BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Grimes. Nikki. 1994. Meet Danitra Brown. Ill. by Floyd Cooper. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books. ISBN: 9780688120740

PLOT SUMMARY:

Meet Danitra Brown is a collection of thirteen poems that chronicles the friendship of two young girls, Danitra Brown and Zuri Jackson. The poems include situations of being bullied, feeling different, comfort in friendship, and the joy of riding a bike with a friend.

Each poem is illustrated with rich colors depicting the mood and bond of the friendship.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

In reading the poems that portrays the friendship between these two girls, many readers may remember or relate to friendships they have had. The memory of the sheer delight of riding a bike and feeling like you were flying and sharing it with a friend; or a moment of feeling sad and confiding in a friend who had a comforting word to help. But mostly the memory of just sharing time with a best friend is what comes through in these beautiful poems about the friendship between two girls.

Floyd Cooper did the artwork, oil wash illustrations, which involve painting with oil on an illustration board and using an eraser to remove some of it. The effect is a soft gauzy look, almost like oil pastels. The colors in the illustrations are aglow with richness and warmth. One memorable illustration goes with the poem “Culture”. The moment of two girls acting out the scenes from a play is beautifully captured, the twirling and romping that ensued is alive on the page, and one can almost hear the giggles.

Meet Danitra Brown won the ALA Notable Book Award and the Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book.

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

Publisher’s Weekly: (starred review) “Anyone who has a best friend can relate to this realistic but bubbly volume.”

School Library Journal: “The poignant text and lovely pictures are an excellent collaboration, resulting in a look at touching moments of friendship with universal appeal.”

CONNECTIONS:

• For more books by Nikki Grimes about the friendship of Danitra and Zuri try:

Grimes, Nikki. Danitra Brown, Class Clown. ISBN: 9780688172909

Grimes, Nikki. Danitra Brown Leaves Town. ISBN: 9780688131555

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Frost, Helen. 2003. Keesha’s House. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 9780374340643

PLOT SUMMARY:

This young adult novel is written in a poetic series of sestinas and sonnets. It tells the story of seven young teenagers in difficult life situations, struggling to survive. Each teen tells their story in a short verse. There is a safe house that they all find their way to. This house provides them with safety and some comfort from the very adult problems they are faced with. We also hear from some of the adults in their lives and get a perspective on their side of the story. Each teen has a chance to speak again as the book concludes, allowing the reader to hear how the teen has evolved from their experience of living at the safe house.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

This book easily draws the reader in, both due to the writing style and the disturbing subject matter of the story. The story is told in the voices of six young teenagers in a series of sonnets and sestinas. These are teenagers living very grown up lives, shouldering burdens that anyone could buckle under. One girl is pregnant and afraid to tell anyone, except her boyfriend. The boyfriend is set to go off to college on an all sports scholarship. Another girl is fighting off advances her mothers new husband is making towards her. The third girl is living with her grandmother and falling into the world of drinking and going along with the crowd. One boy is discovering that he is gay and is now disowned by his father. Another boy is living in a series of foster homes unsuccessfully while he waits for his parents to be released from prison.

The odds that these young people were up against often seemed insurmountable, and yet they strived for survival. These are the voices of strong souls who have found themselves with troubles they did not ask for and want just to live in comfort and safety and to have “family”.

The story told in verse moves quickly while each voice heard is very individual. While reading the stories of these young adults the reader is not overly aware of the story being told in verse. This is a very effective way to introduce a form of poetry young adults may not be familiar with.

This successful first novel by author Helen Frost won the 2004 Michael L. Printz Honor Award.

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

School Library Journal: “Teens may read this engaging novel without even realizing they are reading poetry.”

VOYA: “Spare, eloquent, and elegantly concise.”

Alan Review: ” The rhythmic quality and easy flow of the poetic forms allow the reader to feel the life in these characters in a powerful way.”

CONNECTIONS:

•Have students try writing in free verse, perhaps a day in their life or one memorable event.

•For more young adult themed novels written in verse, try:

Herrera, Juan Felipe. Crashboomlove: A Novel in Verse. ISBN: 9780826321145

Glenn, Mel. Split Image. ISBN: 9780060004811

Wayland, April Halprin. Girl Coming in for a Landing. ISBN: 9780440419037

Wolf, Virgina Euwer. Make Lemonade. ISBN: 9780805080704

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2005. Heroes and She-roes: Poems of Amazing and Everyday Heroes. Ill. Jim Cooke. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780803729254

PLOT SUMMARY:

In this collection of 21 poems, both the well known and the obscure are given tribute. Each poem is followed with a brief description of the hero that is being written about. Heroes range from “elementary school teacher” to Gandhi to Rosa Parks. Bright, colorful illustrations accompany each poem.

CRITICAL SUMMARY:

The heroes that are celebrated in this collection of poems cover a broad and diverse range of people and even animals. The poems vary in length from four lines to four paragraphs. All the poems are easy to read and the message being delivered about the hero is clear. The brief explanations after each poem give a little more background on each person or event that I found very helpful. These poems all carry a message about doing good for others. Many of the heroes showed true courage and bravery, as in the “Unknown Rebel” who stood in front of an army tank in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. There was even a tribute to The Wonder Dog” named Togo who led a pack of sled dogs in Alaska to bring medicine to children during a diphtheria outbreak.

Most memorable though is the author’s note at the end of the book in which he writes thoughtfully about an elementary school janitor who went above and beyond his duties to help make the school a happy and harmonious setting.

The illustrations are oil paint on illustration board and are quite colorful and vibrant. Each person is realistically depicted.

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

School Library Journal: This is an important title that will inspire young people and perhaps encourage them to look more deeply into the lives of others as well as their own.

Booklist: This is an entertaining collection, however, and a brief biographical note about each subject included with each supplies a few additional, interesting details.

CONNECTIONS:

• Have discussion about the heroes in everyday life, and then have children write their own poems about a hero in their life.

• For other J. Patrick Lewis books of poetry try:

Lewis, J. Patrick. Monumental Verses. ISBN: 9780792271352

Lewis, J. Patrick. A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme. ISBN: 9780803725799