It's part of a new curriculum approved by city and state education officials, but not everyone thinks third graders are ready for it.
One is the story of a little girl in Afghanistan forced to go to school in secret.
Another involves an Iraqi librarian who saves her books from the destruction of a bombing raid.
Dennis Walcott, says the books are designed to educate young kids on important issues.
In Nasreen's Secret School, the main character and other girls are forced to hide from armed soldiers who would possibly kill them for violating the ban on educating females.
The Librarian of Basra includes illustrations of bombers overhead and explosions that destroy a library and other buildings
The books are consistent with the so-called common core curriculum, now expected of schools nationwide, and their themes are not disagreeable to some Arab-American parents at P.S. 38.
Chancellor Walcott made clear today the books are approved, but not required.
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