Book Review Poetry #3

 DANITRA BROWN LEAVES TOWN

By Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Floyd Cooper

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Grimes, Nikki. 2002. DANITRA BROWN LEAVES TOWN. Ill. by Floyd Cooper. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0688131557

PLOT SUMMARY

In this book, DANITRA BROWN LEAVES TOWN, Grimes writes about two young girls who are best friends that end up being apart during the summer.  As Danitra leaves town her friend Zuri says some hurtful things because she is sad that she will be spending the whole summer by herself without her best friend.  To Zuri's surprise she finds someone to play with, she now has a neighborhood friend.  She soon receives a letter from Danitra saying she misses her friend, throughout the whole summer they write each other letters about their summer adventures.  By the end of the summer both girls reunite with more confidence in themselves and a stronger friendship.  Grimes writes about these girls' summer experiences through thirteen spirited poems.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Nikki Grimes does amazing job grabbing the readers attentions through thirteen wonderful poems, poems that tell a beautiful story about friendship.  Children of any age can relate and understand the emotions that these girls feel when they have to experience summer without each other.  Feelings of anger, jealousy, happiness, and excitement are described throughout the book in the different poems.  Every child can relate to these different emotions, which provides great discussion about experiences that cause these emotions, children can make these connections.  What is so unique about this book that each page has a title, the title to the poems telling the story of the summer experiences these girls have.  These poems are weaved together to create an innocent story about friendship.  

Floyd Cooper does an outstanding job bringing these girls' experiences to life with his beautiful paintings.  Each illustration brings the emotions the girls are feeling to life and makes the book easy to understand and appealing to children of any age.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "All in all, however, Cooper's photo-realist artwork in soft hues against glowing backdrops is a lovely complement to the girls' many moods."

Starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Floyd Cooper's luminescent pastels chronicle the long days and Zuri's many moods."

CONNECTIONS

*Read other books about Danitra Brown:

Grimes, Nikki. MEET DANITRA BROWN. ISBN 9780688154714

Grimes, Nikki. DANITRA BROWN CLASS CLOWN. 9780688172909

*Have students write a letter to their best friend about their favorite summer activity.