Verse Novel

Grimes, Nikki. 2013. Words with Wings. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong, an imprint of Highlights. ISBN: 978-1-59078-985-8.

Book Review: (Ages 8 and up)

Award winning children’s poet, Nikki Grimes, entrances us with her newest novel in verse, Words with Wings, about a young girl who is prone to daydreaming as a way to escape the stress of her parents’ divorce and her father leaving the family.  Gabriella, or Gabby, was named after the angel Gabriel because her father wanted “a strong name for his girl/to take out into the world.”  Gabby does not feel very strong, though, as she tries to deal with her broken family, a relocation and a new school. 

Her tendency to daydream began as she tried to drown out her fighting parents.  A word like “fly” would enter her mind, and soon her thoughts were flying away “high above the city/higher than the clouds.”  She realizes that a word had helped her escape from her sadness and wonders “are there other words/that can carry me away?”

In school, her daydreaming gets her in trouble with her teacher, and her mother doesn't understand why she can’t pay attention.  Gabby eventually tries to shut down her daydreams by iron will, but an observant teacher, Mr. Spicer, notices how unhappy she is. After reading one of Gabby’s daydream writings, he understands her need to express herself with words.  The teacher makes the decision to have the students stop working for 15 minutes a day, just to daydream, and then write those daydreams down.  We see Gabby “swallow these words like honey/smile at their sweetness,” as she hopes “to find /more words with wings/to dream and write about/tomorrow.”

Grimes gives Gabby a strong voice in her narrative prose, and breaks up the story with Gabby’s daydreams-turned-poems taken from simple words Gabby hears or thinks about during the day, such as: sled, waterfall, butterfly, carousel, roller coaster, stilts, dragon, and firefly, among others.  These poems are wonderfully imaginative, filled with emotion and figurative language; they make the reader want to daydream, too.

Access features in the book include a table of contents and an acknowledgement page wherein Ms. Grimes expresses her gratitude to the “real” Mr. Spicer, a teacher she met who actually uses daydream time in his classes to encourage creativity in writing.

Sharing the Poetry: 

Teacher use:

The break-out poems representing Gabby’s daydreams in the book could be included in a poetry unit for older students.  Take a word, any word.  Spend 15 minutes “daydreaming” about the word; then try to write a poem using the words revealed to you in the daydream, focusing on line breaks and spacing, and choosing the most precise, vivid words possible.

Librarian use:

One of the joys of being a librarian is getting to know your patrons with all their different personalities and interests.  When I volunteered for many years in school libraries I often had the chance to participate in reader’s advisory with wonderful young people.  I recommended adventure books for boisterous boys, humorous books for goofy guys, and sweet stories for shy girls.  For those students who may have attention issues, an observant librarian could recommend this book to possibly help a child see the positive benefit in daydreaming, and the power and imagination of words…with wings.

Selected Poem:

Nikki Grimes uses words as her brush and creates wonderful images in her poetry.  I especially noticed the alliteration she often uses in a number of Gabby’s daydream poems.  Here is one I particularly liked that uses the concrete poetic form, as well:

Stilts

Say “stilts,"

and I am

Gabby

The

Great,

a mystifying

master

juggler,

rising

high above

the circus

crowd,

marching

alongside

the elegant

elephants,

and anxious

as anyone

to watch

the trapeze

artists

sail

on air.

References

Books in Print. n.d. Words with Wings. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|40948880|40510197&mc=USA# (accessed February 28, 2014).

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. n. d. Words with Wings. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:4529/index.php/jbookdetail/jqbookdetail?page=1&pos=1&isbn=9781590789858 (accessed February 28, 2014)