Although most of us are stuck at home, kids can still learn about different countries and cultures with the help of the Pasadena Public Library.
On Friday, Jan. 15, the library invites kids in third to fifth grade to join them for “Read Around the World,” during which author Naomi Shihab Nye discusses her book, “The Turtle of Oman,” as well as facts about the sultanate on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula – one of the oldest independent states in the Arab world.
Nye is a poet and anthologist and the acclaimed author of “Habibi: A Novel” and “Sitti’s Secrets,” a picture book, which was based on her own experiences visiting her beloved Sitti in Palestine.
Her book, “19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East,” was a finalist for the National Book Award.
In “The Turtle of Oman,” Aref, a third-grader who lives in Muscat, Oman, refuses to pack his suitcase and prepare to move to Michigan, so his mother asks for help from his grandfather, his Siddi. Grandpa takes Aref around the country, storing up memories he can carry with him to a new home.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri to a Palestinian father and an American mother, Nye began composing her first poem at the age of 6 and has published or contributed to more than 30 volumes. Her works include poetry, young-adult fiction, picture books and novels.
Nye spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from Trinity University in San Antonio. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work, including the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Book Critics Circle, the Lavan Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Carity Randall Prize, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry award, the Robert Creeley Prize, and many Pushcart Prizes.
She has received fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and she was a Witter Bynner Fellow. From 2010 to 2015, Nye served as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
In 2018, she was awarded the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Texas Institute of Letters.
Nye is the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate.
Kids participating in the “Read Around the World” event are advised to read the book ahead of time; unlimited copies of the eBook and audiobook are available on hoopla, and paperbacks can be requested for curbside pickup through this link.
To register, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/library/calendar and click the January 15 tab. The event is at 3 p.m.
For more information, email AnnMarie Kolakowski at akolakowski@cityofpasadena.net.
