With themes of family, love, kindness, empathy, grief, growing up, and resilience, these one hundred never-before-published poems by the beloved poet, speaker, and teacher Naomi Shihab Nye will resonate with a wide audience. National Book Award finalist and former Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye’s Grace Notes: Poems about Families celebrates family and community. This rich collection of one hundred never-before-published poems is also the poet’s most personal work to date. With poems about her own childhood and school years, her parents and grandparents, and the people who have touched and shaped her life in so many ways, this is an emotional and sparkling collection to savor, share, and read again and again. “A powerful account of a mother’s life, narrated in verse by award-winner Nye, the former Young People’s Poet Laureate. Nye describes small meaningful moments from major events in the life of her late mother. . . . Through this intimate and compassionate exploration of one woman’s life, readers receive an invitation to contemplate human interconnectedness. Beautifully written poetry about the butterfly effect of human experience.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A rich, personal memoir in poems that traces the ups and downs of families with honesty, authenticity, and vulnerability. . . . Nye uses the power and beauty of words to express her feelings about her family and community and encourages children and young adults to do the same. While primarily focused on the theme of family, the poems also cover such topics as mental health, cultural expectations, war, immigration, refugees, family history, and the impact all of those forces have on personal identity.” - Booklist “Nye centers themes of family and examines the life of her late mother in 100 never-before-published poems. Using eloquent and raw verse, the author describes how her white Lutheran-raised mother meet her Palestinian father summarizing the astonishing confluence of events: “the fact we exist at all/ is a random grace note/ of a forgotten symphony. . . .” Nye’s full power radiates in simple lines that slice to the heart. . . . [A] mature and timely collection that emanates brilliance and soul.” - Publishers Weekly “These poems offer tender memories of Nye’s childhood with a chronically depressed parent, reflect on the different ways people mourn, and highlight observations of life’s astonishing moments. . . . This autobiographical collection also includes Nye’s backstory as the child of a Palestinian father and American mother, as well as a few mentions of the current war in Gaza. . . . Ultimately, these graceful poems are love letters to families past and present. Small but profound messages are revealed in a way only poetry can express. . . . A lifeline for astute poetry lovers.” - School Library Journal (starred review) “Full of love, empathy, and compassion, these poems are thoughtful, honest, and uplifting.” - Horn Book Magazine Naomi Shihab Nye  was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and she spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. She earned her BA from Trinity University in San Antonio. Naomi Shihab Nye describes herself as a “wandering poet.” She has spent more than forty years traveling the country and the world, leading writing workshops and inspiring students of all ages. Naomi Shihab Nye is the author and/or editor of more than thirty books. Her books of poetry for adults and young people include 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East (a finalist for the National Book Award); A Maze Me: Poems for Girls ; Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners ; Honeybee (winner of the Arab American Book Award); Cast Away: Poems of Our Time (one of the Washington Post ’s best books of 2020); Come with Me: Poems for a Journey ; and Everything Comes Next: Collected and New Poems . Her other volumes of poetry include Red Suitcase ; Words Under the Words ; Fuel ; Transfer ; You & Yours ; Mint Snowball ; and The Tiny Journalist . Her collections of essays include Never in a Hurry and I’ll Ask You Three Times, Are You Okay?: Tales of Driving and Being Driven . Naomi Shihab Nye has edited nine acclaimed poetry anthologies, including This Same Sky: Poems from Around the World ; The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems from the Middle East ; Time You Let Me In : 25 Poets Under 25 ; and What Have You Lost? Her picture books include Sitti’s Secrets , illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, and her acclaimed fiction includes Habibi ; The Turtle of Oman (winner of the Middle East Book Award) and its sequel, The Turtle of Michigan (honorable mention for the Arab American Book Award). Naomi Shihab Nye has been a Lannan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Witter Bynner Fellow (Library of Congress). She has received a Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets, the Isabella Gardne