The Middle East has been undergoing vast social and economic change, but in all reports available today, little attention has been paid to the situation of children. The purpose of this book is to help readers better understand the children of the Middle East to give a sense of their lives today and a sense of attitudes toward children and their problems held by leaders, writers, parents, teachers, and social scientists. This book contains 41 works about children, translated from several languages and presented in many genres, scholarly articles (in social science, history, and literature), poetry, speeches, proverbs, interviews, short stories, folk tales, and lullabies. Fifteen countries are represented in the collection: Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Sudan, Iraq, and Occupied Territories. The book has eight parts: (1) "Introduction," discussing the Muslim religion, urgent children's issues, and a code of children's rights; (2) "Growing Up," discussing adoption, lullabies, child care and orphanages; (3) "Children's Health," discussing child mortality, female mutilation, and women's laments for children who have died; (4) "Children and Work," discussing children as economic investments, social security, and case studies of working children; (5) "Children's Education," discussing nursery school, early grades, and textbooks; (6) "Children, Politics, and War," discussing children's rights, attitudes, and participation in combat; (7) "Children and Play, Children and the Arts," discussing children's games, songs, and poetry; and (8) "Conclusion," discussing the new social classes. The book ends with a brief biographical sketch of each contributor. (AMC)