“Quite simply, a wonderfully moving story about the power of love.' —Times Educational Supplement

“A wry first-person narrative. . . . Discussion of handicaps, death and bereavement, and religious belief are carefully integrated into the story.”—School Library Journal

Twelve-year-old Anna is looking forward to the birth of her baby brother. Ben arrives, but is disabled. Anna loves him immensely but she finds herself unable to admit the truth about Ben to her friends. Eventually the truth gets out and leads not to the ridicule Anna expected, but sympathy and understanding.

Elizabeth Laird's award-winning young adult novels include A Little Piece of Ground and Crusade.

A Little Piece Of Ground will help young readers understand more about one of the worst conflicts afflicting our world today.

Written by Elizabeth Laird, one of Great Britain’s best-known young adult authors, A Little Piece Of Ground explores the human cost of the occupation of Palestinian lands through the eyes of a young boy.

Twelve-year-old Karim Aboudi and his family are trapped in their Ramallah home by a strict curfew. In response to a Palestinian suicide bombing, the Israeli military subjects the West Bank town to a virtual siege. Meanwhile, Karim, trapped at home with his teenage brother and fearful parents, longs to play football with his friends. When the curfew ends, he and his friend discover an unused patch of ground that’s the perfect site for a football pitch. Nearby, an old car hidden intact under bulldozed building makes a brilliant den. But in this city there’s constant danger, even for schoolboys. And when Israeli soldiers find Karim outside during the next curfew, it seems impossible that he will survive.

This powerful book fills a substantial gap in existing young adult literature on the Middle East. With 23,000 copies already sold in the United Kingdom and Canada, this book is sure to find a wide audience among young adult readers in the United States.