by Nell Stewart, Librarian

Eight- or nine-year-old Aref is moving temporarily to Ann Arbor, where his professor parents will teach at the University of Michigan. He wants to be happy about this move, to be positive like his grandfather Sidi always is, but it is hard because he loves Oman in so many ways. Sidi can see that Aref is sad so before the day of departure he takes his grandson on adventures around Oman to visit all the places that Aref loves.

Children will enjoy reading about this country's landscape and native animals, which are so different from those we experience in the U.S., such as a desert with camels walking "in a perfect line, as if they had very good manners," and a beach that is the nesting ground of giant turtles who return every year because they have "invisible maps inside their shells". Oman is so warm and dry that Aref and Sidi are able to have a sleepover on the roof of Sidi's house, where they look at the stars together.

There are many children's books about what it is like to move to the U.S. from another country, but there aren't as many about what contemporary living is like in that other country. Aref and his parents are due to return to Oman after three years and I hope this author writes a sequel about Aref's experience being back in Oman.

The Turtle of Oman is good for Lower Elementary ages and younger Upper Elementary students.