The book at issue is 'The Shepherd's Granddaughter,'a 2008 novel for young adults by Canadian author Anne Laurel Carter, who once worked on an Israeli kibbutz. The book tells the tale of Amani, a Palestinian girl living in the West Bank who wants to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and become a shepherd. She encounters violent Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers, who poison some of Amani's sheep, bulldoze her house, shoot and kill her dog, prevent her family from harvesting their olives, and beat and jail her father and uncle.
In a recent letter to a parent who complained about 'The Shepherd's Granddaughter,' the Toronto District School Board's director of education says the book 'has the potential to engage our Grade 7 and 8 students... in understanding the complex issues of their world.' This past spring, the board ruled that the book meets standards for dealing with 'controversial and sensitive issues,' meaning it is subject only to extra guidelines."
