Santa Claus in Baghdad

Santa Claus arrives in Baghdad and brings no gifts, only medicines and vitamins, the last thing on young Bilal’s mind, as he dreams of gifts and toys, like the children of Iraq during the war. Bilal’s story is not the only one in this book: it is a poetic book that holds eight stories in an engaging literary frame and style. It narrates details of Arab adolescents’ lives in a number of Arab countries: in Egypt, Rania struggles to build friendships that go beyond the countryside and the village; in Palestine, Mujahid thinks about the importance of resistance and the approach he will follow; and in Lebanon, Rami takes the initiative to create a lively atmosphere in the camp, all of it within a compelling story framework.