THIS SAME SKY is a unique and stirring anthology of poetry from around the world.  One hundred and twenty nine poets from sixty eight countries are represented in this book. Poems have been translated into English to reveal the insightful and honest portrayals of the lives we lead everyday and the memories we share as children.  Nye reveals to us a world of poets that we may have never known without their translated poems in this anthology.  Poets represent a plethora of countries including New Zealand, India, Latvia, and Kenya.   

The anthology is placed in chapters which include: Families, Dreams and Dreamers, and Human Mysteries.  Notes are provided under poems which include words or concepts not known to North Americans.  The end pages of the book are covered in signatures of authors and envelopes in which poetry arrived in the hands of selector Nye.  Indexes are included by country or poet name. A map displays where poets are from and notes about the poets themselves. An intriguing and amazing find, the notes on the contributors are just as insightful and evoking as the poems included in the anthology. The various backgrounds of the contributors give their poetry more meaning and at times help you understand their thought processes. The poetry in the anthology touches upon universal themes of childhood, nature, relationships, and family. The poems evoke a sense of understanding and acknowledgement of the poets world.  We begin to imagine their moments in life or their dreams of wonder and begin to relate to their writings.

From prison cells to kitchen tables, many of the poets evoke memories of mothers, grandmothers, and family members who impacted their lives.  These poems help tie us to the universal theme of family. As you relate to these poems, you realize the significance of the lives that each human has to our world. Words and their meanings in any language should be appreciated and acknowledged for their realism. With the varied backgrounds of the poets, we still see the struggles, fears, and joys that all humans experience in life.  The human connection is what makes the anthology memorable. We also see the appreciation of imaginations and nature to our characters.

Although this anthology of poems is generally considered a collection for children, many of the topics discussed are geared towards adults.  Young school children may not grasp its concepts. Vocabulary may be hard to comprehend for lower level elementary children. This collection would be wonderful to share with children in upper levels.  This collection has introduced us to poets from all around the world in which we may have never had an opportunity to learn of. Overall, a wonderful anthology of poetry that reveals to us the power of words read from all nations and of a variety of people.