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Summary
Summary
This emotionally resonant novel in verse by award-winning author Nikki Grimes celebrates choosing to be true to yourself.
Garvey's father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading--anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey's life changes. The chorus finds a new soloist in Garvey, and through chorus, Garvey finds a way to accept himself, and a way to finally reach his distant father--by speaking the language of music instead of the language of sports.
Author Notes
Nikki Grimes was born and raised in New York City. She began writing poetry at age six and is well-known for writing award-winning books primarily for children and young adults. Bronx Masquerade and Talkin' About Bessie both won Coretta Scott King Awards, and her poetry collections featuring Danitra Brown are very popular. Grimes received the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 2006.
She has written articles for magazines including Essence and Today's Christian Woman, as well as hosted radio programs in New York and Sweden. She has lectured and read her poetry at schools in Russia, China, Sweden, and Tanzania. Grimes is also a prolific artist, creating works of fiber art, beaded jewelry, peyote beading, handmade cards, and photography.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Garvey can't quite live up to his father's traditional expectations of masculinity. He would rather sing and ponder space travel than undertake any athletic endeavor. But a chance chorus recital presents a turning point for their relationship: "I stand before the mirror,/smiling at a boy/whose frame is familiar/but changed, unfinished-all me." Using tanka, Grimes expertly crafts a family life that is deeply intimate yet inviting-a story of small but powerful transformations. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Writing in five-line tanka poems, Grimes (Words with Wings) weaves a heart-wrenching story about a boy who isn't the jock his father dreamed he would be. Garvey loves books and, despite his father's efforts, cannot get excited about sports. He eats to mask the pain of his father's disappointment and is teased at school for his size. Help arrives in the form of friends Joe and Manny, an albino boy who embraces his difference, but when Garvey risks joining the school chorus and lets his voice soar, he learns to become proud of what he can do, instead of focusing on what he can't. In simple, searing language, Grimes captures Garvey's heartache at his father's inability to accept him as he is, as well as the casual but wounding teasing Garvey endures at school ("The change bell always/ sinks fear into me like teeth./ Ugly name-calling leaves me with bloody bite marks:/ lard butt, fatso, Mister Tubbs"). Garvey's journey to self-acceptance is deeply moving and will linger with readers long after they finish this brief, incisive verse novel. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In a little book of little poems, Grimes tells a big-hearted story of Garvey (named after Marcus Garvey), an overweight boy tormented by name-calling at school: lard butt, fatso, Mister Tubs. Of his size, he says, My mom, dad, and sis / could fit inside my shadow / and -- poof -- disappear. Garvey yearns for a better connection with his father, who wants him to play football and stop being so soft, but: Moms got a talent / for origami, but she / cant fold me into / the jock Dad wants me to be. Employing the Japanese poetic form of tanka -- five-line poems (or, here, stanzas) with haiku-like syllable counts -- Grimes reveals Garveys thoughts, feelings, and observations, the spare poetry a good vehicle for a young mans attempts to articulate the puzzle that is his life. Garveys life changes when his best friend suggests that he join the school chorus: Your voice is choice. / You should let others hear it. Not only does Garvey find his voice as part of the chorus, he finds new friends, pride in who he is, and the power to stand up to others who would tease him. He also forges a new relationship with his father, who does a quick turnaround at Garveys recital: Dad stands to the side / beaming pride like a nova, / lighting up my year. An authors note explains the poetic form, which will be useful to classroom teachers. dean schneider (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Garvey is tired of his father's attempts to turn him into something he's not: an athlete. Avoiding outdoor activities, he comforts himself with food and music. Inevitably, he gains weight, but it isn't the physical discomfort of climbing stairs at school that bothers him it's the teasing about his size. His best friend encourages him to join the school chorus, where he learns, in addition to music, how to deal with name-calling, how to use his exceptional tenor voice, and, ultimately, how to connect with his father through a genuine shared interest. Garvey's growing confidence gives him a different perspective and even leads him to take up running. A Coretta Scott King Author Award winner and the recipient of the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, Grimes returns to the novel in verse format, creating voice, characters, and plot in a series of pithy tanka poems, a traditional Japanese form similar to haiku but using five lines. While the story ends on a hopeful note, Grimes is clear that it takes work and time, as well as insight and determination, to create real change. Written from Garvey's point of view, the succinct verses convey the narrative as well as his emotions with brevity, clarity, and finesse.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist