Grace Notes

Former Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye delivers her latest collection, subtitled Poems About Families. They’re mostly focused on her relationship with her mother. Nye has a comfortable, unaffected delivery. Her voice has an unstudied tone, but, make no mistake, every syllable lands with precise intent. The poems are short and, at times, breathtakingly revealing, touching on acts of love and occasionally betrayal, on mysteries a child can never truly plumb. These snapshots come together to create a portrait of a vibrant, wounded, whole woman. With this gentle, piercing assemblage, Nye gives young listeners a model for understanding the adults in their lives, one poem at a time.

Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

The Earphones Award is given by AudioFile to truly exceptional titles that excel in narrative voice and style, characterizations, suitability to audio, and enhancement of the text.