Nikki Grimes
By: Patience Lensing and Katie Stafford
Nikki Grimes is a well-known multicultural author and poet. Born in Harlem in 1950, Grimes Grimes’s childhood was anything but picture perfect. Her family consisted of her Mom, Dad, and sister. Grimes’s parents were separated and reunited throughout much of her childhood. These times of separation lead Grimes and her sister to live in foster homes. It wasn’t until she was 10 years old that she was reunited with her family in Brooklyn. In the skeptical and dangerous neighborhoods where gangs were common, Grimes remembers her fears of not making it through the day. Through all of the heartache, change, and fears, Grimes turned to literature to help her cope.
Nikki Grimes’s audience ranges from children to adults. She has published more than 29 books, two of which received the famous Coretta Scott King Honor Award. Her works have received many more awards and have been placed on best books lists. Many of Grimes’s books are written in the form of poetry. “Poetry, Grimes says, "makes a beeline for the heart" in a way prose cannot.” In an interview with Grimes, she discusses where her love of poetry stemmed from. In sum, Grimes was intrigued with how one word could take on different meanings. She loved the challenge of telling a story using as few words as possible. “So much of a culture is housed in its language, and the more languages I explore and study, the greater a resource I have to draw upon in terms of images and ideas.”
Quote:
"Reading and writing were my survival tools when I was growing up," she says in an interview. "Whatever was burning in me, I took it to the page and that was my salvation. And it's just a very powerful gift. Writing is something you can just do for yourself. And so I would like to encourage students of every age to recognize it as a useful tool in their own lives and to write, to journal, and to just explore."
Interview Video:
List of her Books:
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Bronx Masquerade by: Nikki Grimes
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A Day with Daddy by: Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by: Nicole Tadgell
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A Dime a Dozen by: Nikki Grimes
Illustrated by: Angelo
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A Pocketful of Poems by: Nikki Grimes
Illustrated by: Javaka Steptoe
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Aneesa Lee and the Weaver’s Gift by: Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by: Ashley Bryan
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Barack Obama by: Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by: Bryan Collier
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List of some of her other books:
Note: * Some of these books she may have co-written with other authors
- Bronx Masquerade
- Come Sunday
- Danitra Brown Leaves Town
- Danitra Brown, Class Clown
- Dark Sons
- From a Child’s Heart
- Hopscotch Love
- It’s Raining Laughter
- Jazmin’s Notebook
- Make Way for Dyamonde
- Meet Danitra Brown
- Planet Middle School
- Portrait of Mary
- Rich
- Shoe Magic
- Stepping Out with Grandma Mac\
- Thanks a Million
- The Road to Paris
- What is Goodbye?
- When Gorilla Goes Walking
- Wild, Wild Hair
- Almost Zero: A Dyamonde Daniel Book
- My Man Blue
- Oh! Brother
- At Jerusalem’s Gate: Poems of Easter
- When Daddy Prays
- Welcome Precious
- Come Sunday
- A Girl Named Mister
- C is for City
- At Break of Day
- Under the Christmas Tree
- Malcolm X: A Force for Change
- Voices of Christmas
- Is it Far to Zanzibar?: Poems about Tanzania
- Walt Disney’s Pinnochio
- Shoe Magic
- Portrait of Mary
- Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China
- Baby’s Bedtime
- Disney’s the Little Mermaid
- Out of the Dark
- Growin (A Puffin’s Novel)
- Disney Cinderella
- Talking about Bess: The Story of Aviator Bessie Coleman
A Girl Named Mister
Summary (Amazon)
My boyfriend used to think it was cute, a girl named Mister. Used to think I was cute. Used to be my boyfriend what feels like a million years ago. Then again, I used to be a good Christian girl, the kind who would never, well... Just goes to show how little people know. Even I was surprised by me. Now, I close my eyes hoping to see exactly where I went wrong. Mary Rudine, called Mister by almost everyone, has attended church and sung in the choir for as long as she can remember. But then she meets Trey. His long lashes and smooth words make her question what she knows is right, and one mistake leaves her hiding a growing secret. Another Mary is preparing for her upcoming wedding and has done everything according to Jewish law. So when an angel appears one night and tells her that she---a virgin---will give birth, Mary can't help but feel confused, and soon finds herself struggling with the greatest blessing the world will ever know. Feeling abandoned, Mister is drawn to Mary's story, and together both young women discover the depth of God's love and the mysteries of his divine plan.
Reflection
The summary of this book is what reeled me into choosing to read and reflect on this book. Mary, or Mister, is a young teenage girl going through something that, unfortunately, many girls her age may go through: pregnancy. She not only feels that she has betrayed her family, friends, and herself, but she feels she has betrayed God. I adored the fact that Grimes brought God into this book because I myself, have a strong faith and love in God, so I could relate to what she was feeling. It goes back and forth between Mister’s story and Mary (the mother of Jesus), as she reads her mother’s book called Mary, Mary. This helps Mister cope with everything that is happening in her life. Even though the entire book is written in short prose, Grimes’s words are powerful and will leave you with a lasting impact.
Bibliography
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/grimes/
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