11 Words for Love is a moving and joyful book for children from all backgrounds about the many ways we love from award-winning author Randa Abdel-Fattah and acclaimed illustrator Maxine Beneba Clarke.
There are eleven words for love, and my family knows them all.
A family flees their homeland to find safety in another country, carrying little more than a suitcase full of love.
As their journey unfolds, the oldest child narrates 11 meanings for love in Arabic as her family show, and are shown, all different
kinds of love in their new home, and they also remember the love they have for their homeland and for those left behind or lost along the way.
In the Arabic language, there are over 50 words describing the degrees of love.
That’s 50 stories, 50 life- worlds. This lyrical and heartwarming book takes you on a journey through 11 of these Arabic expressions for love.
AGE GUIDE 3+
GOOD READING FOR KIDS CHALLENGE BEFORE YOU START READING THIS BOOK!
• Based on the front cover what do you think this book might be about?
• Which parts of the front cover grab your attention and why?
• Where and when do you think the book might be set?
• Can you think of three questions you have about the book based on the front cover?
THEN …
• There are said to be 50 words describing the degrees of love in Arabic. How many English language words for love do your students know? Make a class list. How many words for love in other languages do you know? Make another list
• Create a Booklet tracing your family history and the migrations that any of the members of your family have undertaken in recent times or past history. Read works such as My Place by Nadia Wheatley and illustrated by Donna Rawlins (1987, 2008) and Waves by Donna Rawlins and illustrated by Heather Potter and Mark Jackson (2018) to prepare for this exercise.
• Create a poster advocating for people who come to Australia as immigrants and refugees and how we might welcome them.
• Create a blurb promoting this book. How would you describe it?
