And what I've tried to do in my book is to be as true as possible to what it is like to be a Palestinian child today.īRAND: But what is truthful depends on which side of the Green Line you're standing on. LAIRD: The task of the novelist is to be true to the story. And it occurred to me then that it would be a proper subject for a novel to see how children are managing under these circumstances.īRAND: So she lived with a Palestinian family to gather material for her book. LAIRD: I was profoundly shocked by what I found, by the real dreadfulness of people's everyday life, the increasing poverty, the harassment, the curfews. She says she felt compelled to write 'A Little Piece of Ground' after she visited Ramallah. She's written about Kurdish children fleeing Iraqi oppression and about homeless Ethiopian kids living on the streets. But unlike Rowling's books, Laird's are about real life, set in the present day.

Laird writes for the young adult market, children who would read the 'Harry Potter' books by another British author, J.K. She says it's a metaphor for the Palestinian hope for their own piece of ground. And the main obsession that they have is playing soccer, and they want to find a place to play soccer. ELIZABETH LAIRD (Author, 'A Little Piece of Ground'): And like ordinary boys everywhere, they have their own personal obsessions. 'A Little Piece of Ground' is about three 12-year-old Palestinian boys. This new book tells the story of a group of young Palestinian boys living in the occupied territories. She's written several other children's books that critics liked, most with themes of social or political injustice. The author's a British writer named Elizabeth Laird. Three Americans Killed in Gaza Strip AttackĪ children's book, not yet published in the US, is already controversial. PROFILE: CONTROVERSY OVER CHILDREN'S BOOK 'A LITTLE PIECE OF GROUND'

Kiss the dust by elizabeth laird