I am a Palestinian children’s book illustrator and author from the Returnees Camp in Homs (literally: the camp of those who will return). I began my artistic career at the age of seventeen and am considered the first Arab-Palestinian children’s book illustrator in Germany. I have illustrated and designed more than 170 illustrated children’s books (printed, read-aloud, and audio formats) in Arabic, English, and German, in addition to posters, magazines, and educational cards, in collaboration with publishers in the Arab world, Germany, and Europe. I developed my artistic skills through self-directed learning, alongside courses in academic drawing and graphic design.

I worked as art director of the children’s magazine “Alwan Europa”, published in Sweden. Most of my German-language books are available in numerous German national libraries as well as in other German-speaking countries, and several of my Arabic-language books are held by the Wuppertal City Library. I was awarded second place in the “Children’s Illustration Competition” organized by the Syrian Ministry of Culture (2010).

Many of my works have been nominated for awards, including the “German Children’s Book Award” (Nuremberg, 2023) and the Buntspecht Competition (Berlin, 2024). I have also received several certificates of recognition, including an award within the “Luxembourg Prize” (2025). I volunteered at the National Library of the city of Wuppertal between 2020 and 2022.

I was one of the contributing illustrators to issue no. 107 of the early childhood magazine “Gecko”, published in Munich in 2025, which was included in the recommendation list “Bavaria’s Best Independent Books 2025.” I am a member of the Association for Visual Arts and the Association of Illustrators in Germany.

Among the institutions for which I have written and illustrated are the magazines “Osama” and “Shama”, the General Syrian Book Organization in Syria, the magazine “Qatr Al-Nada” in Egypt, as well as numerous publishing houses, including “Al-Buhaira,” “Nour Publishing,” “Nabd Al-Qalam,” “Karawan,” “Asala,” “Al-Yasmin,” and “Al-Banan.” In Germany, I have collaborated with “Carlsen Verlag,” “Thienemann,” and “Don Bosco.”

nour-altouba@hotmail.com