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WEBSITE: http://www.nikkigrimes.com/
CITY: Corona
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COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 323
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Grimes http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/aifolder/aipages/ai_g/grimes.php Nikki Grimes c/o Curtis Brown, Ltd. Ten Astor Place New York, NY 10003; no longer makes her email address public.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
ADDRESS
CAREER
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 1, 2019, review of Grimes, Nikki: BEDTIME FOR SWEET CREATURES. p. NA.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. ZIP Jan.-Feb., 2020. Martin, Michelle H. , “Bedtime for Sweet Creatures.”. p. 69+.
Publishers Weekly vol. 266 no. 48 Nov. 27, 2019, , “Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir.”. p. 93+.
Kirkus Reviews Mar. 1, 2020, , “Grimes, Nikki: SOUTHWEST SUNRISE.”.
Kirkus Reviews Aug. 1, 2013, , “Grimes, Nikki: WORDS WITH WINGS.”.
Booklist vol. 110 no. 2 Sept. 15, 2013, Cart, Michael. , “Words with Wings.”. p. 67.
Kirkus Reviews Nov. 1, 2014, , “Grimes, Nikki: CHASING FREEDOM.”.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 91 no. 3 May-June, 2015. Smith, Robin. , “Poems in the Attic.”. p. 124.
Children’s Bookwatch Nov., 2015. , “Poems in the Attic.”.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 92 no. 5 Sept.-Ot., 2016. Schneider, Dean. , “Garvey’s Choice.”. p. 107+.
Publishers Weekly vol. 263 no. 49 Dec. 2, 2016, , “Garvey’s Choice.”. p. 72+.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 93 no. 2 Mar.-Apr., 2017. Bracy, Pauletta Brown. , “One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance.”. p. 102.
Booklist vol. 114 no. 6 Nov. 15, 2017, Cooper, Ilene. , “The Watcher.”. p. 46+.
BookPage Jan., 2017. Verbeten, Sharon. , “One Last Word.”. p. 31.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 15, 2017, , “Grimes, Nikki: THE WATCHER.”.
Voice of Youth Advocates vol. 40 no. 6 Feb., 2018. Nicosia, Jim. , “Grimes, Nikki. Between the Lines.”. p. 54+.
The Horn Book Magazine vol. 94 no. 2 Mar.-Apr., 2018. Schneider, Dean. , “Between the Lines.”. p. 85+.
ONLINE
Kirkus Reviews, https://www.kirkusreviews.com (October 8, 2019), review of Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir
Horn Book, https://www.hbook.com (OCtober 9, 2019), review of Ordinary Hazards
Biography (you may reprint this in conference programs)
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Award, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Her distinguished works include the much-honored books Garvey's Choice, ALA Notable book What is Goodbye?, Coretta Scott King Award winner Bronx Masquerade, and Coretta Scott King Author Honor books Jazmin's Notebook, Talkin' About Bessie, Dark Sons, Words with Wings, and The Road to Paris. Creator of the popular Meet Danitra Brown, Ms. Grimes lives in Corona, California.
Biography (a longer biography for research purposes)
Nikki Grimes does not consider herself a bona fide storyteller, but, as she told an audience at the Library of Congress, she is happy to own the title Poet. Born and raised in New York City, Nikki began composing verse at the age of six and has been writing ever since that time.
A bestselling author and a prolific artist, Nikki has written many award-winning books for children and young adults including the Coretta Scott King Award winner Bronx Masquerade; the Coretta Scott King Author Honor books Jazmin's Notebook, Talkin' About Bessie, Dark Sons, The Road to Paris, and Words with Wings; Horn Book Fanfare for Talkin' About Bessie; ALA Notable books What is Goodbye? and Words with Wings; the popular Dyamonde Daniel chapter book series, and numerous picture books and novels including The New York Times bestseller Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope and, most recently, Garvey's Choice and One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance.
In addition to her work for children, Ms. Grimes has written articles for such magazines as Essence, Today's Christian Woman, Book Links, and Image, Journal of Arts & Religion.
An accomplished and widely anthologized poet of both children's and adult verse, Grimes has conducted poetry readings and lectures at international schools in Russia, China, Sweden and Tanzania, while short-term mission projects have taken her to such trouble spots as Haiti.
During the 1970s, Nikki coproduced and hosted The Kid's Show on WBAI FM in New York. Later, during a six-year stint in Sweden, she hosted their radio program for immigrants, Grunslöst, and another for Swedish Educational Radio.
In 2005, Ms.Grimes was awarded the Golden Dolphin Award by the Southern California Children's Book Association, recognizing her body of work.
Nikki has been honored with the NCTE Award for Poetry and the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award from Kent State University. In 2017, she was presented with the Children's Literature Legacy Award for her "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children."
Downloadable Booklist in Alphabetical Order
Downloadable Booklist in Chronological Order
Renée LaTulippe and Lee Bennett Hopkins discuss Nikki's career in their Spotlight on NCTE Poets, Episode 14.
School Library Journal, "A Renaissance Woman," Luann Toth, Feb 3, 2017
Read more about the Children's Literature Legacy Award.
Performing Artist / Fiber Artist / Jeweler / Jane-of-all-Trades
Fiber Art
Crossing borders artistically as well as geographically, Nikki once sang on the stage of the Stockholm Philharmonic in Sweden (where magazines refer to her as a singer who also writes!), sang and danced her way down the east coast of China, and has published and exhibited her photography both here and abroad. In recent years, she's extended herself into the world of fiber art, beaded jewelry, complex sculptural peyote beading, and handmade cards, created from recycled materials.
Based in SouthernCalifornia, her wearable-art jewelry has shown up on the necks, wrists, and earlobes of customers as far away as Utah, Iowa, Chicago, Illinois, Washington, D.C., and New YorkCity. At one time, her work was frequently featured in fine art fairs and bookstores. However, the author has little time to pursue her interest in visual and textile art these days. The work she produces now is strictly for friends, family, and the sheer joy of creating art.
Here's a link to the Grimes Gallery.
Ms.Grimes lives in Corona, California.
Chances are, since you've come to this site, you already know that I'm an author. But what, exactly, does an author do? Besides writing, of course. My own personal non-author friends are confounded by that question. You may be, as well.
To begin with, an author's life is not one long, glorious retreat in a cabin nestled in the mountains, or lounging in a cottage along the Oceanside, as Hollywood portrayals might have you believe. No. The author's life is something else altogether.
I thought it might be worthwhile to write down my personal job description to give you the real skinny on an author's life—this author, at least! Interested? Read on.
I work six days a week, every week that I am in town, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and Easter. I used to work seven days a week until God impressed upon me the sacredness—not to mention the sanity—of the Sabbath.
It's not unusual for authors to work these kinds of hours. Which is why she has no "free" time, per se. Is her time flexible? Yes. And no. She is free to schedule things at her own discretion, but once an event is scheduled, there is no flexibility. Something else is generally scheduled prior to, and following, said event. Not much wiggle room to speak of.
I communicate with my agent 2 to 3 times a week.
I correspond with editors 2 to 3 times a week.
I answer fan mail daily.
I organize and submit manuscript materials and editorial letters to the Kerlan Collection of the University of Minnesota, a repository and reference facility for children's literature.
I process Deed of Gift forms for the above, one form per manuscript.
I respond to regular requests for previously unpublished poems to be printed in anthologies.
I respond to regular requests for book donations, selecting and shipping said books.
I order and review the creation of teaching guides for my books.
I ship galleys of each new book to key librarians around the country to help promote my books.
I design, print, and ship postcards to promote my books.
I create and mail promotional kits to those who request them.
I do radio, magazine, newspaper, and internet interviews.
I maintain and update my website 1 to 2 times each month.
I create various pieces of original writing for libraries, schools, and charities who are arranging special exhibits and displays.
I search for illustrators.
I review and comment on illustrations for my books.
I proofread printed galleys of my books 2 to 3 times during production.
I conduct interviews as research for my books.
I do library and internet research for my books.
I shop for research materials and office supplies.
I file, and file, and file some more (manuscripts, book reviews, correspondence, fan mail, etc.)
This is a category in, and of, itself.
Travel: I book my own flights.
Materials: I print, prepare, and ship bookmarks, postcards, posters, and brochures to each event in advance.
Schools: I autograph bookmarks for each child I meet with. In some cases, that number exceeds 1,000 for a single school, alone. I frequently visit several schools in a row.
Administration: I'm in constant contact with event sponsors to hammer out flight and hotel arrangements, book order specifics, daily itinerary, program parameters, contracts, work or purchase order forms, tax forms, etc. If sponsors wish to videotape my presentations, release forms have to be processed. Generally, I'm involved with arranging as many as four different events at any one time.
Follow-Up: After an event, I draft and mail expense reports for out-of-pocket costs.
I sent thank you cards to each sponsor.
I file all paperwork connected with the completed event.
I mentor several writers.
I serve as judge for literary award competitions. (For one such competition, I read 105 books.)
I read manuscripts by other authors and occasionally write blurbs at their publisher's request.
I'm on the board of a writing magazine for which I read and comment on six issues at a time.
And you thought all authors do is write all day.
Not.
In addition to my personal writing projects:
I write biographical material, per request.
I write poems for anthologies, following a suggested theme or format.
I write speeches and workshop material for the keynote presentations and school visits I conduct.
Besides all of the above, I work hard to maintain my home, my garden, my relationships, and to serve my church—not necessarily in that order.
As I said at the beginning, I have no "free" time. All of my time is expensive. Consequently, I spend it with a great deal of forethought.
The truth is, everybody's time is expensive, yours included. Make sure you treat it that way.
See ya.
NikkiGrimes
Here I am in Ossining,New York, with foster brothers Kendall andBrad Buchanan. Sadly, Brad is no longer with us.
I was born on October 20, 1950, to Bernice and James Grimes. As befits a poet of African-American descent, I was born in Harlem, home of the Harlem Renaissance. When I was 13, I would give my first public poetry reading at the Countee Cullen Library, one block away from Harlem Hospital, where I came into the world.
My family was troubled before I was added to it, and for the first five years of my life, my parents separated and reunited countless times before their final split. During this time, my older sister, Carol, and I were bounced around from one relative to another, one foster home to another, just like the lead character in Jazmin's Notebook.
At 5-1/2, my sister and I were separated. She was sent to one home, and I was sent to another. (Is it any wonder I write about foster homes in books like Hopscotch Love, Road to Paris, and A Dime a Dozen?) Though many of the foster homes were horrendous, the last home in Ossining, in upstate New York, was a refuge where I enjoyed security and a sense of permanence for the first time in my life. It was a place where I knew I was loved.
My foster parents had two children of their own, two boys who I became very close to, and I still keep in touch with Kendall, the older of the two. It was while living in Ossining that I first began to write.
After penning my first poem, there was no turning back!
At age ten, my mother remarried and invited my sister and me to come back "home." I loved my foster family, but I thought it was important that I get to know my birth-mother, so I accepted her invitation. I moved back to the city. Sadly, my sister didn't stay with us for very long.
Nikki Grimes
USA flag
New York Times best-selling author Nikki Grimes is nationally renowned for her children's works and poetry. Nikki was the recipient of the 2006 National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.
Genres: Inspirational, Children's Fiction
New Books
February 2020
(hardback)
Bedtime for Sweet CreaturesMay 2020
(hardback)
Southwest SunriseJanuary 2021
(hardback)
Off to See the Sea
Series
Minnie 'n Me
My Favorite Book (1990)
Minnie's New Friend (1992)
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Winnie the Pooh Helping Hand
Oh, Bother! Someone's Baby-sitting! (1991)
Oh, Bother! Someone's Fighting! (1991)
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Dyamonde Daniel
1. Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel (2009)
2. Rich (2009)
3. Almost Zero (2010)
4. Halfway to Perfect (2012)
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Novels
Growin' (1977)
Jazmin's Notebook (1998)
Stepping Out With Grandma Mac (2001)
Bronx Masquerade (2001)
Dark Sons (2005)
The Road to Paris (2006)
A Girl Named Mister (2010)
Planet Middle School (2011)
Garvey's Choice (2016)
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Omnibus
Dark Sons / A Girl Named Mister (2017)
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Collections
Come Sunday (poems) (1996)
A Dime a Dozen (poems) (1997)
It's Raining Laughter (poems) (1997)
Is It Far to Zanzibar? (poems) (1998)
Hopscotch Love (poems) (1999)
Shoe Magic (poems) (2000)
A Pocketful of Poems (poems) (2001)
What Is Goodbye? (poems) (2004)
At Jerusalem's Gate (poems) (2005)
Thanks a Million (poems) (2006)
Welcome, Precious (poems) (2006)
Voices of Christmas (poems) (2009)
Poems in the Attic (poems) (2015)
One Last Word (poems) (2017)
Between the Lines (2018)
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Picture Books
Something On My Mind (1978)
When Daddy Prays (1980)
Meet Danitra Brown (1984)
Disney's Mickey Mouse in Sky Island (1990)
Disney's Mickey Mouse in the Viking's Eye (1990)
Disney's the Little Mermaid (1992)
Walt Disney's Cinderella (1993)
From a Child's Heart (1993)
C Is for City (1995)
Wild, Wild Hair (1997)
Baby's Bedtime (1997)
My Man Blue (1999)
Aneesa Lee and the Weaver's Gift (1999)
At Break of Day (1999)
Danitra Brown Leaves Town (2002)
Under the Christmas Tree (2002)
A Day With Daddy (2004)
Just For You! A Day With Daddy (2004)
Danitra Brown, Class Clown (2005)
When Gorilla Goes Walking (2007)
Oh, Brother! (2007)
Chasing Freedom (2015)
The Watcher (2017)
Bedtime for Sweet Creatures (2020)
Southwest Sunrise (2020)
Off to See the Sea (2021)
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Non fiction
Malcolm X (1992)
Portrait of Mary (1994)
Talkin' 'bout Bess (1998)
Tai Chi Morning (2004)
Barack Obama (2008)
Out of the Dark (2009)
Words with Wings (2013)
Ordinary Hazards (2019)
Nikki Grimes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nikki Grimes
Press72.jpg
Born October 20, 1950 (age 69)
New York City, New York
Occupation Writer, artist
Period Twentieth century
Genre Children's picture books and novels
Notable works Bronx Masquerade
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
Danitra Brown
Notable awards Coretta Scott King Award
Website
nikkigrimes.com
Nikki Grimes (born October 20, 1950) is an American author of books written for children and young adults, as well as a poet and journalist.
Contents
1 Background and career
2 Works
2.1 Published works
3 Awards and honors
4 References
5 External links
5.1 Interviews
Background and career
Grimes was born in New York City. In a conversation with a Reading Is Fundamental interviewer, she stated: "Books were my survival tools. They were how I got by, and how I coped with things. Books carried me away."[1]
She has been a guest lecturer at international schools in Sweden, Tanzania, China, and Russia. She has written articles for magazines such as Today's Christian Woman and Essence. Her interests and talents are diverse and include photography, fiber art, and beading.
Grimes currently resides in Corona, California, and continues to write poetry and books for children and young adults. She is on the board of directors for the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance. Her work has earned her honors and recognition from a number of prestigious organizations.
Her novel Bronx Masquerade was named the Coretta Scott King Award book in 2002. The Coretta Scott King Award is "given to African-American authors and illustrators for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions."
In January 2017, she was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. "The Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children." [2] Following controversy surrounding Laura Ingalls Wilder's stereotypical portrayals of indigenous peoples and the subsequent changing of the medal's name, Grimes' work was criticized for alleged anti-semitism.[3]
Works
Published works
From a Child's Heart (1993), illustrated by Brenda Joysmith
Meet Danitra Brown (1994), illustrated by Floyd Cooper (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book)
Portrait of Mary (1994)
Come Sunday (1996), illustrated by Michael Bryant
Wild, Wild Hair (1997), illustrated by George Cephas Ford
Jazmin's Notebook (1998) (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book)
A Dime a Dozen (1998), illustrated by Angelo
My Man Blue (1999), illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue (Marion Vannett Ridgway Award)
Hopscotch Love (1999), illustrated by Melodye Benson Rosales
At Break of Day (1999), illustrated by Paul Morin
Aneesa Lee and the Weaver's Gift (2000), illustrated by Ashley Bryan
Shoe Magic (2001), illustrated by Terry Widener
A Pocketful of Poems (2001), illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Stepping Out with Grandma Mac (2002), illustrated by Angelo
C is for City (2002), illustrated by Pat Cummings
When Daddy Prays (2002), illustrated by Tim Ladwig
Bronx Masquerade (2002), (Coretta Scott King Author Award) (Best Children's Book of 2002, Association of Theological Booksellers)
Talkin' About Bessie (2002), illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, Author Honor Book)
Tai Chi Morning (2004), illustrated by Ed Young
A Day with Daddy (2004), illustrated by Nicole Tadgell
What is Goodbye? (2004), illustrated by Raul Colón (ALA Notable Book)
It's Raining Laughter, photographs by Myles C. Pinkney
At Jerusalem's Gate, illustrated by David Frampton
Danitra Brown, Class Clown (2005), illustrated by E.B. Lewis
One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance (2017), illustrated by Cozbi Cabrera, R. Gregory Christie, etc.
Dark Sons (2005), (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book)
Thanks a Million (2006), illustrated by Cozbi A. Carrera
Welcome, Precious (2006), illustrated by Bryan Collier
The Road to Paris (2006), (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book)
When Gorilla Goes Walking (2007), illustrate by Shane Evans
Oh, Brother! (2007), illustrated by Mike Benny
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope (2008), illustrated by Bryan Collier (NY Times Bestseller)
Out of the Dark: Nikki Grimes, Author at Work (2009)
Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel (2009), illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Rich: a Dyamonde Daniel Book (2009), illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Voices of Christmas (2009), illustrated by Eric Velasquez
A Girl Named Mister (2010)
Almost Zero: a Dyamonde Daniel Book (2010), illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Planet Middle School (2011)
"First Day" (unknown)
Words with Wings, (2013), Coretta Scott King honor book
"Garvey's Choice", (2016) Laura Ingall Wilder Award
"One Last Word", (2017)
"The Watcher", (2017), illustrated by Bryan Collier
Awards and honors
1993 NAACP Image Award Finalist for Malcolm X: a Force for Change
2003 Coretta Scott King Author Award
2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children
2011 Horace Mann Upstanders Award for Almost Zero: a Dyamonde Daniel Book
2016 Virginia Hamilton Literacy Award
2017 Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal
Nikki Grimes dabbles in watercolors and collage (she created one of the illustrations for One Last Word!), she crafts handmade books, cards and beaded jewelry, is a textile artist, and once sang, danced and acted her way down the east coast of China. Her primary passion, though, is writing books for children and young adults. Her complete bibliography of trade and mass market books number close to 100. Her trade titles include historical fiction, biographies, chapter books, and novels in prose. However, poetry and novels-in-verse are her genres of choice.
A bestselling author, Grimes is the recipient of the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Award, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Other awards include the Coretta Scott King Award for Bronx Masquerade; CSK Honors for Jazmin's Notebook, Talkin' About Bessie, Dark Sons, The Road to Paris, and Words With Wings; the NAACP Image Award for New York Times Bestseller Barack Obama:Son of Promise, Child of Hope; The Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry; Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for One Last Word; Claudia Lewis Poetry Award; the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award; the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor; Horn Book Fanfare for Talkin' About Bessie; The Horace Mann Upstanders Book Award; the VOYA Non-Fiction Honor; The Lion & The Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry; International Youth Library White Ravens List; ALA Notables for What is Goodbye? and Words With Wings; Notable Books for a Global Society, and more.
The novel Growin' marked Grimes' entry into children's literature. In addition, her books include Something on My Mind--her first book of poetry--A Dime a Dozen, From A Child's Heart, A Girl Named Mister, Planet Middle School, Aneesa Lee & The Weaver's Gift, Chasing Freedom, the popular Dyamonde Daniel chapter book series, the beloved Meet Danitra Brown, Wild, Wild Hair, and Welcome Precious.
A much anthologized poet, her own collections include Pocketful of Poems, Poems in the Attic, Thanks a Million, When Daddy Prays, Come Sunday, Voices of Christmas, When Gorilla Goes Walking, and Shoe Magic. Check the bibliography on her website for a full listing.
In addition to her work for children, Grimes has written articles for such magazines as Essence, Horn Book, Today's Christian Woman, Book Links, English Journal, and Image: Journal of Arts & Religion, among others.
Those who follow her on social media know that Grimes is also a photographer and avid gardener with a special penchant for roses. They also know that a new poem is apt to pop up on her wall at any given time, especially if something heavy is on her heart, usually in response to a report of social injustice.
Social justice is one of the themes readers find in books written by Grimes, often set against an urban landscape. Her themes, though, are wide-ranging: bullying, friendship, foster care, forgiveness, gratitude, empathy, identity, mental illness, loss, sexual assault--all find a place in her work. Whether the themes are light or heavy, the consistent thread of hope, in stories laced with humor, are hallmarks of books written by Nikki Grimes.
Her most recent titles include the much-acclaimed novel-in-verse Garvey's Choice the groundbreaking poetry collection, One Last Word, and the picture book The Watcher. Her much anticipated memoir, Ordinary Hazards, releases October 8, 2019.
Nikki Grimes: From Foster Child to Famous Author and Poet
Amy Meythaler
By Amy Meythaler
September 27, 2017
Nikki's childhood photoNikki Grimes may now be a New York Times bestselling author and noteworthy poet held in high regard, but as a child, she faced significant family challenges and was in and out of foster care for years. Quite a rough beginning for such an accomplished author, but she found solace in books, pen, and paper.
“I could no more stop writing than breathing, so I knew I had to figure out a way to make a living as a writer.”
“I often say that reading and writing were my survival tools,” shares Grimes, “and the library was my sanctuary. I needed a safe place because my childhood was rife with challenges. Reading and writing were my preferred techniques for coping, and so I became an avid reader early on.”
Though an ardent reader, Grimes did not have ready access to books outside of the library or school. “As for homes full of books, that’s another story. I grew up in and out of foster homes, and I didn’t have access to books of my own until high school. By then, I was already an avid reader, having made excellent use of school and public libraries.”
Grimes at 16
Grimes at 16
When she was just six, Grimes began composing her own poetry. A few years later, she was giving public poetry readings. “I was 13 when I gave my first public reading, but I don’t remember the first poem I recited. The Countee Cullen Library was holding a reading of young poets, and my father signed me up. I was the youngest, by far. You might say I was a little nervous. I thought the entire universe could hear my knees knocking as I approached the microphone! My father, though, had told me to focus on him alone, and I did precisely that. I think he believed this experience would be confidence-building for me, and it was.”
Grimes with foster brother Kendall Buchanan
Grimes with foster brother Kendall Buchanan
Grimes’ father has long served as her cheerleader. In fact, it was he who encouraged her not only in poetry but in other creative pursuits and interests, including singing, dancing, photography, painting, and mixed-media creations. “I was very lucky when I was young. Rather than worry about me becoming distracted, my father told me, no matter what creative field I explored, nothing I learned along the way would be wasted. Once I finally settled on my medium of choice, he assured me I would be able to incorporate all that I’d learned in that chosen specialty, and he was right.
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“Every artistic discipline, every medium, impacts my writing in some way.”
“My exploration of music formed the basis of the lyrical quality of my poetry. My dive into theater laid the groundwork for my understanding of character development, dialogue and voice—elements reviewers have most often remarked upon in works like One Last Word (Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2017), Jazmin’s Notebook (Puffin Books, 2000), and Dark Sons (Jump at the Sun, 2005). My more recent forays into visual art helped me to see in new ways and led me to try my hand at illustration for the first time. Every artistic discipline, every medium, impacts my writing in some way. Like I said, Daddy was right!”
Grownin'For Grimes, writing is about communication, so she is always writing for an audience. To reach that audience, she sought out opportunities for publication early on. “I began publishing in high school journals and went on from there. As far as a career goal, I thought in terms of writing and—writing and teaching, writing and photography, writing and acting. Writing was always in the mix. I could no more stop writing than breathing, so I knew I had to figure out a way to make a living as a writer, whether part time or full time.”
Grimes admits the road to seeing her books published was lengthy and bumpy. In fact, her debut novel, Growin’ (Dial Books, 1977) wasn’t published until she was 27 and her first book of poetry, Something on My Mind (Dial Books, 1978), was published a year later. “I could have easily papered a room with all of the rejection slips I received before I got that first ‘yes.’ I pressed on, though, because I knew I had genuine talent. James Baldwin saw promise in me, Julius Lester saw promise in me, and later Toni Morrison saw promise in me. Their faith kept me going.”
Nikki with Katherine Paterson
Grimes with Katherine Paterson
With a goal to form an emotional connection with her readers, Grimes is very deliberate about including real-life feelings in her books. “We are all human, no matter our station in life, or our race, culture, or religion. What we have to offer one another exists at the deepest level of our emotions. It is at the intersection of our emotions that we are able to share joy, impart hope, and help heal. The heart is where we meet, and so I am always chasing that point of connection in my work. And yes, that means allowing myself to feel the feelings I wish to convey—shame in A Girl Named Mister (Zondervan, 2010); Jazmin’s fear of mental illness in Jazmin’s Notebook (Puffin Books); Ishmael’s sense of abandonment in Dark Sons (Jump at the Sun); laughter in Planet Middle School (Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2011); and loneliness in The Road to Paris (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2006). It’s not about self-therapy, though. Ultimately, it’s about art. It’s about making art to stimulate thought and to stir the heart.”
Books3Readers and critics agree Grimes easily hits her target; they feel connected through her work. With more than 50 books published for children and adults, Grimes has a large and still growing fan base of readers in every age bracket. She has also received many prestigious honors and awards.
“Awards always bring welcome attention to the titles connected with them,” says Grimes, “and that’s always appreciated. An award can mean that a book stays in print longer, or that it enjoys added sales, or that it goes to paperback, or that a teacher or librarian finds a book he or she might not have, otherwise. Or it can mean all of the above. More than anything, though, it means that more children or young adults will have an opportunity to read our work.”Awards
Nikki at Wilder Awards Ceremony
Grimes at Wilder Awards Ceremony
Of all the awards Grimes has received, she places the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal at the top because it honors her entire body of work. “It confirms for me, personally, that I have made the substantial contributions to children’s literature that I had hoped for. Second on that list of top awards would certainly be the Coretta Scott King Award for Bronx Masquerade (Dial Books, 2001). It was the first major award I ever won for my work. Both awards confirmed and challenged me to continue to raise the bar, as I write, and to keep striving for excellence. I was also pleased to receive the Armin R. Shultz Literacy Award because its focus is on books that promote social justice.” Grimes is not one to rest on her laurels. She continues to write and has several books that will be available within the next few months. The Watcher (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2017), Grimes’ latest book, will be published this month. It is illustrated by Brian Collier and inspired by Psalm 121. February 2018 is the publish date for her young adult novel, Between the Lines (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018). It is a companion to Bronx Masquerade (Dial Books). And later, Bedtime for Sweet Creatures, featuring illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon will be available.
Author Interview: Nikki Grimes on The Power of Words
Home » Author Interview: Nikki Grimes on The Power of Words
By Traci Sorell
Memoir is one of my favorite genres to read. When Nikki Grimes shared some poems from hers last summer, I knew I must read Ordinary Hazards (Boyds Mills & Kane, 2019), the entire book.
Written in verse, her words captivated me much as the act of writing did her at an early age. The acclaim she’s already received in starred reviews and from fellow powerhouse creators speaks to the truth telling found within its pages.
Boyds Mill & Kane
Nikki, I’m going to jump right in with questions because I couldn’t put down Ordinary Hazards once I started reading. Although we faced different challenges growing up, I reflected on the observations you shared of grownups in this memoir in verse and they were spot on. Your experiences cultivated self-preservation and a sage outlook early in you. Tell us what prompted you to write this book at this time.
The answer is multi-pronged. First, Time is what prompted me. That is to say, the passage of time, and as I age, I’m increasingly in touch with my mortality.
In the last couple of years, I’ve begun working my way down my personal list of critical to-do projects, and this memoir was at the top. I’ve always believed that the most important story I have to tell is my own, and I felt the clock ticking.
The second answer to the question is also Time, as in the times in which we live. For many of us, this is a dark season, especially in our country. So many of the ideals we hold for America—some of them realized, some of them aspirational—are under attack by the current administration, and it is easy to succumb to the fear that the darkness will win.
But the God I know teaches me otherwise, and so does my personal experience. Light always wins, in the end. It doesn’t win easily, it doesn’t win without a fight, but it wins.
Ordinary Hazards is a story about light overcoming darkness, and I think that kind of story is needed now more than ever.
Lastly, Ordinary Hazards is a testimony about the power of words. At a time when truth-telling journalists and bold citizens are under attack, it’s important to be reminded that our words matter, that they carry power, and that we have a right to own them, and to speak the truth we know.
Powerful. Imbued with truth—your words here and in the book. What do you hope a reader will take away from Ordinary Hazards?
As is true with any book, each reader will resonate with a different aspect of the story. In that sense, there are many takeaways.
Nikki and Traci at the Coretta Scott King 50th Anniversary Awards Ceremony
Hope, of course, is a main ingredient of every story I tell. No matter what challenges you may face in life, you have reason to hope. Aside from that, there are three general takeaways I long for readers to grasp.
Your past need not dictate your future. We can be informed by the past without being tethered to it.
There is always light at the end of even the darkest tunnel.
The responsibility, and the power, to create the future you choose lie within you. We are all stronger than we know!
I also hope readers walk away from my story feeling empowered to own theirs.
You’ve definitely communicated all of those with strength and authenticity. Now that you’ve completed the first entry on your must accomplish list, I’m curious. You’ve written for every age group in children’s-YA literature. What have you not done yet in your career that you still want to accomplish?
That’s easy: a collection of adult poetry and a novel or short story collection for adults.
I’d also like to attempt a graphic novel. I’m not sure I can pull it off, which is, of course, why I feel driven to give it a try!
Harriet Tubman’s descendants with Nikki and her Chasing Freedom picture book, illustrated by Michele Wood (Orchard Books, 2015).
I have no doubt you’ll do all of those! What craft and career advice do you have for writers just entering this field?
First and foremost, honor your audience. Writing for young readers is a precious responsibility. Give these readers your very best.
Second, stretch yourself as an artist by trying a variety of genres. You may not succeed at them all equally, but in the attempt, your craftsmanship will grow.
Third, if you get an idea that frightens you, walk into your fear. Whenever I’ve walked into my fear, the result has been some of my very best work.
Lastly—and this connects to the first—remember that good enough isn’t. Don’t settle for competence in your work. Go for greatness, every single time. You may not always hit it, but you’ll continually raise the bar in your own work, and that is something that will give you, and your readers, enormous satisfaction.
Illustrator Bryan Collier and Nikki signing Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope (Simon & Schuster, 2008)
That’s advice I needed to hear right now, so thank you for that. What do you have coming out next?
Something completely different! A picture book titled Bedtime for Sweet Creatures, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon [(who also illustrated Nikki’s book Poems in the Attic (Lee & Low, 2015)] and published by Sourcebooks comes out in January 2020. I love being able to move back and forth between genres and age groups! I find it refreshing.
I look forward to reading that one! I do too and your work inspires me to keep pushing myself. Thank you for this interview and sharing your childhood through Ordinary Hazards with all of us.
Cynsational Notes
Author Nikki Grimes, photo by Aaron Lemen
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2017 Children’s Literature Legacy Award, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.
The author of Coretta Scott King Award-winner Bronx Masquerade, illustrated by Christopher Myers (Penguin Random House, 2001), her most recent titles include the much-honored Words With Wings (Boyds Mills & Kane, 2019), Garvey’s Choice (Boyds Mills & Kane, 2019) and Boston Globe-Horn Book honor, One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance (Bloomsbury, 2017).
Her much-anticipated memoir in verse, Ordinary Hazards, released last month.
Traci Sorell covers children’s-YA writing, illustration, publishing and other book news from Indigenous authors and illustrators for Cynsations. She also covers fiction and nonfiction picture books.
Traci is the author of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, illustrated by Frané Lessac (Charlesbridge, 2018), a 2019 Sibert Medal Honor, a 2019 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, and 2019 Orbis Pictus Honor award-winning nonfiction picture book with four starred reviews.
Her newest works include: At the Mountain’s Base, illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (Kokila, Sept. 17, 2019); Indian No More, a historical fiction middle grade novel co-authored with the late Charlene Willing McManis (Tu Books, 2019); and “College Degree,” which appears in Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Marlena Myles (Millbrook, 2019).
Traci is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her Tribe is located. She is represented by Emily Mitchell of Wernick & Pratt Literary Agency. Follow Traci on Twitter and Instagram.
Q&A with Nikki Grimes
July 12
2:30pm to 3:30pm
Hopkins winner talks about how one can find fuel for future from the past
Schlow Centre Region Library is hosting the 26th annual Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award on Thursday, July 12, starting at 2:30 p.m. This year’s winner is New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes.
Established in 1993, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award is presented annually to an American poet or anthologist for the most outstanding new book of children’s poetry published in the previous calendar year. The award is a joint collaboration between the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Penn State University Libraries, and Lee Bennett Hopkins.
Grimes is receiving the award for her book, One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. In this collection, she shares poems from poets of the Harlem Renaissance as inspiration to create new poetic forms. She connects the struggles of the past with current challenges in the world today.
Grimes is the recipient of the 2017 Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Among the award-winning books she has written for children and young adults include Bronx Masquerade, Talkin’ About Bessie, and What Is Goodbye? Her latest book, Between the Lines, was published earlier this year and is a companion to Bronx Masquerade.
In early June, Grimes took time to talk with Schlow Library about her work.
Q: In One Last Word, you share poems from poets of the Harlem Renaissance? What inspired you to write a book based on the works of writers such as Langston Hughes and Georgia Douglas Johnson?
Grimes: I’m a child of Harlem and grew up with a keen awareness of these poets, and have loved them ever since. The primary motivation, though, was to do a book about the Harlem Renaissance in which I had an opportunity to introduce young readers to some of the women poets of that period with whom most are unfamiliar.
Q: I read where you started writing when you were 6 years old. Did someone influence you as a child to write? Were there writers who inspired you?
Grimes: There were no writers that influenced me that age, but there was a need inside me to express what was in my heart and mind at a time when I felt there was no one I could talk to but God. Writing allowed me to share my thoughts on the page. In addition, I had an intrinsic fascination with words, their vast variety and power. I would spend time playing with puzzles and word jumbles, and this word play was the beginning of my journey as a poet. Word play is, after all, the very basis of poetry.
Q: From the book, you believe one can find fuel for the future from the past. Can you describe examples of that, and do you enjoy looking to the past to find fuel for you?
Grimes: We all learn from the past, do we not? We are fueled by the lessons we learn from parents and teachers who bring us knowledge from earlier generations, and we are motivated by the experiences and lessons of our own pasts. In one way or another, we all have the ability to find fuel for the future in the past. If we are wise, that is what we endeavor to do. I certainly have.
Q: Are there challenges or rewards with working with illustrators who are creating illustrations based on your words?
Grimes: I don’t actually work with illustrators, per se, but I am involved with selecting them. With this particular book, I gave my publisher a wish list of artists who I knew would resonate with this material. I know I chose rightly because the work they produced in response to it was extraordinary.
Q: You came out with a new book this year — Between the Lines. Can you talk about that a little and what the reaction to it has been like?
Grimes: Between the Lines is a companion to the novel Bronx Masquerade. This new novel follows a smaller group of students over the course of a year as they discover ways to explore their thoughts and feelings through poetry and prepare work for a poetry slam at semester’s end. As in the earlier novel, here students learn they are more alike than they are different, and the form strong bonds and a sense of community along the way. This newer book also explores some hot-button issues like immigration and criminal injustice. Reviewers and readers have welcomed a return to the Bronx classroom of Mr. Ward, I’m very happy to say!
Q: You have written books for different age groups. Do you find one group more rewarding or challenging to write for than the others?
Grimes: Every book has its own challenges, no matter the genre or age target. I’m fine with that because I love a good challenge. I thrive on challenging myself and stretching myself as an artist. For me, it is the only way to go. I’m working on a manuscript for YA and adult right now, and it is, hands down, the most challenging work I’ve ever attempted. Pray for me!
• • •
The Lee Bennett Hopkins Award ceremony is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Schlow Centre Region Library, and the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. It will be held in the Downsbrough Community Room and is free and open to the public. Grimes will receive the award and read from One Last Word.
For more information, visit schlowlibrary.org. For more information on the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award, visit pabook.libraries.psu.edu.
Posted 6/25/2018
Nikki Grimes Explains Why Mental Illness Is Not A Weakness
by Vanessa Willoughby
Oct 01, 2019 | Filed in Reviews
Accomplished poet and author Nikki Grimes dives headfirst into childhood memories for her memoir Ordinary Hazards (Wordsong, Oct 2019; Gr 7 Up). Having created a work that simultaneously shares trauma and moments of light, Grimes discusses the process of excavating her personal history. We spoke to Grimes about the project's style choices, her family relationships, and the often solitary nature of being a writer.
Why did you decide to write your memoir in verse, rather than narrative prose? What are the advantages and disadvantages in choosing to frame your story in this way?
I don't think in terms of advantage/disadvantage when it comes to form or genre. I look for what seems to be organic to the story I want to tell. In the case of Ordinary Hazards, poetry was what worked. Initially, I was unsure how I would tell my story. I'd made several attempts at this memoir, over the years, and had experimented with various prose and poetry forms. In general, though, poetry is my preferred vocabulary. It allows me to dive more deeply into the emotional realm than I've ever been able to reach through prose, and the realm of memory lies deepest of all. I've also found poetry especially effective when navigating sensitive or difficult subject matter. Verse allows me to treat material in as delicate or light-handed a manner as I choose, while still being honest and authentic. It also allows for a deft kind of power that pulls no punches, when need be. Poetry helps me manage the balance of the two.
Did writing your memoir prove to be a therapeutic process? How can memoir both preserve the past and exorcise old ghosts?
Photo by Aaron Lemen
I can't say this particular writing was therapeutic, per se, but that's because I've been processing these experiences, little by little, for years. However, I did find the work revelatory. The process brought back memories I'd long since forgotten, or didn't even know were there—like ice skating which I previously had no conscious memory of—and allowed me to grieve the loss of other memories that are gone forever. There was also the insanity of working out the math of my life, i.e. when and where each memory occurred within the broader stream of my life. Ordinary Hazards was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, in that respect. I spent a lot more time in prayer than I thought I would!
As for excising old ghosts, I do have the sense that I never need to revisit certain dark memories again, and that's a relief. In that sense, writing about the past, if only for oneself, is a sure way to lighten the mental and emotional load. I highly recommend it.
You share that your mother struggled with alcoholism and paranoid schizophrenia. Asking as someone who is part of the community, why do you think the topics of mental health and mental illness are so difficult to address in the Black community? Speaking as a member of the community, why is it, for many Black people, still such a taboo subject?
As Black people in this country, we are permanently in a defensive posture, having to constantly prove ourselves, prove our worth. The last thing we can afford to do is show any perceived weakness, and weakness is precisely the way we view mental illness. It becomes something to hide, rather than something to talk about, or even acknowledge. However, mental illness is, in fact, a disease, not a flaw. In truth, we are only weak when we refuse to get the help we need to cope with that disease. We have to make that shift in thinking about mental illness in the same way we think about hypertension, or diabetes, diseases for which we are willing to seek medical help. We have a long way to go.
Your memoir contemplates what it means to not only have a home but to belong. As a child, was there a difference between having a place to call home and having a place where you truly belonged?
A child in foster care is always straddling that fence. A foster home is a place to stay, but rarely a place where a child belongs. In the best situation, it can become both, but that is not a given, and that sense of belonging certainly doesn't happen overnight. It takes time to be known by and to know, those around you who begin as strangers. So much of belonging has to do with shared memories, and shared memories take time to build. Foster children rarely stay in one place long enough for those memories to be created, and to take root.
In Book Three, in the poem "The Landscape," you write, "I half suspected / my slow-burning anger, / simmering beneath the surface, / made me more dangerous / than I wanted proof of." Can anger ever be a productive force? Do you feel that your own anger played a part in the shaping of your identity?
Anger, in itself, is both healthy and necessary. There are things in life that should make us angry, and it is vital that we own and express that anger, for our own mental and emotional health. I learned that by studying my mother. Suppressing anger was very much part of my mother's cycle of mental illness. She would routinely stuff her emotions, which she attempted to cover with bouts of drinking. That attempt would fail, of course, which made way for those emotions to eventually erupt, leading to a full-blown psychotic event. Not good. Obviously, paranoid schizophrenia is a lot more complex than that, but suppressing anger definitely doesn't help. We all need to let our anger out. The question is how. For me, writing was key. Writing became the safety valve that allowed me to release anger in a healthy way. Otherwise, the anger likely would have destroyed me, as it has destroyed others.
Who are your childhood literary heroes and how did they inform the person you wanted to be? How did your opinion of these characters change once you'd grown up and grown older?
I can't think of a single character that I thought of in that way. I know there were certain authors I wished to emulate, though. Chief among these were James Baldwin, Khalil Gibran, and Doris Lessing. I wanted to write like them. And Chinua Achebe. I wanted to write with that kind of power. I still haven't ascended to their heights, of course, but they still inspire me. Along the way, I've added poets like Yeats, Lucille Clifton, Pablo Neruda, Mari Evans and others to that important list. The authors, themselves, rather than their characters, are my literary heroes.
In the poem "English Class," you say, "Writing was / a lonely business." What is the loneliest thing about writing and being a writer? What is the most rewarding?
Until you're able to carve your thoughts onto the page—and you're never able to capture all of them—you can't invite anyone in to share the journey of your mind, and the mind where is the full story plays out. If only others could see what you see! But, alas, the view is always limited. On the plus side, though, it is amazingly satisfying as a writer to be able to share a bit of the wild play of thought and emotion, memory and imagination, that goes on in one's own mind. It is a gift that pays dividends to both the writer and the reader. As rewards go, that's kind of hard to beat.
Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir will be published on October 8th.
Click here to read our review of Ordinary Hazards.
Grimes, Nikki BEDTIME FOR SWEET CREATURES Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (Children's Fiction) $17.99 1, 14 ISBN: 978-1-4926-3832-2
A patient mother with a healthy sense of whimsy helps prepare her headstrong toddler for bed.
The story opens with a toddler, fists raised into the air, proclaiming, "No! No! No!" Thank goodness this not-at-the-moment-sweet creature's mother is patient and creative as she corrals her child into a bedtime routine that may feel familiar to many readers. The words and behaviors of the child evading bed are translated into animal sounds and behaviors: wide-eyed and asking "Who? Who?" like an owl; shaking hair and roaring like a lion; hanging on for a hug like a koala. And, of course, the requisite leaving bed for a last trip to the bathroom and drink, like a human child. Zunon's art takes this book to the next level: Her portrayals of the animals mentioned in the text are colorful and full of intriguing patterns and shapes. Additionally, the expressions on the faces of the mother, child, and animals speak volumes, portraying the emotions of each. Arguably, the sweetest part of the story comes at the end, when the child asks to sleep with Mommy and Dad. Though the mother sighs, the child climbs in, along with "owl, bear, snake, kitty, fawn, squirrel, koala, tiger, wolf." (Readers attuned to details will notice the father's look of delight at the parade of animals.) All characters are black.
An adventurous treat of a bedtime story. (Picture book. 2-5)
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"Grimes, Nikki: BEDTIME FOR SWEET CREATURES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2019, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A601050409/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=124725f8. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Bedtime for Sweet Creatures
by Nikki Grimes; illus. by Elizabeth Zunon
Preschool Sourcebooks Jabberwocky 32 pp. g 1/20 978-1-4926-3832-2 $17.99
Grimes puts an animal-centric spin on a youngster's innovations for bedtime stalling. This lushly illustrated story, on double-page spreads full of bold, saturated color, opens with an African American child's firm attestation: "No! No! No!" It's bedtime, and this young person wants no part of it. The narrator, the child's mother, speaks in an immediate second-person voice. "In the forest of your room, you cling to Bear. I turn back the sheets, and you GROWL. 'In you both go,' I say." In response to each of Mommy's directives, the child's defiance conjures a colorful creature, adorned with geometric patterns. In most cases, the imagined animal is larger than the protagonist, emphasizing just how strong bedtime resistance can be. The child freezes in place like Fawn, hangs onto Mommy's neck like Koala, crouches and pounces like Tiger, and hops like Antelope, all of which contribute to the difficulties of winding down for sleep. Zunon mixes realistic portrayals of the human characters with more stylized depictions of the animals, to highlight the role the child's imagination is playing. The gender-unspecified protagonist, wearing a footed red one-sie with a back flap, helps all young listeners see themselves in these scenarios. A clever bedtime tale for stubborn, active, twenty-first-century kids. MICHELLE H. MARTIN
g indicates that the book was read in galley or page proof. The publisher's price is the suggested retail price and does not indicate a possible discount to libraries. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Martin, Michelle H. "Bedtime for Sweet Creatures." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. ZIP, Jan.-Feb. 2020, p. 69+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616788608/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0ea665d8. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir
Nikki Grimes. Wordsong, $19.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-62979-881-3
Grimes (One Last Word) presents a gripping memoir in verse constructed from imperfect recollections of the hardship and abuse she endured as a child. Having lost chunks of her memory as a result of traumatic experiences, Grimes relies on her art to fill in the blanks. In recurring entries titled "The Mystery of Memory," and "Notebook," Grimes contextualizes her scattered remembrances to provide a sense of time and place for readers ("Where is the chronology of a life/ chaotic from the start?"). Grimes eloquently conveys the instability of a childhood lived in the unpredictable wake of a mentally ill mother and abusive stepfather alongside hopeful anecdotes about the safe haven provided by her beloved older sister, her growing faith, and the often absent yet doting father she lost too soon. Underlining the idea that "a memoir's focus is on truth, not fact," Grimes courageously invites readers to join her on a journey through the shadows of her past, bridging "the gaps/ with suspension cables/forged of steely gratitude/ for having survived my past/at all." Ages 12--up.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 PWxyz, LLC
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"Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir." Publishers Weekly, vol. 266, no. 48, 27 Nov. 2019, p. 93+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A607823458/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8b1b3b4f. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Grimes, Nikki SOUTHWEST SUNRISE Bloomsbury (Children's Fiction) $18.99 5, 5 ISBN: 978-1-5476-0082-3
A young black child reluctantly moves from New York City to New Mexico.
The young protagonist is not excited about leaving New York City and “the feeling of wow / craning my neck to study / the tops of skyscrapers” to move to New Mexico, where everything will be “browns and tans / …the only colors / deserts are good for” (a questionable choice of words). But on this first morning in New Mexico, the grumpy kid is gifted with a series of nature-based surprises. First, a mountain unnoticed the night before is waiting outside the “barless window.” Here and throughout the book, Minor’s lovely art captures the beauty of the Southwestern United States in gouache watercolors—in this case presenting a picturesque scene perfectly captured in a window frame surrounded by white space that makes the view all the more arresting. With the help of a field guide, the young protagonist sets off on a nature walk that reveals colorful flowers, birds, lizards, vistas, and more, all described with Grimes’ signature poetic lyricism and vividly depicted in Minor’s gorgeous illustrations. By the end of the walk, the intrepid budding naturalist is ready to give this beautiful new home a try.
How glorious: a story about a black child experiencing the outdoors that is beautiful in every way. (Picture book. 3-7)
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"Grimes, Nikki: SOUTHWEST SUNRISE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2020. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616094037/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8de95cb2. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Grimes, Nikki WORDS WITH WINGS Wordsong/Boyds Mills (Children's Fiction) $15.95 9, 1 ISBN: 978-1-59078-985-8
In this delightfully spare narrative in verse, Coretta Scott King Award-winning Grimes examines a marriage's end from the perspective of a child. Set mostly in the wake of her father's departure, only-child Gabby reveals with moving clarity in these short first-person poems the hardship she faces relocating with her mother and negotiating the further loss of a good friend while trying to adjust to a new school. Gabby has always been something of a dreamer, but when she begins study in her new class, she finds her thoughts straying even more. She admits: "Some words / sit still on the page / holding a story steady. / - / But other words have wings / that wake my daydreams. / They - / tickle my imagination, / and carry my thoughts away." To illustrate Gabby's inner wanderings, Grimes' narrative breaks from the present into episodic bursts of vivid poetic reminiscence. Luckily, Gabby's new teacher recognizes this inability to focus to be a coping mechanism and devises a daily activity designed to harness daydreaming's creativity with a remarkably positive result for both Gabby and the entire class. Throughout this finely wrought narrative, Grimes' free verse is tight, with perfect breaks of line and effortless shifts from reality to dream states and back. An inspirational exploration of caring among parent, teacher and child--one of Grimes' best. (Poetry. 8-12)
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"Grimes, Nikki: WORDS WITH WINGS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2013. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A338101886/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=89994ef2. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Words with Wings. By Nikki Grimes. Sept. 2013.96p. Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $15.95 (9781590789858). Gr. 3-6.
Gabby, named for the angel Gabriel, is a daydreamer, and words fire her imagination, creating new worlds for her to inhabit. After her parents separate and Gabby must go to a different school, her daydreams become increasingly vivid, intruding on the realities of the classroom and schoolwork. To Gabby's occasional puzzlement, her mother worries ("Mom names me for a / creature with wings, then wonders / what makes my thoughts fly"), but her wonderful new teacher is more patient, wisely helping her capture her daydreams on paper and inspiring a new dream to become an author: "Dad is a dreamer / and Morn is a maker. / I've been thinking, / maybe / I can be / both." Grimes, recipient of the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, has written a novel in verse that is an enthusiastic celebration of the power of words and imagination and a dramatic demonstration that daydreamers are, as Gabby hopes, "cool." Always accessible, Grimes' language is vivid, rhythmic, and figurative: Gabby says her dreams are "fancy dancing in my mind," for example, and thoughts of a circus are a "trampoline to the big top." Plain or fancy, Grimes' words speak to the daydreamer in every reader.--Michael Cart
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 American Library Association
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Cart, Michael. "Words with Wings." Booklist, vol. 110, no. 2, 15 Sept. 2013, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A347520849/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=fffe6d0f. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Grimes, Nikki CHASING FREEDOM Orchard (Children's Picture Books) $18.99 1, 6 ISBN: 978-0-439-79338-4
Two iconic women recount their stories. In New York state in 1904, a suffragist convention is about to begin, and Susan B. Anthony is scheduled to introduce Harriet Tubman. But first the two women meet at Anthony's home for tea and talk. Grimes artfully creates an afternoon of conversation and reminiscence in carefully constructed, fact-based vignettes that allow each to recount her life, accomplishments and continuing dreams. Each piece--there are 21--consists of both narration and dialogue that draw readers into the world of slavery, the Underground Railroad, the struggle for women's rights, the fight for temperance and the dangers of public speaking on unpopular subjects. While not a dual biography, there is a plethora of information about both Tubman and Anthony as well as their times. Intended for reading aloud, the text can be an excellent supplement to 19th-century American studies. Wood's full-page portraits are stunning. The folk-style acrylic-and-oil paintings are vibrant, detailed and emotionally charged. American quilt patterns and African motifs add to the depth of artistry. A tremendous opportunity for children to understand what these women worked so hard to accomplish--one succeeding and one coming close. (capsule biographies, additional notes, bibliography, author's note) (Picture book. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Grimes, Nikki: CHASING FREEDOM." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2014. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A387951524/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4539632d. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Poems in the Attic
by Nikki Grimes;
illus. by Elizabeth Zunon
Primary, Intermediate Lee & Low 48 pp.
5/15 978-1-62014-027-7 $19.95 g
On a visit to her grandmother's house, a little girl finds her mother's stash of childhood poems in the attic. The poems written by the mom in this story are tanka poems, an ancient Japanese form made up of five lines each and with strict syllable requirements. The daughter is a poet, too, and her poems about the experience of finding and reading her mother's work appear in free verse on left-hand pages (the mother's poems are on the right, italicized). Each page turn is like opening that old box in the attic --you never know what is coming next. The poems reflect the mother's childhood travels as an Air Force brat--her family was stationed in a variety of places, from Los Angeles and Alaska to Japan and Portugal. The little girl learns tidbits about her mom's childhood and then creates her own handmade book, including both her poems and her mother's. Pink-toned acrylic and oil illustrations are enhanced by cut-paper and fabric collage, allowing readers to imagine seeing the aurora borealis in Alaska, go hiking in Germany, or smell the cherry blossoms in Japan. The final spread is a celebration of love and poetry as the girl is reunited with her mother. Young poets (and their parents and grandparents) will be inspired to write poems for future generations; the author's note and notes on the poetic forms will help them get started.
Most of the books are recommended; all of them are subject to the qualifications in the reviews. g indicates that the book was read in galley or page proof. The publisher's price is the suggested retail price and does not indicate a possible discount to libraries. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. H indicates a book that the editors believe to be an outstanding example of its genre, of books of this particular publishing season, or of the author's body of work. For a complete key to the review abbreviations as well as for bios of our reviewers, please visit hbook.com/horn-book-magazine.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Smith, Robin. "Poems in the Attic." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 91, no. 3, May-June 2015, p. 124. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A411615621/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=03d5e26b. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Poems in the Attic
Nikki Grimes, author
Elizabeth Zunon, illustrator
Lee & Low Books
95 Madison Avenue, Suite 1205, New York, NY 10016
9781620140277, $19.95, www.leeandlow.com
"Poems in the Attic" is a sensitive collection of two sets of memories captured in two verse styles, tanka, and free verse. The poems celebrate and explore the experience of moving from place to place as the child of an Air Force military family. One set of poems is discovered by the heroine, a young African American girl, in her attic. She is amazed to discover they were written by her mother about her experiences moving with her grandfather when she was a girl. The girl decides to also write poems, to "keep all my rememberings safe ..." The tanka poems are brief, descriptive, and evocative, compressed verse in five lines, varying between five and seven syllables each. The original form of tanka poetry comes from Japan. The girl's mother wrote her poems in tanka, while the girl writes hers in free verse. A deeply moving story unfolds, in which two girls find solace from loneliness and change in their ability to write poetry. Here is one poem in free verse: Grandma Says/Memories can be like sandcastles/the waves wash away. /My mama glued her memories with words/so they would last forever. "Poems in the Attic" was chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection for excellent reasons. Tender, lyrical illustrations in acrylic, oil, and collage show mother and daughter as girls in different settings around the world where US Air Force bases exist. A list of eleven different such Air Force Bases is included in the ending pages, mapping out the journeys made by many military families and children to be with their parent(s) in military service. Inspired by stories shared with friends as well as the author's own experiences, "Poems in the Attic" explores the reality of a childhood in transition, using writing to help cope with multiple challenges of growing up a "military brat."
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
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"Poems in the Attic." Children's Bookwatch, Nov. 2015. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A435637793/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=74b7d08f. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Garvey's Choice
by Nikki Grimes
Intermediate, Middle School WordSong/Boyds Mills 108 pp.
10/16 978-1-62979-740-3 $16.95
e-book ed. 978-1-62979-747-2 $7.99
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
In a little book of little poems, Grimes tells a big-hearted story of Garvey (named after Marcus Garvey), an overweight boy tormented by name-calling at school: "lard butt, fatso, Mister Tubs." Of his size, he says, "My mom, dad, and sis / could fit inside my shadow / and--poof--disappear." Garvey yearns for a better connection with his father, who wants him to play football and stop being so soft, but: "Mom's got a talent / for origami, but she / can't fold me into / the jock Dad wants me to be." Employing the Japanese poetic form of tanka--five-line poems (or, here, stanzas) with haiku-like syllable counts-Grimes reveals Garvey's thoughts, feelings, and observations, the spare poetry a good vehicle for a young man's attempts to articulate the puzzle that is his life. Garvey's life changes when his best friend suggests that he join the school chorus: "Your voice is choice. / You should let others hear it." Not only does Garvey find his voice as part of the chorus, he finds new friends, pride in who he is, and the power to stand up to others who would tease him. He also forges a new relationship with his father, who does a quick turnaround at Garvey's recital: "Dad stands to the side / beaming pride like a nova, / lighting up my year." An author's note explains the poetic form, which will be useful to classroom teachers.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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Schneider, Dean. "Garvey's Choice." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 92, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2016, p. 107+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A469641305/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=340d4101. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Garvey's Choice
Nikki Grimes. Wordsong, $16.95
ISBN 978-1-62979-740-3
Writing in five-line tanka poems, Grimes (Words with Wings) weaves a heart-wrenching story about a boy who isn't the jock his father dreamed he would be. Garvey loves books and, despite his father's efforts, cannot get excited about sports. He eats to mask the pain of his father's disappointment and is teased at school for his size. Help arrives in the form of friends Joe and Manny, an albino boy who embraces his difference, but when Garvey risks joining the school chorus and lets his voice soar, he learns to become proud of what he can do, instead of focusing on what he can't. In simple, searing language, Grimes captures Garvey's heartache at his father's inability to accept him as he is, as well as the casual but wounding teasing Garvey endures at school ("The change bell always/ sinks fear into me like teeth./ Ugly name-calling leaves me with bloody bite marks:/ lard butt, fatso, Mister Tubbs"). Garvey's journey to self-acceptance is deeply moving and will linger with readers long after they finish this brief, incisive verse novel. Ages 8-12.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Garvey's Choice." Publishers Weekly, vol. 263, no. 49, 2 Dec. 2016, p. 72+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A475224604/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8bafbf75. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance
by Nikki Grimes; illus. by various artists
Intermediate, Middle School, High School Bloomsbury
120 pp. 1/17 978-1-61963-554-8 $18.99
e-book ed. 978-1-61963-555-5 $12.99
The vibrancy of the Harlem Renaissance is illuminated in Grimes's provocative poetry collection. In a tribute to the great poets of the era, she offers new verse with contemporary settings using an unusual form called Golden Shovel, in which each line of the new poem ends with one of the words in a line from the original. For example, from Langston Hughes's "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" she renders a poem about a son in a "dwindled" family who proclaims, "... I stand strong like/a tree my baby brothers can lean on. I try to be the/raft that helps carry them over this life's rough rivers." Themes of the new poems include self-pride, aspirations, bullying, and peer relations. A clean layout that juxtaposes each original poem with its new verse helps readers make thematic connections. In a framing device, a contemporary girl contemplating a world full of hate and fear revisits, on her teacher's advice, the powerful works of eight prominent Harlem Renaissance figures, including Gwendolyn Bennett, Jean Toomer, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Returning from her dip into the "glory days" of the Harlem Renaissance, she feels hopeful, reassuring her sister that "life will be rough,/but we've got the stuff/to make it." The poems are complemented by original artistic interpretations by fifteen black artists (e. g., E. B. Lewis, Javaka Steptoe, Christopher Myers, Shadra Strickland) who offer absorbing and engaging images. This enterprising and unusual volume not only introduces the Harlem Renaissance to young readers but also presents the challenge of a new way to write and enjoy poetry. Poet and artist biographies, sources, and an index are appended.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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Bracy, Pauletta Brown. "One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 93, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2017, p. 102. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A485970980/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8866a50c. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
The Watcher.
By Nikki Grimes. Illus. by Bryan Collier.
2017.42p. Eerdmans, $17 (9780802854452). 811. Gr. 3-5.
Grimes mines Psalm 121 for inspiration in telling the stories of children with troubles who find strength and sustenance from God.
The psalm ("I lift my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from?") begins the book. In short bursts of poetry, readers meet Jordan, who fears his tormentor, and Tanya, the bully, whose stuttering isolates her. Grimes uses the Golden Shovel poetry form, which takes consecutive words from an existing poem (here, the psalm) and places them at the end of each line of original poetry that precedes it. So, while Jordan questions whether or not he should keep the wallet he finds on the ground, the vertical message is "he will not let your foot slip." This constraint could impinge upon story or feelings, but in Grimes' expert hands, that almost never happens. (Only one stanza, when Jordan's told he must have his tonsils removed, feels forced.) Readers will be moved by Tanya's fears and Jordan's ability to reach out. Collier uses his look-and-look-again collage work, here in earth tones, to capture and extend the emotions bubbling near the surface. Childhood concerns, some common, some not, are elevated by the infusion of God into this wholly (and holy) original mix.--Ilene Cooper
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Cooper, Ilene. "The Watcher." Booklist, vol. 114, no. 6, 15 Nov. 2017, p. 46+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A517441832/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=9fb05ccc. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
ONE LAST WORD
By Nikki Grimes
Bloomsbury
$18.99, 128 pages
ISBN 9781619635548
Ages 10 to 14
MIDDLE GRADE
"We live in a time when life is hard for many people. Yet there is reason to hope and to dig deep for the strength hidden inside of us." From award-winning poet Nikki Grimes comes this prophetic statement, which introduces One Last Word, a collection that combines Harlem Renaissance poetry with clever, thought-provoking and intricately formed poems of her own.
Grimes begins her book with reflections on the notable poets of the early 20th-century Harlem Renaissance, which includes Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and other lesser-known poets, especially emerging women writers. They wrote about race, humanity's role in the universe, anger, beauty and more. Grimes' collection couldn't come at a better time, as she notes: "These literary lights, writing at a time when the lynching of black men filled the news, were more than familiar with racial profiling, racial violence and every variety of injustice imaginable. Yet they ascended to great heights in spite of it all."
In addition to their words ringing true, the real forte of this book are Grimes' "golden shovel" poems, a challenging form in which she takes a line (or in some cases, a whole poem) and pens a new creation using the words from the original. Her poems are freshly made while echoing her predecessors.
Interspersed with colorful artwork from Sean Qualls, Christopher Myers, Javaka Steptoe and other lauded African-American illustrators, this is an important and timely poetry collection.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 BookPage
http://bookpage.com/
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Verbeten, Sharon. "One Last Word." BookPage, Jan. 2017, p. 31. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A475225465/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=10e08a31. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Grimes, Nikki THE WATCHER Eerdmans (Children's Poetry) $17.00 10, 9 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5445-2
When the chaos of life threatens to overtake your soul, a simple psalm can soothe you. In this picture book, Wilder Award-winning author Grimes delivers a compact yet powerful message of hope and encouragement based on Psalm 121. Short poems energized with kindness, despair, hope, regret, and acceptance are delivered using a style she describes in the back of the book as "the golden shovel," a form she also used in One Last Word (2017). Grimes defines this form as using a portion of an existing poem and arranging it in such a way that the end words of each line form a short sentence from the original poem. Using the words from the psalm, woven with carefully crafted words of her own, she tells the story of Jordan and Tanya, two elementary school children struggling with fitting in, trying to survive. Tanya, a black girl, stutters and compensates with meanness; while Jordan, a shy and quiet white boy, just wants to make a friend. Tanya feels the constant brunt of others' lack of compassion and directs that anger toward Jordan. Collier's exquisite artwork combines soft, delicate brush strokes with lively photo collages. The effect is both hyper-realistic and gauzily surreal, a perfect complement to Grimes' poems. A sumptuous work filled with a deliciously wrapped center--perfect for classrooms, school, public, or church libraries, or home: wherever hearts go for mending. (Picture book/poetry. 5-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Grimes, Nikki: THE WATCHER." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2017. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A504217629/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ec0da9c0. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Grimes, Nikki. Between the Lines. Nancy Paulsen/Penguin, February 2018. 224p. $17.99. 978-0-399-24688-3.
4Q * 4P * M * J * S * R
Darrian Lopez loves words, but he wants to become a journalist when he grows up, not a poet. Li Ching loves words, too, but her parents see little use in the arts. Jenesis Whyte was abandoned as a baby and is still trying to discover who she is. Tyrone Bittings has no lack of confidence, but Angela Bailey is afraid of just about everything. Meanwhile, Freddie Houston can barely juggle her responsibilities at home, Marcel Dixon is full of anger and in danger of "falling through the cracks," and Kyle Newton has gotten a second lease on life thanks to successful heart surgery. They, and their English teacher Mr. Ward, are the principal characters in Between the Lines, Grimes's engaging, fast-paced follow-up to Bronx Masquerade (Penguin, 2001/VOYA February 2002). Each of them takes turns sharing their hopes and worries in short monologues, followed by a poem that reveals just a little more than they would likely have shared without Mr. Ward's encouragement.
The novel reads quite easily, and each first-person story is different from the rest enough to reach many different YA readers. While the characters tend to write poetry with similar style and voice, Grimes fleshes out each person in honest, economical prose. Between the Lines is bound to please teachers and satisfy students with its fair portrayal of a diverse cast of high-schoolers trying their best to make it through each day and finding their voice--and romance and sometimes their identity--through poetry. --Jim Nicosia.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
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Nicosia, Jim. "Grimes, Nikki. Between the Lines." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 40, no. 6, Feb. 2018, p. 54+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A529357112/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=9de4e226. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
Between the Lines
by Nikki Grimes
Middle School, High School Paulsen/Penguin 213 pp. g
2/18 978-0-399-24688-3 $17.99
"Just step up, step up to the mike / and let your truth fly, loud, / proud, raw." That's what students are preparing to do in Mr. Ward's high school class in the Bronx. Through poetry, they are learning the power of words, preparing for the poetry slam that will be the culmination of their time together (and of the novel). In this companion to Grimes's Bronx Masquerade (rev. 3/02), which again mixes students' first-person narratives and their forays into poetry, Mr. Ward's class becomes a cast of many players, each student given a voice among the multiple points of views woven throughout the story. The first speaker is Darrian Lopez, a Puerto Rican teenager who intends to write for the New York Times because he figures "the only way to get our stories straight is by writing them ourselves." In Mr. Ward's class, he not only sharpens his word skills, he learns the stories behinds others' poetry: the stories of the children of immigrants, victims of police brutality, and teenage mothers. Subsequent speakers include Tyrone Bittings, Li Cheng, and Jenesis Whyte; predictably, this group of students, all with different life stories, bonds over the power of words and comes together. As Tyrone realizes, "We were more alike than we were different. Black, White, Puerto Rican--it didn't matter. Truth is truth, and everybody bleeds red." In her author's note, Grimes highlights her character Jenesis, who has been in the foster care system all her life and is about to age out; Grimes offers help and resources for vulnerable teens in similar situations.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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MLA 8th Edition APA 6th Edition Chicago 17th Edition
Schneider, Dean. "Between the Lines." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 94, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2018, p. 85+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A530106810/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=27931116. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.
For award-winning children’s and YA author Grimes (Between the Lines, 2018, etc.), writing, faith, and determination were the keys to surviving her tumultuous childhood.
In the face of her father’s abandonment and the revolving door of her alcoholic mother’s psychiatric hospital stays, Grimes becomes savvier and more resilient than any young child should have to be. After being abused by a babysitter when she was 3, Grimes and her beloved older sister, Carol, enter another set of revolving doors: foster care, sometimes loving, sometimes not. At a dark moment when she is 6, Grimes finds escape and comfort in prayer and writing. Despite the instability and danger she endures, Grimes blossoms into a gifted teen with a passion for books, journaling, and poetry. Her personal, political, and artistic awakenings are intertwined, with the drama of her family life unfolding against the backdrop of pivotal moments in Civil Rights–era America. Grimes recounts her story as a memoir in verse, writing with a poet’s lyricism through the lens of memory fractured by trauma. Fans of her poetry and prose will appreciate this intimate look at the forces that shaped her as an artist and as a person determined to find the light in the darkest of circumstances.
A raw, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting story of trauma, loss, and the healing power of words.
Review of Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir
by Monique Harris
Oct 09, 2019 | Filed in Book Reviews
Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir
by Nikki Grimes
High School Wordsong/Boyds Mills 325 pp.
10/19 978-1-62979-881-3 $19.99
As poetically written as Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (rev. 9/14) with a story as hard-hitting as Sapphire’s Push. In her author’s note, poet Grimes (winner of the 2017 Children’s Literature Legacy Award) says that memoirs focus on truth, not fact. Because of the childhood trauma she suffered, she has limited memories of her early years but has constructed the truths of her life from a patchwork of recollections; photos obtained from friends and family; and a few artifacts salvaged despite the frequent moves of her impoverished family and time spent in foster care. Overshadowing most of the story, her mother’s mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia), alcoholism, and marriage to an abusive and irresponsible man made Grimes’s early life hazardous. In a childhood in which she had to elude rats in her apartments and bullies and gangs in her neighborhoods and in which she was sexually violated by her stepfather, young Nikki found solace and confidence through her identity as a writer. She was supported and nurtured by her sister, from whom she was separated at age five; by her father, a violinist who immersed Nikki in Harlem’s Black Arts scene; and by an English teacher who insisted on excellence. As her story unfolds (the book is arranged in sections, chronologically, beginning in 1950 and ending in 1966), the striking free-verse poems powerfully convey how a passion for writing fueled her will to survive and embrace her own resilience. “My spiral notebook bulges / with poems and prayers / and questions only God / can answer. / Rage burns the pages, / but better them / than me.” A must-read for aspiring writers.
From the September/October 2019 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.
Monique Harris
Monique Harris is a public educator, r