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    Famous
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    Famous
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    Famous
    Ebook17 pages3 minutes

    Famous

    By Naomi Shihab Nye and Lisa Desimini

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Naomi Shihab Nye is one of the most beloved poets in America, and the poem "Famous" is literally her most famous poem. It has been used in countless commencement speeches—from elementary school to university graduations. At once simple and profound, this illustrated version of the poem is a charmingly ironic take on what it means to be "famous." It is a perfect gift book for people of all ages—for those who need encouragement, who are at a crossroads, who are graduating, who are nervous about the future, or who want to be more or other than they are.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIndependent Publishers Group
    Release dateAug 1, 2015
    ISBN9781609404505
    Unavailable
    Famous
    Author

    Naomi Shihab Nye

    Naomi Shihab Nye is an award-winning writer and editor whose work has appeared widely. She edited the ALA Notable international poetry collection, This Same Sky, and The Tree Is Older Than You Are: Poems and Paintings from Mexico, as well as The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems and Paintings from the Middle East. Her books of poems include Fuel, Red Suitcase, and Words Under the Words. A Guggenheim fellow, she is also the author of the young adult novel Habibi, which was named an ALA Notable Book, a Best Book for Young Adults, and winner of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award as well as the Book Publishers of Texas award from the Texas Institute of Letters. Naomi lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, Michael, and their son, Madison.

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    • 4/5
      PoetryNaomi Shihab Nye, Lisa Desimini (Illustrator)FamousWings PressHardcover, 978-1609404499, 32 pgs., $15.95September 1, 2015My Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives two definitions for "famous." The first is "widely known." The second is "honored for achievement." Naomi Shihab Nye, novelist, poet, beloved of Texas and famous in both senses, was often asked if she was famous by schoolchildren. She found the question "confounding" and wanted to know why whether she was famous mattered and what it meant. Shihab Nye's answer was "everything is famous if you notice it" and eventually became the poem, "Famous."In this poem, Shihab Nye makes the point that every home is famous to its inhabitants, tears are "famous, briefly, to the cheek" and assures that each of us is famous to our families and friends. But my favorite part of this poem is when she tells us who she wants to be famous to:I want to be famous to shuffling menwho smile while crossing streets,sticky children in grocery lines,famous as the one who smiled back. Now that gives us something to aspire to. The lesson is sweetly inspirational with nary a cliche in sight, dedicated to "Your secret shining self. And to anyone who thinks nobody notices them." Lisa Desimini's illustrations are whimsical and suffused with rich color, including a playful portrait of the the poet and her famous braid.This lovely little volume from Wings Press is appropriate not only for young children but also as a gift in this season of graduations. "Widely known" and "honored for achievement." In this Kardashian-Trump world, it's important that the children we are raising understand the differences between the two.