Cast Away: Poems for Our Time

by Naomi Shihab Nye Narrated by Naomi Shihab Nye

Overview

“Nye at her engaging, insightful best.” -Kirkus Reviews*(starred review)

Acclaimed poet and Young People's Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than eighty original and never-before-published poems.*A deeply moving, sometimes funny, and always provocative poetry collection for all ages.

*“How much have you thrown away in your lifetime already? Do you ever think about it? Where does this plethora of leavings come from? How long does it take you, even one little you, to fill the can by your desk?” ?Naomi Shihab Nye

National Book Award Finalist, Young People's Poet Laureate, and devoted trash-picker-upper Naomi Shihab Nye explores these questions and more in this original collection of poetry that features more than eighty new poems. “I couldn't save the world, but I could pick up trash,” she says in her introduction to this stunning volume.

With poems about food wrappers, lost mittens, plastic straws, refugee children, trashy talk, the environment, connection, community, responsibility to the planet, politics, immigration, time, junk mail, trash collectors, garbage trucks, all that we carry and all that we discard, this is a rich, engaging, moving, and sometimes humorous collection for readers ages twelve to adult.

Includes ideas for writing, recycling, and reclaiming, and an index.

Editorial Reviews

FEBRUARY 2020 - AudioFile

Listeners won’t look at the discarded things around them in the same way after hearing this poetry collection on audio. With a warm voice and a storyteller’s cadence, Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shares her experiences as a self-appointed trash collector, armed with gardening gloves, tongs, and a bag. Nye’s appealing and engaging narration style makes her clever and insightful poems sound like musings at the kitchen table—and calls to action. As Nye examines the things we throw away, meditates on “trash talk,” and considers the experiences of refugees, her poems are sure to get listeners of all ages thinking. It’s an inspiring collection that rewards repeat listening, and a wonderful tool for the classroom. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

In 80-plus poems, Nye writes conversationally, injecting humor, outrage, and reminiscence. . . . Nye at her engaging, insightful best." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[Nye] challenges readers to become activists and to gain deeper awareness of their surroundings. . . . Her poetic polemic on trash is truly a treasure for readers.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Rich variety and impressive scope. . . . Nye’s beautiful and timely collection [is] filled with haunting, sensory images. A must-have for all poetry collections.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“A sharp look at what we choose to discard and at our blinkered belief in our right to do so. Yet it’s also gentle, affectionate, and at times subtly funny . . . Young readers looking for an alternative to cli-fi may embrace this thoughtful cli-po.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

“Nye finds inspiration in those things we throw away—as well as in the act of throwing things away and that of picking them up again. . . . Pick up a poem, why don’t you?” — Horn Book Magazine

"Naomi Shihab Nye documents and reflects on the leavings of our existence in keenly observant, probing, unabashed poems.”  — Cooperative Children's Book Center

“Trash is poetic treasure in this intriguing collection of verse by the current Young People’s Poet Laureate. Nye’s keen eye for the small, revealing detail — a comforting pine cone, a lost mitten — encourages us to notice and perhaps write about the odd, stray things that surround us.” — Washington Post

Horn Book Magazine

Nye finds inspiration in those things we throw away—as well as in the act of throwing things away and that of picking them up again. . . . Pick up a poem, why don’t you?

Washington Post

Trash is poetic treasure in this intriguing collection of verse by the current Young People’s Poet Laureate. Nye’s keen eye for the small, revealing detail — a comforting pine cone, a lost mitten — encourages us to notice and perhaps write about the odd, stray things that surround us.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

A sharp look at what we choose to discard and at our blinkered belief in our right to do so. Yet it’s also gentle, affectionate, and at times subtly funny . . . Young readers looking for an alternative to cli-fi may embrace this thoughtful cli-po.

Cooperative Children's Book Center

"Naomi Shihab Nye documents and reflects on the leavings of our existence in keenly observant, probing, unabashed poems.” 

Booklist (starred review)

[Nye] challenges readers to become activists and to gain deeper awareness of their surroundings. . . . Her poetic polemic on trash is truly a treasure for readers.

Washington Post

Trash is poetic treasure in this intriguing collection of verse by the current Young People’s Poet Laureate. Nye’s keen eye for the small, revealing detail — a comforting pine cone, a lost mitten — encourages us to notice and perhaps write about the odd, stray things that surround us.

School Library Journal

★ 01/01/2020

Gr 5 Up—Young People's Poet Laureate Nye ponders the things we carry and throw away—both literal and metaphorical. The poems cover a large range of topics: discarded food wrappers; animal hoarding; the migrant children who have been seized by the U.S. Border Patrol. Nye contemplates the acts of discarding or leaving, but also finding. Nye writes in her introduction, "Sometimes we have to leave things. You never know what's out there. Selection is involved." This idea is also applicable to the craft of writing and will serve as good advice to young poets. Many of the featured topics are suitable for mature teens or adults. Sometimes the intended audience feels deliberately focused on adults, like in the heartfelt and sparse poem "Nothing." However, the poems could be gently unpacked by younger readers with guidance. Nye provides thematic examples from many perspectives, giving this collection a rich variety and impressive scope. The book itself is organized into five separate "Routes," each with its own spin on the things we discard. VERDICT There is much to discover in Nye's beautiful and timely collection filled with haunting, sensory images. A must-have for all poetry collections.—Shannon O'Connor, Unami Middle School, Chalfont, PA

FEBRUARY 2020 - AudioFile

Listeners won’t look at the discarded things around them in the same way after hearing this poetry collection on audio. With a warm voice and a storyteller’s cadence, Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shares her experiences as a self-appointed trash collector, armed with gardening gloves, tongs, and a bag. Nye’s appealing and engaging narration style makes her clever and insightful poems sound like musings at the kitchen table—and calls to action. As Nye examines the things we throw away, meditates on “trash talk,” and considers the experiences of refugees, her poems are sure to get listeners of all ages thinking. It’s an inspiring collection that rewards repeat listening, and a wonderful tool for the classroom. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2019-10-09
Nye explores what we throw away, literally (she's a litter picker-upper) and metaphorically.

In 80-plus poems, Nye writes conversationally, injecting humor, outrage, and reminiscence. Unambiguously championing the environment, she marvels at how casually humans toss trash. "What about these energy bottles pitched by someone / who didn't have energy to find a bin? / Fun Finger Food wrappers dropped by someone / not so fun?" An archaeologist of urban detritus, she ponders her discoveries, championing children throughout. "Blocks around elementary schools / are surprisingly free of litter. / Good custodians?" Nye locates the profound in the mundane: "A single silver star / on a curb by Bonham Elementary / Good work! / Glimmering / like a treasure / stronger at this moment than all 50 / drooping on the flagpole." She mourns the current othering of the homeless and refugees: "A few hundred miles from here / thousands of traumatized kids / huddle in cages / … / Who can believe this? / Land of the Free!" She keenly knits place into poems: her city, San Antonio; the Ferguson, Missouri, of her childhood; Maui; Hong Kong. She castigates Trump, who "talks uglier than the bully in grade school," and Prince Charles, who dithers ineffectually about plastic waste. She generously praises poets and writers: W.S. Merwin, who drafted poems on junk mail; David Ignatow, for a poetic image that Nye has found compelling since high school; Kevin Henkes, for his book Egg.

Nye at her engaging, insightful best. (Poetry. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173935380
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/11/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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