Sitti's Secrets

by Naomi Shihab Nye

Book Overview

Mona's grandmother, her Sitti, lives in a small Palestinian village on the other side of the earth. Once, Mona went to visit her. The couldn't speak each other's language, so they made up their own.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689817061
• ISBN13: 9780689817069
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Aladdin Publishing Company (CO)
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.7" x 10.2"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

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.

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.

Connecting Generations and Cultures

I knew I'd love this book before I received it just from its description. It tells the story, based on the true-life experience of the author, of Mona, a little girl brought up in America in a Palestinian family who visits her parents' homeland in Palestine. She and her grandma (siti in Arabic) grow close although they do not speak the same language. I felt sad that this little girl had not received the rich gift of the language of her heritage. I taught my children to speak Spanish as their first language though I am American and we live in the USA. It is a gift I could not deny them as their fathers are of Hispanic origin. I never wanted them to find themselves in such a situation as little Mona, longing to share things with her distant family but struggling because of the barrier of language. With her grandma and with the neighborhood Arab children, Mona finds her own way of communicating and learns that sometimes it is not necessary to share a language to be able to share special moments with others. This book depicts the peaceful life of a family in Palestine amid the turmoil that they have endured, but very subtly. When the little girl returns home, she writes a letter to the American president expressing her wish for peace and adds that she knows her grandma wishes the same. Each night, as she falls asleep, she connects with her grandma who she misses by thinking of the sun that leaves her side of the world now warming the land where her grandma lives. I wish we could all feel a connection with every human being on this earth as being just a sunrise away.

A Jewel of a story

I bought Sitti's Secret about 10 years ago in D.C. I have read it to every one of my four children's kindergarten classes, crying each time. It shows the love of family and the misunderstanding of the world. The art work and the deepness of words are outstanding. I just read it to my youngest child's class and the emotions swelled again.

More than just a childrens book

This is an amazing book. While superficially it is a gentle childrens tale about a girl living in two cultures, it is, on another level, tremendously emotive. I am not given to being affected emotionally by poetry or films, but when reading this book to my daughter for the first time, I choked up halfway through and was unable to finish it until after I took a break. It is not sad,but really works at a deep level to evoke long dormant emotions. A truly 'magical' book-great illustrations, too.We have bought twenty or more copies of this book for family, friends, libraries...