Palestinian Children's Stories in Gaza: Books to Read and Real Accounts

People looking for Palestinian children's stories in Gaza usually want one of two things: storybooks about Palestinian children to read with their own, or the real stories of children living in Gaza today. Both exist. There are picture books by Palestinian authors, including one set in Gaza and written by an artist who grew up there, and there are first-hand accounts from children gathered and published by UNICEF and UNRWA.

This guide covers both, with the correct authors and publishers for each book and links to the places where children's own words are published responsibly. We have not written stories about named children ourselves. The accounts worth reading are the ones children have told in their own words.

A picture book set in Gaza: Sitti's Bird

Sitti's Bird: A Gaza Story is written and illustrated by the Palestinian painter Malak Mattar and published by Crocodile Books, the children's imprint of Interlink Publishing. The publisher lists it for ages 4 to 7.

The book draws on the author's own childhood. It follows a girl in Gaza who, shut indoors during the 2014 war, begins to paint and finds in it a way through fear and isolation. The New York Times Book Review, quoted by the publisher, described it as a slice-of-life narrative about how painting helped Mattar during that time.

It is one of very few picture books in English that is both set in Gaza and made by someone from Gaza, which makes it the natural place to start.

More children's books by Palestinian authors

Most Palestinian children's books in English are set in the West Bank, in Jerusalem or among families living abroad, not in Gaza itself. They are still the best way to introduce children to Palestinian family life, food, language and memory.

Publishers' age ranges are a guide only. Read a book yourself first, since several of these deal gently with war, loss of home or separation from family.

• These Olive Trees, written and illustrated by Aya Ghanameh (Viking). A girl named Oraib lives in the Balata refugee camp, where her family keeps up the tradition of caring for olive trees. Based on the author's family history.
• A Map for Falasteen: A Palestinian Child's Search for Home, by Maysa Odeh, illustrated by Aliaa Betawi (Henry Holt, 2024). A girl who cannot find Palestine on the classroom map asks her family where it is. The publisher gives ages 4 to 8.
• Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine, by Hannah Moushabeck, illustrated by Reem Madooh (Chronicle Books). Three sisters listen at bedtime to their father's memories of the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Sitti's Secrets, by Naomi Shihab Nye, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (first published in 1994). Mona, an American girl, visits her grandmother in a Palestinian village in the West Bank, and they find ways to talk without a shared language.
• Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood, by Ibtisam Barakat (Macmillan). A memoir for older readers that begins with the author's memories of the war of June 1967, when she was a small child.

Real stories of children in Gaza, in their own words

For true accounts, go to organizations that work with children directly, ask consent, and protect identities. Viral posts are a poor substitute: they are hard to verify, and they often expose children to risk.

UNICEF's State of Palestine office publishes a regularly updated stories page with photo essays and short features about children and families. One of the most direct is its initiative The Gaza We Want. In early 2026, UNICEF asked children across Gaza what they want their future to look like: 1,603 children completed a questionnaire and at least 11,000 took part through drawing, writing and storytelling. Their priorities were housing, education, safety, health care and psychological support.

UNICEF's photo essay on the project, A Roadmap to Recovery, Written by Children, published on 2 March 2026, includes children's drawings and writing. One poem it quotes is by a 13-year-old in Khan Younis:

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, has also published children's own writing. In 2016 its Gaza office ran a story-writing workshop in which students wrote short stories from unusual points of view, such as the journey of a raindrop, and a selection was published in English and Arabic. UNRWA's situation reports and features remain a source for accounts from its students in Gaza.

The Gaza I want is not a tent pressed against the wind… I want it writing its school assignments, not the names of the deceased. Counting stars in the sky, not airplanes.

What these stories are set against

It helps to know the facts behind the stories. UNICEF's appeal for the State of Palestine, revised in September 2026, reports 658,000 children out of school in Gaza, 97.5% of schools damaged or destroyed, and about 1 million children in need of psychosocial support.

UNICEF also reports that it reached more than 265,000 children through 173 learning centers in the first half of 2026. Much of the drawing and writing children have shared comes out of spaces like these, where a child has paper, pencils and an adult who will listen.

How to read and share these stories with children

A few suggestions for parents, teachers and librarians:

• Start with everyday life. Books about grandparents, food, olive harvests and school let children meet Palestinian children as children first.
• Match the book to the child. Picture books such as Sitti's Bird handle fear with care; memoirs such as Tasting the Sky suit older readers.
• Answer questions simply and honestly, and say so when you do not know.
• Follow sad stories with something a child can do, such as drawing a picture, writing a letter or helping with a fundraiser.
• When sharing real accounts online, link to the original source and do not repost images of children who can be identified from unverified accounts.

From reading to helping

When children in Gaza were asked what they wanted, they named a home, a school, safety, health care and someone to talk to. Those are things that aid can help provide.

Fight for Palestine funds food, clean water, medical aid, shelter, and education and child support in Gaza through local partner teams. If these stories move you to act, read how to help children in Gaza, see our education campaign, or give through the donate page. For more background, see our guide to Palestinian culture.