Literacy Map

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Literacy Map
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST

• Amanda Irel Sajecki
• Lauren Rivero
• TAL203

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ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Facts taken from Samir and Yonatan by Daniella
Carmi
Samirs family lives in the West Bank, occupied
by the Israelis.
Samirs family is originally from Jaffa.
Samir travels to Samarkand (Uzbekistan) and
Shiraz with his Grandpa in his dream.
Plot Analysis
Characterization Analysis
Quotation
Annotated Bibliography
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OUR FAVORITE BOOK

• Carmi, Daniella. (2000). Samir and Yonatan (Y.
  Lotan, Trans.). New York Scholastic Press.

Only when enemies become friends will we find
true peace. Back Cover
Winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award
Annotated Bibliography
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EXPLAINED Facts from Samir and Yonatan

• Samir travels to Samarkand (Uzbekistan) and
  Shiraz with his Grandpa in his dream.
• It is not clear if Samarkand is a made-up land
  that coincidentally has the same name as an
  existing city, or if the author really was
  telling about Samarkand, which is one of the
  oldest inhabited cities in the world, located in
  Uzbekistan. Samir and his Grandpa also travel to
  Bishangra in his dream, which is a made-up
  city.

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Quotations

• I begin to feel sorry for my parents. And for
  Grandpa and Bassam, if
• hes back from Kuwait. Even for Nawar. Theyre
  roadblocked in there,
• and I am here. They cling to the radio and
  television, but over there its
• never clear whats going on. Sometimes you find
  out from neighbors.
• Sometimes from the bus driver. I dont know
  whether its a curfew or
• something else. If theyre stuck inside the
  houses and cant go to work,
• or if traveling is forbidden and there are
  roadblocks everywhere. Maybe
• theres already a shortage of milk and bread.
  Maybe rumors are
• starting to go around, a different rumor every
  time, and people rushing
• to buy food. Lines forming in the bakery, the
  grocery. Meanwhile Im
• lying here having food brought to my bed. I feel
  ashamed to be lying
• here like the son of a pasha, as Grandpa would
  say (Carmi, p. 97).
• I stand here on the shore of the blue lake that
  weve made,
• Yonatan and me, my friend from the Jewish
  hospital. Were
• improving a new world, free from troubles.
  Nothing looks
• impossible to us, now that were together
  (Carmi, p. 172).

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AnalysisCHARACTERIZATION

• The characters in Samir and Yonatan are growing a
  friendship that no matter where they go that
  friendship will always live in them. The author
  immediately in the beginning of the book reveals
  a little about how the main character, Samir
  feels about himself and his family when he is
  left in the hospital but inside me my heart is
  dead. I shut my eyes (p. 8) and How can she
  leave me alone in the Jews hospital? I want to
  shout (p. 9). This immediately captivates the
  reader to make a connection with the character.
  The author uses several techniques by using a
  three-dimensional approach to tell the story of
  Samir a young boy from Palestine and Yonatan a
  smart young Jewish boy who are both together in
  the Jewish hospital recovering from injuries.
  They are joined by sharing a room with other
  injured children, all of different origin.
  Throughout the book Samir is continuously facing
  conflicts with other characters, which deepens
  the reality that one can face in real situations.
  For example, his anger towards Tzahis brother,
  who he believes has killed his brother Fadi, and
  his envy towards the relationship that Yonatan
  has with his father. Samir demonstrates the
  yearning for acceptance but later realizes that
  they all have similar problems just like he does.

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AnalysisCHARACTERIZATION CONTINUED

• Samir sometimes has a positive attitude when
  faced with these problems. As he builds different
  relationships with the other children, even
  though he may disagree with something, he still
  looks at the brighter side of things. He has this
  patience to just let things go as they are and
  take each day as it comes. It is as if he has a
  hope inside that everything will turn out okay.
  The author reveals this through his relationship
  with Yonatan. At the beginning Yonatan talks to
  him one night about the stars and Samir did not
  know how to respond Id like to ask him a
  question, but dont know what. Theres such a lot
  of questions you can ask about the stars (p.
  27). By Samir staying quiet, slowly his
  relationship with Yonatan grows.
• Although Samir may show some positiveness, he
  expresses much negativity towards many things. He
  constantly questions his actions and thoughts.
  When something arises, Samir plays the roles in
  his head. The author displays these actions
  throughout the story and most importantly with
  Samirs relationship with Yonatan.

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AnalysisCHARACTERIZATION CONTINUED

• Through the descriptive conversations that are
  happening in Room 6, the author increased the
  validity of the characters by revealing them
  through Samirs observations, in which you are
  able to feel and understand the obstacles one can
  face. Samirs character is believable through his
  actions and the way he tells his story. His story
  is told in a conversational way, which makes it
  more relatable, as well as believable. Together,
  all the characters reveal a powerful lesson to
  Samir no matter what is going on in the world,
  everyone is still going through the same thing.
  Although Samir felt prejudices against these
  characters, in the end he realized, Yes, every
  day Ill have to search for some new sign that
  will remind me that it all really happened, and
  was not a dream (p. 182). There is not a lot of
  action in this book until the end, but it is an
  enjoyable book because it allows for the reader
  to understand others struggles, and to be a part
  of a story that truly can happen in real life.

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AnalysisPLOT

• Daniella Carmis Samir and Yonatan, an Honorable
  mention for the UNESCO prize for Childrens
  Literature in the Service of Tolerance, provides
  an excellent order of events through the growth
  of the main character, Samir. The beginning of
  the book already sets a tone of discomfort and
  the need for freedom. It begins with Samir at
  home waiting to go to the hospital because of a
  broken knee, and him describing the tension in
  his village. It is not a typical day for Samirs
  family because of the roadblocks and curfews from
  the Israeli soldiers. In order to get permission
  to go to the hospital they must obey these rules.
  The situations that they are facing are similar
  to those that are happening in, for example, the
  war in Iraq. At last, Samir accompanied by his
  parents finally travels on bus to the hospital.
  Once he reaches the hospital he is taken to a
  room in the hospital, Room 6, which he shares
  with other children who are injured. He begins to
  observe each person and realizes that they are
  all different and eventually begins to understand
  that his stay in the hospital would be a long
  one.
• Throughout the book he is in conflicting
  situations with the other patients, nurses,
  doctors, visitors, and family. As Samir is in
  these situations, he continuously compares or
  reflects to past times in his life for example,
  when Razia begins to cry in chapter fifteen, he
  compares it to the time when he was 5-years old
  when the soldiers came in to search his familys
  house, and his brother, Fadi, went to go hide,
  making his Mom scream and cry in fear. These
  conflicts that bring him back to his past deepen
  the plot. Samir continues to tell his stories in
  the hospital and eventually faces a moment where
  he realizes that in life we are faced with true
  realities that may lead to a new beginning.

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AnalysisPLOT CONTINUED

• Daniella Carmi conveys the person-to-person
  conflicts that Samir is faced with continuously
  through the book. The person-to-person conflict
  is the most dominant in this work due to the fact
  that Samir is continuously faced with situations
  that puzzle him. Many times in the story he
  refers back to his friend Adnan, who really is
  not a great friend for example, Adnan says I
  dont know why I wasted my cigarette on you (p.
  113). Samirs tolerance of this demonstrates his
  need of acceptance. Although Adnan is not a great
  friend, he is all Samir has. Even Samirs mother
  asked him why is he friends with Adnan. Another
  moment in particular where he is trying to be
  accepted by his own father, which is the most
  intimate thought one can feel about a person is,
  As for Dad I cant picture him coming to visit
  me, not even in my dreams (p. 31). This
  conflict develops early on in the book and
  gradually decreases throughout his stay in the
  hospital. Samirs time spent in the hospital
  alleviates some frustration he has with his
  father because he is now faced with
  person-to-person conflicts in Room 6. The one
  conflict that he is most comfortable with is the
  relationship he has with his grandfather. This
  relationship may not be perfect, but to him its
  okay. He is so observant that when faced with
  these person-to-person conflicts he also faces
  person-against-self conflicts. For example, his
  feeling helpless about Felix the nurse coming in
  and helping him I am not ashamed when he helps
  me sit up and hands me the pan, because he
  pulls (p. 26). Samir analyzes situations in
  order for him to gain true understanding.
  Although, he realizes that sometimes there arent
  any answers.

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AnalysisPLOT CONTINUED

• When the person-against-society conflicts arise,
  they are culminating. The tension that they
  reveal bring into account the turmoil and
  hardships that Samir, his family, and those in
  Room 6 are facing. The author shows this when
  Samir talks about his fathers barbershop
  business But these days all the shops close
  every other day, on account of the situation (p.
  20). Also, Carmi shows these by using descriptive
  details when Samir talks about the Israeli
  soldiers and Tzahis brother. Samir begins to go
  against things such as the actions of the
  soldiers as shown by his memories of running away
  from the soldiers at times. Also, even though
  Samir really enjoys and appreciates being in the
  Jews hospital, he experiences conflicts against
  the people in the hospital for example, his
  frustration with his nurse Nurse Vardina comes
  so close that she might as well be in bed,
  drowning me in her perfume (p. 16). Samir is
  also annoyed by Tzahis weird and obnoxious
  behavior, and the way Tzahi seems to dislike him
  because he is from the West Bank.
• Even though Samir is faced with these conflicting
  realities, he is able to overcome them by having
  patience, and dedicating much thought to every
  situation that arises. Samirs ability to grow
  and mature despite these conflicts make him an
  inspirational character, aside from just being a
  realistic one. This story is an excellent work
  on realistic fiction that not only teaches how to
  overcome obstacles while still remaining positive
  and hopeful, but also much about the current
  political situation in Israel.

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Annotated BibliographyOUR FAVORITE BOOK

• Carmi, Daniella. (2000). Samir and Yonatan (Y.
  Lotan, Trans.). New York Scholastic Press. The
  heart-warming story of the surprising friendships
  a Palestinian boy from the West Bank makes with
  Israelis in the Jewish hospital, Samir and
  Yonatan is both inspirational and educational.
  It gives great detail of what life is like in the
  occupied West Bank, and the troubles between the
  Jews and the Palestinians living in Israel.
  Grades 5.

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Annotated BibliographyOTHER BOOKS

• Nye, Naomi Shihab. (2002). 19 varieties of
  gazelle poems of the Middle East. U.S.
  HarperCollins Publishers. Peace is the
  underlying theme in this collection that features
  poems about the Middle East, and being an Arab
  American. An excellent resource for using
  heart-felt poetry with content area instruction,
  this book is a must-have. Grades 5.

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Annotated Bibliography

• Nye, Naomi Shihab. (1997). Habibi. New York
  Simon Schuster. Moving to a new home can be
  difficult for any child, but imagine being an
  Arab American girl moving to Jerusalem. Making
  new friends only complicated Liyannas situation
  her new friend Omer is Jewish. Grades 5.

Nye, Naomi Shihab. (1994). Sittis secrets. New
York Four Winds Press. A young girl tells of
her visit to her grandmothers village on the
opposite side of the earth from the U.S. She
speaks of Palestinian customs and the ways of
life of her grandmother. Grades K 2.
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Annotated Bibliography

• Winter, Jeanette. (2005). The librarian of Basra
  a true story from Iraq. Singapore Harcourt, Inc.
  The brave librarian of Basra knows that war is
  coming, but she makes it her mission to save the
  books in the library. This book may be a little
  too intense for sensitive students in the
  classroom, seeing as it discusses war and fire,
  but it does teach about living in Basra, a place
  deeply affected by recent wars. Grades K 2.

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