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Oh, Brother!
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.
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First published December 26, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 6, 2016
Oh, Brother is a picture book in verse about the blending of two families. The poems are written in the first person, from the point of view of Xavier, a Latino boy whose mother has just gotten remarried. "Mami remarried/and won me a brother," the first line of the book reads, and the rest of the poems explore Xavier's feelings about his new family and the eventual realization of brotherhood between Xavier and his new stepbrother, Chris.
Here are just some examples of the wonderful poetry in this book:
In the poem entitled "Steps", Xavier reflects that everyone in his household is a step now.
He says:
In my mind
I turn them into steps
I can climb.
And when I reach
the top,
I rule.
The accompanying illustrations shows Xavier's mother and stepfather and Chris as stony mountains similar to Mount Rushmore, and Xavier scales their surfaces, approaching the peak.
In another poem toward the end of the book, entitled "Lights Out" Xavier describes the way he and his brother sometimes play and joke before bed:
Chris and I
trade jokes
and line the walls
with laughter.
Finally, as the family begins to expand yet again after a surprising turn of events at the end of the book, Xavier learns the important lesson the book has been working up to all along:
Our family
is a song we sing,
and we can add new notes
anytime we like.
There is so much subtly beautiful language in this book, and so many wonderful threads come together to tell this family's full story. Xavier is frustrated not just with the extra people now crowding his household, but also with the fact that his own father is miles away and his new brother can't spell his name. Chris's efforts to be 100% perfect and lovable also annoy Xavier, until he learns that Chris is afraid his father will leave him as his mother did.
This is a book so many kids can relate to, and it makes such positive statements about brothers, and families, but without cheapening the real anger, jealousy, resentment, and fear kids can experience when their family lives go through major changes. I finished the book with a little lump in my throat, and immediately picked it up to read a second time.
Here are just some examples of the wonderful poetry in this book:
In the poem entitled "Steps", Xavier reflects that everyone in his household is a step now.
He says:
In my mind
I turn them into steps
I can climb.
And when I reach
the top,
I rule.
The accompanying illustrations shows Xavier's mother and stepfather and Chris as stony mountains similar to Mount Rushmore, and Xavier scales their surfaces, approaching the peak.
In another poem toward the end of the book, entitled "Lights Out" Xavier describes the way he and his brother sometimes play and joke before bed:
Chris and I
trade jokes
and line the walls
with laughter.
Finally, as the family begins to expand yet again after a surprising turn of events at the end of the book, Xavier learns the important lesson the book has been working up to all along:
Our family
is a song we sing,
and we can add new notes
anytime we like.
There is so much subtly beautiful language in this book, and so many wonderful threads come together to tell this family's full story. Xavier is frustrated not just with the extra people now crowding his household, but also with the fact that his own father is miles away and his new brother can't spell his name. Chris's efforts to be 100% perfect and lovable also annoy Xavier, until he learns that Chris is afraid his father will leave him as his mother did.
This is a book so many kids can relate to, and it makes such positive statements about brothers, and families, but without cheapening the real anger, jealousy, resentment, and fear kids can experience when their family lives go through major changes. I finished the book with a little lump in my throat, and immediately picked it up to read a second time.
August 4, 2011
A well-known poet mentioned in our textbook wrote, Oh, Brother. Nikki Grimes has successfully written this picture book in poetic form. In this text, Xavier’s has a new stepbrother, Chris, and he is not too pleased about it. Told in the first person this collection of twenty poems starts with the narrator telling that his mom remarried and won him a brother. The problem is, Xavier thinks he doesn’t need a brother, and his mother doesn’t seem to care. In the first few poems he complains about all of the things he doesn’t like about his new brother, and how Chris makes him look bad. When Xavier confronts Chris about being so perfect and tells him it better stop. Chris begins to cry and says he can’t because he’s afraid his dad will leave just like his mom did. He says she left because normal wasn’t good enough. After this turning point in the collection of poems the boys have a new friendship. They have pillow fights, play baseball and wrestle. At the end of the story the brother’s parents come to them with news of a new baby. The final poem is titled, “Pact” in which they decide they are brothers, no matter what.
This story is beautifully illustrated with painted pictures that accompany the poems perfectly. The reader will notice that this new family appear to be interracial, Chris and his father appear black, and Xavier and his mother appear Latino. Xavier even interjects several Spanish words into his poems, like Hijo, dios, Papi, pero, hermano and mijos to help him express his feelings.
With themes of blended families, race, rejection, and love this book includes it all. I think it would be an appropriate book for K-5th graders and would be useful in showing young readers and writers that books can be written in poetic form. I love how powerful the short poems are and think this would be a great mentor text to help students create poems of their own. It would also fit well with the first grade unit about families.
This story is beautifully illustrated with painted pictures that accompany the poems perfectly. The reader will notice that this new family appear to be interracial, Chris and his father appear black, and Xavier and his mother appear Latino. Xavier even interjects several Spanish words into his poems, like Hijo, dios, Papi, pero, hermano and mijos to help him express his feelings.
With themes of blended families, race, rejection, and love this book includes it all. I think it would be an appropriate book for K-5th graders and would be useful in showing young readers and writers that books can be written in poetic form. I love how powerful the short poems are and think this would be a great mentor text to help students create poems of their own. It would also fit well with the first grade unit about families.
November 16, 2010
This was a delightful book which could have multiple uses in the classroom. It could be used for children dealing with divorce, stepbrothers or sisters, or any other significant life change. We find Xavier dealing, quite happily with his Mami's new boyfriend, who is very attentive. Then enters Chris, his soon-to-be stepbrother who does everything perfectly. He not only does his chores, but Xavier's as well. Chris doesn't even spell Xavier's name right, and he appears to be making his way into Mami's heart.
Xavier finally confronts Chris in a poem entitled, 'Showdown' and finds out that Xavier fears that if he isn't 'perfect' his father will leave as his mother had done. Xavier finally sees Chris for who he truly is, a scared young boy like he is. Chris starts to see the similarities they share rather than the anger that has clouded his eyes when he looks at his new stepbrother.
At the end of the book the boys become big brothers to a beautiful being, with 'eyes like the ocean', and 'skin like silk'' named Melodye.
The boys make a pact that no matter what they are brothers and 'nobody leaves'.
What a powerful book of poems! The illustrations are enormous and the characters' eyes look as if they allow you access to their very souls. The artwork only adds to the beauty of the author's words and makes us feel what the characters are going through. This book of verse would be a wonderful mentor text for students to use as they try their own hand at poetry.
Xavier finally confronts Chris in a poem entitled, 'Showdown' and finds out that Xavier fears that if he isn't 'perfect' his father will leave as his mother had done. Xavier finally sees Chris for who he truly is, a scared young boy like he is. Chris starts to see the similarities they share rather than the anger that has clouded his eyes when he looks at his new stepbrother.
At the end of the book the boys become big brothers to a beautiful being, with 'eyes like the ocean', and 'skin like silk'' named Melodye.
The boys make a pact that no matter what they are brothers and 'nobody leaves'.
What a powerful book of poems! The illustrations are enormous and the characters' eyes look as if they allow you access to their very souls. The artwork only adds to the beauty of the author's words and makes us feel what the characters are going through. This book of verse would be a wonderful mentor text for students to use as they try their own hand at poetry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2014
While the story is told in poems and illustrations from Xavier’s point of view, there is still space made available for the other characters to develop personalities and motivations of their own. And even with the relatively few pages and brevity of most of the poems, Grimes and Benny are able to accomplish the transition from suspicion and resentment to brotherly support and oath-making.
The spatial relationships are remarked upon, territory and occasions, but Grimes also focuses a great deal on names: as identity; as forms of ownership and relationship. She completes a narrative in the twenty poems not only through linearity, but through thematic threads.
The illustrations contribute significantly to narrative coherence while also imagining that which a poem would evoke. The style is real and the composition features the boys, primarily, large on the page. Their close-ups place them in an intimate range of the reader, and allude to the subjectivity of the narrator.
I really dig the presence of Mami, and her mad-skills at baseball. The portrayal of a family coming together is not without its struggles, but is also unapologetically exciting and wonderful. Grimes is not gushy, nor is Benny cute. Oh, Brother! is neither sappy nor coy, but a frank and clever way to handle its subject matter.
L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
The spatial relationships are remarked upon, territory and occasions, but Grimes also focuses a great deal on names: as identity; as forms of ownership and relationship. She completes a narrative in the twenty poems not only through linearity, but through thematic threads.
The illustrations contribute significantly to narrative coherence while also imagining that which a poem would evoke. The style is real and the composition features the boys, primarily, large on the page. Their close-ups place them in an intimate range of the reader, and allude to the subjectivity of the narrator.
I really dig the presence of Mami, and her mad-skills at baseball. The portrayal of a family coming together is not without its struggles, but is also unapologetically exciting and wonderful. Grimes is not gushy, nor is Benny cute. Oh, Brother! is neither sappy nor coy, but a frank and clever way to handle its subject matter.
L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
October 7, 2008
Genre: Picture Book - Poetry
Grades: K-5
Awards: X
The book is a touching collection of twenty poems that create a story about the struggle to accept a new step-brother. The first-person poems are written from the point of view of Xavier. He has problems adjusting to his new stepbrother Chris. Xavier feels that Chris is trying to steal Mami (his mother) from him. He feels that Chris is too perfect and makes him look bad. After an argument, Xavier realizes that Chris is afraid that if he is not perfect his father will leave him the way his mother did. Xavier understands because he misses his father. The brothers begin to enjoy each others company, and they truly become brothers. In one scene, Chris is practicing writing Xavier’s name. Xavier tells Chris that he spelled it wrong and his name is hermano, which meaning brother in Spanish. The family grows even closer after the arrival of a new baby. The book is a great example of modern family life. Many homes are blended and/or multicultural.
Activities:
1.Students will Speculate. The students will discuss what will happen in the future for the brothers and their family.
2.Students create Magnetic Poetry. The teacher will take poems from the book, enlarge the text, and make copies of them. Then, he or she will cut out the words. The students will create their own poems with the words.
Grades: K-5
Awards: X
The book is a touching collection of twenty poems that create a story about the struggle to accept a new step-brother. The first-person poems are written from the point of view of Xavier. He has problems adjusting to his new stepbrother Chris. Xavier feels that Chris is trying to steal Mami (his mother) from him. He feels that Chris is too perfect and makes him look bad. After an argument, Xavier realizes that Chris is afraid that if he is not perfect his father will leave him the way his mother did. Xavier understands because he misses his father. The brothers begin to enjoy each others company, and they truly become brothers. In one scene, Chris is practicing writing Xavier’s name. Xavier tells Chris that he spelled it wrong and his name is hermano, which meaning brother in Spanish. The family grows even closer after the arrival of a new baby. The book is a great example of modern family life. Many homes are blended and/or multicultural.
Activities:
1.Students will Speculate. The students will discuss what will happen in the future for the brothers and their family.
2.Students create Magnetic Poetry. The teacher will take poems from the book, enlarge the text, and make copies of them. Then, he or she will cut out the words. The students will create their own poems with the words.
October 23, 2013
This narrative is a beautiful compilation of twenty poems that tell a story of bringing two families together. In the beginning, the narrator, Xavier, hates that his Mami’s marriage to his step-dad means that Chris will be his new step-brother (ex. “no way will I ever call him brother“). The author, Nikki Grimes, walks us through Xavier’s emotions as he eventually comes to accept and love his step-brother (ex. “no matter what, we’re brothers”). Not only is this text a realistic and honest portrayal of a young boy’s feelings towards his new step-brother, but it also reflects the blending of families from different cultural backgrounds. As a teacher, I would use this text to teach descriptive language and to demonstrate rhyme in poetry (ex. “Its eyes are oceans. It smells like milk, slides like and eel, feels like silk”). This would also be a great text for children to make story predictions based on Mike Benny’s lovely illustrations. I appreciate that the author herself comes from a divorced family in which her mother remarried; this makes Xavier’s perspective that much more authentic. Grimes’s words and Benny’s illustrations come together like magic in this text to share an exceptional story of two families becoming one.
February 16, 2017
Oh, Brother! by Nikki Grimes is a fun and interesting poetry book that brings two cultures together to ultimately form the perfect family. Xavier narrates how he gains a stepdad and stepbrother when his Hispanic mother dates an African American man to start a new family. Throughout the story, Xavier has a hard time accepting his stepbrother Chris and them sharing a house together. Xavier ridicules Chris and picks out all the features that he does not like; including the fact that he believes Chris is trying to take his mom away from him. After the two start to see common ground, they realize that they both have a parent that they miss. Chris is without his mother and Xavier is without his father. Welcoming a new child into the picture from both parents that they now share excites the two boys and they make a pact that they will always be brothers. I absolutely thought the book was a great read. I thought this book was an easy read for students; and I think the way in which the author told Xavier experience in the form of a poem made it more interesting to read. The illustrations are awesome and I believe students will enjoy the book, especially kids who can relate to gaining new members to their family.
October 16, 2019
So glad I checked out this book from my public library! I like this book because I can see students enjoying this book as a read aloud. It address stepfamilies and their dynamics. I love the ending: "Our family is a song we sing, and we can add new notes anytime we like." A beautiful way to sum up this book about relationships!
September 19, 2016
Oh, Brother! is a book comprised of twenty poems about a boy named Xavier who has a new stepbrother named Chris. Chris has moved into Xavier's room and seems to have stolen Xavier's mother's attention. He is not happy about having a new brother, but eventually, Xavier accepts Chris, and ultimately they become friends and true brothers.
I would definitely add this book to my multicultural list. First off, the book has characters of color. I believe Chris and his father are black, and Xavier and Mami are Hispanic since they use some Spanish vocabulary. This book could be related to children who are from families of divorce or even kids who come from mixed race households. I think this book can also relate to kids that have step-siblings and how they try to cope with the change and newness of having someone come live in their house. This book sends a good message of acceptance and brotherhood, which I love.
I would definitely add this book to my multicultural list. First off, the book has characters of color. I believe Chris and his father are black, and Xavier and Mami are Hispanic since they use some Spanish vocabulary. This book could be related to children who are from families of divorce or even kids who come from mixed race households. I think this book can also relate to kids that have step-siblings and how they try to cope with the change and newness of having someone come live in their house. This book sends a good message of acceptance and brotherhood, which I love.
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October 12, 2017"Oh, Brother!", written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Mike Benny is an amazing book of poems that tell the story of one boy and his journey of gaining a step brother. His mom remarries and there are two new people in the house. At first they dislike each other and the poems describe feelings of distrust, conflict, foreignness, and unease. By the end of the book will the brothers learn to love each other or keep their distance? "Oh, Brother!" can be a great read for children with parents going through a remarriage or children who don't have that going on. If they are, I'm sure they will find meaningful poems that might help describe how they're feeling. The book would make for a great shared reading experience for children aged 5-10.
May 1, 2013
What is interesting about this book is that it is told by poems. These poems are put together to tell a story about Xavier and his new step brother Chris. They do not get along what so ever at first, but then in the end, two strangers come together to be friends. This touches on a subject that a lot of kids have to deal with if their parents divorce and remarry to those who have kids themselves. They are forced to move in together, and in some cases, like these two, made to share rooms with people they do not know. They have to adjust to these new terms, and how better else to help explain this concept then to read them this story?
November 10, 2015
This is a book about 2 stepbrothers coming together. Chris’s dad marries Xavier’s mom and the 2 boys have to learn how to live together as brothers. It has spanish language intertwined in the text. It’s a story told through poems. The illustrations are awesome and full page with the poems overlaying on top. They are colorful, with saturated colors and a darker pallet, but the book remains light. The colors are cool earth tones. This book deals with emotional conflict like parent’s leaving and divorce.
February 12, 2018
A book I could read over and over. The poems speak so much truth to what it feels like to be a child, uncertain of your value, when new members of the family are being introduced. This book is genuine. It goes through the emotions many children experience after their parents separate and remarry. It can be a very confusing and uncertain time, and this story shows that it's normal to feel that way and that it's also okay to try and accept these unfamiliar changes. Great book for any family experiencing something similar, or any classroom that may have students in blended families.
December 13, 2014
Oh, Brother! was a book that I included in my text set, with the theme of sharing. In this series of poems, Xavier must come to terms that his mom married a new man, and he inherits a stepbrother. Now he must share his home and his mother with these new people in his life. This is a great book to share when a student(s) are experiencing some of the same issues, or to help other students to relate to the situation that those students may be going through.
December 13, 2014
Published in 2008, this wonderful book by Nikki Grimes tells the story of two young Hispanic boys who suddenly become brothers. There are trials and tribulations along the way; the new brother, Chris, is worried that if he isn't perfect that his dad will leave, (he thinks that's why his mom left). A very good book that describes family and growing up, it also details certain aspects of Hispanic culture. Great entry book for Elementary and Middle School students.
April 18, 2018
Xavier has a new stepbrother and he is not happy about it. At first they have tons of problems with each other but then they grow to like one another. Nikki Grimes uses poems to show how they become brothers and a family. The characters are Xavier, Chris, and their parents. The setting is in their home. Mike Benny used lots of detail in his illustrations. I gave this book five stars because it shows how tough it can be with a separated family and having a new family.
September 27, 2012
A sweet and surprisingly unpreachy book about blended families and two stepbrothers who become brothers in their hearts as well as on paper. Grimes's poems are a pleasure to read--and would work very well being read aloud--and Xavier's slow change of heart seems entirely believable. An especially heartwarming ending will put a smile on any reader's face.
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May 15, 2009Twenty wonderful poems about stepbrothers who learn to love and appreciate each other. At first when their parents marry, they go their separate ways, as the poems unfold they learn to care about each other. Great introduction to any change in our lives. gr. 2+
November 19, 2012
Through gently rhymed verse, Xavier expresses a range of emotions when his mother remarries and he gains a stepbrother. There are few books about blended families, so this is a notable book; but the layout of the text on the pages was occasionally a little confusing to me.
November 17, 2014
Growing up in a blended family - an experience for so many kids. I wish I had a book like this when I was a child. The poems Ms. Grimes shares cover the gamut of emotions when two families unite and new siblings try to forge the love for one another. Well received by fourth graders too!
March 15, 2008
A Latino boy learns to love his step-brother in this story written in poems. Beautiful illustrations compliment the poems perfectly.
April 26, 2008
I really enjoyed this verse story and the more I look at the illustrations the more I realize how much emotion is skillfully encapsulated in the figures on the pages. Very touching.
October 1, 2009
Great book told through poems about boy adjusting to step brother
December 10, 2009
"step-brothers, joined family, Hispanic, new step-brother, told in poetry, one poem per page, Hispanic terminology"
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August 2, 2011Blended family through the eyes of a boy.
February 28, 2012
This is a book about step brothers. One brother doesn't want to except the other. He feels that they are not brothers until something changes his mind.
January 21, 2012
Was a reread as I prepare for a unit about characters and how their thoughts, words and actions reveal their motivations.
April 18, 2012
book was about getting a step-family. the boy was not happy his mother married and that he was getting a brother. he talked about how bad it was until he finally saw the good in the new situation.
March 30, 2013
Poems written from the point of view of a boy whose mother has jsut remarried and now he has a step dad and step brother.
May 7, 2014
20 poems take the reader through the cycle of unwanted brother, showdown, gradual acceptance, to true family. It brought tears to my eyes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews