Daniel and Ismail

A one-of-a-kind, uplifting picture book about a Jewish boy and a Palestinian boy who bond on the soccer field--translated into English, Hebrew, and Arabic.

Daniel and Ismail, one Israeli and the other Palestinian, don’t know each other yet, but they have more in common than they know. They live in the same city and have the same birthday, and this year they get the same presents: a traditional scarf--for Daniel a tallit and for Ismail a keffiyeh--and a soccer ball. Taking their gifts out for a spin, they meet by chance on a soccer field, and they soon begin to play together and show off the tricks they can do.

They get so absorbed in the fun that they lose track of time and mix up their gifts: Daniel picks up Ismail’s keffiyeh and Ismail takes Daniel’s tallit. When they get home and discover their mistake, their parents are shocked and angry, asking the boys if they realize who wears those things. That night, Daniel and Ismail have nightmares about what they have seen on the news and heard from adults about the other group. But the next day, they find each other in the park and get back to what really matters: having fun and playing the game they both love.

Daniel and Ismail is a remarkable multilingual picture book that confronts the very adult conflicts that kids around the world face, and shows us that different cultures, religions, societies, and languages can all share the same page.

About the Author:

Juan Pablo Iglesias is a commercial and civil engineer, working in medical technology innovation. His first book, Iguales a 1 (Daniel and Ismail), won the emerging author prize for children’s literature from the Chilean National Council for Arts and Culture. He lives in Santiago, Chile.

About the Artist:

Alex Peris, graphic designer and illustrator, lives in Santiago, Chile. He has worked for newspapers, magazines, and has illustrated children’s books. He is currently preparing his first animated short film based on the Selknam people of Chilean Patagonia.

About the Translators:

Ilan Stavans is the Publisher of Restless Books and the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. His books include On Borrowed Words, Spanglish, and Dictionary Days, and he has edited The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature, Isaac Bashevis Singer: Collected Stories, The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, among many others. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Chile’s Presidential Medal, the International Latino Book Award, and the Jewish Book Award. A cofounder of the Great Books Summer Program, he is the host of the NPR podcast ＂In Contrast.＂

Eliezer Nowodworski was born in Argentina and has lived in Israel since 1980. He studied history at Tel Aviv University. He works as a translator and interpreter, and his Spanish translations have been published in Spain, Argentina, Peru, and Mexico. Eliezer is a strong believer in multiculturalism and co-existence.

Frieda Press-Danieli was born in Uruguay and has lived in Israel since she was twelve. Frieda studied Drama at Tel Aviv University and Translation at Beit Berl College. She translated several books from Spanish and many movies and series for the Israeli Television. Frieda currently works for Haaretz daily newspaper and teaches Translation at Beit Berl College.