Amazon.com Review
A political, spiritual Palestinian-American from Texas, Naomi Nyeilluminates some of the subtler aspects of human experience in this volume ofpoems drawn from three previous collections. She ponders everything from thedonor of a now-broken music box to a little girl clenching her fist againstdeath, using absolute clarity of imagery and a gentle, authoritative voice tomake her visions accessible. She also poses such unanswerable questions as"What makes a man with a gun seem bigger/ than a man with almonds?"-- making it a thought-provoking read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A wonderful Collection
I was told about this book by a friend at an Artist Retreat.I had the opportunity to read a few poems by Naomi especially "Happiness".I was bowled away by the beauty and honesty of her work.I had to have a copy and ordered one as soon as I got to a computer.It was only later that I found out it was a collection of her best work. I am always finding new poets I like and its always hard to decide which volume of their work to purchase. Volumes like this make it easy.A poets best work is always a good choice. This comes with my highest recommendation.

Magnificentpoetry
Initially I was attracted to this book because of the photo on the cover, and took it out from the library on a whim. Finding her poetry to be rich, savory, and memorable, I am now always watching for more of her work! Two of my favorites in this volume are "Kindness" and "Happiness." I think you'll enjoy them as well!

The Language of Compassion
Naomi Shihab Nye is Palestinian-American and currently lives in Texas. Words Under the Words is a collection of works from three earlier books:Different Ways to Pray, Hugging the Jukebox, and Yellow Glove.In this collection, her poetry celebrates the interconnectedness of the human spirit and the ordinary world.A stranger's eyes, once met, become the eyes of a fellow (Eye-to-Eye, p. 11); a serving woman's lined face tells a story of great worth (The Indian in the Kitchen, p.4); and images of Guatemala eulogize the passing of indigenous culture in service to the industrial world (Getting Through the Day, p.69).

Nye's poetry is informed by her sense of place:Kindness (p.42) could have been written nowhere but from Colombia. Before you learn the solemnity of kindness, she writes, you must see a dead person lying roadside. "You must see how this could be you/how he, too, was someone/who journeyed through the night with plans/and the simple breath that kept him alive."Many of the poems in this book have been written from different Central and South American countries-others in the Middle East, in the United States-there is even a poem about being lost in Kansas.

In an interview with Rachel Berenblat, Nye said she has written poems from childhood."I liked the portable, comfortable shape of poems," she said."I liked the way they took you to a deeper, quieter place, almost immediately."It is no surprise, then, that these poems are accessible and harmonious, written in the language of empathy and compassion.

Real life poetry
I have always felt that I couldn't "understand" poetry, but these poems spoke to me.I came across this book by accident, but once I started reading it, I couldn't part with it.I felt compelled to buy a copy. The beauty of Ms. Nye's poetry lies in its unpretentious yet eloquent simplicity.The poems are full of everyday events, people, emotions - yet express such profound ideas.They are full of humanity, good-will, and self-discovery.This is a book that would appeal to even the most "unliterary" person.

A warm, intriguing collection of poetry.
The Words Under the Words is certainly one of my favorite books of poetry.Nye writes with a warmth and gentleness that is calming, thought-provoking, and increasingly rare in today's poetry.She seems to have an amazingly accurate and poignant understanding of human emotions and presents these so softly and beautifully that it's hard not to fall in love with the stories that grow from these poems. One of the few books of poetry I've read cover to cover that's maintained a sense of freshness and wonder throughout.It held my interest like a hand.I can't imagine anyone not liking this book.A great read. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of poems that find meaning in a world where we are "so tired of meaning nothing", "Fuel" covers topics ranging from the border families of southern Texas to small ferns and forgotten books to Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Well worth reading
Naomi Shihab Nye's poetry is truly great. I had the pleasure of doing a workshop with her at the Kentucky Women's Writers Conference last year, and I can tell you she really inspired the poet in me too.This is fine collection.

My favorite collection of her work
This is a lovely poet.And these are moving poems.Unpretentious and direct.

Talentless, execrable
I remember a time when poems were supposed to be intelligent and well-written and creative.What has happened, that this lazy, self-indulgent, unimaginative writer has received even the lukewarm acclaim that she has?

Nye has not forgotten the job of the poet!
It is quite difficult to get through the work of many contemporary poets. So many write of themselves only, and have a tendency to go on and on...writing from the heart is one thing, but to rant incessantly is quiteanother. As a children's poet, I teach the importance of observing,valuing, cherishing the world around, to see it with "new eyes",and to feel free to share what you discover. It was always apparent to methat the poet's job is to "make new" what is usually thought ofas ordinary, to help us to reconnect with the world and each other. Thismay sound idealistic, but these are the poets/the poetry I find to be mosteffective (effective in stirring emotion). And Ms. Nye's poetry is soeffective...she finds the sublime, the painful, the curious in everythingand everyone around her. THAT is poetry! I am so happy that she is aroundto remind us of it!! We need more poets/teachers like her...

A positive review on one of America's favorite poets
Naomi Shihab Nye is still able to find greatness in the small things.Her new book of poems, "Fuel,"reminds the reader that there poetry is all around us, on our street, in our children and even in a garden of beans.Nye's poetry is a work of surprising images and deceptive simplicity.In "Alphabet" we watch as older residents of her neighborhood who are "going up/into the air."Her writing is poignant and clears the air of stuffy, undecipherable, ego poetry.It is obvious with poems like "Messenger" and "Hidden" is that Nye's goal is to write accessible and enjoyable poetry for her readers.Nye mixes humor with clarity and subtle observations to create a grounded book of poems about life and living."Fuel" shows us that Nye still has many stories left to tell and she has done so exquisitely in this collection. ... Read more

Product Description

A journey can lead east and west, from north to south, up, down, over, under, in between, and next to.

A journey can last a minute, an hour, a year, a month, a lifetime.

A journey might be slow or fast or both. A journey might be shining. One journey could remind you of another one. Are you sliding? Stumbling? Floating?

Maybe it all depends on your point of view.

Where -- and how -- will these sixteen poems take you?

A journey with Naomi Shihab Nye and Dan Yaccarino is impossible to resist. Sixteen luminous poems by Nye are accompanied by Yaccarino's stunning mixed-media collages. Nye, poet, novelist, essayist, and anthologist, writes of journeys--internal and external, short and long, slow and fast. Her poetry invites readers to sail away, to rejoice in the journey as well as the destination, and to notice everything along the way. Yaccarino, award-winning artist, and illustrator of Circle Dogs, Deep in the Jungle, An Octopus Followed Me Home, and others, crafts unusual and compelling collages to lose oneself in. His rich use of color, texture, and pattern complements Nye's deeply layered, absorbing poems. This is a collection to cherish. (Ages 4 and older) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An Awesome Journey with these "Poems fo a Journey"
Besides Nye's breathtaking poems, the illustrations in Come With Me: Poems for a Journey are amazing.Dan Yaccarina fills Nye's book with spectacular images that amaze the eyes and bedazzle the senses. Yaccarina's use of color, shape, and texture help make Nye's creation a masterpiece.

Nye's poetry is marvelously crafted and stirs the soul.The language is appropiate for young children, ensuring children can appreciate and connect to Nye's beautifully worded poetry.

Simple things made astonishing...
I am a huge fan of Ms. Nye's work. I write poetry for children myself, so I am always looking for new work for kids that is unique (there seems to be an inundation, currently, in the children's market, of mediocre poetry) - I knew I couldn't go wrong with "Come With Me". This is what poetry is all about - taking the simple, the everyday, and turning it into something astounding! In this book, Ms. Nye makes even the smallest of journeys (a word as it travels from mouth to ear)wondrous. How different these trips will now seem to us.
Each poem will leave a "Wow..." in your throat, and a great desire to explore your world, to discover the all the words to describe it. (And Mr. Yaccarino's ilustrations are bold, vivid - a perfect compliment.) ... Read more

Product Description

"Tell me how to live so many lives at once ..."

Fowzi, who beats everyone at dominoes; Ibtisam, who wanted to be a doctor; Abu Mahmoud, who knows every eggplant and peach in his West Bank garden; mysterious Uncle Mohammed, who moved to the mountain; a girl in a red sweater dangling a book bag; children in velvet dresses who haunt the candy bowl at the party; Baba Kamalyari, age 71; Mr. Dajani and his swans; Sitti Khadra, who never lost her peace inside.

Maybe they have something to tell us.

Naomi Shihab Nye has been writing about being Arab-American, about Jerusalem, about the West Bank, about family all her life. These new and collected poems of the Middle East -- sixty in all -- appear together here for the first time.

Customer Reviews (11)

What a wonderful book
This little - and I mean little, the book is pint sized - book is absolutely amazing. She is a wonderful poet, and, for someone whose life has been touched so much by the Middle-East and particularly by the pain in all the conflicts,she really expresses the emotions that all of us feel.

I have preformed four or five of the poems in this book at competitions, and one of the things I love is that, for the most part, all her poems were originally in English. So you get to see and preform the simple beauty in the words along with the meaning. This is lost in other poets, such as Yehudah Amichai or Mahmoud Darwish, who originally wrote in Hebrew/Arabic.

Just a note for anyone who cares: there's a beautiful poem called "Jerusalem" in this book that's also published all over the internet. If you buy "Words under Words," she has another poem called "Jerusalem," but it's a TOTALLY different poem. Still a good collection though :]

i have not recieved this book! it is past the shipping date!!!
i have no idea why or how, but i ordered this book for a class, over a month ago, i have not received it, oh AND my class already finished with the book.

if the person i bought this book from reads this, you had better return my money.

i would NOT RECOMMEND this seller.

Verses about love and longing for lost and imaginary homelands
Naomi Shihab Nye's collection contains sixty poems about Palestinians and Middle East, about love and longing for lost and imaginary homelands. The poems are fragrant with spices of the Middle-East, flavors of figs and olives, and served with a tenderness of a grandmother talking to a grandchild, a five year old to his mother, an aged man to his beloved he unites with after a lifetime. In the world torn by religious and political conflicts, these poems represent an oasis of hope. It is the humanity of these verses, that leaps from the page like the memory of nineteen varieties of gazelle described in the title poem.

The poems assume special significance in the context of post-September 11 world, for they contain a platter of understanding and taste served to assuage our need to be comforted. The solace is brought in by the mint green language of a poet born to a Palestinian father and an American mother. Perhaps the unique identity of Nye offers her perspectives about the Arab East and American West which her creativity has shaped into a narrative that offers respite from the reactionary rhetoric that dominates our daily thinking and actions.

As an Indian residing in America, I sense a brotherhood with Nye's characters, who chase the voices, flavors, visions, music and familiarity that maps their nostalgic world. As a poet with Indian heart and Americanized mind, I find Nye, like Agha Shahid Ali, present our cultural and emotional duality in a lyric that is both powerful and poignant. The tapestry of inheritance of the East is laced with tales quite unknown in the West, and this wealth can nourish many a chasms that exist between the material and spiritual. It is voices like Amichai's and Nye's that remind us that the transcendental humanity within us can help us to outlive the wounds inflicted by the fanatic forces everywhere.

Insight You Will Not GetIn Prose
Hopkins said that poetry is an out shaping of the interiority of human experience. This is certainly true here. There are realities that are at the heart of human experience that cannot be captured in prose. The heart of mush of the experience of Palestinian people can be found in these poems. For those who want to understand beyond the linear logic of prose and the bias of news, this book is a good place to start.

Good Service!
I order many used books through Amazon, and have been very pleased with all the vendors I have ordered from. The books come in the condition as advertised, and I receive my orders in a timely manner. I am not only saving a great deal of money, but also time. I find out of print books that are just not available through other means. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Brothers and Sisters
It took this reader only a few poems to fall in love with the poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye.Her passion for brother and sister human beings, plants, animals, and especially the creativity in children explodes from her poetry.She transports us into her travels, past loves, family, Palestinian roots, and hatred of war effortlessly and courageously.Nye's poems lift veils of prejudice and indifference western society often employs to keep us blind to the hands that plant gardens and the generosity of Arabs to invite strangers in to share tea, food and friendship.Nye is a dynamic teacher on stage, in workshops and through her gritty and honest poetry.

"It is not a game.It was never a game."
I met NSN through Bill Moyer's The Language of Life series and have been a fan ever since.She is a poetry superstar, but she's not the sort of poetry superstar you'd put on a pedastal.She's the kind you'd invite into you kitchen to talk about current events on a truly fundamental, human level -- over a cup of Turkish coffee.As a poet, I truly appreciate the fact that so much of her poetry is about words, the power of simple words, the systematic public abuse of common words.As a Lebanese American, NSN helps me to look on the Middle East at one remove, like her, and with compassion.Her poetry shows why, if we have only one thing clutched in our hands at the very end of everything, it should be our basic humanity.Now, wouldn't you want someone like that to talk to in your kitchen over coffee?In a conversation that would be all poetry, no less?

Poems of Passion and Compassion From Very Open Eyes
"What countries may we/ sing into?/ What lines should we all/ be crossing?" Naomi Shihab Nye writes poems of grace and humor and wit and tension and ache and remembrance and longing - and of everyday life.Such a sweep of huge ideas comes from her intelligent pen!Living in San Antonio, Texas with her child encourages her to observe the fundamentals of living, of loving, of finding the beauty/spiritual in all things.These poems of Part One of this extraordinary collection are about living.

Part Two contains the poetry that speaks most clearly to this reader.While she is always competent to address the darker side of all things in her poems of Part One, in this second body of work she turns her vigilant eye to the horrors of war, giving words to the overwhelming facts of tragedy, death, inequity, and all the unimaginables that escort war in the Middle East - no, in all wars. "There is no 'stray' bullet, sirs./ No bullet like a worried cat/ crouching under a bush,/ no half-hairless puppy bullet/ dodging midnight streets.The bullet could not be a pecan/ plunking the tin roof,/ not hardly, no fluff of pollen/ on October's breath, no humble pebble at our feet....So don't gentle it, please....This bullet had no secret happy hopes,/ it was not singing to itself with eyes closed/ under the bridge." Perhaps it is her Palestinian-American heritage that makes her insight into the ongoing elegy for the Middle East so poignant, or perhaps it is simply that she is a very fine poet, a seer able to paste together the minutiae of living each day with the epoch of facing war head on.She has the gift and we are the better for it.Grady Harp, September 05 ... Read more

Product Description

What have you lost? A friend? A brother? A wallet? A memory? A meaning? A year?

Each Night

Images,
dream news,
fragments,
flash
then fade.
These darkened walls.

Here, I say.
Climb into
this story.
Be remembered!

Jay Bremyer

00-01 Tayshas High School Reading List

Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council, 2000 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA), 00 Riverbank Review Magazine's Children's Books of Distinction Award Nominations, Winner 2000 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and 01 Riverbank Review Magazine's Children's Books of Distinction Award Nominations

Customer Reviews (8)

Thought-provoking poetry, splendid!
Everyone can relate to at least one of the poems in this book.The author takes a common thread (loss) and puts it between the cover of a very well compiled book.This is a wonderful book to have in your collection!

what have you lost?
Naomi Shihab Nye has compiled an anthology not only for young adults, but for anyone who has experienced loss. Highly recommended.

An amazing collection of poetry
Wow. This book is amazing...This book seems to apply to life, no matter what is going on. The poetry in this book seems to span across so many issues, and so many age groups.I just keep coming back to it.

What Have You Lost?
This is a collection of poems about losing things, for all age groups.From losing pencils, keys, toys, parents, siblings, spouses, trust and freindship.A very moving book of poetry.It contains excellent black andwhite illustrations and I recommend it for students from the 5th grade up,as well as parents and teachers.

I was moved by this collection of poetry.
I purchased this book on a whim for my 9 year old son. He found some of the ideas very sad. We enjoyed talking about the different types of losses. I definately got more out of it than he did. I have enjoyed sharing it withmy friends. The poetry comes from many kinds of experiences and is a greatall around poetry experience. ... Read more

Product Description

"I am a poet," I said. "It is my destiny to do strange things."

My father gripped the wheel of his car. "I am the chauffeur for foolishness."

We said no more.

Customer Reviews (1)

I'll Ask You Three Times, Are You Okay?:Tales of Driving and Being Driven
This latest book by Naomi Shihab Nye is warm and funny and endlessly entertaining. It is always such a pleasure to be in the company of Naomi Nye as she looks at our world.In this collection of vignettes, Naomi takes us traveling across the US and around the world.From the back seats of taxis and the lobbies of hotels we encounter peculiar, heartwarming and just plan wacky taxi drivers and clerks.Human nature is the subject and in the hands of Ms. Nye it is fascinating.I recommend the friendship between a cat and his driver in San Antonio.
Irresistable. ... Read more

Product Description
The day after Liyana got her first real kiss, her life changed forever. Not because of the kiss, but because it was the day her father announced that the family was moving from St. Louis all the way to Palestine. Though her father grew up there, Liyana knows very little about her family's Arab heritage. Her grandmother and the rest of her relatives who live in the West Bank are strangers, and speak a language she can't understand. It isn't until she meets Omer that her homesickness fades. But Omer is Jewish, and their friendship is silently forbidden in this land. How can they make their families understand? And how can Liyana ever learn to call this place home? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (87)

Review of Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
Two different worlds collide in one fascinating book. In Naomi Shihab Nye's Habibi (Simon & Schuster, 1997), fifteen-year-old Liyana Abboud, an Arab-American, must leave her home in St. Louis to live in Jerusalem, her father's homeland. At first, Liyana has a difficult time adjusting to life in her new home. She misses her old friends and, as any American girl would, has a hard time understanding the customs of the foreign land. With time, however, she begins to adjust to her new life. Liyana enjoys getting to know her father's family, especially her grandmother Sitti, and she eventually meets some new friends, including a boy named Omer. To her surprise, Omer turns out to be Jewish. Their friendship opens up the opportunity for her family to practice what they preach and encourage peace relations between the Arabs and the Jews in Israel. The book addresses themes of family and friendship, cultural identity, peace, and even religion. While the protagonist is both strong and unique, she is also very believable. Naomi Shihab Nye does a great job making Liyana relatable to boys and girls, and children of all ages are sure to be entertained by this wonderful book.

Moving Portrayal of Adolescence
Moving just before starting high school can be difficult on any teen, but for Liyana, it's even harder.Her father has decided to move their family from St. Louis back to his native Jerusalem: a land torn by the constant barrage of violence--from city shootings to the defacement of Liyana's grandmother's bathroom.Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye (Simon Pulse, 1997) renders the tale of Liyana's adjustment to her new life and country with a delicate tenderness.Liyana struggles to find her bearings at a new school, in her new family, all while mastering a new language.Often, she is struck by her "outsider"-ness, and wonders where a "half-half" such as her can fit in.As she attempts to forge her identity, she is met with external oppositions spanning from the inability to wear clothes she desires to the religious battles between Israeli defenders and Palestinian supporters waging around her.Liyana is further tested in her beliefs when she befriends Omer, who is Jewish.Liyana is a believable, intelligent, and complex narrator whose journey is intriguing and fresh.Habibi hums along in a poetic trance, wrapping the reader in a quilt of ideas that will leave them buzzing about the notions of peace, war, love, friendship, identity, and family for days to come.

Habibi
When Liyana learns that her family is moving from their quiet St. Louis suburb to Jerusalem, their father's birthplace, she is less than thrilled.What about their home? What about her friends? What about the kiss she shared with Jackson?When they step off the plane in Jerusalem, Liyana is overwhelmed by her large, Arab family, especially her funny old grandmother Sitti, who wants to teach her how to cook and speak Arabic.But Liyana is homesick. Will she ever learn to love her new home?Will her heart ever be full again?

Naomi Shihab Nye's book, Habibi (Simon Pulse, 1999), is a lyrical novel exploring the issues of learning to live in another culture.Nye's imagery evokes all senses as the reader is transported from America right into the electrifying heart of Israel.Habibi is written as glimpses into the life of the main character, Liyana, and her brother, Rafik, which makes each moment stand out as its own separate story told to the reader by a close friend.Nye's beautiful prose helps to break down the barrier between East and West, translating a conflicted area into loveable and memorable characters and events. Nye's book would be an excellent source for discussion on contemporary prejudices and preconceptions of the Arab world and the Palestinian conflict - a beautiful addition to anyone's library.

Habibi
Liyana, a fourteen-year-old Arab-American girl, writes anecdotes and observations in her notebook from time to time, for future use in stories.Writers may find themselves jotting down sentences from Habibi, to be used as inspiration for their own writing, or simply to process the beautiful, heart-wrenching language. Author Naomi Shahib Nye has infused this breath-taking young adult novel with pure poetry.A quote from Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish's "Homing Pigeons" is a lovely and fitting way to begin the novel.The images of love, exile, violence, despair and home that pervade Darwish's work are present and powerful in this story, and Nye's rich, lyrical language is absolutely delightful.Nye's young but insightful narrator draws readers into the "powerful world" in her mind and heart, as well as the world of political tension in the Middle East.When Liyana's family moves from St. Louis, Missouri to Jerusalem, she must adjust to her new surroundings, which are at once magical and frightening, familiar and foreign.The political becomes especially personal when Liyana falls in love with a Jewish boy, and must make peace with her own conflicting feelings, while wishing deeply for peace on a larger scale.

Habibi is darling
How would you feel if your parents suddenly decided to move to Jerusalem from St. Louis, right before you entered high school? That's just what happens to Liyana in the novel Habibi, by Naomi Shibab Nye (Simon & Schuster, 1997), and she is not happy about it! She hates the idea of moving away from all her friends and the boy who kissed her for the first time to go to a place where nobody knows her. But Jerusalem is her father's hometown and she soon discovers that, though she may feel uncomfortable in this unfamiliar place, she has people who know her and love her already. She develops a close relationship with her Sitti, or Grandmother, despite their language barrier. And Liyana meets a new boy, one who shares in her quirky way of looking at life. But will her Arabic family understand her affection for a Jewish boy... their enemy? Or will their relationship turn into another tragedy of Romeo and Juliet proportions? This novel asks a question that goes through every peace-lover's mind when they think of the fighting in the Middle East... why? It also gives an answer... There is no why. This novel is told through the eyes of a loveable main character whose poetic trains of thought give voice to all the horrors and happiness, desires and disappointments that a teenager -- and a war-torn country - must go through. Habibi makes the issues in the Middle East personal and heart-breaking, but it also offers a life-line to all those who wish for peace - a glimmer of hope. ... Read more

Product Description
An award-winning multicultural compilation of poetry introduces more than 125 poems from sixty-eight countries around the world, many translated into English for the first time, and offers glimpses of similarities across people despite cultural differences. Reprint. H. VY. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

We love this book!
Great international collection of poetry, my tween and I shared.Even the translated poems are done well and understandable.

Lost in Translation
English is a simplistic language when compared to a great many other languages. It simply doesn't have the same potential for subtle nuances, rhyming, and other things of that nature. With that in mind, it's always hit-or-miss as to whether a translated poem will carry the same impact in English as it did in its original language. That, I would say, is one of the problems with this book, and it's not the book's, nor Naomi Shihab Nye's fault.

As the other reviewer said, some of the poems are quite good, some are obscure, and some are downright puzzling, and I imagine those particular ones, in their original language, had a lot more clarity of vision and feeling. The cultural backgrounds are a pitfall, as was also stated, though if a reader has a small knowledge of world history, the captions at the bottom of each poem which state the country of the author's origin are a great help. For example, when reading a poem about scrounging in the jungle, looking for a few scraps of rice, AK-47 in hand, it helps to know if the author is Vietnamese.

That notwithstanding, some of the poems are simply confusing, and I am an English major, and some, also due to the translation, I imagine, seem more like straight-forward prose.

All in all, This Same Sky is a good collection, and it does a very good job representing a broad cross-section of the world. It's just a shame the English language doesn't do the works justice. So, with that in mind, it's the translation's fault that I only gave the book 3 stars.

Poetry from around the world
Naomi Shihab Nye has collected over one hundred poems from poets all over the world. The poems are about many things, including nature and families. While the details of the poetry (items, animals and birds) are foreign, the feelings expressed are familiar to us all.

Some of the poems are funny, like the one from Altazor by Vicente Huidobro, many others are sad ("My Life Story" by Lan Nguyen and "Behind Bars" by Fadwa Tuqan). Some poems are puzzling, like "Petrified Minute" by Zoltan Zelk and others make you want to know more of the story behind them, like Ruth Dallas's "A New Dress" and Gu Cheng's "A Headstrong Boy." There are poems that create beautiful mental images, and poems that leave the reader bewildered and vaguely disturbed (Tony Perez's "Volunteer Worker").

While the words have been translated into English, much of this poetry is difficult to understand. Many poems would be almost meaningless for a reader with no frame of reference to place the poem in. The poem "Jerusalem" by the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai is one that a reader with little knowledge about the history of Palestine would find puzzling. The brief Notes on the Contributors at the back of the volume help explain a little more about the poets, but to truly understand some of the poetry more background information is needed. This collection is not one most children will fully understand on their own. ... Read more

Product Description

Honey. Beeswax. Pollinate. Hive. Colony. Work. Dance. Communicate. Industrious. Buzz. Sting. Cooperate.

Customer Reviews (4)

Not what I expected
I picked this up at the library today for my 11 year old son under the impression it was a poem book about nature.The intro was pretty cute, but then I started reading through some of the poems and was disappointed when several of them were politically based. Regardless of my political beliefs, I think it is poor taste for any author to package a book for children to push their own political agenda.

Buzz right on past this book
Wow!
I can't believe they even published this.
Nothing worth your time or money here

BuzZen
Synchronicity is when you are with a company called BuzZen and your favorite poet writes a book called Honeybee. It arrived today and I have spent the day savoring it.

"Watch us humans as we enter our rooms,remove our shoes and watches, and stretch out on the bed with a single good book. It's the honey of the mind time. Light shines through our little jars."

Richie's Picks: HONEYBEE
Bees Were Better

"In college people were always breaking up.
We broke up in parking lots,
beside fountains.
Two people broke up
across the table from me
at the library.
I could not sit at that table again
though I did not know them.
I studied bees, who were able
to convey messages through dancing
and could find their ways
home to their hives
even if someone put up a blockade of sheets
and boards and wire.
Bees had radar in their wings and brains
that humans could barely understand.
I wrote a paper proclaiming
their brilliance and superiority
and revised it at a small cafe
featuring wooden hive-shaped honey dippers
in silver honeypots
on every table."

Part of me feels as though I should include a disclaimer when I write about a new book by Naomi, but that is silly -- she is not really my cousin; it just feels that way, having been lucky enough over the years to spend tiny bits of time around her and receive the occasional note that always carries with it a peacefulness like that which I experience upon reading correspondence from Tony, my eldest cousin on my Sicilian side. As I've written previously, Naomi is a fellow Piscian and fellow vegetarian whom I've seen deftly transform a cardboard convention center room into a sacred space with simply a basket of pita, a bowl of hummus, and a book of poetry.

I read and admire a lot of poetry for children and adolescents. I am quite often entertained by it and always share it at booktalks -- including some pieces I first read as a child.

I find something so special in getting to spend an afternoon reading Naomi's work.

HONEYBEE is Naomi's new collection of poetry. Each of the eighty-two poems has a wonderful personal quality; the collection reads as if it is a series of notes in various poetic forms that she has written to the reader.

"...My niece in Australia told me that the students in her university class were required to read the blog of an Iraqi citizen and write about it before they could graduate. She chose a girl who is now fifteen writing under the pseudonym Sunshine. I began reading Sunshine's blog too. I love the way she writes about the details of her life-her friends, the books she is reading, her activities and memories. Life is so difficult since the war started, but still she ends her entries with lines like, 'Try not to lose hope.' She wishes she could live the way kids in other countries live, without so much constant violence surrounding them. Sunshine has become my personal hero, drinking deeply out of the moments. So much is passing so fast..."

This is a bittersweet collection, as Naomi is clearly feeling the pain -- like so many of us -- that continues to be the product of five years of war and war spending. It is also a collection that repeatedly alludes to bees and to the mysterious and well-publicized disappearance of a lot of honeybees in a very short time:

"All the theories about the disappearing bees omit one possibility: they are sick of the word 'busy.' They are on strike. Sure this cycling and collecting and producing is what they've done for so long...worker and queen and drone...blossom and hive and comb... but the last thing the bees want stuck in their pollen baskets is a cliche. Busy? Not I. We can't even know if they adore the fragrances of flowers...but they must, right? Let's hope so. Let's hope there's pleasure in it.

In France, some teenagers asked me, 'Is it true, in your country, students don't take time to sit down and drink tea and eat pie upon return from school?'

Eat pie? This was hard to answer.

'I hope they eat pie,' I said. We all need pie.'
Then I started looking for a restaurant that served pie..."

I, myself, headed for the funky little cafe in Sebastopol where my teenage daughter works after school. I spent the afternoon there, with Rosemary bringing me iced herbal tea and little vegetable sandwiches, and Naomi talking to me through her book, bringing me up to date on her life and observations as one of our most treasured poets.

"And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought, this is the world I want to live in."

I highly recommend that you find a nice place to spend an afternoon and experience HONEYBEE.

... Read more

Product Description

Life is a tangle of
twisting paths.
Some short.
Some long.
There are dead ends.
And there are choices.
And wrong turns,
and detours,
and yield signs,
and instruction booklets,
and star maps,
and happiness,
and loneliness.
And friends.
And sisters.
And love.
And poetry.

Customer Reviews (6)

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
I love Naomi Shihab Nye's style. I'm suspicious to write a review, but... It is not only for girls aged 12-14. Any woman, at any age can find rays of sunshine in it. I love opening this book randomly and reading the poem on the page I find. It is always pleasant and touching.

Not just for girls
I bought this book at an airport for my daughter- but I read it out loud to her and her little brother, and we all enjoyed it.The poems are fun and sad and funny and insightful. It led me to seek out other works by Nye and I've enjoyed them all.

incredible
Naomi Shihab Nye has a relationship with words and Emotions that few people achieve in their life, regardless of their age. She is my favorite poet as well as my favorite author and I have never dislike one of her poems.

A Maze Me is no exception. Every poem sends a strong message or fills you with a feeling or new idea. Each poem is written so beautifully that no illustration is needed, as it probes curiosity and imaginitive explanations. In my opinion, Naomi Shihab Nye is very philosophical, and this thinking appears through metaphors that are evenly distributed throughout her literature.

A Maze Me is an incredible set of poems and your life will not be complete until you have read this.

Color Me Amazed
This book by the sublime Naomi Shihab Nye is subtitled "Poems for Girls," but I don't think that this charming book should be restricted to one gender. I certainly chuckled, oohed, and aahed a number of times as I read through it. (Still, it WOULD make a great gift for the young girl in your life.)

Shihab Nye has a generosity of spirit that shines through her poetry like a twinkle in a kindly aunt's eye. Here is a little somethin'-somethin' to whet your appetite (excerpted from "Ringing"):

"Now, when I hear an ice-cream truck chiming its bells, I fly
Even if I'mnot hungry -- just to watch it pass.

Mailmen with their chime of dogs barking
up and down the street are magic too.

They are all bringers.
I want to be a bringer.

I want to drive a truck full of eggplants down the smallest street. I want to be someone making music with my coming."

The Poet in All of Us
Once I read Naomi Shihab Nye's introduction, I felt I was about to turn the pages of something very special.I was right.This unique collection of poems gives the reader a chance to look at familiar life in a new way.Full of nostalgia, intimate and humorous, tender and tearful, this is a book I would love to underline and memorize.I look forward to writing in my own notebook, trying to find the poet in me. ... Read more

Product Description
When Sitti, an American girl, goes to visit her grandmother in her small Middle Eastern village on the other side of the world, they don't need words to understand each other's heart. "A thoughtful, loving affirmation of the bonds that transcend language barriers, time zones, and national borders."--School Library Journal. Full color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Long distance grandparent
This book is very touching, especially for children who have a grandparent that lives far away.It also helps children & grown-ups learn more about people from a different culture.I highly recommend this book, as would my 3 year-old attentive daughter. I've also given this as a gift to a 6 year-old and she really enjoyed it as well.

.
I admit, I don't know too much about Palestinian culture aside from a highschool MUN event, but I was touched and appreciative of this book that combines modern and old culture as well as that wonderful bond of sisterhood between generations. The illustrations are gorgeous.

Sitti's Secrets
Sitti's Secrets presents a loving long-distance relationship between a little girl and her presumably Palestinian grandmother.

Sitti's Secrets good for all ages
I read this book to my 7th graders when we studied Palestine and Isreal in social studies class. It touches on many issues such as differences and similarities, cultures, environment, and politics. I recommend it to all that are trying to make our world smaller and wiser.

Nice story line.
My kids liked it and the message is beautiful.The ending is somewhat lost on younger children but may be a good discussion book for third grade and up. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

a great storyteller and painter of picturess
Nye is amazing, both in person and in her books.She is kind and quiet and elogent and haunting with her words.Her poem, Next Time, is my favorite.It's simple and short and one of those poems that is much bigger than it's words.I find it repeating in my head from time to time.Nye is gifted and generous and should be appluaded greatly for her work.

Greatest contemporary American literature ...
I got this book from a penpal with a personal dedication of Naomi Shihab Nye herself. My friend wrote me, that the author was quite excited, that a guy from Germany will read her poetry. Well, the guy from Germany did read it for several times now and this book becomes better and better the more you read it. I hoped to meet Naomi Nye at Madhatter's Tea House in her home town San Antonio, Texas in October 1996. Unfortunately I didn't meet her there, so now I hope, she'll read these words of Kai from Germany! ... Read more

Product Description

"Tell me how to live so many lives at once ..."

Fowzi, who beats everyone at dominoes; Ibtisam, who wanted to be a doctor; Abu Mahmoud, who knows every eggplant and peach in his West Bank garden; mysterious Uncle Mohammed, who moved to the mountain; a girl in a red sweater dangling a book bag; children in velvet dresses who haunt the candy bowl at the party; Baba Kamalyari, age 71; Mr. Dajani and his swans; Sitti Khadra, who never lost her peace inside.

Maybe they have something to tell us.

Naomi Shihab Nye has been writing about being Arab-American, about Jerusalem, about the West Bank, about family all her life. These new and collected poems of the Middle East -- sixty in all -- appear together here for the first time.

Customer Reviews (11)

What a wonderful book
This little - and I mean little, the book is pint sized - book is absolutely amazing. She is a wonderful poet, and, for someone whose life has been touched so much by the Middle-East and particularly by the pain in all the conflicts,she really expresses the emotions that all of us feel.

I have preformed four or five of the poems in this book at competitions, and one of the things I love is that, for the most part, all her poems were originally in English. So you get to see and preform the simple beauty in the words along with the meaning. This is lost in other poets, such as Yehudah Amichai or Mahmoud Darwish, who originally wrote in Hebrew/Arabic.

Just a note for anyone who cares: there's a beautiful poem called "Jerusalem" in this book that's also published all over the internet. If you buy "Words under Words," she has another poem called "Jerusalem," but it's a TOTALLY different poem. Still a good collection though :]

i have not recieved this book! it is past the shipping date!!!
i have no idea why or how, but i ordered this book for a class, over a month ago, i have not received it, oh AND my class already finished with the book.

if the person i bought this book from reads this, you had better return my money.

i would NOT RECOMMEND this seller.

Verses about love and longing for lost and imaginary homelands
Naomi Shihab Nye's collection contains sixty poems about Palestinians and Middle East, about love and longing for lost and imaginary homelands. The poems are fragrant with spices of the Middle-East, flavors of figs and olives, and served with a tenderness of a grandmother talking to a grandchild, a five year old to his mother, an aged man to his beloved he unites with after a lifetime. In the world torn by religious and political conflicts, these poems represent an oasis of hope. It is the humanity of these verses, that leaps from the page like the memory of nineteen varieties of gazelle described in the title poem.

The poems assume special significance in the context of post-September 11 world, for they contain a platter of understanding and taste served to assuage our need to be comforted. The solace is brought in by the mint green language of a poet born to a Palestinian father and an American mother. Perhaps the unique identity of Nye offers her perspectives about the Arab East and American West which her creativity has shaped into a narrative that offers respite from the reactionary rhetoric that dominates our daily thinking and actions.

As an Indian residing in America, I sense a brotherhood with Nye's characters, who chase the voices, flavors, visions, music and familiarity that maps their nostalgic world. As a poet with Indian heart and Americanized mind, I find Nye, like Agha Shahid Ali, present our cultural and emotional duality in a lyric that is both powerful and poignant. The tapestry of inheritance of the East is laced with tales quite unknown in the West, and this wealth can nourish many a chasms that exist between the material and spiritual. It is voices like Amichai's and Nye's that remind us that the transcendental humanity within us can help us to outlive the wounds inflicted by the fanatic forces everywhere.

Insight You Will Not GetIn Prose
Hopkins said that poetry is an out shaping of the interiority of human experience. This is certainly true here. There are realities that are at the heart of human experience that cannot be captured in prose. The heart of mush of the experience of Palestinian people can be found in these poems. For those who want to understand beyond the linear logic of prose and the bias of news, this book is a good place to start.

Good Service!
I order many used books through Amazon, and have been very pleased with all the vendors I have ordered from. The books come in the condition as advertised, and I receive my orders in a timely manner. I am not only saving a great deal of money, but also time. I find out of print books that are just not available through other means. ... Read more

Product Description
Naomi Shihab Nye is a wandering poet. For over 30 years she has travelled America and the world to read and teach. Born in Missouri to a Palestinian father and an American mother, she grew up in St Louis, Jerusalem and San Antonio. Drawing on her Palestinian-American background, the cultural diversity of Texas, and her experiences in Asia, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Middle East, her poetry 'reflects this textured heritage, which endowed her with an openness to the experiences of others and a sense of continuity across borders' (Bill Moyers). Through her empathetic use of poetic language, she reveals the shining nature of our daily lives, whether writing about local life in her inner-city Texan neighbourhood or the daily rituals of Jews and Palestinians in the war-torn Middle East.Probing the fragile connection between language and meaning, she shows how lives are marked by tragedy, inequity and misunderstanding, and that our best chance of surviving losses and shortcomings is to be acutely aware of the sacred in all things. ... Read more

Product Description

Florrie's favorite coffee shop, with its open mike night, dreamy candles, and cute waiters ... Going?

The mysterious little hut selling fresh lemon ice on the west side of town ... Going?

The boutique featuring clothes you don't find at the mall, allowing you to look like ... an interesting person ... Going?

Individuality. Originality. Quality.

Independence. Opportunity.

Going, going, gone.

What's a girl to do?

Customer Reviews (5)

One of my favorites
This is the only book I've read by her, so I don't know how the books usually are.But I LOVE this book!I've read it about 5 times (like I do with any book I love) and it still doesn't get old.The descriptions in the book are all so good! (When she's talking about food, I always get hungry!!!)Florrie, (the main character), is a cool girl with a purpose.She hates franchises.She doesn't hate the people who work at them, but she hates their whole existence.She hates them because they clear out cool, independent places for their boring, generic crap..One of the great things about this book is it's not your average cause.Usually, it's like 'save the trees' or something, but Nye puts out a message that's often forgot about.Yeah, you're sad when your favorite coffee shop goes out of business, but do you question it?Do you think, huh, I wonder if this place would've survived if Starbucks had never been?I'm sure some people do think about these things.But it's great for this message to be put out there.
Anyways, I love the book, all the characters, and the kind of strange way the author writes.It's kind of a welcome change of pace, and I hope to read other books as well-written as this one.

I loved it
I may be prejudiced, since I am a fan of Nye's poetry.Or I may be prejudiced because I, like the central character in this novel, love old neighborhoods and believe the ubiquitous, china-shipping strip-mall school of architecture is slowly killing our souls.Unlike some previous reviewers, I found this novel to be compelling, so much so that I read almost the entire book in one sitting.In my opinion Nye put just as much gravity, joy and truth in this novel as she does in her poetry.

Not her best work
I agree with the editorial review that says the book feels more purposeful than compelling. The idea of fighting to save small businesses is a good base for a book, but it dominates all aspects of this work. The characters do seem rather flat, with what dimension they have thrown in to try to help the reader ignore their unnatural single-mindedness. I became tired of the activist rhetoric at times, and Nye's creations seemed a bit fake upon close examination - who says that "teenage activists" have to conform to unusual styles of dress, be superartsy, and have strange names? What carries this book along is an honest love of cool little neighborhood businesses, and the tenderness with which the author renders them.

Oh, spare me...
I hate preachy books, and this one takes preachyness to this whole new strange level. Apperently big buisnesses are horrible,and everyone who works for them is too. And Florrie's such an idealist and single minded there's very little realism. The book loves to blow everything out of perportion.

The names are also annoying. Florrie, True, Zip, Ramsey, etc, it's as if the author decided that creativity was important. The author also seems afraid of using normal human speech.

The cconversations aree unrealistic and stiff. I honestly finished this book just so i could review it.

I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin deep. That's deep enough. What do you want, an adorable spleen?
-This qoute comes from a relativily famous person.

Love, love,love this book!!!!!
This book captures your attention from the first page.I was instantly charmed by Florrie, the main character.She is an idealistic young girl with a cause.She, as her grandfather before her, is saddened by the loss of so many small businesses in her neighborhood.Her neighborhood just happens to be downtown San Antonio.Nye describes this city so beautifully that I find myself wanting to move there.Florrie's cause is to boycott all of the large franchise establishments, hoping to help the small businesses stay afloat.The characters are engaging, the setting is charming, and Nye's writing is lovely.I thoroughly enjoyed this book - and I'm an adult with children in the target reading age! ... Read more

Product Description
Between heaven and Texas, there's a sky that goes on forever. On cloudless mornings after a norther has blown through, the sky is such a perfect cobalt blue that you forget the "between" and know that heaven is Texas, or Texas is heaven--it doesn't really matter which. But most days there are clouds between Texas and heaven--puffy white clouds that set us dreaming on lazy summer days or roiling storm clouds that unleash lightning, tornadoes, and hail. The sky between heaven and Texas is a stage for drama more often than not, just like the lives we live below it. Perhaps that's why we're always looking up. In this beautiful book, noted photographer Wyman Meinzer revisits the place that inspires his most creative work--the Texas sky. His photographs capture the vast dramas that occur between heaven and Texas--rainstorms that blot out mountain ranges, lightning strikes that dazzle a night-black prairie, trains of clouds that rumble for miles over wheat fields, sunsets that lave the whole wide sky in crimson, gold, and pink. Meinzer's striking images reveal that in the sky above, no less than on the land below, endless variety is commonplace in Texas. Joining Meinzer in this celebration of the Texas sky are two fine writers, Sarah Bird and Naomi Shihab Nye. In her wonderfully personal introduction, Sarah Bird describes growing up as a dedicated cloud-watcher who, after several years among the cotton candy clouds and cool fogs of Japan, was shocked and exhilarated by the limitless hot skies of Texas. Naomi Nye has chosen poems by twenty-six Texas poets, including herself, which explore a spectrum of emotion about the sky above Texas and the weather in our lives beneath it. Together, photographs, memoir, and poems create a lasting connection with the power and presence of what Meinzer calls "that vast frontier and ocean above"--the sky between heaven and Texas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Texas is Heaven
And here is a book reflecting that:superb poetry, lovely photography, what a way to while away an afternoon.

Dazzling book of incredible photographs and delightful poetry
I had to add this review to clear any misunderstandings resulting from the only other review here, at this time, which, perhaps unintentionally, makes this book sound like a book of photographs.
This beautiful hardcover book of impeccable quality, is also a book of poetry, edited by the highly accomplished Naomi Shihab Nye.
The poems are coupled with the dazzling photographs in a dance that celebrate the mystery of life, under these Texas skies.

Photographs of the Sky
This book is unusal because it is photographs of the sky as it goes through different types of weather conditions.The photographs are beautiful and faith building. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

My favorite
This is my favorite of Naomi Nye's books.She has such a gift for describing human experiences and some of her stories make me cry and laugh at the same time.

A Book for All Ages
Naomi Shihab Nye is a bridge-builder.She reaches out to those of other cultures, and always expresses understanding of those sometimes forgotten in our society.A good book for all ages!

never in a hurry to review
Possibly the best book in this genre.Nye's essays are thought provoking because they could happen in any of our lives.If you are going to be stranded on an island, take this book with you.

Wonderful book!
Her essays read like poetry. This book is wonderful ... Read more