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    The Turtle of Oman
    The Turtle of Oman
    The Turtle of Oman
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Turtle of Oman

    Written by Naomi Shihab Nye

    Narrated by Peter Ganim

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Praised by the Horn Book as “both quiet and exhilarating,” this novel by the acclaimed poet and National Book Award Finalist Naomi Shihab Nye follows Aref Al-Amri as he says goodbye to everything and everyone he loves in his hometown of Muscat, Oman, as his family prepares to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan. This book was awarded a 2015 Middle East Book Award, was named a Notable Book by the American Library Association, and includes extra material by the author. 

    Aref Al-Amri does not want to leave Oman. He does not want to leave his elementary school, his friends, or his beloved grandfather, Siddi. He does not want to live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his parents will go to graduate school. His mother is desperate for him to pack his suitcase, but he refuses. Finally, she calls Siddi for help. But rather than pack, Aref and Siddi go on a series of adventures. They visit the camp of a thousand stars deep in the desert, they sleep on Siddi's roof, they fish in the Gulf of Oman and dream about going to India, and they travel to the nature reserve to watch the sea turtles. At each stop, Siddi finds a small stone that he later slips into Aref's suitcase—mementos of home.

    Naomi Shihab Nye's warmth, attention to detail, and belief in the power of empathy and connection shines from every page. Features black-and-white spot art and decorations by Betsy Peterschmidt.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateAug 26, 2014
    ISBN9780062345608
    Author

    Naomi Shihab Nye

    Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and she spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. She earned her BA from Trinity University in San Antonio. Naomi Shihab Nye describes herself as a “wandering poet.” She has spent more than forty years traveling the country and the world, leading writing workshops and inspiring students of all ages. Naomi Shihab Nye is the author and/or editor of more than thirty books. Her books of poetry for adults and young people include 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East (a finalist for the National Book Award); A Maze Me: Poems for Girls; Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners; Honeybee (winner of the Arab American Book Award); Cast Away: Poems of Our Time (one of the Washington Post’s best books of 2020); Come with Me: Poems for a Journey; and Everything Comes Next: Collected and New Poems. Her other volumes of poetry include Red Suitcase; Words Under the Words; Fuel; Transfer; You & Yours; Mint Snowball; and The Tiny Journalist. Her collections of essays include Never in a Hurry and I’ll Ask You Three Times, Are You Okay?: Tales of Driving and Being Driven. Naomi Shihab Nye has edited nine acclaimed poetry anthologies, including This Same Sky: Poems from Around the World; The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems from the Middle East; Time You Let Me In: 25 Poets Under 25; and What Have You Lost? Her picture books include Sitti’s Secrets, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, and her acclaimed fiction includes Habibi; The Turtle of Oman (winner of the Middle East Book Award) and its sequel, The Turtle of Michigan (honorable mention for the Arab American Book Award). Naomi Shihab Nye has been a Lannan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Witter Bynner Fellow (Library of Congress). She has received a Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, four Pushcart Prizes, the Robert Creeley Award, and "The Betty," from Poets House, for service to poetry, and numerous honors for her children’s literature, including two Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards. In 2011 Nye won the Golden Rose Award given by the New England Poetry Club, the oldest poetry-reading series in the country. Her work has been presented on National Public Radio on A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer’s Almanac. She has been featured on two PBS poetry specials, including The Language of Life with Bill Moyers, and she also appeared on NOW with Bill Moyers. She has been affiliated with the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin for twenty years and served as poetry editor at the Texas Observer for twenty years. In 2019–20 she was the poetry editor for the New York Times Magazine. She is Chancellor Emeritus for the Academy of American Poets and laureate of the 2013 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature, and in 2017 the American Library Association presented Naomi Shihab Nye with the 2018 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award. In 2018 the Texas Institute of Letters named her the winner of the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement. She was named the 2019–21 Young People's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. In 2020 she was awarded the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement by the National Book Critics Circle. In 2021 she was voted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Naomi Shihab Nye is professor of creative writing-poetry at Texas State University.

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    Reviews for The Turtle of Oman

    4/5

    35 ratings12 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Distraught at the idea of leaving his home in Muscat, Oman behind, and spending three years with his parents in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Aref Al-Amri does everything he can to avoid preparing for the trip. His mother, busy getting them packed in order to join Aref's father in the US, doesn't have time to address his profound sense of loss, so Aref spends his last week with Sidi, his grandfather. Together the two have many adventures, taking a trip into the desert interior, where they stay at the Night of a Thousand Stars camp and meet a trained falcon; going to visit the sea turtles at their nesting grounds at Ras al Hadd; and taking a short fishing trip with one of the fisherman in Muscat harbor. Throughout their time together, Sidi patiently listens to his Aref's fears and concerns, gently prompting him to think of his travels in a more positive light.Written by Palestinian-American children's author and poet Naomi Shihab Nye, The Turtle of Oman is the first children's story I have read set in Oman, and is apparently inspired by the author's time teaching at an international school in that country. I found Aref and Sidi both very engaging characters, and thought that the author deftly captured the gentle back-and-forth of their loving and often humorous exchanges. The many lists included throughout - a list maker like his parents, Aref is forever jotting various things down, whether it be facts about turtles or questions about his life - make an interesting contrast to the main text. Although not quite what I expected - I thought the book would focus on Aref's adjustment to life in the US - this was still an engaging tale about a boy facing the common childhood problem of moving to a new place. What makes the story uncommon is the setting and culture from which Aref hails, as there really aren't a superfluity of Arab characters in American children's literature. The narrative focus on Aref's relationship with Sidi gives the tale added pathos and meaning, making this a book that many young readers will appreciate. Recommended to young readers looking for stories about children coping with moving house, or relating to their grandparents, as well as to anyone looking for children's books sets in the Middle East.
    • 4/5
      The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye The book is written for children and the story is really cute. What I found most appealing was the universal nature of hating change, particularly changes as big as moving to another country so far away for any reason. Aref has normal and understandable concerns about moving from his home country. His parents have normal and understandable reasons to want to make the move happen.
      I've seen stories about Americans moving to other countries and it was fun to experience a story where America was the strange and dreaded destination. It's not even America that's the problem. It's the leaving in general.
      I also really love Sidi and his way of dealing with this issue. I love the way he seems to revel in his country and in spending time with his grandson. I love the way he talks about the turtles laying eggs in the sand and the way Aref's favorite animal brings into focus what is expected of him in this moving adventure.
      I listened to the audiobook, read by Peter Ganim, and was only 4 hours long. It seems like a perfect length for a book rated for this age group. This would be a great book for middle grade readers, especially for schools to add as recommended reading at that age. It reminds us that moving and hating to move and everything that worries us about it are completely normal and fairly similar. We aren't so different after all and someone is looking at our hometown the same way that we are looking at theirs.
    • 3/5
      Aref's family is moving from Oman to the United States. Aref must decide what to pack, but he just does not want to go. He loves his home, his grandfather, his neighborhood.
    • 3/5
      In a few days, Aref and his mother will join his father who has flown ahead to Michigan where the family will live for three years while Aref's parents attend graduate school. While still in Oman, Aref's mother urges him to begin packing. But Aref isn't ready to leave the country and home he's known all his life, and he worries about being the new kid in Michigan. While his mother handles final details his grandfather Sidi takes him on adventures. Aref and Sidi go to the beach, take a road trip to camp in the desert, and go for a sail with a fisherman. All the while Aref cherishes the familiar and the time spent with his grandfather. The book is a love letter to home and family ties, enlivened by Aref's sprightly personality.
    • 4/5
      A sweet, beautifully written story that honors the bond between grandfather and grandson.
    • 5/5
      In my opinion this is a great book! I would recommend this book as a read aloud for a 4th or 5th grade classroom. It was a great multicultural book that could be used for multiple reasons. It was a great way for children to see how other children from other countries live and value their customs. This book gave great details to paint the scenes that Aref treasured about his country. Not only was it a great story line, but it could be used in science lessons to teach children about the cycle of life for the sea turtles. All around, I would give this book five stars!
    • 5/5
      Special, touching book about the relationship between a boy and his grandfather, and his love for his country and nature.
    • 3/5
      Though the story wasn't as dynamic as I hoped it could be, it was a really nice tale of coping with imminent upheaval in a child's life. I particularly liked the grandfather as well as the overall atmosphere of the book. I need to visit Muscat sometime.

      Audio note: it was --really weird-- to have the same reader for this as The Shining Girls. It took me a while to really separate this narrative from that of a gruesome serial killer tale.
    • 4/5
      I learned more about Oman in this book than I ever expected, and found the characters charming. I kept expecting Aref to actually journey to the US, so I was surprised when that did not happen in the book, but it was a beautiful picture of a bittersweet situation.
    • 3/5
      Cute and quick read. Having been to Muscat, Oman recently gave this book a special meaning.
    • 5/5
      A sweet touching affectionate story. Listened in one sitting. Highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      I love the story and the way the narrator presented it made it more fun and exciting.