Garvey's Choice

Garvey's Choice
by Nikki Grimes
120 pages; ages 8-12
WordSong (Highlights), 2016

Garvey is a jokester, a bookworm, the loyalist of friends. He loves reading about space and listening to blues. (extra credit for loving Mr. Spock of Star Trek)

Garvey's dad wants to toss a football with his son. Or a basketball. Or even just spend time talkin' sports. He'd rather see Garvey running out for a pass - or just running around the block - than head in a book. Why can't Garvey be an athlete like his sister?

Garvey's mom understands; when things are quiet she pulls out the chess set and teaches him moves that will "make his brain strong". Joe understands - they've been buddies since they were little kids. Even the new kid, Manny, understands.

So when Garvey discovers his voice, will his family come to the concert?

This is a sweet story of growing up. It's told in a verse form that is short and sweet: tanka. Five lines, 31 syllables, like this: 5/7/5/7/7. Here's one that I particularly like:

Stories are breadcrumbs.
Just follow the trail of books
and you will find me
lost among the galaxies
of scorched stars and ships to Mars.

Photo credit: Aaron Lemen

Nikki Grimes is a poet and artist; she's written so many books that if you wrote down all their titles it would take nearly five pages! She was recently awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her body of work which has, over a period of years, made a lasting contribution to children's literature.

Check out her gallery of artwork at her website. And definitely check out some of her books from your library.

We'll be hanging out on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Hop over to see what other people are reading.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

Paper Hearts

Paper Hearts
by Meg Wiviott
352 pages; ages 12 & up
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2015

I'm reading as fast as I can to get to the bottom of my book basket. That's where I re-discovered this gem that was published in the fall.

Paper Hearts is a story about Zlatka and her best friend, Fania. It's about how Zlatka stole and bartered for paper and scissors so she could make a birthday card for her friend. It is a story about an act of defiance, a statement of hope, and a crime punishable by death - because in Auschwitz, in 1944, making a birthday card for your friend was illegal.

The tale is told in verse, a style of storytelling I am coming to appreciate, as the language gets to the point and leaves room for imagination to fill in the spaces. Here is part of a scene set in a prison:

Seven of us

Jammed in a cell

Big enough for one.

A girl with blonde braids

And a gold cross

Got down on her knees,

Crossed herself,

And swore to God

She was not a Jew.

No one listened.

Not even God.

 What I like love about this book: the abundance of awesome back matter! There is a picture of Fania's paper heart (which is on display at the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre). There is a glossary, so you can look up Hebrew words, German words, and camp slang. There is a bibliography, should you want to explore more. And there's a wonderful section about the true story that Paper Hearts is based on, and what changes the author made for artistic reasons.

Review copy from the publisher.