Nikki Grimes, Author Ballantine Books $4 (177p) ISBN 978-0-449-90803-7
Grimes's distinctly partisan account of the African American leader conveys his remarkable drive but fails to mediate the controversies surrounding him. Whether discussing the tragedies that shaped Malcolm's childhood, the criminal activities of his
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Nikki Grimes. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-399-24688-3
Grimes adroitly orchestrates a chorus of emotional teenage voices in this thought-provoking companion to the Coretta Scott King Award–winning Bronx Masquerade (2001). A summer has passed since the events of the previous book, and English teacher Mr.
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Nikki Grimes, Author . Penguin/Speak $5.99 (167p) ISBN 978-0-14-250189-4
A high school teacher in the Bronx hosts open-mike poetry in his classroom, and his students forge unexpected connections with one another. "The creative, contemporary premise will hook teens, and the poems may even inspire readers to try a few...
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Nikki Grimes, Author Puffin Books $5.99 (102p) ISBN 978-0-14-130702-2
""Hard times in 1960s Harlem do not squelch the ambitions of this doughty poet-narrator,"" said PW. ""This articulate, admirable heroine leaps over life's hurdles with agility and integrity."" Ages 10-14. (Feb.)
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Nikki Grimes. Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $15.95 (96p) ISBN 978-1-59078-985-8
Through 70+ poems, Grimes introduces readers to Gabriella, a city girl who’s prone to daydreaming, frustrating her mother and alienating Gabby from her classmates. Several poems bring readers directly into Gabby’s daydreams, as she explains how a...
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Nikki Grimes, Author . Hyperion $15.99 (216p) ISBN 978-0-7868-1888-4
Both lyrical and powerful, Grimes's (What Is Goodbye?
) unusual novel is a meditation on faith and father-son relationships, and the incisive development of the two central characters through their alternating perspectives may well help readers...
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Nikki Grimes. Bloomsbury, $18.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-61963-554-8
“Can I really find/ fuel for the future/ in the past?” asks Grimes (Words with Wings) in the opening poem of this slim, rich volume. Her answer is a graceful and resounding yes. Using the Golden Shovel poetic form, which borrows words from another...
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Nikki Grimes. Wordsong, $16.95 (108p) 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...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Eric Velasquez, Illustrator , illus. by Eric Velasquez. Zonderkidz $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-310-71192-6
Grimes's stirring verse recounts the Messiah's birth through several first-person perspectives (a shepherd, an innkeeper, Herod). After she is visited by Gabriel, Mary laments, “Now I, alone, remain/ rooted to this dirt floor, dizzy...
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Elizabeth Zunon. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4926-3832-2
“No! No! No!” begins Grimes’s rhythmic, playful romp through a restless child’s bedtime routine. As the toddler resists sleep, a mother patiently creates an imaginary menagerie via vivid similes—“Your eyes swell, wide as owls... You coil beneath the
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Elizabeth Zunon. Lee & Low, $19.95 (48p) ISBN 978-1-62014-027-7
During a visit to her grandmother's house, a seven-year-old African-American girl discovers poems her mother wrote in her youth, giving the daughter a window into her mother's peripatetic upbringing as an Air Force brat. Grimes (Chasing Freedom)...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Bryan Collier, Illustrator , illus. by Bryan Collier. Simon & Schuster $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4169-7144-3
“One day Hope stopped by for a visit,” begins this biography, narrowly framed as an exchange between an African-American mother and her son. They sit together on a “frayed” sofa in a “tenement” as she tells him...
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Bryan Collier. Eerdmans, $17 (42p) ISBN 978-0-8028-5445-2
Drawing on Psalm 121 and a poetic technique called the Golden Shovel, Grimes creates a cycle of poems about two children, Jordan and Tanya, who become friends through their intense faith and the arrival of a new classmate. As the poems alternate...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Bryan Collier, Illustrator Orchard Books (NY) $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-439-55702-3
An African-American couple exults in their baby, celebrating all the sights, sounds and snuggles that ""Precious"" (whose gender is not specified) experiences over the course of a busy day. Grimes's (Jazmin's Notebook) lilting text sensualizes the...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Floyd Cooper, Illustrator , illus. by Floyd Cooper. HarperTrophy/Amistad $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-075311-5
"Zuri describes in verse the summer that she and best friend Danitra are separated," noted PW
. "Cooper's luminescent pastels chronicle the long days and Zuri's many moods." Ages 8-up. (July)
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Floyd Cooper, Illustrator Amistad Press $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-688-13155-5
Zuri describes in verse the summer that she and her best friend Danitra are separated in Danitra Brown Leaves Town by Nikki Grimes, a follow-up to Meet Danitra Brown. Floyd Cooper's luminescent pastels chronicle the long days and Zuri's many ...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Floyd Cooper, Illustrator HarperCollins Publishers $16 (1p) ISBN 978-0-688-12073-3
In a series of poems, an African American girl sings the praises of her best friend and their special relationship. According to Zuri, the speaker here, Danitra is ``the most splendiferous girl in town.'' Zuri respects Danitra's quirks (she wears...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Kadir Nelson, Illustrator , illus. by Kadir Nelson. HarperCollins $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-688-15999-3
With any luck, Santa's sack will be filled with copies of this gem of a picture book. Grimes (Meet Danitra Brown)
offers glimpses of Christmastime from a child's eyes, in the form of 23 poems that shine with all the hallmarks of the season....
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Shane W. Evans, Illustrator , illus. by Shane Evans. Scholastic/Orchard $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-439-31770-2
A girl’s keen and loving observations of her audacious, “rain-cloud gray” cat—the Gorilla of the title—are the inspiration for this wonderful suite of poems by Grimes (Dark Sons
). The book also serves as a kind of...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Ed Young, Illustrator Cricket Books $15.95 (64p) ISBN 978-0-8126-2707-7
In the essays and poems of Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China by Nikki Grimes, illus. by Ed Young, the poet reflects on her experiences in China in 1988 as part of an arts advocacy group. On many of the book's pages, the text or photographs (take
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Raul Colon, Illustrator , illus. by Raúl Colón. Hyperion $15.99 (57p) ISBN 978-0-7868-0778-9
Insightfully and concisely, Grimes (Bronx Masquerade
) traces the stages of grief and healing, through the 26 paired poems of two siblings mourning their older brother, Jaron. Jesse, "too young" to go to the funeral, expresses loss in raw...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Paul Morin, Illustrator Eerdmans Books for Young Readers $17 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8028-5104-8
Grimes (Jazmin's Notebook) bases this striking interpretation of the Genesis creation stories on Hebrews 1:1-2: ""In these last days [God] has spoken to us by a Son... through whom he also created the worlds."" Her approach is simultaneously...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Ashley Bryan, Illustrator HarperCollins $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-688-15997-9
In a series of thoughtful, interlocking poems, Grimes (Meet Danitra Brown) skillfully uses the metaphor of weaving to explore the world of a talented girl. The young weaver's strands of black, white and Japanese heritage have ""produced a pleasing,/
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Brenda Joysmith, Illustrator Just Us Books $15.95 (0p) ISBN 978-0-940975-44-6
With an emphasis on upbeat family relationships, the 13 poems in this collection call to mind the easy sentimentality evoked by greeting cards and Norman Rockwell paintings. According to the note at the beginning of the volume, Grimes wishes to ``sha
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Michael Bryant, Illustrator Eerdmans Books for Young Readers $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8028-5108-6
In lively and delicious poetry, accompanied by evocative, full-color illustrations, Nikki Grimes recounts LaTasha's Sunday adventures in Paradise--Paradise Baptist Church, that is. From rising in the morning, to greeting the blue-haired ladies at...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, E. B. Lewis, Illustrator, B. Moser, Illustrator Orchard $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-439-35243-7
Historic flights take the spotlight in two fall titles. Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes, illus. by E.B. Lewis, recalls the life of the world's first licensed African-American female pilot through 20 ...
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Michele Wood. Scholastic/Orchard, $18.99 (56p) ISBN 978-0-439-79338-4
Grimes (Words with Wings) creates an absorbing fictional conversation, based on historical incidents and documented quotations, between two indefatigable 19th-century crusaders for equal rights. The author imagines Tubman paying a visit to Anthony’s
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Niki Grimes, Author, Floyd Cooper, Illustrator HarperTrophy $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-688-15471-4
PW gave these poems about the friendship of two African American girls a starred review, saying, ""Anyone who has a best friend can relate to this realistic but bubbly volume."" Ages 3-up. (Sept.)
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Nancy J. Hopper, Author Dial Books $15.99 (112p) ISBN 978-0-8037-2224-8
Hard times in 1960s Harlem do not squelch the ambitions of Grimes's (Growin'; Raining Laughter) doughty protagonist, nor inhibit Jazmin from penning her eloquent ideas. Readers will be drawn into Jazmin's neighborhood, where they meet the characters
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Jerome Lagarrigue, Illustrator , illus. by Jerome Lagarrigue. Puffin $6.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-14-230197-5
In 14 knowing, heartfelt poems, the author invites readers to witness the friendship that blossoms between a fatherless African-American boy and a tough-looking man who has lost his son to the streets. Though each of these accomplished poems could...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Jerome Lagarrigue, Illustrator, Toby Sherry, Editor Dial Books $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8037-2326-9
In 14 knowing, heartfelt poems, Grimes (Come Sunday) invites readers to witness the friendship that blossoms between Damon, an African-American boy without a father, and Blue, a tough-looking man who has lost his son to the streets. At first Damon...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Chris Myers, Illustrator . Dial $16.99 (176p) ISBN 978-0-8037-2569-0
When a high school teacher in the Bronx begins to host open-mike poetry in his classroom on Fridays, his students find a forum to express their identity issues and forge unexpected connections with one another. Grimes's (Jazmin's Notebook)...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Mike Benny, Illustrator , illus. by Mike Benny. Greenwillow $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-688-17294-7
Snappy language and varied rhyme schemes energize Grimes's (Talkin' About Bessie
) verses describing step-sibling rivalry in a newly blended, interracial family. After his mom's wedding, Xavier bemoans his circumstances: “Everyon
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Angelo, Illustrator Orchard $16.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-531-30320-7
Nikki Grimes pens a series of poems, illus. by Angelo, chronicling the relationship of a 10-year-old girl and her grandmother in Stepping Out with Grandma Mac. Told from the child's point of view, the verses reveal a grandma who doesn't bake...
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Nikki Grimes, Author, Tom Feelings, Illustrator Puffin Books $4.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8037-0273-8
PW praised this collection of prose poems about children and their yearnings, saying ""the artist and the lyricist couldn't reveal the thoughts of the boys and girls here more acutely if they were inside their subjects' skins.'' (All ages)
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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...
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Nikki Grimes. Bloomsbury, $18.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-68119-944-3
In this expansive introduction to Harlem Renaissance women poets, Grimes utilizes the Golden Shovel poetry technique, which Terrance Hayes conceived in homage to Gwendolyn Brooks, wherein one takes “a short poem in its entirety, or a line from the...
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Elizabeth Zunon. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4926-3829-2
Bath time becomes an opportunity for adventure and make-believe in this book by collaborators Grimes and Zunon (Bedtime for Sweet Creatures). In imagery-rich free verse by Grimes, a mother addresses her child: “Up and up I lift you/ till your toes...
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Wendell Minor. Bloomsbury, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5476-0082-3
The boy of color who stars in this story begins sitting in a plane seat with his arms crossed and a baseball cap over his eyes. Jayden is moving from New York to New Mexico, and he’s not happy about it. But on his first morning there, he sees “a...
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Jerry and Brian Pinkney. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-823-44965-1
In an elegantly collaborative picture book about how “there’s always something that remains,” Grimes (Bedtime for Sweet Creatures), the late Jerry Pinkney (The Lion and the Mouse), and Brian Pinkney (Hey Otter! Hey Beaver!) center a grieving Black...
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Laura Freeman. Atheneum, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5344-6267-0
Lightly framed as a conversation between a girl and her mother, this comprehensive picture book biography follows formative events in the life of former presidential candidate and “lawyer, prosecutor, Senator” Kamala Harris. Though each page is...
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Nikki Grimes, illus. by Michelle Carlos. Beaming, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5064-8562-1
Beginning “one magnificent morning in Israel,/ when the sun warmed the Great Salt Sea,” Grimes imagines in reverent, distinctive verse a lengthy caravan of creatures bearing gifts for the Bethlehem-born babe—“the Holy One.” From Antelope, who...
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