A heartwarming Palestinian tradition

Hilwa’s Gifts

Safa Suleiman
Illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan
Candlewick, 2025.

Palestinian American author Safa Suleiman’s debut children’s picture book offers a heartwarming glimpse into Palestinian traditions and daily life. Based on her experience of participating for the first time in an olive harvest on her family’s ancestral grove, Suleiman relates the fictional story of young Ali, who has flown to Palestine with his Palestinian American mother to visit his grandfather – Seedo – and his grandmother – Sitty.

Ali is very excited to visit the olive grove for his first olive harvest and especially looking forward to visiting Hilwa, his beloved olive tree that Seedo planted with his grandfather. While resting in Hilwa’s branches, Ali hears a whacking sound and sees Sitty thrashing another olive tree with a tarp beneath it. Ali watches as his cousins pick up the dislodged olives and place them into baskets. Ali is worried and asks if the trees are hurt when they are hit. Seedo assures Ali that they would never hurt their olive trees because their gifts are precious.

When Seedo encourages Ali to take part in the harvest by whacking the tree, he refuses and says he’ll pick the olives one by one. But Ali soon tires and realizes Seedo and Sitty’s way of harvesting olives is a better method. He tries it and, when olives rain down, he is filled with joy.

The following day, Ali and his family continue the harvesting process and transport their crop to an olive press in town. Ali watches in amazement as the olives are ground and olive oil is produced. Seedo teaches Ali that Hilwa’s gifts also include soap made out of olive oil and olive pulp to build fires for cooking bread. When the harvest and olive processing are complete, Ali’s family and the neighbouring community gather for a picnic in the olive grove, eating, singing and dancing – and “that’s the greatest gift of all.”

Author Safa Suleiman’s tender narrative and illustrator Anait Semirdzhyan’s lighthearted and endearing artwork merge to capture the joy and industriousness of a family working together in a cherished place to accomplish a worthy goal and continue an ancient tradition.