Poetry Book Review: THANKS A MILLION

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimes, Nikki. 2006. THANKS A MILLION. Ill. by: Cozbi A. Cabrera. New York: Greenwillow Books, Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN: 9780688172923

2. PLOT SUMMARY
THANKS A MILLION is a collection of 16 poems of various forms which all share one common thread: to show thanks and gratitude for certain people or certain situations. From being thankful for things such as weekends, trees, and a safe place to sleep, to teachers, a good neighbor, and the author of a meaningful book, this book of poetry shows the reader that thanks can be expressed for just about everything that happens in life on days beyond Thanksgiving, even though there is a poem about that as well.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Nikki Grimes does a wonderful job of sharing poems on a variety of topics that are real life situations and easily relatable to children of various ages. One example of this is in the poem entitled “The Lunchroom.” In this poem, Grimes writes about the difficulties of being the new kid in school and making friends. She makes the feelings of the student more vivid with the figurative language such as “My lunch tray’s like a bolder/I’ve lugged around for miles…” This poem also includes rhyme in every other line. With lines like “At least, I have a pie/that I don’t have to share./If no one will sit next to me,/ why should I even care?. The rhyme, vivid language, and a topic that most children can personally connect with, this poem can be used as read aloud on the first day of school or even when a class receives a new student.

Included with the great poetry collection, is a contents at the beginning of the book. Though, by reading most of the poems titles the reader can easily predict the topic of the poem, there are those titles that do not give one hint to the reader. For example, in the poem entitled “Shoe Surprise” one would think it would be about a child thankful for a new pair of shoes, but after reading the poem, the reader soon finds out it is a poem about being thankful to have an active father in a young boy’s life. Another surprise in this collection of poems are the quality illustrations of Cozbi A. Cabrera.

The illustrations of the poems are masterpieces in their own right. Each illustration is like a snapshot of the characters portrayed in the poems. The illustrator shows great understanding of the poems through her use of various colors. For up beat, happier thank you poems the illustrator sticks to bright vibrant colors such as bright yellows, oranges, reds, blues, purples, pinks, and greens. However, with poems that have a more somber tone such as “Shelter” about a family who is forced to live in a shelter, and long to live in a home, and “Dear Author” about a girl who is thankful to an author for writing a book which got her through the death of her father, the illustrator uses muted and dark blues, grays, tans, and green colors to set a more somber tone as the poem is read. Whatever the poems intent, the illustrations help to create feelings and add depth of understanding to each illustrated poem.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
BOOKLIST review: "Grimes' latest thematic poetry collection lends the attitude of gratitude relevance beyond Thanksgiving Day. The 16 entries encompass many modes of expressing appreciation, including letters, thoughtful gestures, even sign language, and run the gamut of emotional tones…”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “A lovely book for reflection and discussion.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*After reading various poems from the book, brainstorm a list of things children in the classroom are thankful for, and let the students create a poem on the topic of the thing the children are most thankful for.
*Focus on the rebus poem on page 21. Teach children what a rebus is and with partners let children create rebus sentences and/or poems.
*Use poems such as a read aloud to springboard into a writing activity. For example, after reading aloud, “Dear Teacher” students can write about their favorite teacher or with the poem “Unspoken” the students can write about a conflict that was resolved with a friend or sibling.

*Other books of poetry by Nikki Grimes
Grimes, Nikki. HOPSCOTCH LOVE: A FAMILY TRESUREY OF POEMS. Ill by: Melodye Benson Rosales. ISBN: 9780688156671
Grimes, Nikki. POCKETFUL OF POEMS. Ill by: Javaka Steptoe. ISBN: 9780395938683
Grimes, Nikki. OH, BROTHER! Ill by: Mike Benny. ISBN: 9780688172947