Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan's "The Sandwich Swap"

Read an excert from Queen Rania's book based on her childhood experiences.

ByABC News via logo
April 26, 2010, 6:43 PM

April 27, 2010— -- Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan is one of the most popular royals in the world.

An author, wife, mother and humanitarian, she has embraced technology and new media, and maintains her own website and blog.

The queen has spearheaded efforts to bridge the religious and cultural divides between the Muslim and Western worlds, and is an ardent advocate for education.

"The Sandwich Swap," co-authored with Kelly DiPucchio, is a picture book based on Rania's childhood experiences.

In "The Sandwich Swap," lunch sandwiches -- one peanut butter and jelly, the other pita bread and hummus -- serve as a metaphor for the differences between two friends from different cultures.

Read the excerpt below, and then head to the "GMA" Library to find more good reads.

It all began with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich…and it ended with a hummus sandwich.

Salma and Lily were best friends at school.

They drew pictures together.

They played on the swings together.

They jumped rope together.

And they ate their lunches together.

But just what they ate was a little different.

Lily ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch.

Salma ate a hummus and pita sandwich every day for lunch.

And although Lily never said it out loud, she thought Salma's sandwich looked weird and yucky. She felt terrible that her friend had to eat that icky chickpea paste every day. EW. Yuck.

And although Salma never said it out loud, she thought Lily's sandwich looked strange and gross. She felt just awful that her friend had to eat that gooey peanut paste every day. EW. Gross.