GENRE 3: A Pocketful of Poems by Nikki Grimes. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe.

Bibliography
Grimes, Nikki. 2001. A Pocketful of Poems. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0395938686

Plot Summary
Tiana pulls words out of her pocket--such as spring, hot, snow--and uses them to explore and describe the world around her. Each word is an inspiration for a free verse poem and a haiku that capture the essence of her personality and the world in which she lives.

Critical Analysis
Nikki Grimes creates a book that overflows with personality and spirit. The double page spreads in the book offer a haiku and free verse poem inspired by a word being picked out by Triana, the narrator of the book. The poems deftly reflect the urban feel of Harlem, but they also reflect Triana’s lively spirit and inquisitive, insightful nature. Grimes’ haikus and free verse poems expertly capture impressions and moments in Triana’s life, starting with a spring morning and ending with the beginning of a New Year. Each poem in the book is infused with language and imagery that readily paint an image in the reader’s mind. Her haiku for the word “hot” perfectly captures the essence of a hot summer in Harlem:”Hot days send me to/the water fountain where my/face goes for a swim.” Grimes includes a note at the end of the book that explains the history of haikus, likening them to “a poetry of brushstrokes” and encouraging reader’s to try writing their own haikus.

Grimes pairs the poems in the book with intricate collages created by Javaka Steptoe. The collages appear to jump from the page due to the variety of materials used by Steptoe. Everything from a feather to textured paper to toothpicks was fair game in the creation of the collages. A silver pie tin substitutes as the moon in one collage, the face cards in a deck of cards create a cheering crowd for a baseball game, and painted toothpicks create brightly colored fireworks that light up the sky for the poems that describe Harlem on the Fourth of July. Readers will spend just as much time studying the illustrations as they will the poems in the book.

Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist – *Starred Review* "There's so much vibrant energy and freshness in this collaboration, the book will dance into the hearts of children right away.”

Publishers Weekly – "Grimes (Jazmin's Notebook) boils poetry down to its essence in this picture book homage to words—a must-read for aspiring poets and writers….”

School Library Journal – “A playful and thoroughly successful pairing of words and pictures.”

Connections
- Students can pick words from a basket and use those words to inspire their own free verse or haiku poems.
- Students can create a collage in Javaka Steptoe’s style using objects found at home or in the classroom.
- Have students brainstorm a list of words that could be used to describe themselves or their environment. After brainstorming, have them choose a few words and write about what meaning that word has for them.
- Have students rate the poems on their effectiveness in describing the chosen word. For example, on a scale of 1-5, how effectively does the haiku for “hot” capture the essence of the word.