[wmd-divider style=”leafs” spacing=”40″ color=”#002426″ size=”2″ ls-id=”5c81989981b4b”/]

Does one or both of your parents want you to be someone you’re not??? How do you handle it?  What would you do?  Do your siblings also think of you in less than flattering ways?? Talk down to you???  Do you struggle to find your way in school; yet, you just don’t fit in?  Garvey’s Choice is about a struggling teenage boy, Garvey, who experiences all of the above and yet; develops deep friendships, and finds a talent within himself and worth beyond imagining. Ultimately, Garvey  realizes that he and his father have more in common than he knew and a new found respect blossoms between them.

 

[wmd-divider style=”birds” spacing=”40″ color=”#002426″ size=”2″ ls-id=”5c82b4b5d4310″/]

W O W! To say that I was blown away by this book is an understatement!  It was amazing…powerful…stupendous.  I had no idea what I was going to be reading when I opened this book.  It’s all in TANKA…so moving and captivating, such a quick read; but one that makes you stop and think.  I don’t read much poetry; why?  Garvey’s Choice was nothing I had been prepared for, it changed my mind about reading poetry, please send more poetry my way!

[wmd-divider style=”plant” spacing=”40″ color=”#002426″ size=”2″ ls-id=”5cd18a64adadc”/]

This book of poetry is a beautiful fusion of both eye-candy and mind-candy. The artful mixture of poetry with one-of-a-kind artwork delights the senses and inspires the soul. Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Countee Cullen are just a few of the Harlem Renaissance writers that Nikki Grimes chose as the pivotal inspiration for  this outstanding work. She was inspired by struggles that these writers and artists endured and how their works transcended those difficult times and moved those who were fortunate enough to view, read and listen to these pieces. The poetry form central to this collection is “The Golden Shovel”. When writing “a Golden Shovel poem…take a short poem in its entirety, or a line from that poem (called a striking line), and create a new poem, using the words from the original” (Grimes, 2017). Difficult to master and stunning to behold.

[wmd-divider style=”leafs” spacing=”40″ color=”#002426″ size=”2″ ls-id=”5cd1bdcf81f70″/]

Yet another amazing form of poetry I had not encountered before!  The visuals of the outstanding illustrations conjoining with the poems from the Harlem Renaissance and today make for a feast of the senses. It made my heart sing to relax with this book of poetry and revel in it’s power and wisdom. Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed were the bibliographies of the poets  and illustrators used in the making of this fabulous piece of literature. ‘IN SEARCH OF A SUPERPOWER’ is my favorite poem by Nikki Grimes.  It is about learning the old ways: patience, inner strength, wisdom, perseverance, power.  These come from within and are shown/utilized when necessary.  I would love to make this into a poster to hang in both my home and my future library.