Come With Me : Poems for a Journey

by Naomi Shihab Nye, Dan Yaccarino (Illustrator)

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? Winner 2000 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Juvenile, Cultural

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 22, 2000

About the author

Naomi Shihab Nye was born to a Palestinian father and an American mother. During her high school years, she lived in Ramallah in Jordan, the Old City in Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas, where she later received her B.A. in English and world religions from Trinity University. She is a novelist, poet and songwriter.

She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas. She was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2010.

Reviews

[Edita · Rating 3 out of 5]

To the quiet minute between two noisy minutes
It's always waiting ready to welcome us
Tucked under the wing of the day
I'll be there
Where will you be?

*
Everything we thought we knew
is different here, and just as true.
[...]
Who is the person I'd find again?
Which eyes will I remember?
*
Was everything always moving to begin with?
You know the earth was—secretly.
And the air, and the rivers inside your body
that you don't even feel.
Are you a wheel spinning
in space?

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The many facets of traveling are explored in the 16 poems in this collection. Nye’s non-rhyming poems peel away layer after layer of meaning to reveal insightful truths about planning, going, and returning from a journey. Some journeys take the reader across space and time, while others look at journeys of the heart and soul. Some journeys involve great movement, while others are stationary. Yaccarino’s illustrations create a stylistic world that visually represents the contradictory, yet complementary nature of the poems.

The poems in this collection will have readers taking a closer look at the journeys, big and small, they take every day. Nye is a very observant poet who is able to convey large ideas and thoughts in small actions. Her poems urge readers to listen harder, look closer, think deeper. Many of her poems are empowering and uplifting; they acknowledge difficulties, but illustrate the importance of forging ahead with confidence. Yaccarino’s collage and mixed-media illustrations are more textured and abstract than his usual picture book style, which uses solid shapes and bright, smooth colors. Instead the visible brush strokes are irregular and loose. Yaccarino uses stencils and spattered paint to create silhouettes of people, airplanes, covered wagons, and other shapes. Corrugated cardboard, paper, and wood with the grain showing are used in the illustrations.

Full Review from Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Cathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful picture book with NSN’s gorgeous poetry.

[Amy Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nye is a master at her art--her poetry is so beautiful and subtle and so riveting that I can't do anything but to applaud it.  Paired with Yaccarino's collages, the poetry takes on a new life: everyday objects become faces, hands, emotions.  And emotions are what get me--especially in my favorite poem "Torn Map".  There's many people you can meet on a journey, there's many speeds a journey can have, and many destinations.  But so much of what a journey consists on depends on the perspective, and that's exactly what this book gives you: perspective.

Review cross-listed here!

[Gladys White Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book of poems about experiencing the world through the eyes of a child. Lovely art to accompany it. My 9 year old read this for homework and we walked through each poem together. I feel like the work might be better for middle schoolers as I felt the poetry was a little more sophisticated, but it’s a beautiful children’s collection nonetheless.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful pairing of poems and illustrations. I enjoyed the book as a whole, but will pull a few stand out poems to bring to class discussion and future reading like: Come with me, Somebody’s story, Courage, and Torn map.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite poets whose work I usually savor however the format of this book (large as a child's picture book) and the style of illustration (fitting for a children's book) disrupted the experience

[Cathy Sheetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poems all about journeys. This was a gift to me before we moved.

Could use with lesson on poetry in 4th through 6th grade. Classroom library for 3rd through 6th grade.

[Joy Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how the poet honors fellow poets, sharing a variety of levels during this live reading. The recording is non high quality but is still effective.

[Kelli McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come with Me: Poems for a Journey written by Naomi Shihab Nye is a collection of short poems that revolve around the idea of a journey. I really enjoyed some of the poems, for example my favorite poem in this collection was called "Spring Returns To Us". I appreciated this one the most, maybe because I am sick of winter, but also because the poem was broken up into little sections discussing "sun to skin" or "air to ear" and went in short detail of how spring relates to the senses. On the other hand, there were some poems in here that I did not enjoy as much, such as This poetry book would be used for independent reading during quiet time or during a childs free time. I would recommend this poetry book to third graders because they would appreciate the bright and different arrangement of colors on every page. The poems were also simple and sweet so a third grader should be able to stay focused without getting bored during a poem. The poetry book does offer some diverse perspectives as it talks about traveling to different places, which could be eye opening for a child.

[Rian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: This is a delightfully illustrated book of poems about motion, traveling, and being still.

Response: I had read "19 Varieties of Gazelle" by Naomi Shihab Nye for the class last term and, while I fell "new" to reading poetry, I instantly loved those poems. I felt similarly about this book, although it is, in some ways, the opposite of "19 Vaireties": that one is written for older readers, and it is very clearly about her own cultural background, many of the poems about her relatives in Paletine; this book, "Come With Me," is a picture book of shorter poems for younger readers and they are culturally neutral, more about the motion of words than about any one cultural background.
A teacher could use this book in a poetry unit or could pull out individual poems to compliment other themes of travel, journeys, maps, or motion.

POETRY

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone praised this poetry book and I was able to get it from my library. Nye has that extraordinary way with words, with simple observations that make one say "exactly right." These poems are about traveling, "for a journey" as the title says. They ask where, and take us there, to Tío Pete's, about mapping, images of someone else's story, clever entries to imagining. Naomi Nye writes we are under "the wing of the day", observes how long it takes to get through first grade (twenty years) and more about growing up, "a wheel spinning in space". My favorite is the introduction to the visitor Tío Pete, At the end, "He sat in a chair and made a different country there." There is a lovely grouping of verses welcoming spring, as in "Sun to skin: May I come in? Did you forget me?" It's a clever and creative book of poetry.

[Janet Squires · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nye invite readers to join her in a journey through worlds both concrete and fanciful in this collection of 16 free-verse poems. Each turn of the page produces a new opportunity to be surprised, soothed, startled or delighted. The Observer offers the quiet contemplation to be found in the simple study of an inching caterpillar, a drifting cloud, or the glint of sunlight on a blue glass. In contrast, Where Are We Going is an energetic exploration of glittering cityscapes filled with the hustle of crowds.


Yaccarino's bright collage illustrations are a rich addition that produce their own sense of wonder and imagination while capturing the flavor of the text.

[mlb]

a book of poems by the author about travel and journeys (literal and figurative). some poems are comparing travel by covered wagon and travel by plane, and others talk about the journey of emotions (being mad at mom but getting over it) the journey of growing from infant to adult (in "spinning"--one of my favorites) and imaginary travel (in "torn map" about wanting to be closer to someone who is far away). great for use in the classroom--poems are simple enough for most 4th+ graders to understand and appreciate. they range in length and style.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun books of poems about different kinds of journeys (like going to a new place or the journey that is life). The art is a lot of fun too. It made an enjoyable and quick read in the car with my nieces, and it would be great to come back to again.

[Kayla Heenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was filled with a few poems that were perfect for traveling. It would be for the upper grade levels but it was for sure a fun read. I would not say it is a must have but it would be great for the students to browse through, or I could read aloud some poems from this story as well.

[Karima · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author loves life and loves words which she and award-winning artist Dan Yaccarino demonstrate again and again in these 16 poems.
Recommended for children 5 - 10 years old. Sounds right, but of course they are for all of us.

A favorite of the moment: Envelopes. pgs. 28/9
Also Torn Map pg. 32

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry.

[rinabeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were really cute poems! I would definitely read these poems to children and I think they would like them.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realy loved the art in this, but some of the passages where lost on me. Worth looking at.:)

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked 2 of the 16 poems in this collection for young readers.

[Aiesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

to live a journey

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a children's picture book, this works wonderfully to introduce children to poetry and allow children to think about the world around them.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

11/30/06

[Kenta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought a lot of the poems had deep meanings, and I especially liked the last poem called "Torn Map".

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t realize this was a children’s book when I put a hold on it. Only connected with the last poem.