Tags
Reader’s Annotations
You want to know who a person is? See what poetry they write.
Plot Summary
The story is told from eighteen teens sharing a poetry class. Each chapter is the life of someone, and then followed by their poem expressing who they are. Each voice gets a separate chapter from Tyrone Bittings and his observations, a teen who sees no point in continuing school. But Mr. Ward holds Open Mics, and suddenly Tyrone has a reason to show up, and as he listens to his classmates he comes to the realization that everyone isn’t as different as he may have thought.
Critical Evaluation
The format of this book was a fascinating way to give the lesson of the similarities that live between people who may, at first glance, no have much. They are teens, dealing with poverty, racism, sexism, drug abuse, gang violence and much more, and as Tyrone starts to come to the realization, life is better and easier when you work with others than try to go it alone. By placing Tyrone after each voice, Grimes gives the story a smoother connection between the individual lives being played out. He serves as a focal point the rest of the class can gather around, and is a different choice than the usual one, where the teacher is given the specialized viewpoint. This is a story about teens, and Mr. Ward stays a periphery character in their lives, a reflection on how they view him. Poetry may give Tyrone a reason to come to school but it’s not the reason he keeps coming back; that honor belongs to his friends, and Grimes smartly keeps the focus on those binds, and doesn’t turn this into a story about a teacher “saving” them. They aren’t saved, but they have become better, and kinder, and it’s a good lesson to share with teens through a beautiful amount of poems and personal stories. The students only have so much space to speak their truths, and they grab it with everything in them to do so.
Author Information
Nikki Grimes is a poet, writer, and artist. Her work is aimed at children and young adult and she has won more than one Coretta Scott King Award. Her work includes the Danitra Brown series, Talkin’ About Bessie, Bronx Masquerade, Portrait of Mary (adult fiction), and Malcolm X: a Force for Change (a YA biography).
She is also a contributor to magazines such as Essence, Today’s Christian Woman, and Journal of Arts & Religion. She has conducted poetry readings internationally, and lectures all over the world. She is a singer and sells “fiber art, beaded jewelry, complex sculptural peyote beading, and handmade cards, created from recycled materials” (“Biography page”, n.d., para. 8).
Genre
Fiction – Contemporary (Poetry)
Curriculum Ties
Alternative formats, poetry, adolescent alienation, and realistic fiction/issues and contemporary life, multicultural
Booktalking – Three Ideas
1. Write a poem about one of your own experiences
2. Find a poem and then write a small narrative that fits the person who wrote it
3. Watch spoken word; perform one of the poems in the book as such
Reading Level/Interest Level
Grade 7 and up/Grade 8 and up
Challenge Issues
This book may be challenged because of violence, language, sexual content, and drug use.
2. Familiarize yourself with the book in question; look up both positive and negative. reviews and see if the book has been banned before. (If so, see what they did about it.)
3. Try talking to the person about the specific complaint they have. See if a compromise can be reached.
4. If not, request a written, detailed complaint about what the problem is, what effect it is having on (all) the students, and suggestions on what it should be replaced with.
5. Start the review process. Have a review committee provide the school board with a final report. Explain to the complainant how the process works.
6. While the complaint is being explored, keep the material available to others.
ISBN
ISBN 0-14-250189-1
References
(n.d.). Biography page. Nikki Grimes. Retrieved April 9, 2013 from http://www.nikkigrimes.com/bio.html
Grimes, N. (2002). Bronx masquerade. New York: Penguin Group
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