Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes is a short novel-in-verse that is written entirely in tanka poems. These poems consist of five lines each, and Grimes follows the format of a 5, 7, 5, 7, 7 syllable-count for the lines of her tanka poems (English syllable count may vary as this is a Japanese poetic form). … [Read more…]
To Stay Alive: Mary Ann Graves and the Tragic Journey of the Donner Party by Skila Brown was shortlisted for the poetry category of the 2016 Cybils. It is a novel-in-verse that chronicles the experiences of one of the actual members of the Donner party, the group of settlers who left their Midwestern homes for California … [Read more…]
What a joy it has been this year to be a second-round judge for the 2016 Cybils! And so it is with great honor that I share my thoughts on this year’s poetry winner, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan. Do you like novels-in-verse? I confess that after several years of … [Read more…]
I’ve changed my mind about novels-in-verse; I always used to begin my reviews of them with a disclaimer that I don’t really like them. Now I know that I do. I mean, I LOVE poetry, and I love a good story, so what’s not to love in a mashup of the two? However, Kwame Alexander’s … [Read more…]
I picked up Crossing Stones by Helen Frost from the new YA fiction shelf at the library. I’m sure it was the cover illustration that caught my eye–this is just the type of book that would appeal to me if I were to judge it solely by its cover. When I opened it up and … [Read more…]
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