomer Project Top Ten Book
A Notable Book for a Global Society
A News & Observer Newspaper's Wilde Best Book Award Winner
A Middle East Book Award Honorable Mention

In this follow-up to Tasting the Sky, a young Ibtisam finds inspiration through writing letters to pen pals and from an adult who encourages her to keep at it, but the most surprising turn of all for Ibtisam happens when her mother decides that she would like to seek out an education, too. This memoir is a touching, at times funny, and enlightening look at the not often depicted daily life in a politically tumultuous area.

A Margaret Ferguson Book