Nikki Grimes does not consider herself a bonified storyteller, but, as she told an audience recently at the Library of Congress, she is happy to own the title Poet. Born and raised in New York City, Nikki began composing verse at the age of six and has been writing ever since. A prolific artist, she is the author of many award-winning books for children and young adults including the novel Jazmin's Notebook, (Dial) a Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book and Bank Street College Book of the Year, the popular poetry collection Meet Danitra Brown, (Lothrop) an ALA Notable and Coretta Scott King Honor Book, Hopscotch Love (Lothrop); Aneesa Lee & The Weaver's Gift, an American Bookseller Pick of the List, (Lothrop); From A Child's Heart (just Us Books), a book of prayers; A Dime A Dozen, My Man Blue (Dial); Come Sunday (Eerdmans) an ALA Notable; At Break of Day (Eerdmans); and Is it Far to Zanzibar? ( HarperCollins). Other works include Stepping Out With Grandma Mac and Shoe Magic (Orchard), A Pocketful of Poems (Clarion), Wild, Wild Hair (Scholastic), Portrait of Mary (Harcourt Brace), a work of adult fiction on the life of Jesus' mother, and Malcolm X: A Force For Change (Fawcett), a YA biography which was an NAACP Image Award Finalist for 1993. In addition to her work for children, Ms. Grimes has written articles for such magazines as Essence, Today's Christian Woman, and Book Links.

An accomplished and widely anthologized poet of both childrews and adult verse., Grimes has conducted poetry readings and lectures at international schools in Russia, China, Sweden and Tanzania, while shortterm mission projects have taken her to such trouble-spots as Haiti. Crossing borders artistically as well as geographically, Nikki once sang on the stage of the Stockholm Philharmonic in Sweden, (where magazines refer to her as a singer who also writes!) sang and danced her way down the east coast of China, and has published and exhibited her photography both here and abroad.

During the 1970's, Nikki coproduced and hosted The Kid's Show on WBAI FM in New York. Later, during a six-year-stint in Sweden, she hosted their radio program for immigrants, Gränslöst, and another for Swedish Educational Radio

A forthcoming poetry title is include Under the Christmas Tree (HarperCollins).

You can visit Nikki's Web site at www.nikkigrimes.com.

 

At Break of Day

Price: $17.00
ISBN: 9780802851048 (hardcover)
Grade level: K-2
Illustraotor: Paul Morin

"Grimes captures the essence of a father/son relationship, with its mutual love and admiration, while also conveying the unique status o this particular father/son dynamic. Her lyrical gifts are everywhere in abundance, set out with a deceptive simplicity that evokes an oral tradition." Publisher's Weekly



Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope

Price $16.99
Grade level: K-5
ISBN: 978141697143 (hardcover)
Illustraotor: Bryan Collier



Bronx Masquerade

Price $16.99
ISBN: 9780803725690 (hardcover)
Price $5.99
ISBN: 9780142501894 (paperback)
Grade level: 6 and Up

"This is almost like a play for 18 voices, as Grimes (Stepping Out with Grandma Mac, not reviewed, etc.) moves her narration among a group of high school students in the Bronx..." Kirkus Reviews

WINNER OF THE 2002 CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD FOR WRITING


C is for City

Price: $9.95
ISBN: 9781590780138 (paperback)
Grade level: PreK - 2
Illustraotor: Paul Morin

"'A is for arcade or ads for apartments.../B is for butcher or/breakfast with bagels/or block-party bands/out on hot summer nights. C is for city/or cabbies named Clarence/or cool cats who chat/under boulevard lights.' Many of the arresting images reflect the ethnic, religious, and economic diversity of urban life....it is always interesting and right on target for the audience."  School Library Journal



Come Sunday

Price $15.00
ISBN: 9780802851086 (hardcover)
Price $8.00
ISBN: 9780802851345 (paperback)
Grade level: 6 and Up
Illustraotor: Michael Bryant

"Fourteen short poems narrated by an African-American girl that concentrate mostly on preparing for and going to church with family and friends. From her mother's gentle wake-up call to her bedtime prayers, LaTasha is caught up in the spirit of the Paradise Baptist Church. Sunday is a long day filled with different experiences, and readers share this appealing child's observations on all of them..." School Library Journal


Danitra Brown Class Clown

Price: $16.99
ISBN: 9780688172909 (hardcover)
Grade level: 1-4
Illustraotor: Angelo

Nikki Grimes's heroine returns for a third outing, this time as Danitra Brown, Class Clown. In the rhyming text, best friends Danitra and Zuri start a new school year, but with different attitudes-one full of excitement and one with trepidation. E.B. Lewis's illustrations show the range of emotions elementary school children feel." Publishers Weekly


Dark Sons

Price: $15.99
ISBN: 9780786818884 (hardcover)
Price: $7.99
ISBN: 9781423102519 (paperback)
Grade level: 3-6

"Grimes contrasts the Biblical story of Abraham's son Ishmael with present day Samuel's trying to cope with divorce and his father's remarriage. Conveyed almost entirely in prose poems, the work gives deeper meaning to both stories... The strength of the poetry along with this assumption that religion and a relationship with God are an integral part of life distinguishes and illuminates the narrative." Kirkus Reviews


A Day With Daddy

Price: $3.99
ISBN: 9780439568500 (paperback)
Grade level: K - 2
Illustraotor: Nicole Tadgell


A Dime a Dozen

Price: $17.99
ISBN: 9780803722279 (hardcover)
Grade level: 6 and Up
Illustraotor: Angelo

"Written in the first-person voice of an African-American girl, these 28 poems celebrate family, culture, writing, and the spirit of a creative, introspective child." School Library Journal



From a Child's Heart

Price: $15.95
ISBN: 9780940975446 (hardcover)
Price $7.95
ISBN: 9780940975439 (paperback)
Grade level: 3 - 6

"Grimes has composed prayerful verses to give voice to the subjects in pastel drawings (done between 1985- 1992) by the African-American artist Brenda Joysmith, who paints a pretty world of healthy and well-groomed children. Youngsters are shown nestled close to their parents, bending their heads together with playmates, and lost in comtemplation or daydreaming." School Library Journal

 


Hopscotch Love: A Family Treasury of Poems

Price: $14.95
ISBN: 9780688156671 (hardcover)
Grade level: 6 and Up
Illustraotor: Melodye Benson Rosales

"These twenty-two poems were written to depict the various faces of love within an African-American community, but truly their appeal is universal." Children's Literature



It's Raining Laughter

Price: $14.99 (OUT OF STOCK)
ISBN: 9781590780770 (hardcover)
Grade level: K-2
Illustraotor: Myles Pinkney

"Twelve joyous poems about growing up are filled with music, laughter, and love. Simple childhood pleasures such as running, playing, reading, and remembering are touched on with insight and humor...A harmonious blend of words and pictures." School Library Journal



Jazmin's Notebook

Price: $15.99
ISBN: 9780803722248 (hardcover)
Price: $5.99
ISBN: 9780141307022 (paperback)
Grade level: 6-10
Illustrator: Nancy J. Hopper

"With exhuberance, passion, perception, and wit, fourteen-year-old Jazmin Shelby fills her notebook with glimpses of her life, neighborhood, family, and dreams in Harlem in the 1960's.... Secondary readers will delight in her candor and imagination." Starred Review, School Library Journal



Meet Danitra Brown

Price: $6.99
ISBN: 9780688154714 (paperback)
Grade level: 1-3
Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

"A series of simple poems tells a friendship story in the voice of Zuri Jackson, who admires her spirited buddy, Danitra Brown. Their relationship is upbeat but unsentimental." BookList



My Man Blue

Price: $6.99
ISBN: 9780142301975 (paperback)
Grade level: 1-3
Illustrator: Jerome Lagarrigue

"This against-the-odds book from Grimes (Jazmin's Notebook, 1998, etc.) tells of an African-American boy living in a neighborhood that cuts him no slack, and the man who helps keep his feet grounded and his self-esteem steady against the occasional buffeting of his peers." Kirkus Reviews



Oh, Brother!

Price: $16.99
ISBN: 9780688172947 (hardcover)
Grade level: K-5
Illustrator: Mike Benny

"It's bad enough that Xavier's new stepbrother, Chris, has moved into Xavier's room, but now it looks like he's also trying to steal Mami by being the perfect kid. Chris's "Mr. Perfect" act may fool grown-ups, but Xavier can see straight through it. He promises himself that he'll never become real brothers with such a fake. No brothers allowed! Ever! . . . right? In twenty powerful poems, two strangers learn to become brothers. Nikki Grimes captures the struggles-and eventual sweetness-of bringing together a family.

 


A Pocketful of Poems

Price: $16.00
ISBN: 9780395938683 (hardcover)
Grade level: 1-4
Illustraotor: Javaka Steptoe

"Grimes boils poetry down to its essence in this picture book homage to words--a must-read for aspiring poets and writers" Starred Review, Publisher's Weekly



Road to Paris

Price: $15.99
ISBN: 9780399245374(hardcover)
Price: $6.99
ISBN: 9780142410820 (paperback)
Grade level: 3-6

"Eight-year-old Paris Richmond has never had it easy. Her white father walked out on the family; her black mother tends to drink when she's lonely. Only Paris's older brother Malcolm is a constant, even when they are sent to live with an awful foster mother. When the children run away, Family Services separates them and Paris must face a strange new foster family and a new school on her own. Grimes has created a real little girl whose growth is perfectly paced and believable. The characters around her are not all perfectly realized, but Paris's story is touching and worth a place in most collections. " Kirkus Reviews



Shoe Magic

COMING SOON
Grade level: PreS-2
Illustrator: Terry Widener

"Using their footwear as points of departure, Grimes presents a cycle of poems about kids' everyday lives and dreams for the future." School Library Journal

 


Stepping Out with Grandma MAC

COMING SOON
Grade level: 4-7
Illustrator: Angelo

"There are no hugs and kisses and no endearments from Grandma Mac. Her words are cold and gruff, and they can hurt. But these poems in her 10-year-old granddaughter's voice reveal how much the girl resembles her grandmother: scrappy and strong, adventerous and reserved, irritable and intimate....The touching poems will leave readers thinking about love not spoken, the spaces between the words." Starred Review, Booklist



Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China

Price: $15.95
ISBN: 9780812627077 (hardcover)
Grade level: 6 and Up
Illustrator: Ed Young

"In 1988, poet Grimes was part of an artists' tour of China, performing, reading, traveling, and teaching. Young, whose family comes from China, always sketches what he sees when he returns to visit. Grimes constructs a travelogue of small poems, each with an introduction accompanied by her tourist photos. Young's lively and evocative black-and-white drawings, which are from the same time period-just before Tiananmen Square-are well-matched with the verse, some rhymed, some not... it opens up possibilities for history, culture, and poetry classes for middle grades." Kirkus Reviews



Talkin' About Bessie

Price: $16.95
ISBN: 9780802851345 (hardcover)
Grade level: 3-8

"Talkin' is a well-conceived, well-executed, handsomely illustrated, fictionalized account of the life of the first black female licensed pilot in the world. . . . Skillfully drawn and occasionally photographic in their realism, the pictures perfectly match each speaker's recollections." Starred Review, School Library Journal



Thanks a Million

Price: $15.99
ISBN: 9780688172923 (hardcover)
Grade level: k-3
Illustrator: Cozbi S. Cabrera

In sixteen extraordinary poems that range in form from a haiku to a rebus to a riddle, Nikki Grimes reminds us how wonderful it is to feel thankful, and how powerful a simple "thank you" can be.



Welcome Precious

Price: $16.99
ISBN: 9780439557023 (hardcover)
Grade level: preK
Illustrator: Bryan Collier

Pooling their rather considerable talents, an acclaimed poet and an award-winning artist create a tender ode to new babies. The text, rich in imagery and lyricism, welcomes a new child into the world, giving a taste of the pleasures that lie ahead: "Welcome to the warm circle of your daddy's arms, the slippery kisses of your giddy grandmother, and the cool tickle of Mommy's nose rubbing against your belly button." Equally moving are the watercolor and collage depictions of a clearly smitten mother and father caring for their baby. Child Magazine

Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2006



When Daddy Prays

Price: $16.00
ISBN:9780802851529 (hardcover)
Price: $8.00
ISBN: 9780802852663(paperback)
Grade level: K-6
Illustrator: Tim Ladwig

"Fourteen graceful poems portray a small boy's relationship with his prayerful father. Whether the narrator is at bat for his team, coming home from school, helping to weed a garden, or being tucked in at night, he "hears" his father praying. Each poem in a different cadence fits the mood of the experience." Kirkus Reviews



When Gorilla Goes Walking

Price: $16.99
ISBN: 9780439317702 (hardcover)
Grade level: preK-2
Illustrator:Shane Evans

"When Gorilla goes walking, the neighbors laugh and stare at her tailless rump and her very proud air. " Gorilla is an affectionate, jealous, lovable cat who constantly wants to play with Cecilia. Experience their unique relationship through Nikki Grimes's lyrical poetry and Shane Evans's vibrant art work. Readers will fall in love with Gorilla and wish they could bring her home with them!



Wild, Wild Hair (Hello Reader! Series)

Price: $3.99
ISBN: 9780590265904 (paperback)
Grade level: K-2
Illustrator: George Ford

"Tisa Walker dreads Monday mornings. 'School was not the problem./She liked going there./But Monday was the day/Mommy braided Tisa's hair.' She hides, but every week her mother finds her, combs and carefully braids her long, thick hair into 20 elaborately plaited braids. Grimes uses her beautiful poetic touch to narrate this story told in easy-to-read rhyming couplets." School Library Journal


The books below are no longer available.

Aneesa Lee and the Weaver's Gift

NO LONGER AVAILABLE
check your local libraries
Grade level: 2-5
Illustrator: Ashley Bryan

"Thirteen interrelated poems celebrate a girl's love of weaving. Aneesa Lee, herself a tapestry of black, white, and Japanese heritage, pursues the art with an all-consuming passion." School Library Journal

A 1999 PARENTS' CHOICE® GOLD AWARD WINNER


Danitra Brown Leaves Town

NO LONGER AVAILABLE
check your local library
Grade level: 1-4
Illustraotor: Angelo

"Fans of this author-illustrator team's Meet Danitra Brown will welcome their latest effort... Grimes's poems read and flow well, and Cooper's paintings simply burst with energy and expressiveness." Kirkus Reviews



Is It Far to Zanzibar?: Poems About Tanzania

NO LONGER AVAILABLE
check your local library
Grade level: 1-6
Illustraotor: Clifford A. Parms

"Thirteen brief, playful poems give us a glimpse at life in rural Tanzania, including its offshore island, Zanzibar. Spiced with Swahili words, Grimes' verses introduce a jam-packed bus, animals, foods, the marketplace, and several mischievous children." Kirkus Reviews

A 2000 PARENTS' CHOICE® GOLD AWARD WINNER



Portrait of Mary

NO LONGER AVAILABLE
check your local library
Grade level: All

The award-winning author of From a Child's Heart retells the story of Mary, using everyday, down-to-earth language based on the Scriptural events. Through Nikki Grimes's vibrant narrative--presented in a stunning, two-color format--Mary's life is made startlingly fresh, deeply human, and inspiring.



Under the Christmas Tree: Poems of Christmas

NO LONGER AVAILABLE
check your local library
Grade level: K-6

"Grimes offers glimpses of Christmastime from a child's eyes, in the form of 23 poems that shine with all the hallmarks of the season. Her text is universal in sentiment, but telling in its detail, as when a child waits for her candle to be lit at a Christmas Eve service or dreams of joining the skaters she watches, carving figure eights in an ice rink." Publishers Weekly

 

Author

Current Location: California

Honorarium:
The fee listed below is only the honorarium and does not include expenses which the hosting organization must pay for.

  • Schools: $4,000 full day - three presentations (plus expenses).
  • Conferences: $4,000 (plus expenses)
  • Libraries & Bookfairs: Negotiable.

NOTE:

  • Prices include most mileage. Sponsor pays airfare, meals & lodging when required. Full-day event sponsors provide lunch.
  • Event planners may consider pooling resources with other schools & libraries in their area to cover author's fare and lodging.
  • As of 2005, Nikki will only accept out-of-state school visit invitations during the months of April and November.

SCHEDULES

Includes 3 assemblies. Presentations per day: Three maximum. Sorry no classroom visits.

Program Description

ASSEMBLY PRESENTATIONS

SMALL FRY

In this 45 minute presentation, (including a question and answer session) Grimes shares poetry, as well as the real-life stories behind writing her alphabet book, and the popular title Wild, Wild Hair. This story hour includes slides and complete readings of Wild, Wild Hairand C is for City.
Grades K-2

MEET DANITRA BROWN

In this 45 minute interactive poetry presentation, (including Q&A) Grimes discusses the process of developing characters like LaTasha, Danitra, Damon and Aneesa Lee, tells the reallife stories behind some of the poems readers have come to know, and shares the choreography of a poem from My Man Blue. Books: Meet Danitra Brown; Come Sunday; From A Child"s Heart; My Man Blue; Aneesa Lee & The Weaver's Gift.
Grades 3-5

JAZMIN & COMPANY

This 45 minute presentation (including Q&A) focuses on the importance of voice in poetry and fiction. Weaving together poetry and prose, Grimes discusses the difference between autobiography and autobiographical fiction, tracing the development of her own voice while suggesting ways students can develop theirs. Books: Hopscotch Love, A Dime A Dozen, Jazmin's Notebook; Stepping Out With Grandma Mac.
Grades 6-12

HANDOUTS & GIVEAWAYS

These include bookmarks and/or postcards for students, as well as poetry idea sheets for teachers and poster(s) for the school.

© 2001-2011, visitingauthors.com