rgz Diva Delight: Words with Wings

So happy to recommend our rgz Circle of Stars, Nikki Grimes' new release, Words with Wings. The verse novel poetically explores protagonist Gabby's propensity to daydream. Amidst the turmoil of her parent's separation and a move, escape through thoughts is easy. Gabby preserves her memories and protects herself in her new situation by slipping away in her mind.

Stuck in Dreamland

Maybe something
is wrong with me,
all this fancy dancing
in my mind.
Where I see red and purple
and bursts of blue,
everybody else sees
black and white.
Am I wrong?
Are they right?
Too bad
I can't ask Dad.

When the daydreams interfere with life, Gabby learns to find power in her ability. The step from daydreaming to writing is made with the aid of a perceptive teacher and a new friend.

With succinct, vivid words, Nikki brings to light the thoughts and aims of two opposite characters, mother and daughter. The reader gains sympathy and understanding for both points of view.

Find Words with Wings and take the challenge to find the strength in what some see as your weakness.

Words with Wings
by Nikki Grimes
WordSong, 2013

Diva Review: Brushing Mom's Hair, by Andrea Cheng

Sometimes a book will rest in your palm, and you know you've found a kindred spirit. That happened to me recently when Andrea Cheng's Brushing Mom's Hair crossed my path.



This special work teeters between a novel in poems and a verse novel. Each entry is titled, and the majority could stand alone as individual poems. Yet, united they tell a beautiful story about Ann, coping with her mother's recent breast cancer, mastectomy, and treatments. It is through Ann's art and dance that she finds moments of peace and control. The reader joins her as she moves through worry, embarrassment, a diminished appetite, the waiting, and finally joy.

Andrea Cheng's attention to detail brings rich life to the collection: beans, a fluorescent smiley face, warm bricks, and striped leg warmers. Each grounds the poems and makes tangible connections to the reader. Andrea bravely relays the truth of the breast cancer experience.

Nicole Wong has contributed delicate pen and ink and wash drawings and spot illustrations to every page. The line mimics the tenuous state of the characters at times and then the rising hope at other moments. There's a beautiful dance between line, text, and negative space on each spread. It is a welcome aid to the reader working through the difficult subject matter.

Personally, I feel close to this work as it seems to dance between my own novels Loose Threads and On Pointe.



Brushing Mom's Hair is accessible to tweens, teens and adults. Share it with your loved one upon its release in September. Give it to another this October for Breast Cancer Month.

Brushing Mom's Hair
by Andrea Cheng
illustrated by Nicole Wong
Wordsong, September, 2009