1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Joysmith, Brenda. 1993. FROM A CHILD'S HEART. by Nikki Grimes. Orange, New Jersey: Just Us Books. ISBN 0940975442
2. PLOT SUMMARY
This collection of thirteen poems by Nikki Grimes is a touching personal look at the relationship between children and God. Each poem addresses a child's fear, hope, thanks, and wonder as they learn about the world around them.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
No matter what the reader's age, religion, or cultural background, this book of poetry featuring African American children and their families will be heartfelt. These poems span a range of emotions from the joy and wonder of spending a summer's day with a friend to the fear of losing a loved one. This book portrays the emotions of children as they talk to God for help, reassurance, and guidance. Each of Grimes' poems is written from the perspective of a child using a child's language.
The poems begin with one of hope as Grimes writes "Mama says I can be anything if I only believe." There are poems about being thankful expressed in lines such as "Thank you for the sun", "Bless grandma, Lord, for inviting us to stay" and "please make each day that is left feel like forever." Other poems address childhood (and often adulthood) fears expressed in lines such as "But God if You're his friend, please give my daddy work", "Another book report is due...I need a miracle from you", and "Lord, please give my grandma one more year."
The poems are written in both rhyming and free verse, often with both in the same poem. Each poem is written with heartfelt emotion. The reader can not help but feel exactly how the child in each poem is feeling. The illustrations by Brenda Joysmith are beautifully drawn. At first glance they look like photographs. The artwork is flawless. It captures the spirits and emotions of the children portrayed in the pictures. Each illustration of a child, children, or family adds warmth, depth, and sincerity to the poems they accompany.
The theme of this book of poetry is revealed in the title of the book, FROM A CHILD'S HEART. Children's hopes, dreams, and fears are explored with a child's honesty and innocence. The poems in this book can be read and understood by young readers on their own, but would be more meaningful if read by adults and children together.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: "There's a modicum of rhyme, a conscious if informal sense of innocence, and more than a little sentimentality, which is echoed in the soft, idealized pastels that face each page of verse. The pictures are well drawn, with a kind of Norman Rockwell nostalgia that will please fans of the poetic messages packaged here."
Kirkus: "Joysmith's sensitive, realistic pastel drawings of pensive young African-Americans at work and play are beautifully composed and quietly luminous; now in various private collections, they date from 1984 to 1992. A lovely, deeply felt book."
5. CONNECTIONS
*This collection of poetry would be useful in introducing African American poetry to students.
*Other books by Nikki Grimes:
Cooper, Floyd. MEET DANITRA BROWN. ISBN 0688120733
Emslie, Peter and Hunt, Darren. MINNIE'S NEW FRIEND. ISBN 0307115240
*Other books by Brenda Joysmith:
AUNT MATTIE'S PRESENT. by Deborah Connor Coker. ISBN 0316234982
HUSH SONGS: AFRICAN AMERICAN LULLABIES. by Joyce Carol Thomas. ISBN 0786805625
*Other books featuring African American poetry:
Dillon, Diane and Leo. HONEY, I LOVE, AND OTHER LOVE POEMS. by Eloise Greenfield. ISBN 0690013345
Gilchrist, Jan Spivey. NIGHT ON NEIGHBORHOOD STREET. by Eloise Greenfield. ISBN
0803707770
Joysmith, Brenda. 1993. FROM A CHILD'S HEART. by Nikki Grimes. Orange, New Jersey: Just Us Books. ISBN 0940975442
2. PLOT SUMMARY
This collection of thirteen poems by Nikki Grimes is a touching personal look at the relationship between children and God. Each poem addresses a child's fear, hope, thanks, and wonder as they learn about the world around them.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
No matter what the reader's age, religion, or cultural background, this book of poetry featuring African American children and their families will be heartfelt. These poems span a range of emotions from the joy and wonder of spending a summer's day with a friend to the fear of losing a loved one. This book portrays the emotions of children as they talk to God for help, reassurance, and guidance. Each of Grimes' poems is written from the perspective of a child using a child's language.
The poems begin with one of hope as Grimes writes "Mama says I can be anything if I only believe." There are poems about being thankful expressed in lines such as "Thank you for the sun", "Bless grandma, Lord, for inviting us to stay" and "please make each day that is left feel like forever." Other poems address childhood (and often adulthood) fears expressed in lines such as "But God if You're his friend, please give my daddy work", "Another book report is due...I need a miracle from you", and "Lord, please give my grandma one more year."
The poems are written in both rhyming and free verse, often with both in the same poem. Each poem is written with heartfelt emotion. The reader can not help but feel exactly how the child in each poem is feeling. The illustrations by Brenda Joysmith are beautifully drawn. At first glance they look like photographs. The artwork is flawless. It captures the spirits and emotions of the children portrayed in the pictures. Each illustration of a child, children, or family adds warmth, depth, and sincerity to the poems they accompany.
The theme of this book of poetry is revealed in the title of the book, FROM A CHILD'S HEART. Children's hopes, dreams, and fears are explored with a child's honesty and innocence. The poems in this book can be read and understood by young readers on their own, but would be more meaningful if read by adults and children together.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: "There's a modicum of rhyme, a conscious if informal sense of innocence, and more than a little sentimentality, which is echoed in the soft, idealized pastels that face each page of verse. The pictures are well drawn, with a kind of Norman Rockwell nostalgia that will please fans of the poetic messages packaged here."
Kirkus: "Joysmith's sensitive, realistic pastel drawings of pensive young African-Americans at work and play are beautifully composed and quietly luminous; now in various private collections, they date from 1984 to 1992. A lovely, deeply felt book."
5. CONNECTIONS
*This collection of poetry would be useful in introducing African American poetry to students.
*Other books by Nikki Grimes:
Cooper, Floyd. MEET DANITRA BROWN. ISBN 0688120733
Emslie, Peter and Hunt, Darren. MINNIE'S NEW FRIEND. ISBN 0307115240
*Other books by Brenda Joysmith:
AUNT MATTIE'S PRESENT. by Deborah Connor Coker. ISBN 0316234982
HUSH SONGS: AFRICAN AMERICAN LULLABIES. by Joyce Carol Thomas. ISBN 0786805625
*Other books featuring African American poetry:
Dillon, Diane and Leo. HONEY, I LOVE, AND OTHER LOVE POEMS. by Eloise Greenfield. ISBN 0690013345
Gilchrist, Jan Spivey. NIGHT ON NEIGHBORHOOD STREET. by Eloise Greenfield. ISBN
0803707770
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