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.