{"product_id":"playing-atari-with-saddam-hussein","title":"Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein: Based on a True Story by Jennifer Roy with Ali Fadhil","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt the start of 1991, eleven-year-old Ali Fadhil was consumed by his love for soccer, video games, and American television shows. Then, on January 17, Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, went to war with thirty-four nations led by the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver the next forty-three days, Ali and his family survived bombings, food shortages, and constant fear. Ali and his brothers played soccer on the abandoned streets of their Basra neighborhood, wondering when or if their medic father would return from the war front. Cinematic, accessible, and timely, this is the story of one ordinary kid's view of life during war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"What strikes are the mundane aspects of the brief war: going out to play and explore a familiar but ruined neighborhood, the boredom and fear of awaiting scheduled airstrikes, living with uncertainty about loved ones returning home. Still, there's room for optimism and humor despite Fadhil's harrowing experience.\u003cem\u003e\"--\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Roy (\u003cem\u003eJars of Hope\u003c\/em\u003e) and Fadhil, an interpreter during Hussein's trial, offer a window into what Ali calls \"the true Iraq\" and a disturbing but accessible portrait of a civilian child's perspective on war.\"-\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This blending of biography, historical fiction, and realistic fiction paints a vivid portrait of daily family life in Iraq and the trials many faced.\"--\u003cem\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cb\u003eJennifer Roy\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the highly acclaimed \u003ci\u003eYellow Star\u003c\/i\u003e, which won a \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe-Horn Book\u003c\/i\u003e Honor Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, was an ALA Notable Book, a \u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book, and a NYPL Top Book. She is also the author of \u003ci\u003eCordially Uninvited\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMindblind\u003c\/i\u003e and the coauthor of the Trading Faces series.www.jenniferroy.com Twitter: @Jenroybook \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAli Fadhil\u003c\/b\u003e grew up in Iraq and survived two wars by the age of twelve. He worked as an interpreter at Saddam Hussein's trial and with the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. He lives in Dublin, Ohio.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46129404641466,"sku":"9780358108825","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0444\/2213\/5968\/files\/imageloader_d68d7b54-56d9-4969-a93c-613eae06cda4.jpg?v=1783619491","url":"https:\/\/naturenurture.shop\/products\/playing-atari-with-saddam-hussein","provider":"nature+nurture","version":"1.0","type":"link"}