Now for the second year, the Madison Public Library has partnered with IRIS Global Connect and the Wisconsin International Resource Consortium to bring the world to YOU through the Children’s International Story Hour (CISH)!

CISH will be in the new Imagination Center Library from 4-5pm on the third Monday of every month, October-May (except December-January).

This will be a time of sharing award-winning children’s literature that celebrates the diversity of arts, culture, and language across the globe. Participants will learn about global music and engage in hands-on crafts that stimulate their curiosity. Each month promises to be fun and enriching!

This event is free and designed for children ages 5-10 and their caregivers. All are welcome.

Featured Title: These Olive Trees

by Aya Ghanameh (Author, Illustrator)

Country: Palestine

It’s 1967 in Nablus, Palestine.

Oraib loves the olive trees that grow outside the refugee camp where she lives. Each harvest, she and her mama pick the small fruits and she eagerly stomp stomp stomps on them to release their golden oil. Olives have always tied her family to the land, as Oraib learns from the stories Mama tells of a home before war.

But war has come to their door once more, forcing them to flee. Even as her family is uprooted, Oraib makes a solemn promise to her beloved olive trees. She will see to it that their legacy lives on for generations to come.

Debut author-illustrator Aya Ghanameh boldly paints a tale of bitterness, hope, and the power of believing in a free and thriving future.