Book Review: Sitti's Secrets

Nye, Naomi. Sitti’s Secrets. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1994.

Written by an insider author, Sitti’s Secrets is a children’s picture book about a young girl named Mona whose grandmother lives on the otherside of the world. Mona and her father travel to the other side of the world to visit her sitti, which means grandmother in Arabic. Through this experience, Mona learns that she has much in common with her family who lives so far away. Mona learns about the food that they eat, interacts with her cousins/family even though they do not speak the same language, and learns about traditions that people have on the other side of the earth. Mona remembers her family when she gets home and knows that even though they live far away, they are still connected. When Mona and her father arrive back in the United States, she writes a letter to the President expressing her concern about what she saw on the news. She wishes for peace and says that if people could meet her sitti, they would really like her.
The text and colorful illustrations of this book show Arabic traditions, as well as show how people who might be different from us are still people that we can like and have things in common with. The illustrations show traditional food and dress of many Arabic people, as well as the common experiences of love and hope that people of all cultures share. The text also teaches the reader some common Arabic words which makes the story very authentic. I think this is a great piece of diverse literature because it gives insight into the Arabic culture and represents Arab people in a very positive way through examples of cultural tradtions. This book brought me back to my childhood when I would cook with my sitti, and reminded me of interactions I have had such as inventing “our own language” with my own family on the other side of the world.