Eleven Words for Love: A Journey Through Arabic Expressions of Love by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Eleven Words for Love: A Journey Through Arabic Expressions of Love Reviews

• 
  Mel

  This book is fantastic. I adored it. Every child should have a copy!
• 
  Lannie

  4.5/5 stars. Highly recommend. A book exploring the different Arabic words that express different kinds of love. This book exposes young readers to the written word of Arabic, non-alphanumeric, beautiful, with phonetic pronunciations included. I like that the book is not verbose, leaning instead on its illustrations to explain what “this” type of love means. My 8 and 10yo were awed by this book. Highly recommend for all, especially word and language lovers.
• 
  Khurin W. F.

  If you didn't read the blurb first, you might get confused about what story the author is trying to tell. There's no narration, it's about the expression of love through Arabic phrases. On the first page, we will see a family carrying a suitcase which portrays the Palestinians who fled their homeland in search of safety. Then, through the album photo, we will learn about different phrases of love.
  
  It's so mesmerizing that there are so many types of love in this world, and Arabic has specific phrases to express them. I love how the author describes each love in such a poetic way
  

  Love that comes like a sudden breeze
  Love marshmallow-heart-tender dissolving all tears
  Love that aches with cherished memories of loved ones gone too soon
  Love that burns, that yearns to touch homeland-heartland soil one last time
• 
  Jame_EReader

  My kids went through this book and have so many questions. I stayed away from political discussions at home since we often heard unpleasant news on TV; thus, this is their genuine feelings about this book.
  
  👧🏻👦🏻 reviews: We have one wish after reading this, hope there will be more words of love in this world, maybe more love than just words. We think this is a powerful and perfect book for younger children to read while in this crazy world we live in today. Sometimes it can get overwhelming and scary but maybe we all have to slow down a bit to see what is happening everywhere. The graphics, words, symbols are amazingly done.
• 
  Barbara

  Having enjoyed this writer's earlier YA books, I was eager to see what this picture book--3.5 for me-- would entail. Clearly, this is a family who has immigrated from their homeland for unspoken reasons. Each double-page spread celebrates a different type or word for love, 11 in total, ranging from one in which the "souls are closely entwined" (unpaged) to "love that burns, that yearns to touch homeland-heartland soil one last time" (unpaged). The repetition of the sentence, "There are eleven words for love, and my family knows them all" (unpaged) effectively connects the different types of love described here while each love concept is highlighted in Arabic script in the upper corner of one of the pages. The illustrations are strikingly different from the typical artwork in children's books, consisting of images created with watercolor pencil and collage laid out on textured cardstock, which lends emotional resonance and sentimentality to the text. Readers won't want to miss the endpapers as they contain images worth studying as well. It's clear that this is a family that is remaining true to its culture even while perhaps living far from home. The ending pages seem a bit abrupt, and it would have been helpful to provide some context or another page or two. Nevertheless, this is a picture book worth adding to a school or classroom library, partly for the diverse cultural representation it brings to a school, but also because of the variety of expressions of love that may expand youngsters' concept of that sentiment.
• 
  Dave Schaafsma

  "There are eleven words for love and my family knows them all."
  
  Eleven Words for Love: A Journey Through Arabic Expressions of Love (2022) by Randa Abdel-Fattah and illustrated by Maxine Beneba Clarke is a picture book about a Palestinian refugee family wishing they could again see their "homeland-heartland." I am reminded of having learned about the number of Inuit words for snow, far greater than the midwest US list. Do we have as many words for love as this family?
  
  There's sunshine-warm friendship that grows and glows after two people meet.
  
  Love marshmallow-heart-tender, dissolving all tears, love that is gentle and kind.
  
  Love between two souls.
  
  The love that aches with cherished memories of loved ones gone too soon.
  
  There's love that keeps growing, plants joy in your heart.
  
  Love between long-time neighbors: baked cakes, plant-watering, small talk at night.
  
  Each word in Aeabic and translated into English. Must read.
• 
  Ellee Nichols

  Copyright date: 2023 (US Edition)
  Star rating: 4
  Award: N/A
  Genre: nonfiction
  Summary w/ themes: This book talks about the different types of love and the words that go with the type of love. There are specific ways to say I love you to sisters, neighbors, dead relatives, and more. This book has themes of Arabic and love.
  Use for future classroom: This could be a fun valentines day read to talk about a different culture and how they have specific words for different types of love.
  Thoughts of book: I thought this was a cute book. I wish that the descriptions of each different word were more in depth because for some of them I didn't understand who the word was meant for. I enjoyed the illustrations and also learning new words in a different language.
• 
  Anne

  What seems to be a simple picture book about Arabic expressions for love holds more than that on closer inspection. The family has packed a rainbow colored suitcase, including precious photo albums. The following pages show some of these photos that depict their journey as well as well as the different Arabic expressions of love and how they may be conveyed.
  The illustrations appear like oil pastel on canvas with rich colors and evocative images.
  I will admit that I completely missed the idea of the family packing and going on a journey during my first reading; rather, I only saw the expressions of love, which were still beautiful. So, seemingly simplistic but read again and go deeper.
  So excited to add Arabic to my collection!
• 
  Bookishrealm

  This was beautiful and heart warming...
  
  I often think about everything that's happening in the Middle East and my heart is always broken at how misrepresented those communities are to the rest of the world. They are portrayed in a way that makes me question the humanity of those in the West. This beautiful book reminds us of the love that these families share amongst each other. In the time of great changes, the main character reminds of all the different ways that one can express love in Arabic. I was not familiar with any of these expressions, but I'm happy that I took the opportunity to pick up this book.
• 
  Mother Goose Librarian

  Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Eleven Words for Love is a truly, heartfelt story of the many ways to say love in the beautiful Arabic language. While sharing these ways to express the different kinds of love, she simultaneously tells the heartbreaking story of a family who flees their homeland, with only one suitcase, seeking safety in another country. Maxine Beneba Clarke’s gorgeous illustrations were created with watercolor and collage on textured cardstock. Within the artwork, is the Arabic word written in script, as well as, the phonetic way to pronounce each word for love. Share this important picture book with all age groups, including teens and adults.
  
  
  
  
• 
  skcocnaH

  My 7 year old and I are a little confused. We counted 12 different expressions for love, when the book says there’s only 11 🧐:
  1. al-Hob (x3)
  2. al-Wud
  3. al-Hawa
  4. al-Hanaan
  5. al-Ishq
  6. al-Haneen
  7. al-Shaghaf
  8. al-Wala’
  9. Showq
  10. Ta’alloq
  11. al-Mahabba
  12. al-Walaa’
  Numbers 8 and 12 look similar, but they describe two different kinds of love. If someone sees what we’ve missed, please do explain. Cause I’m feeling real stupid right now.
• 
  Lauren - Queer Librarian

  I read this book at work and definitely was tearing up as I read. This beautiful book follows family and shows all of the ways that love can be said. The repeating phrase “There are 11 words for love and I love that my family knows them all” is so powerful and is such a love letter to the Arabic language from this author.
• 
  Katie

  A lovely book capturing how diverse Arabic is in capturing all the different kinds of love. I could have used a little clarification on some of the types of love, and I believe that al-Hob is the general/umbrella term for love, but wasn’t sure. I think readers would appreciate a pronunciation guide for the words, too.
• 
  Caroline

  I love this book and how it is presented, but I think a lot of the story is lost in the poetry. Or I'm not a great poetry reader -- both can be true. The illustrations are rich and textured and satisfying, but vary greatly from page to page.
• 
  Kiera Beddes

  I'm fascinated by language and etymology so this was a fun exploration into the 11 arabic words for love.
• 
  Irini

  Cute!!!
• 
  Shauna Yusko

  3 1/2
• 
  Krissy Anderson

  Beautifully written. Beautifully illustrated. The different words for love are great. I feel like you can not misconstrue the love intended towards who the particular word that is used.
• 
  Allison

  3.5 stars
  
  I loved the story, but I wasn't a big fan of the artwork in this one unfortunately
• 
  Y.Poston

  Beautiful celebration of all the ways we love
  through accompanying Arab vocabulary
• 
  Edward ott

  Just beautiful
• 
  Abby

  Fascinating what is said and unsaid/shown/implied
• 
  Kirin

  It has been a long time since I took Arabic in college, so I read the book, then read it again, then wrote down all the Arabic words and realized that there are 11 words in addition to "al Hob" the word for love, and that al Hob is mentioned three times in the manner of a poetic refrain.  I also didn't grasp the first time that the book is a journey of a refugee family and the types of love are them in different phases of their journey.  Once I got it, I'm not sure how I missed it, but I think the layers that the book allows for actually widens the appeal to a larger audience.  I know for many Muslims seeing a 40 page picture book about love will raise some eye brows and wonder about what relationships are shown.  There are a few phrases that imply romantic love most illustrated abstractly, one shows a bride and groom on their wedding day (al-Ishq), there are also an elderly hetero couple in front of the Dome of the Rock (Showq). The story follows one family and their suitcase is rainbow colored and when depicting loving one's neighbors (al-Mahabba), there are rainbow stripes on the fence. There is friendship love (al-Wud) and familial relationship love, and love from pets (al- Walaa') and love felt for those gone too soon (al-Haneen).  The Arabic script for each word of love and the lyrical English string together the concept of different forms of love with the illustrations telling the story.  There is nothing particularly Islamic in the book, but their are visible Muslims in the illustrations and the masjid in Palestine. 
  
  I'm obviously not an Arab speaker, so if I misunderstood a term, forgive me, I don't want to list all the terms, because that would give away too much of the book, but as a non Arab the book is heartfelt and moving and I'm sure for Arab speakers the feelings would be amplified.
• 
  Jennie

  A beautifully illustrated book with full page pastel illustrations that depict an Arabic family migrating with very little luggage and then through different stages of their settlement and adoption of their new home. Lyrical verse situates the images and Arabic text and the accompanying Arabic word for that type of love is boldly added to each double page. Love encompasses many things in the book - physical, familial, religious, cultural, and so forth. The subtext of the family as migrants is subtle but evocative and this, with the different interpretations of the word 'love' expand the potential readership of this book beyond young readers and will invoke discussion from older readers as they explore the different concepts that unfold in the illustrations.
  A 2023 CBCA Notable title in the Picture Book category.