Poems in the Attic - Hardcover

Nikki Grimes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1620140276 ISBN 13: 9781620140277

Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 2015

Synopsis

During a visit to her grandma s house, a young girl discovers a box of poems in the attic, poems written by her mother when she was growing up. Her mother s family often moved around the United States and the world because her father was in the Air Force. Over the years, her mother used poetry to record her experiences in the many places the family lived. Reading the poems and sharing those experiences through her mother s eyes, the young girl feels closer to her mother than ever before. To let her mother know this, she creates a gift: a book with her own poems and copies of her mother s. And when she returns her mother s poems to the box in the attic, she leaves her own poems too, for someone else to find, someday. Using free verse for the young girl s poems and tanka for her mother s, master poet Nikki Grimes creates a tender intergenerational story that speaks to every child s need to hold onto special memories of home, no matter where that place might be.

About this title

About the Author:

Bestselling author of numerous books for young people, is noted for the poetry that appears in both her picture books and novels. Her work has been honored six times by the Coretta Scott King Award, most recently in 2014. Additional honors for her books include ALA Notables, Bank Street College s Best Children s Books of the Year list, and Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People. Grimes lives in Corona, California.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 1–4—During a visit to Grandma's, a seven-year-old girl discovers a stash of poems in the attic written by her mother as a child. Each subsequent set of pages pairs a poem written by the girl with one by her mama. An air force brat, Mama wrote a different entry in each new place her family was stationed, showcasing the experiences of her "childhood on wings," from painting luminarias in New Mexico to kayaking in Virginia to catching cherry blossoms like snowflakes in Japan. Her writing also touches upon painful situations, such as leaving her friends behind when she moved and missing her father when he was away. The daughter's poems compare her and her grown-up mother's lives with the experiences detailed by Mama as a girl ("It's funny to think of Mama/making a mess with arts and crafts"). Sweet and accessible but never simplistic, this collection captures the experience of a military childhood with graceful sophistication. Grimes uses different styles of poem for each voice (free verse for the daughter and tanka poems for the mother), a choice that she discusses in an explanatory note on poetry forms that will serve budding poets and teachers alike. Rendered in acrylic, oil, and collage, Zunon's warm, vibrant illustrations complement the text perfectly. Readers with an especially keen interest in the locations highlighted can look to a complete list of Air Force Bases appended. VERDICT A gem of a book.—Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ

About this edition

• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1620140276
• ISBN 13: 9781620140277
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon