Poems in the Attic

by Nikki Grimes, Elizabeth Zunon (Illustrations)

During a visit to her grandma's house, a young girl discovers a box of poems in the attic, poems written by her mother when she was growing up. Her mother s family often moved around the United States and the world because her father was in the Air Force. Over the years, her mother used poetry to record her experiences in the many places the family lived. Reading the poems and sharing those experiences through her mother s eyes, the young girl feels closer to her mother than ever before. To let her mother know this, she creates a gift: a book with her own poems and copies of her mother s. And when she returns her mother s poems to the box in the attic, she leaves her own poems too, for someone else to find, someday. Using free verse for the young girl's poems and tanka for her mother's, master poet Nikki Grimes creates a tender intergenerational story that speaks to every child s need to hold onto special memories of home, no matter where that place might be."

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Family, African American, Fiction, Travel

48 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2015

Reviews

[Caterina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grandma Says

Memories can be like sandcastles
the waves wash away.
My mama glued her memories with words
so they would last forever.

A warm and moving multi-generational family journey told in poetry that becomes deeper and richer with each re-reading. A young girl staying with her grandmother in New Mexico discovers a box of poems in Japanese tanka form in the attic, written by her mother throughout her growing-up years. Each tanka was written in a different place -- as “Captain Grandpa” was in the Air Force so his family moved from base to base, from Alaska to New Mexico to North Carolina to Germany to Japan to many other places as their children grew up. Inspired by her mother’s poetry, the girl writes her own free-verse poems as she imagines both the adventures and the pain her mother must have experienced, making new friends and then leaving them again and again. The grandmother takes an active role in the life of her granddaughter as well. I thought at first the girl must have lost her mother, but no, she is only on a three-day visit to her grandmother’s home, and at the end of the visit she has created a very special gift for her returning mother -- and another perhaps for her own child or grandchild to discover someday. Lovely illustrations.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a young girl who discovers a box of poems in her grandma's attic. The poems act as a journal of sorts, written by her mother when she was growing up. Reading the poems introduces the girl to the many interesting places her mother lived because of her father's military career. It also helps her feel close to her mother because she's seeing the world through her eyes. Inspired by her mother's poetic impressions, the young girl decides to write her own reflective poetry in response.

Poems in the Attic alternates between two poetic forms: tanka for the mother's poems and free verse for the daughter's. The poems are paired on each two-page spread and complemented beautifully by Elizabeth Zunon's vibrant paint and collage illustrations. Overall, the effect is warm and inviting, and, in the words of the School Library Journal:

Sweet and accessible but never simplistic, this collection captures the experience of a military childhood with graceful sophistication.


At the back of the book, you'll find an author's note, a list of the eleven U.S. Air Force bases where the poems are set, a description of the free verse and tanka forms, and an invitation to the reader to write their own.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one hit home for me. A book of children's poetry, inspired by the different places lived due to the Air Force and a dad who was gone a lot for work. This is exactly how I grew up, and two of the bases mentioned are actually places that I lived. Well done and touching.

[Ellen Zarate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A seven-year-old girl finds a box of poems her mom started writing when she was seven. The poems follow her mom's travels as a military child. Inspired, the girl decides to continue the tradition, and contribute poems of her own.

The end of the book offers information about poetry/poetry writing and tells about the military bases which inspired the author during her travels as a military child.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale of two girls told in verse. One girl speaks in free verse about her reactions to discovering her mother's long lost poems scribbled when she was her age, the other girl writes Tankas about her military brat life bounding from base to base. As a fellow military brat, I loved it and can see many applications in the classroom. Highly recommended

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I don't quite understand the point of free verse poetry...

Cool idea, just not for me.

[Ashton Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Poems in the Attic

Author: Nikki Grimes

Illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon

Genre: Picturebook of Poems

Theme: Moving, poetry, travel

Opening Line/Sentence: Grandma’s attic is stacked with secrets.

Brief Book Summary: A young girl finds her mother’s old poems in her grandmother’s attic and reads about her mom’s experiences moving around the world, since her father was in the military. The little girl writes her own poems alongside her mother’s and binds them together.

Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
Edie Ching (Booklist, Apr. 15, 2015 (Vol. 111, No. 16))
A book about discoveries, this celebrates poetry and the quixotic life of a military family. A young girl responds in free verse to the poems she uncovers in the attic, poems her mother wrote in tanka (a form of Japanese poetry) about the wonder of her experiences living throughout the world. The mother’s voice dominates through longer poems and Zunon’s larger illustrations, but the daughter’s poems appear first on each page, and the connection between the poems is heartfelt. Their love of language and the natural world bind them together. There is also a rhythm to their experiences as well (the daughter writes of sand castles, and the mother, of a grunion run). Notes encourage readers to try their hands at either poetic form, while the pictures, a combination of acrylic, oil, and collage, encourage interest in the many places described. Pair with How I Discovered Poetry, by Marilyn Nelson (2014), for a slightly older audience interested in writing poetry and understanding the turmoil and adventure of being raised in a military family.

Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
Midwest Book Review (Children's Bookwatch, November 2015)
Poems in the Attic" is a sensitive collection of two sets of memories captured in two verse styles, tanka, and free verse. The poems celebrate and explore the experience of moving from place to place as the child of an Air Force military family. One set of poems is discovered by the heroine, a young African American girl, in her attic. She is amazed to discover they were written by her mother about her experiences moving with her grandfather when she was a girl. The girl decides to also write poems, to "keep all my rememberings safe..." The tanka poems are brief, descriptive, and evocative, compressed verse in five lines, varying between five and seven syllables each. The original form of tanka poetry comes from Japan. The girl's mother wrote her poems in tanka, while the girl writes hers in free verse. A deeply moving story unfolds, in which two girls find solace from loneliness and change in their ability to write poetry. Here is one poem in free verse: Grandma Says / Memories can be like sandcastles / the waves wash away. / My mama glued her memories with words / so they would last forever. "Poems in the Attic" was chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection for excellent reasons. Tender, lyrical illustrations in acrylic, oil, and collage show mother and daughter as girls in different settings around the world where US Air Force bases exist. A list of eleven different such Air Force Bases is included in the ending pages, mapping out the journeys made by many military families and children to be with their parent(s) in military service. Inspired by stories shared with friends as well as the author's own experiences, "Poems in the Attic" explores the reality of a childhood in transition, using writing to help cope with multiple challenges of growing up a "military brat.”

Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree with both of these reviews because the poetry is beautiful. It really captures emotions and the connections between mother and daughter, as well as imagery and figurative language. It’s a great book of poems that explains what moving around all the time is like when your family is in the military.

Evaluation of Literary Elements: Each picture throughout the book has the characters moving diagonally, which also symbolizes the constant moving around that military families do. Throughout most of the book, the mother is shown as the center of attention as she moves from place to place, which draws the reader’s attention to her. The characters are looking up to the sky when they’re happy and down at the ground when they are sad, further conveying emotion.

Consideration of Instructional Application: For a minilesson, I would talk about both types of poems that are used in the story (free verse and tanka), as well as the figurative language and imagery that are incorporated into these poems. After the read aloud, I would have my students write poems of their own (either tanka or free verse) and I would encourage them to use figurative language and strong imagery. I could connect this story to other content areas by discussing the different parts of the world that are mentioned in the story. I could plan a geography lesson, as well as a lesson on culture and have my students do a project on whichever country from the story they choose.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Poems in the Attic" is one of the selections for this month's Chapter and Verse book club.

In this collection, a young girl, while visiting her grandmother, discovers a cache of poetry written by her mother at a young age. The poems give the young girl the sense of what it may have been like for her mother growing up the child of military father, which required the family to move frequently. On the left of each spread is a present day free verse poem written by the narrator in response to her mother's poetry, along with an accompanying illustration. On the right of each spread is a tanka poem written by her mother as a young girl, along with an accompanying illustration.

Try as I might, I am not a poetry fan. I liked the idea here, but the story could have been even more impactful with the addition of a map and more textual focus on setting. Perhaps a different poetic form would have allowed Grimes more freedom to bring the various settings alive for the reader. As Grimes states in the excellent back matter at the end of the book, she herself "...moved around from home to home, and from city to city, when I was growing up, and I never had a choice in the matter." Since she "...wanted to cover a wide variety of locations where US military families serve..." more of a focus on this would have given this idea more weight. Grimes relies on Elizabeth Zunon's beautiful acrylic, oil, and collage illustrations to communicate the various locations where her mother's family lived. A teacher or parent could extend the reading of "Poems in the Attic" with the use of a map, etc.

The fact that a child of color is portrayed as the protagonist in the story makes this another strong addition to diverse children's literature.

Recommended.

[Nicole Bills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poems in the Attic is a great poetry book for grades 3-5. The book follows a young girl who finds her mothers' poems written in Tanka verse (a popular Japanese style of poetry) from when she was a small child. She reads about her mother's experience of moving around the world, as her father was in the military. The little girl reading the poems decides to make her own poems, written in free verse, and binds them together for someone else to find.

This book could be a great way to introduce a poetry unit, as the poems are short and easy to read. A discussion about two different types of poetry, Tanka and free verse, could be had. Students can compare and contrast the two types of poetry, coming up with generalizations for each. Students can also be involved in writing their own Tanka or free verse poem and sharing it with the class. Some students may be able to personally connect to this book because maybe their parents/guardians/siblings are in the military and they have had to move around a lot because of it. It can be a great opportunity to learn more about your students' lives. This book can also be tied to other subject areas, such as geography. Many places around the world are mentioned, so it would be great to be able to dive into those places with my students. To further enhance this idea, students could be involved in a virtual reality viewing of those places so it's like they were there when the little girl's mother wrote those poems.

This was a WOW book for me because it was incredibly sweet. The little girl took an interest in what her mother did when she was her age and learned a little bit more about her mother that day. In the back of the book, there is information about eleven Air Force bases and journeys that families have made.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a visit to her maternal grandmother's house, a young girl discovers a treasure trove--poems written by her mother during her youth. The story is told through 35 poems, free verse lines written by the daughter and tanka poems written by her mother. As she learns more about her mother and her many adventures traveling around the world because of her father's postings to various Air Force bases, she gains insight into what her life might have been like. As with everything, there are positives and negatives, and she ruminates on how her mother "glued her memories with words / so they would last forever" (unpaged). In one of her mother's poems, she describes how she stashes away her writing, "wishing I could fold my friends / and slip them in my suitcase" (unpaged). What a gift she gives to her mother when she presents her with a copy of the poems both of them wrote! Back matter includes a note from the author about the inspiration for her poems and the poetic forms she used here as well as a list of the 11 Air Force bases represented here. The illustrations, created in acrylic, oil, and collage, show the world's wonders through the eyes of two different generations. Perfect for sharing with a cherished family member, this would be a perfect Mother's Day gift, even for someone who is not a mother. It's a loving tribute to the power poetry has to capture our feelings when nothing else can.

[Molly Swank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Poems in the Attic by Nikki Grimes is a book that tells the story of the connection a daughter creates with her mother through poetry. One night, a young girl discovers poems that were written by her mother when she was young. Through these poems, the young girl is able to connect to her mother and understand the hardships that her mother went through as she moved a lot because her father was in the Air Force. Although it was hard for her mother to move so much, she held on to her memories of these places through poetry.
Theme: The theme in this book is that although it can be difficult to move to different places throughout life, but your memories are the most important things to carry with you. In this case, memories are upheld through poetry.
Personal Response: I relate to this story because I understand how hard it can be for a child to move from one place to another. I moved houses and schools once when I was younger and it was a difficult transition.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book because it can teach children about the difficulties that come with moving, especially if you have parents in the military. In addition to this, it can help children understand that we aren't as different from our parents as we may think. Although our parents grew up in a different time than us, we can still connect with them through poetry, stories, or photos.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: Grandma's attic is stacked with secrets.

Premise/plot: Poems in the Attic is a picture book about a seven year old girl who discovers a box of her mother's poems in her grandmother's attic. Her mother started writing poems when she was just seven. Our heroine, the little girl, decides to start writing poems of her own. Readers see these poems--mother and daughter--side by side. The mother's poems are about growing up a 'military brat' moving from place to place every year or so. The daughter's poems are doubly reflective.

My thoughts: I liked this one. I liked the premise of it especially. A girl coming to appreciate her mother in a new light. A girl learning to express herself through poetry. The book celebrates family, poetry, and a sense of life as one big adventure.

That being said, poetry tends to be hit or miss with me. I sometimes enjoy poetry. Sometimes not so much. I didn't love the short poems in this one as much as I wanted. I liked them okay. I just wasn't WOWED by them. I do like the celebration of family. And the illustrations were great. Eleven places were captured in the mother's poems. And the author's note was interesting. So this one is worth your time.

[Ian Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poems in the Attic was must-read for me as this book is a Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee. As most of the nominees tend to be, Poems in the Attic was exceptionally well done. A great look at free verse poetry and Tanka, the book is a great addition for elementary school teachers to use in poetry units. The story itself is great, as it is told from the perspective of a little girl in a military family, who has a mother that was also in a military family. It showed how the mother dealt with the life transitions "military brats" feel and how the mother chose poetry to describe her life as an adventure, teaching the little girl that this kind of life is not so bad after all. The back of the book includes good explanations of the two kinds of poetry the reader will see and a brief author's note about the story and a list of Air Force bases, as many young readers will be unfamiliar with a military brat upbringing. Will this book be popular with elementary age students? Most likely not, but it should be popular with teachers and librarians who can introduce the story to children, because it is worth introducing.

[Chris Calzolaio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This illustrated book of children's poems uses alternating poems to bridge generations and geography. the basic plot is that a young girl has found a box of old poems written by her mother when her mother was her age. The poems center around her childhood of moving from place to place as a "military brat", a child who grows up on military bases. The daughter writes poems in response to her mothers and eventually binds them together in a book for her mother as a gift.

This book is heartwarming and powerful. The idea of poems talking to each other through time and place is truly wonderful. I enjoyed every poem, but I especially loved the poems about the struggles of moving from one place to another, never really having a chance to set down roots. This idea fascinates me because, outside of living at college, I have never moved from the town I was raised in. The idea of moving from place to place scares me and I find comfort in established roots and community. This is an excellent book for allowing children to better understand this very real challenge and learn more about the world around them.

[☆Maggie☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate what Poems in the Attic accomplishes--it's just not my thing. Poems in the Attic is a story told in poetry from alternating viewpoints from two different generations (mother and daughter). Beautiful sentiment, but I just didn't love it the way I know others did.

My copy of the book included an audio CD. I was excited to hear the poetry read aloud by a professional, but I was actually kind of disappointed with the outcome. The narrator did a nice job, but I thought it could have been done better. I would have loved to have heard two different readers for the voices of the mother and daughter, or at least heard the narrator use different voices for the two.

The book has a lot of great things going for it though: diverse characters, poetry, discussion of military families, plus an author's note discussing her life, the type of poetry used, and the significance of the settings. I can see Poems in the Attic being a great book for themed storytimes or lesson plans.

[Quiana Coston]

Awards: Arnold Adoff Poetry Award Honor
Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year 2016
CCBC Choices 2016
Los Angeles Times Summer Reading List
NCTE Notable Poetry List 2016
New York City Dept of Education National Poetry Month recommendation
Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee

Grade:4th-6th

Summary: With the discovery of a little girls mother's poems in the attic of her grandmas house, the main character is inspired to create poems of her own. Grimes uses the poetic style of free verse to suggest the voice of the little girl and tanka when reflecting the mother's voice. The girl makes a book of her poems as a gift for mom and leaves them along with the set of her mother's poems in her grandmother's attic for someone else to find one day.

Review: Very sweet and touching book. The illustrations work so well with the tone of the poem. I like that various places highlighted in the book is then listed in the back.

Possible uses: as a discussion topic of freedom, compare and contract free voice and tanka

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Poems in The Attic
Author: Nikki Grimes
Genre: poetry

Plot Summary: In this collection of poems, a girl describes her life journeys. She also reads her mom's poems she had written about being a daughter or a Air Force Soldier. She doesn't understand how her mom dealt with all the moving, being in that family.

Literary Merit: Setting is an important factor to consider in this story. Since so many people in the military have families nowadays it might indicate that this story is closer to present day than not. There are various places that this set of poems explore. From Japan to Mew Mexico.

Reader Response: In response to this series of poems, it would be a good idea to have students who have relatives in the military share out their experiences with this are. Whether they enjoy going from city to city, or dislike being uprooted if a parent has to move to a different location. I could also have my students look at more poems by Nikki Grimes such as Danitra Brown.

[Amy Formanski Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only saw a fragmented PDF advanced copy from Edelweiss so I don't feel like I can give a real review yet. But these are fictional poems based on her childhood as an "Army brat" living in different locations around the U.S. It feels like an illustration picture book companion to How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson. It includes some nice explanations of poetic forms in the end pages.

Now that I've seen the finished book I'll say it's gorgeous. The illustrations really capture the different regions of the U.S., Mexico, Germany and Japan described in the poems. They're orange and pink-toned watercolors mixed with collage. The poems are short enough for young readers to grasp. They'll inspire daydreams about trekking the globe.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

While visiting her grandmother, a young girl finds poetry written by her mother when she was the same age traveling as a military brat around the world. This is a collection of poetry written in two voices: the young girl, age 7, writing in free verse, and the mother's, all tanka poems, spanning about 10 years. The mother's poems are memories of the places she has visited including Brackenridge Park in San Antonio! The young girl's poems reflect her thoughts about her mother's writing:

"Memories can be like sandcastles
the waves wash away.
My mama glued her memories with words
so they would last forever."

Zunon's large, bright illustrations match the text beautifully and add much to this heartfelt mother / daughter narrative.

[Kayla Kupinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A girl visits her grandma’s house and finds poems her mother wrote in the attic. She learns about her mother’s life growing up and decides to write poems of her own for someone to find one day.
There are cultural references throughout the story and you really get insight into not only the mothers life, but also the daughters. The tone was consistent throughout the book and added to how the daughter felt about her mother. This book also had many themes present, such as childhood, motherhood, home, friendship, memories and more.
I found this book very charming! It would be a great read for all ages, however I felt its aimed audience was mostly female. This book would be a great read between a mother and her daughter.

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique poetry tells a family story ~ a girl finds her mother's poems in the attic, that tell of her childhood, as she moved about as an "Air Force brat". Mother and daughter express themselves through small poems in a back & forth manner as the family story unfolds. I love the idea of different perspectives. Poetry that reads as a picture book. The possibilities are endless ~ can't wait to share with my 4th & 5th graders!

We Need Diverse Books

Illustrator, Elizabeth Zunon lives in Albany.

Booktalk ~ a special momentous box with a few of the poems from book "Poems in the Attic" "Cedar Box".

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Try as I might, I've never been able to make myself a poetry person. I appreciate some of it, but for the most part, it just eludes me.

But this book was great. I loved the back-and-forth between the narrators, and I loved the little girl's dawning understanding that her mother was once a child her own age, with hopes and hobbies and sad feelings. I loved that the grandmother was also a character, who served to tie both stories together.

The notes in the back of the book were interesting, too - I liked the explanation of the two types of poems, but I also thought it was really cool that the author included a list of the Air Force bases she used as her settings.

[RC · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful inter-generational story of family and adventure. The detailed and colorful illustrations complement the alternating current day - flashback form of the narrative. There is a lovely message about connecting to your family through poetry and a desire to learn.

The story touches on themes of loneliness and how difficult it is to move around as a child and start over fresh in a new country. The child in the story misses her mother, but is never angry with her for her absence. This is a really sophisticated and sweet story of a girl connecting with her mother and grandmother through found poetry and storytelling.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful poetry picture book that would serve as a terrific mentor text as well. A girl finds a box of poems that her mother wrote as a child in her grandmother's attic. Her grandfather was in the Air Force, and so the family moved from one place to another frequently. The poems reflect her mother's happy memories in each of the different locations. The girl writes poems about her experiences with her grandma as they live out the stories in the poems. The illustrations are just lovely and really complement the book well. I definitely want to have a copy of this in my classroom library!

[Gabriella]

Awards: No awards
Recommended grades: 2nd and third

Summary: This book contains a collection of various poems by a young girl. Each poem is set in a different place in the world and about different topics. The poems describe her life and where she goes.

Review:
This book is a wonderful read for students who are in a new unit of poetry study. The poems are short, easy to read, and entertaining. The illustrations are colorful and detailed. The story behind the poems is very meaningful and this book is definitely a great read.

In Class Uses:
Morning reading, introducing for a unit of poetry, mentor text for poets

[Donna Nix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally I liked the idea and design of this book. There are two styles of poetry, free style on the left side of a spread which gives an idea of the main character as she finds a poem her mother wrote as a child, and tanaka on the right side of the spread as she writes a poem in response. I would have liked more variety in the forms of poetry and various lengths to the poems. The format was pretty predictable after a few pages. The book has excellent back matter, and excellent illustrations. It's a very nice book, but not exceptional enough to give it a 5.

[OnceUponALibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the girls discovery of her mothers travels and moves as a young girl in a military family. It did seem a little unrealistic given the number of amazing places she went but author's note explains that and would provide opportunity to make geography connection to the book & learn more about all the different places the mom goes. With Ms. Grimes explanation of the different styles of poetry she used, this would be a great book during a poetry unit. Could be used for memoir, writing, making gift of a book of poetry...

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nikki Grimes has done it again! A seven-year-old girl is exploring her grandmother's attic. There she find letters from her mother that tell about her father's travels during the war and the special relationship the family had when her mother was the same age. Free verse is used and takes everyone who reads these delightful poems to memories from their own family. With each poem being a particular insight into her mother's thoughts and feelings, a new level of closeness is felt by the reader. An outstanding collection!

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful! So much to love here...the love a little girl has for her mother, the joy and intrigue of learning about a parent's childhood in their own words, the geographical component of this book - oh, my! All the locations to map and learn about! - and a real exploration of free verse for children, as well as tanka. The pictures are pretty, too, if inconsistent - sometimes the heads on the characters seem awkwardly placed or sized, while other times they seem just perfectly lovely - but maybe that is the style. Overall, I really enjoyed this little exploration of life as a military child.

[Kolbe Bales · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a young girl who discovers a box of poems in her grandma's attic. The poems act as a journal of sorts, written by her mother when she was growing up. Reading the poems introduces the girl to the many interesting places her mother lived because of her father's military career. It also helps her feel close to her mother because she's seeing the world through her eyes. Inspired by her mother's poetic impressions, the young girl decides to write her own reflective poetry in response.