Book Review: THE RIGHT WORD: ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS

BOOK REVIEW, GENRE 4: THE RIGHT WORD: ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS

Author: Jen Bryant

Title: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 2014

ISBN: 9780802853851

Plot summary: The story of British physician Peter Mark Roget and how the events from his youth created a need for order. That need manifests itself into a list of words in neat rows until he has so many notebooks filled that a book was created: Roget’s Thesaurus. Roget’s hope was every person, no matter their profession, could consult his book to find just the right word.

Critical analysis: The collage design of The Right Word was what first drew me to select this book for review. The use of ephemera mixed with line art and watercolor drawings make crazy quilt illustrations -- your eye is always finding something new you hadn’t yet seen. Illustrator Melissa Sweet wrote in her Illustrator’s Note that it was Roget’s vertical red line separating his entries in the original 1805 word book that inspired her to use collages in the illustration.

There are many nuggets of information throughout the book which adds credibility to the accuracy in the events told in this children’s biography. A List of Principal Events not only includes main events in Roget’s life, but also world events. The Author’s Note tells the story of what piqued her interest in Peter Mark Roget. For readers who would like to explore more, there is a Selected Bibliography and a For Further Reading. What I feel the readers would enjoy seeing most is a picture of a page from Roget’s original word book.

Author Jen Bryant opens The Right Word with Roget as a small boy when his father died in 1783. The story moves forward chronologically from there. Due to the many moves his family had to make, Roget found friends wherever he went in his books: “Peter’s family moved often, so making friends was difficult. But books, Peter discovered, were also good friends. There were always plenty of them around, and he never had to leave them behind.” Readers learn that Roget made word lists as a coping mechanism: “And when he put them in long, neat rows, he felt as if the world itself clicked into order.”

Bryant’s writing incorporates a thesaurus-type style when Roget frets on finding just the right word to use: “Perhaps worry wasn’t quite the right word. What was the right word? Peter began a new list: worry, fret, grieve, despair, intrude, badger, annoy, plague, provoke, harass, enough to drive one mad. How wonderful it felt to find just the right word!” Very appropriate for a biography on the man who created Roget’s Thesaurus – which has stayed in print continuously since 1852.

Review excerpt:

• 2015 Randolph Caldecott Medal honor book
• 2015 winner, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
• Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2015, Bank Street College of Education
• 2015 winner, Golden Kite Award, United States
• 2014 winner Lupine Award

• The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, November 2014 (Vol. 68, No. 3), by Elizabeth Bush: “Most kids will encounter a thesaurus at sometime in their education, and Bryant encourages a sense of wonder about the kind of guy who would dream up such a tome.”

• Children’s Literature, by Jean Boreen, Ph. D.: “While I am very familiar with Roget s Thesaurus, I have to admit that I had never given much thought to Roget himself, or why he put his lists of words and definitions together. After reading this delightful picture book, though, I now have a real appreciation for Peter Mark Roget, his love of books, and his lists of words.”

• Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2014 (Vol. 82, No. 15): “Sweet embeds vintage bits (ledger paper, type drawers, botanical illustrations and more), creating a teeming, contemplative, playfully celebratory opus. In a word: marvelous!”

Connections:

• Students can visit Jen Bryan’s web site to learn more about her works: http://www.jenbryant.com/

• Librarians can share this book trailer to entice students to read the book: https://animoto.com/play/sefjwM77x6QLfOrR10ot4g

• Other books by Jen Bryant:

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams ISBN: 9780802853028

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin ISBN: 9780375867125

Georgia’s Bones ISBN: 0802852173

Bibliography

Bryant, J. (2014). The right word: Roget and his thesaurus. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 9780802853851

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 12, 2016.

Book Review: WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?

Book Review, Genre 4: WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE? HOW ALICE ROOSEVELT BROKE THE RULES, CHARMED THE WORLD, AND DROVE HER FATHER TEDDY CRAZY!

Author: Barbara Kerley

Title: What to do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!

Illustrator: Edwin Fotheringham

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: 2008

ISBN: 9780439922319

Plot summary: A biography of Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt and his first wife, who continuously sought adventure and caused trouble for her father in the White House.

Critical analysis: Author Barbara Kerley says she was inspired to write What to do About Alice? after seeing a picture of Alice Roosevelt looking glamorous and intelligent in a magazine and learning that “her high jinks captivated America and drove her father crazy.” Kerley accurately depicts the restraint expected of woman at the turn of the century and Alice’s desire to change the status quo.

What to do About Alice? is organized chronologically and opens with a few pages on Teddy Roosevelt’s accomplishments; one of which was his daughter and her desire to “eat up the world.” Readers learn about Alice from her birth, the physical obstacles she had to overcome, how she hated being referred to as “The Poor Little Thing!”, and how she succeeded in living a zestful life.

In addition to reading about her high jinks, readers can infer Alice’s pranks and attitudes on life through the digital media illustrations by Edwin Fotheringham. The artwork’s design lends itself to being pulled off the shelf, the colors and use of different fonts will draw the readers in to learn more about Alice.

Kerley’s writing style is lively and moves in a dance with the artwork. Key phrases are emphasized in bold block lettering and reinforced in the illustrations. For example, “Father couldn’t bear to see Alice so unhappy. When school started in the fall, Alice stayed home after all. She came up with her own solution for her education. She said to Father, ‘LET ME LOOSE IN YOUR LIBRARY.’ She taught herself astronomy, geology, even Greek grammar. She read Twain, Dickens, Darwin, and the Bible, cover to cover. Every morning she told Father what she had learned the day before.” The double-page illustration shows Alice zooming about a library with books on the mentioned subjects sitting on a table while Teddy’s taxidermied animals look on.

The book finishes with an Author’s Note about the different roles of Alice: sister, princess, and monument. This is an excellent book to add to a school library’s children’s biography section because Alice’s influence helped change attitudes towards how women should behave. Girls will feel empowered after reading this book.

Review excerpt:

• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor, 2009.
• Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2009.

• Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 3): Theodore Roosevelt's irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book. "From the time she was a little girl, Alice ate up the world." Taking her thematic approach from Alice's own self-description, Kerley's precise text presents readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live life on her own terms and largely succeeded. 

• Booklist, Jan. 1, 2008 (Vol. 104, No. 9) by Ilene Cooper: The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art, which includes use of digital media. In almost every picture, Alice is running, motoring, racing. One clever spread shows what it was like to be a media princess: newspaper pages fly across the spread, obscuring Alice.

Connections:

• Librarians could do a study on biographies of the Roosevelts ending in a Living Wax Museum (for ideas, do an internet search for “living wax museum”) presentation by the students. In addition to What to do About Alice?, students could read:

Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! By Jean Fritz ISBN: 0590455168 

Eleanor Roosevelt by Russell Freedman ISBN: 0590489097 

Who Was Franklin Roosevelt? By Margaret Frith IBSN: 9780448453460

• Students can visit author Barbara Kerley’s web site to learn more about her, her works and view book trailers: http://www.barbarakerley.com/Site/Welcome.html

• Students can visit illustrator Edwin Fotheringham’s website to view more of his artwork: http://www.edfotheringham.com/

• Other books by author Barbara Kerley:

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer ISBN: 0439114942

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) ISBN: 9780545125086

Those Rebels, John and Tom ISBN: 9780545222686

A Home for Mr. Emerson ISBN: 9780545350884

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 12, 2016.

Kerley, B., & Fotheringham, E. (2008). What to do about Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt broke the rules, charmed the world, and drove her father Teddy crazy!. New York: Scholastic Press. 9780439922319

Book Review: BIGGEST, STRONGEST, FASTEST

Book Review, Genre 4: BIGGEST, STRONGEST, FASTEST  

Author: Steve Jenkins

Title: Biggest, Strongest, Fastest

Illustrator: Steve Jenkins

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Publication Date: 1995

ISBN: 0395697018

Plot summary: Introduces the world's smallest, largest, strongest, fastest, and slowest creatures, their characteristics, and behavior. Readers can see each animal’s size in relation to something familiar along with a short fact.

Critical analysis: The opening page entices readers: they are about to embark on a journey of “the record holders of the animal world.” Buckle up! Readers spend the next 28 pages following well-organized and detailed paper collages of big, strong and fast animals.

Author and illustrator Steve Jenkins uses a simple organizational format for young readers to learn about each animal represented: “The African elephant is the biggest land animal” and “The Etruscan shrew, the world’s smallest mammal, could sleep in a teaspoon.”

Each animal is depicted in a cut-paper collage that is so full of texture, the reader would want to touch the page and then feel disappointed in feeling flat paper. The pages are designed with sidebars of a few sentences of information for each animal along with a representation of how each animal’s size compares to an adult human or a hand.

Jenkins’ clear writing style inspires curiosity in readers to want to learn more about the animals shown … and they can infer more information at the end of the book where Jenkins has compiled a table with the record, size, diet and range of each animal in his book.

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest would be a welcome addition to any elementary school library. The design is child-friendly and would get checked out often by students. The book would be well received in a story time setting or a book talk on Jenkins’ works.

Review excerpt:

• School Library Journal Book Review Stars, May 1995
• Texas Reading Club, 1998
• Mockingbird Award, 1995-1996, Nominee

• Booklist, Feb. 1, 1995 (Vol. 91, No. 11) by Hazel Rochman: The book's design makes it accessible at many levels. The youngest can identify the various creatures. Preschoolers can enjoy the one-sentence descriptions in large type ("The cheetah can run faster than any other animal. . . . The flea is very small, but it is the world's best jumper"). Older kids will love thinking about the additional facts regarding scale and proportion that are printed in small type, accompanied by a tiny silhouette in the corner of each picture ("If a 5 1/2-foot-tall woman could jump as well as a flea, she could leap to the top of a 65-story building"). Here's proof that power isn't just about size and that science can be a lot of fun. 

• Children’s Literature by Marilyn Courtot: For kids who ask those impossible questions-- what animal is the biggest, or smallest, longest or shortest, and so on--Jenkins has created a delightful series of answers using full color cut paper collage illustrations. From the streaking cheetah on the cover to the tiny Etruscan shrew sitting on a teaspoon, readers see the animal and learn salient facts plus a few more delicious tidbits. Cleverly done and sure to appeal to both the littlest and biggest of readers. 

Connections:

• Learn more about author Steven Jenkins at his website: http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com/
• The librarian can read the book Move! by Steve Jenkins and then show a video made by Jenkins’ son depicting how he created the illustrations for the book: http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com/making_books_video.html
• Other books by Steve Jenkins:

Actual Size ISBN: 0618375945

Bones: Skeletons and How They Work ISBN: 9780545046510

Move! ISBN: 061864637X

What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? ISBN: 0618256288

How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships IBSN: 9780547994840

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 12, 2016.

Jenkins, S. (1995). Biggest, strongest, fastest. New York: Ticknor & Fields Books for Young Readers. 0395697018

Book trailer: DASH

DASH

by Kirby Larson

Scholastic Press, New York

2014

ISBN: 9780545416351

Please follow the link to view a book trailer I made for my midterm project in LS5603:

https://youtu.be/d61fcuviTPw

I would like to thank my models, Jenna, and her dog, Max, for giving their time for this project. Thanks also goes to Jenna's mom, Julie, for assisting me and being our cheerleader. And I would have pulled my hair out on the mp3 portion of the video if it weren't for my husband, Matt, who said he would like to earn a Master's for all of his efforts.

I was unhappy with one portion of the video, and that was the Bibliography. While it's all there, it isn't very clear and flashes by quickly (due to my limitations with a free trial of Animoto). So, below, please find the full Bibliography for the video:

Bibliography

Densho. Administration building. June, 1943. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, Seattle, Washington. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://ddr.densho.org/ddr/densho/37/825/

Densho. Street scene in camp. 1943-1945. Courtesy of the Bigelow Family Collection, Seattle, Washington. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://ddr.densho.org/ddr/densho/156/13/

Larson, Kirby. Dash. New York, NY: Scholastic Press, 2014. ISBN: 9780545416351

Nicola, Marco. I Had a Dog and His Name Was Dog. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial. 2015. Mp3 Accessed October 12, 2016. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/MarcoNicola/51790 Ft: billyraydrums

Pearl Harbor naval base and U.S.S. Shaw ablaze after the Japanese attack. 1941. Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98506923/

Setting; view to northwest through Stockade fence, to a scene little changed since 1945; 90mm lens. – Tule Lake Project Jail, Post Mile 44.85, State route 139, Newell, Modoc County, CA. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ca1535.photos.013429p/

USS Arizona, at height of fire, following Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. December, 1941. Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92500933/

Wilson, Amy L. Book Cover. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Copycat. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---, DeWitt’s Response, Wilson, Matthew, mp3, accessed October 12, 2016.

---. Enjoying Back Yard. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Just Like the Book Cover. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Locket, Pencils, and Paper. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Memories of Porch. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Reunited. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Smiling on Porch. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

Book Review: WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW

Book Review, Genre 3: WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW

Author: Sonya Sones

Title: What My Mother Doesn’t Know

Illustrator: Jennifer Reyes

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 2001

ISBN: 9780689855535

Plot summary: Told in the poetic form of novel in verse, this is the story of Sophie, a 15-year-old Jewish girl, describing the ups and downs of her life with a focus on her relationships with a series of boys until she finds Mr. Right.

Critical analysis: The title of the book caught my attention first: What My Mother Doesn’t Know. As a daughter and as a mom myself, I was curious to find out what the mother didn’t know. This is the story of Sophie, a 15-year-old girl who knows more about her parent’s relationship than they realize and who is having relations with boys – also without her parent’s knowledge. Told in verse novel style, each poem can stand alone as a moving, independent work. However, put together in this 259-page book, the individual poems turn into a novel that might be a quick read, but has plenty of depth.

As a former 15-year-old girl whose parents were oblivious to her while they worked on their failing marriage, I empathized with Sophie. Sones’ use of emotion in her poems flowed naturally from poem to poem and made me feel as if I were Sophie. Sophie desires the attention of her mother and father and realizes that she will never get the warmth from her father she desires. Sophie hasn’t given up on her mom, though, and as it turns out, her mother does understand what Sophie is going through once she takes the time to truly listen to her daughter: “’…is something the matter?’/ ‘Yes,’ I say./ ‘Everything.’/ ‘I know how you feel,’ she says.”

Review excerpt:

• 2012 Privacy Between the Pages Selected Books for Older Children and Teens, Cooperative Children’s Book Center
• 2004-2005 Volunteer State Book Award, Nominee Tennessee
• 2003 Young Adults’ Choices, International Reading Association
• 2001 Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, American Library Association

From Booklist, Nov. 15, 2001 (Vol. 98, No. 6) by Hazel Rochman: The poetry is never pretentious or difficult; on the contrary, the very short, sometimes rhythmic lines make each page fly. Sophie's voice is colloquial and intimate, and the discoveries she makes are beyond formula, even while they are as sweetly romantic as popular song. A natural for reluctant readers, this will also attract young people who love to read. 

From Kirkus Reviews, Sept. 15, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 18): Laid out in a series of mostly free-verse poems, however, the text gets at the emotional state of this girl so completely and with such intensity that a conventional narrative framework would simply dilute the effect.

Connections:

·         Students can learn more about author Sonya Sones and her other works at: http://www.sonyasones.com/

·         Other books by Sonya Sones:

o   Saving Red. (Available Oct. 18, 2016) ISBN: 9780062370280

o   Stop Pretending. ISBN: 0060283874

o   To Be Perfectly Honest. ISBN: 9780689876042

o   What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. (sequel to What My Mother Doesn’t Know) IBSN: 0689876025

·         Similar books like What My Mother Doesn’t Know:

o   The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder. ISBN: 9781442417434

o   The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith. ISBN: 9780316017350

o   Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. ISBN: 9780060292898

o   The Secret of Me by Meg Kearney. ISBN: 0892553227

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 7, 2016.

Sones, S. (2001). What my mother doesn’t know. New York: Simon & Schuster

Book Review: WE ARE AMERICA: A TRIBUTE FROM THE HEART

Book Review, Genre 3: WE ARE AMERICA: A TRIBUTE FROM THE HEART

Author: Walter Dean Myers

Title: We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart

Illustrator: Christopher Myers

Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books

Publication Date: 2011

ISBN: 9780060523084

Plot summary: Whether you read the individual poems, or read the book as one whole poem, We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart by Walter Dean Myers explores the diversity in people, wealth, dreams and desire that make up the United States. The author’s son, Christopher, creates mural-like paintings for readers to look at as if hearing the poem in a museum setting.

Critical analysis: At first blush, this is a patriotic poem in a children’s picture book format. The reader will find much more depth to the poems and illustrations when they take the time to read the Author’s Note by Walter Dean Myers: “We Are America comes from my heart, but it also comes from a lifetime of observations. … This is simply my truest feelings for my country, my tribute to America.”

The illustrations by Christopher Myers, son of the poet and author Walter Dean Myers, takes the reader on a journey of America’s history while simultaneously relating the past to the present with illustrations depicting images one could see on the nightly national news. Quotes from America’s history are scattered throughout the pages and tie in with the poems and illustrations. At the back of the book, readers can learn more about the meaning of the quotes, as well as notes on the artwork.

On a page illustrated with ships, Walter Dean Myers writes: “I dreamed a freedom dream/I heard a freedom song/The pull of hope/The taut bow of anticipation/The arrow of adventure/Flying across the ocean.” Myers conveys his pride in being an American through his use of poetic language: freedom, hope, anticipation, adventure – all things people coming to American dream of.

To fully immerse yourself in the poem picture book of We Are America, read the poems while imagining yourself at a history museum. Look at the illustrations as if they are murals lining the museum hallways. Hear the words of the poems as if standing and observing the museum murals. Read the Author’s Note, the Artist’s Note, the Quotations, and the Art Notes as aides of understanding at the museum exhibits.

Review excerpt:

• 2013 Audie Award, Finalist United States
• 2011 Cybils Awards, Finalist United States
• 2011 Kirkus Best Children’s Books

From Booklist May 1, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 17) by Andrew Medlar: Walter Dean Myers’s narrative can be read as a single poem or multiple offerings, each one exploring a different facet of America from past to present. Myers moves chronologically forward in time as he reveals defining events in the history of a nation still emerging. Christopher Myers s illustrations appear like murals on each page spread, offering a stunning panorama of the nation’s history juxtaposed with images of who we are today. 

From Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2011 (Vol. 79, No. 7): The Myers team shares their heartfelt and stirring vision of an America flawed but filled with promises and dreams. Like weavers connecting warp and woof, father threads lofty words and son paints seamless pictures. Each double-page spread contains a brief poem and usually a quote from a relevant document or person. A mural rendered in pastels spans both pages. Homage is paid to young people; Native Americans; immigrants from Europe, Africa and Asia; laborers, protesters, soldiers and performers.

Connections:

• Teachers can learn more about Walter Dean Myers for booktalks and author information at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/walter-dean-myers

• Could be included in a story time theme around patriotic holidays. Other patriotic books to share:

1. America: A Patriotic Primer by Lynne Cheney. ISBN: 978-0689851926
2. America the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates. ISBN: 978-0316083386

• Other books about September 11th students might enjoy:

1. September 11 Then and Now. ISBN: 978-0531266298
2. I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001. ISBN: 978-0545207003
3. What Were the Twin Towers? ISBN: 978-0448487854

• Other works by Walter Dean Myers:

1. The Dream Bearer. ISBN: 9780064472890
2. Jazz. ISBN: 9780823415458
3. Sunrise Over Fallujah. ISBN: 9780439916240
4. Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom. ISBN: 0060243708

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 7, 2016.

Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (2011). We are America: A tribute from the heart. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books. 

Book Review: A DIME A DOZEN

Book Review, Genre 3: A DIME A DOZEN

Author: Nikki Grimes

Title: A Dime a Dozen

Illustrator: Angelo

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 1998

ISBN: 0803722273

Plot summary: An autobiographical collection of poems about African-American poet Nikki Grimes while she was growing up in New York.

Critical analysis: I will admit: as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white Southern girl, I didn’t think I would have anything in common with author and poet Nikki Grimes in her book of poetry titled A Dime a Dozen.

I was wrong.

I, too, wanted to be a writer and was discouraged from the profession: “Writers are a dime a dozen/a dime a dozen/a dime--/I heard those words one time too many/ from my own mother who/worried I would fail and said/‘Find another dream instead’.” I, too, had parents that went through a divorce: “My parents/got divorced/last month/…I guess/I fit in now.” I, too, had a dad who would make promises he couldn’t keep: “I cried in bed/again/and wondered if/or when/you’d learn to keep/your promises.”

Grimes use of emotion in her poetry reaches out and touches the reader, thus mirroring their own feelings. Angelo, the illustrator, created beautiful pencil drawings that could pass for personal black and white pictures belonging to Nikki Grimes. Each drawing emphasized the mental picture of the poem.  I felt for the young girl from New York and was very happy knowing she is now a famous poet despite the odds against her. And if this poetry could warm my heart, I know it could also have meaning in the lives of other children.

Review excerpt:

• 2000 Best Children’s Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education

From Booklist, Dec. 1, 1998 (Vol. 95, No. 7), by Susan Dove Lempke: The black-and-white drawings illustrating each poem reinforce the sense that the African Americans in the poems are vivid individuals, not fuzzy generalizations. Free-flowing and very accessible, the poetry may inspire readers to distill their own life experiences into precise, imaginative words and phrases.

From Kirkus Reviews, 1998: Where do writers come from? In autobiographical poems, Grimes traces her struggle to find her voice from an early age; short verses explore the pain and pleasure of growing up. Everyday events come to the fore--a game of hopscotch, a stroll with her mother, playing gin rummy--and help Grimes examine how she fits in with her family and what values they share. Other poems reveal her fear of the unspoken secrets in the family, her disappointment with broken promises, her worries for the future. 

Connections:

• Students can learn more about Nikki Grimes at her website: http://www.nikkigrimes.com/ Teachers can follow the link to Teacher tips, where Nikki Grimes gives permission to download or copy all materials from her site.

• Other books by author Nikki Grimes:

1. Bronx Masquerade. ISBN: 0803725698
2. Meet Danitra Brown. ISBN: 0688154719
3. Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman. ISBN: 0439352436
4. The Road to Paris. ISBN: 0399245375

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 7, 2016.

Grimes, N. & Angelo. (1998). A dime a dozen. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.