The Turtle of Michigan by Naomi Shihab Nye

In The Turtle of Michigan, Shihab Nye continues the story she began in the first novel about Aref and his parents who are moving to America to study.

The story picks up where The Turtle of Oman left off, with Aref and his mother boarding a plane, on their way to America. Aref's father left a week prior, for Ann Arbor, Michigan, to set up their apartment. After a week of refusing to pack his suitcase and being unhappy about leaving his friends and all that is familiar in Oman, Aref is excited to be flying.

The long plane journey, from Muscat to Paris, to New York City and then to Detroit, Michigan is uneventful but tiring. The reunion with his father is tearful but happy. However, their arrival at their apartment is marred by a small disaster. Aref's other trips over a yellow parking divider and breaks her wrist. They are helped by their friendly neighbours, Mr and Mrs. Finnegan, an older Irish couple. At the hospital, Aref's mother has her wrist placed in a brace and is told to return to have a plate put in. 

When Aref finally does get to see his new home, an apartment, he likes it but finds it smaller than their "real house" back  home. In his room he has a terrarium that he hopes to use for a Michigan turtle.

After his mother's surgery, Aref settles into help his father with the chores and shopping. While waiting for his own school year to start, Aref accompanies his parents to their lectures at the University of Michigan. One day Aref and his father went to Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School to fill out papers for him to enroll at the school. While there Aref notices the poster about the Arts Camp and decides to join. For Aref it is the beginning of a new adventure that sees him make new friends and have new adventures. There is the good food at an Italian restaurant, their neighbour Hugh and his guide dog Honeybun, the Michigan turtles Aref and his father find on a fall hike, his first snowfall and his first Christmas. But the biggest and best surprise is about to happen, one that will make Aref very happy.

Discussion

The Turtle of Michigan is another gentle, positive story by poet and writer Naomi Shihab Nye. In this novel, eight-year-old Aref with the help of his parents, a kindly neighbour named Hugh and his teachers quickly adjusts to life in America. Although he misses Oman and his beloved Sidi, Aref learns to find places, people and things to love about his new life in America.

Shihab Nye chronicles Aref's journey in a very gentle, affirming style.  Before schools starts, Aref wonders if he will find friends. "Would he find new friends and walk with other people soon? Would he belong? Would he still feel like himself? Or would he keep feeling a little lost, like those birds in the air port terminal?" It is Aref's father who helps him to settle in by taking him to explore shops and going on hikes near their home.  Aref's parents' openness to new people, and new cultures  helps him to adapt quickly. This leads Aref to bravely decide to attend art camp even though he doesn't feel he's a good artist. But Aref does make new friends at the art camp. The result is that, Aref finds that their apartment complex feels like home. "Home happened fast" he notes.

Like his father who is a biologist, Aref is interested in animals such as bats and turtles. When he first arrives at his family's new apartment in Ann Arbor, he sees that his father has placed a terrarium in his bedroom.  At first Aref is anxious to find a turtle for his terrarium. In October when Aref and his parents go on a hike to the Nichols Arboretum, they spot many turtles happily swimming in the water. There are baby turtles and larger turtles. Aref's mother suggests they just take a small turtle and bring it home for his terrarium. This horrifies Aref who cannot imagine separating the turtles. When Aref considers the situation, he tells his friend Robin that "It would be very bad to live in a glass tank." Eventually he decides to use his terrarium for growing a herb garden.

Shihab Nye incorporates many different issues into her story, briefly exploring each. The character Hugh, a neighbour who is blind and has a support dog, is portrayed in a way that demonstrates his disability doesn't preventing him from enjoying a rich and varied life. He cooks a gourmet dinner for Aref's family and a mutual neighbour's family. He recently traveled to Arizona to help his sister who is also visually impaired. Shihab Nye broaches the topic of a blended family by having Aref's friend, Robin tell him about his father and step-father. The issue of bullying is also explored when Aref decides to join the anti-bullying club at school run by first-graders (a rather strange way to run an anti-bullying club).

The Turtle of Michigan is a well-written sequel to the first novel, offering a positive immigration experience and encouraging young readers who might be faced with adjusting to a new culture to consider not what they have lost culturally, but what they might gain both from new friendships.

Book Details:

The Turtle of Michigan by Naomi Shihab Nye
New York: Greenwillow Books      2022

322 pp.