This accessible, exquisite novel shines with gentle humor and explores themes of moving, family, nature, and immigration. At each stop, Siddi finds a small stone that he later slips into Aref’s suitcase-mementos of home. 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, they travel to the nature reserve to watch the sea turtles. But rather than pack, Aref and Siddi go on a series of adventures. His mother is desperate for him to pack his suitcase-but he refuses. He does not want to live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his parents will go to graduate school. He does not want to leave his elementary school, his friends, or his beloved grandfather, Siddi. This is Naomi Shihab Nye’s first novel set in the Middle East since her acclaimed Habibi.Īref Al-Amri does not want to leave Oman. In this brief novel, told in short chapters by the acclaimed poet and National Book Award finalist Naomi Shihab Nye, Aref Al-Amri says good-bye to everything and everyone he loves in his hometown of Muscat, Oman, as his family prepares to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

If (('gtm=off') const isAppRedirect = ('appRedirect') Ĭonst isAndroid = /Android/i.test(erAgent) Ĭonst isIphone = /iPhone|iPad|iPod/i.test(erAgent) The Turtle of Michigan is a great choice for reading aloud and a must-have for younger middle grade readers.

Carrying a suitcase and memories of Oman, Aref experiences the excitement and nervousness that accompanies moving to a new home. While he does miss his grandfather, his Sidi, Aref knows that his home in Oman will always be waiting for him.Īward-winning author Naomi Shihab Nye’s highly anticipated sequel to The Turtle of Oman explores immigration, family, and what it means to feel at home. Aref makes a friend on an airplane, wonders what Michigan will be like, and starts school in the United States. A wonderful pick for young middle grade readers and fans of Other Words for Home and Billy Miller Makes a Wish.Īref is excited for his journey to reunite with his father in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Turtle of Michigan is a deft and accessible novel that follows a young boy named Aref as he travels from Muscat, Oman, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and adjusts to a new life and a new school in the United States. The stand-alone companion to National Book Award Finalist and beloved poet Naomi Shihab Nye’s The Turtle of Oman.

The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye