Luli likes to sit in the shade of an olive tree with his beloved cats: Lucy the Fat, Lucy the Skinny, and Lucy Lucy. But when Luli and his parents go to the city to see his aunt and uncle one weekend, the cats must stay behind at home.
After a fun visit with family, Luli is looking forward to going home and seeing the Lucys. But then Luli’s hometown comes under attack and the family must seek refuge at his aunt and uncle’s house. Luli doesn’t understand what is happening and worries about his pets. Who will keep the three Lucys safe? And when will he and his family be able to return home?--from the publisher
Recipient of Lee & Low’s New Voices Honor award, The Three Lucys is inspired by real events of the July War in Lebanon. This tender story of loss, rebuilding, and healing is a tribute to the sustaining love of family, and to the power of the human spirit to hope for a peaceful future.--from the publisher
32 pages 9781600609985 Ages 7-10
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"A young Lebanese boy must learn to cope with loss and hope for a peaceful future after losing one of his beloved cats because of The July War. Based on the month-long conflict between Lebanon and Israel during the summer of 2006. Includes Author's Note"--from the publisher
32 pages 978-1600609985 Ages 8-10
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A Lebanese boy named Luli gives a frank, child’s-eye view of the toll that war inflicts on families and communities in Charara’s empathic picture book debut, based on his family’s experience during the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. In early scenes, Luli describes life in his seaside home, where he revels in the company of three cats—the Lucys of the title. Following a trip to Beirut to visit Luli’s aunt and uncle, the family is driving home when a “red streak shoots across the horizon and a loud boom fills the air.” The bombs force Luli and his parents to return to Beirut, where they stay with their relatives for weeks, Luli’s thoughts often with the Lucys. Working in soft swathes of watercolor, Kahn confidently bridges the emotional transition from tender family meals under a setting sun to frightening moments hiding in gray basements. The disappearance of one of the Lucys and the evident destruction wrought by the bombing offer a somber, though not hopeless, entry point for discussions of loss and the consequences of war. Ages 8–9. (Publisher's Weekly)
