Sitti's Secrets

by Naomi Shihab Nye, Nancy Carpenter (Illustrator)

A beautiful picture book about family and love across distance.

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. They learned about each other’s worlds, and they discovered each other’s secrets. Then it was time for Mona to go back home, back to the other side of the earth. But even though there were millions of miles and millions of people between them, they remained true neighbors forever.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Cultural, Childrens, Middle East, Realistic Fiction, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

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

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, I wanted to like this more than I did. And, as of now, Goodreads members have rated it 50% 5 stars, 32% 4 stars, and only 17% 3 stars, no ratings of 1 or 2 stars only. So, I’m in a minority in my lack of enthusiasm.

I thought that the illustrations were lovely.

I enjoyed learning a bit about life “on the other side of the world” and thought that information, about the earth and the cultural differences, was interesting and informative for those who don’t know about them.

But the story was so heavy handed. I want peace too, but the way the wish for peace is communicated here irritated me. The gentle story did a better job of promoting peace than did the letter at the end.

Also, perhaps the visit was short, and the girl does learn some words in her grandmother’s language, but I was shocked at how little she could communicate with words. Her father is fluent in the language so I would have hoped he’d have taught her some of it, especially anticipating the upcoming visit. And, given how easily children soak up foreign languages, I’d have guessed that even with a short visit, she’d be using language more.

It is a very lovely story about a girl and her grandmother and their love for each other. They live a great distance apart from one another and it’s sweet how well their visit goes and how they hold love in their hearts for one another even when distance separates them. I love the descriptions of the food, the marble games, and that wonderful handmade lemon purse.

The author appears to dedicate this book to her grandmother, who was 105 years old at the time of the book’s publication/book’s dedication.

I read this for the Children's Books group here at Goodreads. It’s the alternate selection/sixth optional book for the Picture-Book club for the month of March, the theme being Outstanding Women. I don’t know that these two, woman and girl, are outstanding, but they’re representative of many and strong in their own ways.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sitti's Secrets" is a touching and beautifully told story about a young American girl and her grandmother who lives in Palestine--a gentle message of love that transcends generations and international borders, and of the importance of peace. The illustrations are wonderful--full of texture, vitality and gentleness.

The only aspect of the book with which I am not completely satisfied is the letter that the little girl writes to the President at the end of the book. When she returns from visiting her grandmother, the girl sees the news on TV (probably discussing prejudice/fears about certain types of Palestinians)and wants to convey how much she loves her Palestinian grandma and how if the president could know her, he would like her, too. She and her grandmother "vote for peace." I love the IDEA of the letter, and of a child taking a proactive role in government and society, but it just seems a bit out of place with the rest of the story. I think that the story of the love and friendship between the grandma and granddaughter (despite their different cultures and countries) is strong enough to convey the message. Nevertheless, I was truly touched by this tale.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Mona and her father travel back to his childhood home in Palestine - no specific location is mentioned, but given the rural setting, and lack of crowding, I'm going to assume it is in the West Bank, rather than the Gaza Strip - the young American girl finds herself warmly welcomed into her extended family, forming a particularly strong bond with her Sitti, or grandmother. As she and Sitti bake together, find a way to communicate despite the language barrier, and share some private moments, Mona begins to sense her deep connection to the older woman, and to feel that she has been let in on a secret. This connectedness will stay with her, even when she returns to her home in America, "on the other side of the world."

A lovely evocation of family, and a gentle exploration of the importance of cultural roots, Sitti's Secrets is one of the few picture-books I have encountered, depicting a Palestinian or Palestinian-American child, and - in addition to its own inherent merit as a story - is very welcome, for that reason. I'm glad that the Picture Book Club to which I belong chose it as an alternate selection, for our March "Outstanding Women" theme, as I might not have picked it up, otherwise.

That said, like some other readers, I was rather uncomfortable with the insertion, late in the story, of Mona's letter to the President, assuring him that if he (and other Americans) knew her Sitti, they would like her. This discomfort did not arise from any feeling that children's books should not address political themes - clearly, they often do, and often quite effectively. Nor did I object to the obvious subtext of the letter - that Arabs in general, and Palestinians in particular, have sometimes been demonized here in America; and that American policy has often been biased in favor of Israel, - because I feel that this subtext is truthful.

No, what I object to, with regards to Mona's letter, is its abrupt intrusion into a narrative that does not prepare the young reader for it. No mention is made, in Sitti's Secrets, of the difficulties of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation. No mention is made of American foreign policy, or of American perceptions, with regard to the region. So the letter feels out of place - addressing something that the young reader may, or may not, be aware of. I feel that Nye should either have made her narrative more overtly political, in order to explain the letter, or she should have been satisfied with a story whose focus was familial.

In any case, Sitti's Secrets is still a very worthwhile book, providing a much-needed portrait of Palestinians as human beings, just like you, me, and (presumably) the children reading it. The beautiful illustrations by Nancy Carpenter add to the sense of wonder and discovery. All in all, with the obvious exception of the letter, I recommend it!

[Rebecca Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Habibi, this book is based on Nye's childhood, and there are many parallels between the two books, making it seem like a prequel for younger audiences. It tells the story of a little girl whose grandmother lives “on the other side of the earth” (Sitti 3). When she goes to visit her, as in Habibi, they don’t speak the same language so they communicate through the girl’s father, and with each other in their own language of miming. She plays marbles with her cousins, where they didn’t need words to play. When she gets back home, she writes a letter to the president, emphasizing the humanity of her grandmother. She asserts that, “if the people of the United States could meet Sitti, they’d like her, for sure,” and ends by telling him that both she and her grandmother vote for peace (27). Though it doesn’t directly mention Palestine in the text, its Library of Congress Classification lists it with the subject of Palestinian Arabs—Israel. It can make a good book for children on this subject as well as to combat the general American assumption that all Muslims are terrorists. Its overall message is that of acceptance, that people even across the earth are still people. This is a picture book and probably more first and second grade, but could be used with these other books in studies of Palestine and the attempts its people make at some sense of normalcy.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My grandmother lives on the other side of the earth. . ."

Naomi Shihab Nye's picture book about a young girl meeting her grandmother is beautiful in prose as we might imagine it in one of Naomi's poems.

Because they do not speak the same language, the granddaughter and grandmother speak through the girl's father, but Naomi's description of the grandmother's voice is powerful:

"Her voice danced as high as the whistles of birds. Her voice giggled and whooshed like wind going around corners. She had a thousand rivers in her voice."

This little piece of detail could make Sitti's Secrets a powerful mentor text in the writing workshop classroom.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a sweet story about a little girl that visits her grandmother in Palestine.

For some tastes, it may get a little politically correct, as the ending is of the little girl writing a letter to the President of the United States, saying that her grandmother and her both just want peace.

Ages: 5 - 8

#geography #palestine #middleeast #culture

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[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While introducing a young audience to Palestinians, Nye describes the intergenerational divide that immigrants face. My great g'ma was Italian, and I didn't know her well but communication was always a challenge, often funny but also frustrating.

I haven't not yet read this with a child, but when I do, I may skip the ending. Writing to the President is a rather large leap from a gentle story about family. Most young children will not have heard of the Palestinian conflict and are likely to be puzzled about why a child would write this letter.

[Shawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My reading of this was colored by my own upbringing and the recent loss of my own "sitti." I thought this was well-composed for kids age 5+. It's a fantastic introduction to families between cultures. I love that the main character can't speak the same language of the family she is visiting "on the other side of the earth," but that doesn't stop her from communicating or connecting. This is a story about how love isn't contained by boundaries and how home is with family.

[Whitney Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely beautiful. The language is descriptive and captivating and I don't mean for a picture book. As a piece of writing, regardless of the intended audience,the language in this book is superb.
The illustrations are fantastic, as well. The warm colors and rich hues are reminiscent of my short stay in the Middle East. The subtle political message of the book is effortlessly executed and deeply powerful. LOVED IT!

Why don't more books like this exist?

[Sierra Hancuff]

This book is by Naomi Shihab Nye. I am doing an author study on her and I really loved this book. It is a great children's picture book. The book takes you on a journey of two family members who live on different sides of the world. They come together to embrace culture, traditions, and family. The illustrations are beautiful as well.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute book I cry almost every time I read it. Very telling about the struggles of being cross cultured and of living in exile away from your home.

[Elizabeth]

The opening of this book is beautiful -- "My Grandmother lives on the other side of the earth. When I have daylight, she has night. When out sky grows dark, the sun is peeking through her window and brushing the bright lemons on her lemon tree. I think about her when I am going to sleep. 'Your turn!' I say." and the illustration is lovely blue and yellow, Sitti curled up in her bed, a streetlight shining in through an open window, a map projected onto her bedroom wall and her very body.

The next page shows Sitti on a swing, with text "Between us are many miles of land and water. Between us are fish and cities and buses and fields"

I thought the editor had failed to note the missing period at the end of the sentence, but no, the next page continues the sentence, alongside an illustration of a woman carrying a water jug under a clothesline with a valley ahead of her and just visible at the bottom of the illustration, some barbed wire behind her (which I didn't notice the first time, and the more I looked at this illustration and the preceding ones the more I noticed) -- "and presidents and clotheslines and trucks and stop signs and signs that say DO NOT ENTER and grocery stores and deserts and a million trees." and I don't think this would necessarily ping for young USian readers, but I read "signs that say DO NOT ENTER" and I immediately thought of how Palestinians are barred from going so many places because of the occupation. (The story itself never names where exactly Sitti's grandmother lives, but I had read the Library of Congress information, whose Summary was "a young girl describes a visit to see her grandmother in a Palestinian village on the West Bank.")

Nye is a poet, and so the whole story has a bit of a poetic feel to it.

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Edit 5/18/24:

I reread this book in looking for a Palestine picturebook to gift the niblings.  I opted to gift this to M.  I thought the theme of connecting with a grandmother who lives far away would resonate (though her grandparents don't live nearly so far away, and generally share culture and language with her), and it's a gentle introduction to Palestine.

This book is 30 years old, and it still feels as relevant now as it did then.  (It also feels a little weird to me that almost all of the other Palestine picturebooks I've been reading are from the last 4 years -- like Naomi Shihab Nye got one lovely book published and American publishers decided they were set for 25 years.)

I cried at the end.  Our protagonist writes a letter to the president of the United States that includes, "Last night, when I watched the news on TV, I felt worried. [...] Mr. President, I wish you my good luck in your very hard job. I vote for peace. My grandmother votes with me."

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[The author's blurb says, "My own Sitti lived in a Palestinian village in the beautiful green hills north of Jerusalem. I didn't meet her until I was fourteen years old, older than Mona in this book. We lived near her for nearly a year, then went back to see her many times." Her GR bio says, "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"]

At one point early in the story, our protagonist says, "I called her Sitti, which means Grandmother in Arabic. She called me habibi, which means darling." My partner, who is learning Arabic, was confused, because "habibi" is masculine, while "habibti" is feminine. But the Internet suggests that sometimes people use "habibi" gender-neutrally (unsurprising, I suppose, given how often the masculine is the default in many languages.)

[Cindy Kelly Benabderrahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mona’s sitti, or grandmother, lives all the way on the other side of the great, big world, and there are many things dividing them—physical things like oceans and land and “fish and cities” and “clotheslines /and trucks” and “a million trees,” just to name a few. But there are also other things that separate—like language. Mona and her Sitti don’t even speak the same language. But when Mona goes to visit her Sitti, they are able to communicate through Mona’s father, and Mona likens the sound of her Sitti’s voice to the “whistles of birds.” In fact, she said her Sitti “had a thousand rivers in her voice,” and Nancy Carpenter’s illustration of this was beautiful, with Arabic letters gracefully looking as if they were birds in the sky. When Mona gets home, she writes to the president of the United States, that her grandmother on the other side of the world has a lemon tree that whispers secrets, that people there care about trees. She writes that she wishes the president luck in his very hard job, but that she votes for peace. This is an incredible story, with an incredible message. It shows young people everywhere that there are people with real personalities and granddaughters who love them in the places that we might not think about positively.
Through Carpenter’s paintings, we see the closeness that exists even when there is distance and barriers. Maps and old wallpaper backgrounds with rich paintings full of movement, and tiny pieces of collage give these illustrations life and three dimensions. It is almost as if the pictures could tell their own story. There are mountains hanging in the sheets on the clotheslines that separate them. There are worlds in the desert sand in which she plays marbles with her cousins. Some of the paintings are half-filled in, half sketches. Everything seems to spring from the page in many directions, and everything is full of movement. In this way, the illustrations mimic the story, mimic the real people in the story.

[Thomas S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Mona lives in America, but she has a grandmother who lives in an Arab country. One day, she and her father goes on a vacation to visit the grandmother, who Mona calls Sitti which means grandmother in Arabic. Mona has a great time while she is visiting Sitti. She follows Sitti in her everyday life and she also plays with her cousins. One day, Mona has to go home again and everybody is crying – even Mona’s father. When Mona is back in America, she writes a letter to the President which says that the news talks about war in the Middle East, and she wishes the President to secure peace.

The theme in this book is that it is a great experience for children that live far away from some parts of their family to visit the family and experience their culture.

Personal response: As a schoolteacher, I am going to teach several children who have family in another cultures. These cultures can be used in classes because most of the children will probably find them exciting.

Recommendation: Sitti’s Secrets is a great book about a child who, for the first time, is experiencing the culture of her family. This opens her eyes to other parts of the world, and children who read this book may also have their eyes opened. Furthermore, the descriptions of different phenomena in this book is fascinating. For instance, the way Sitti talks is described like this: “She had a thousand rivers in her voice”. This kind of diverse and inspiring language is not usual in children’s literature.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published: 1997, Four Winds Press
Age: 4-8
This is a sweet story of a little Palestinian girl named Mona who lives in America and goes to visit her grandmother (“Sitti”) in Palestine, (“On the other side of the earth.”). She doesn’t speak Arabic so at first her father translates for them and eventually they create their own language with signs. Mona tells the things she sees and food they eat and the traditions the people keep such as the traditional dress and walking to the spring for water. Mona and her grandmother form a bond that transcends beyond language and distance. Mona feels like she knows secrets after spending time with her. When she returns home, she writes a letter to the president telling him that they want peace and if they knew her grandmother they would like her. Her letter hints of the unrest in Palestine and she wants to convey that they are kind and good people and if people knew them they would like them too. The beautiful and warm mixed media illustrations by Nancy Carpenter express the love and connection between Mona and her grandmother even when they are miles apart.

[Amy Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely beautiful book!  Nye's call to action about world peace is truer than ever today--and this book was written nearly 25 years ago!  With Carpenter's illustrations and Nye's text, Sitti's Secret does a fantastic job at looking at two sides of a culture: one actively partaking in a culture, and one partially assimilated though still proud.  Sitti acknowledges the differences between her and her grandmother's cultures, languages, and manners of doing things, and likewise, she acknowledges that even though things may be different doesn't mean that they're inherently good or bad--they just are.  This is something that I want to share with every kindergarten class in the world, to show them depictions of folks who are from here and who aren't, to show them that culture is a beautiful thing, to show them that language is not the same as understanding.

Review cross-listed here!

[Alea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has beautiful illustrations that come alive as the reader goes through the book. This book is good from children ages 5-8 and also helps in teaching children a little about different cultures.This book is about a little girl brought up in America in a Palestinian family who visits her parents' homeland in Palestine. Her grandmother and she grow close even though they do not speak the same language because she wasn't taught it. In the end, she is able to figure out how to communicate and learns that sometimes it is not necessary to share a language to be able to share special moments with others.

I would use this in my classroom to teach children about other cultures. This can help make them more aware of their environment and identity. It also has some family dynamic that students may like as well.

[T. Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I though Sitti's Secrets was a wonderful story about the union of two worlds that seem farther apart than they truly are. Mona is a young girl who adores her grandmother, or her Sitti. This is a picture book that shows how language can be a barrier, or opportunity, depending on how it is used. Sitti and Mona live thousands of miles apart.

Despite the distance, Mona is still able to connect with her and display affection and love for her grandmother. This is a great story for children who have extended family in distant countries.

In the last line of the story, Nye pens, "Mr. President, I wish you my good luck in your very hard job.... I vote for peace." What a timely line for our times today!

[Carol Royce Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book for teaching diversity with beautiful language (but of course - it's Naomi Shihab Nye). Having just met her and having the opportunity to hear her, I could hear her voice throughout this book, especially with lines like "Her voice danced as high as the whistles of birds. Her voice giggled and whooshed like wings going around corners. She had a thousand rivers in her voice."
The only thing that was a bit disjunct, and I felt would need some explaining to students was the fact that the girl writes a letter to the president about her Sitti. It's never made clear why she was writing the letter, so I feel that would need some explaining. Illustrations were beautiful, and fit the story line wonderfully.

[Elissa Genry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a little girl who lives in the United States having a strong bond with her grandmother who lives on the other side of the world in Palestine. She talks about how she went to visit her grandmother and the different lifestyle that her grandmother lives. Although there is a language barrier and they cannot speak the same language, they were able to spend time together and really connect through the activities they did.

I loved the illustrations in this book, as the illustrator appeared to have used watercolors and colored pencils to create wispy pictures. I also loved the figurative language used in this book.

This book could be used in a classroom to discuss culture barriers, language barriers, and long distance relationships. I highly recommend this book!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully descriptive story about a young girl who goes to a mid-east country to visit her grandmother. The writing and illustrations create wonderful descriptive imagery to paint a picture of the landscape and daily life. I loved the map on the end pages to show the distance between Sitti and her grandmother.

At first, I wasn't sure what I thought about the "letter to the president" at the end of the book. It initially felt contrived and a bit didactic. On the other hand, it introduces children to the weighty issues of the middle east and ideas of activism in a very personal way.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally loved this book, but I'm not sure how it would go over in a classroom of 5th graders - especially boys. I think the girls would love it, and I would definitely consider using this book as a mentor text for a girl's discussion group. The illustrations were beautiful, and transcended all the topics of each page. Some events were often hidden in the overall illustration of the page. I also thought the letter to the President was an interestingly awkward ending.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tells a story about a going girl who lives in America now but returns to "the other side of the world" where her sitti lives. And her father is from. It doesn't literally say where they are but I think it's Palestine because that's where the author's father is from. They talk about speaking Arabic and some of the customs her Grandma follows.
This was just a sweet book about the relationship between a child and her grandma! Super cute.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My grandmother lives on the other side of the earth. When I have daylight, she has night."

What I love most about children's books is the ability to take such vast, intricate concepts and paint them into simple ideas. In Sitti's Secrets, Naomi Shihab Nye speaks for so many children who have faraway family. She tackles the nostalgia (particularly of the Arab diaspora) of apricot jam (mish-mish), language barriers, etc.

[Elizabeth Root · Rating 4 out of 5]

THis story is about a granddaughter who lives far away from her grandmother. The granddaughter ends up visiting her grandmother, and learns her way of life across the world. The story discusses the difference in culture and lifestyle. It is important for students to make connections, and to realize the importance of family.

[Dolly]

This story was selected as one of the books for the March 2010 - Outstanding Women reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Kelci Cox-Griswold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a good book to teach children about different cultures. (Arabic) The little girl's grandmother lives all the way across the world from her. She goes to visit her, but they don't speak the same language. They find their own ways to communite and have a nice visit. When the little girl returns home she writes to the president for peace.

[Amber Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this multicultural book about a young girl visiting her grandmother in the Middle East. The culture and language is difference but they share family and love. Wonderful illustrations and story-lines. Great for elementary grades, middle grades to upper elementary, due to cultural words and content.

[Karen Bessin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful perspective on peace told in the voice of an Arab-American girl. Beautifully rendered poetic language and imagery.

[Amanda Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous combination of poetic writing and mixed-media art that compels you to pause on every page and study the intricate beauty of both. The story of Mona's visit to Palestine to see her sitti (grandmother) is quiet and sweet, with a slight tonal shift toward the end. Mona's letter to the President is likely to be more deeply moving to adults than to the target audience, but it's a good introduction for young readers to the idea that they're not too young to be heard, even by those with much more power.