Luli loves his three cats, all named Lucy—Lucy the Fat, Lucy the Skinny, and Lucy Lucy. When he and his parents go to spend a weekend in Beirut with his aunt and uncle, they leave the Lucys behind with fresh water and a big bowl of food, knowing that will get them through a couple of days. But as Luli and his parents are returning home, bombs start to fall and they must retreat to the safety of his aunt and uncle’s basement back in Beirut. They wait out the bombing for 34 days, until a ceasefire is declared and they can safely return home. Except for some dust and shattered windows, their house is fine, but where are the Lucys? Two of them have survived but the third, Lucy Lucy, cannot be found. Both the narrative and the art in this dramatic, child-centered story is specific to modern Lebanon but gives young readers a sense of daily life in any contemporary war-torn country. (Ages 5–8)

Junior Library Guild Selection
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Arab American Book Award Honorable Mention, Arab American National Museum

After a young Lebanese boy loses one of his beloved cats when his village comes under attack, he must learn to cope with loss and hope for a peaceful future.

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?

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.