Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye

Published on 23 April 2026 at 14:32

Book Description:

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.

They 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.

Image Description: The cover of Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye. The background is a deep blue starry sky. A young girl with shoulder-length dark hair and straight bangs across her forehead sits cross-legged. Beneath her is a stylized map of the world. Behind her left shoulder is a gate made of curled metal. Behind the gate, a girl runs beside a woman dressed in white. The woman's veil moves with the breeze. She carries a clay jug on her head.

About the Author

Naomi Shihab Nye, poet, essayist, anthologist, has been a recipient of writing fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation and the Witter Bynner Foundation/Library of Congress. Author of more than twenty volumes.