Tiana has a pocketful of words: green words like spring, night words like moon, and words with wings, like angel. Each word is the inspiration for ...
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reviews
Dec 10, 2009
Matt
rated it: 
A Pocketful of Poems: by Nikki Grimes Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
This is a book that is centered around poems called haiku, in addition it is also a great picture book. The poem I chose to read for this review is called, “Pumpkin”. I chose this poem because o
Sound: The sound of pumpkin is very warm. It gives the reader a sense of anticipating eating the pumpkin pie, but the narrator has to wait to eat it until all of her guests arrive for Thanksgiving.
Sense: When I More...
This is a book that is centered around poems called haiku, in addition it is also a great picture book. The poem I chose to read for this review is called, “Pumpkin”. I chose this poem because o
Sound: The sound of pumpkin is very warm. It gives the reader a sense of anticipating eating the pumpkin pie, but the narrator has to wait to eat it until all of her guests arrive for Thanksgiving.
Sense: When I More...
Jan 18, 2012
Emily
rated it: 
Grimes creates a narrator, Tiana, for this collection of poems. Tiana speaks directly to the audience through the poems, which seem overly simplistic, as if Grimes truly was trying for the writing of a young girl. Topics of the poem cover the span of an entire year’s seasons and holidays, both patriotic and Christian. At first reading, the poems seemed to be split across two pages with a large gap which interrupted the flow of the poem. The second half of the poem did not seem to fit with th
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Mar 20, 2010
Ch_ebonysmith
rated it:
This book would be grreat for an early childhood classroom. The poems are fun and children can relate to the words Tiana has pulled out of her pocket. The book is about Tiana, a young girl who has pulled many words out of pocket. With these words she creates these haikus she chooses to share. This book could be great for a lesson on poetry and creating hiakus. Haikus can be a fun yet difficult to write. It has a strict format to follow and children may need several examples to follow. After list
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Sep 19, 2011
Chanelle
rated it: 
I recommend this book for intermediate to advanced children. this book seems to be about a little girl who is telling a story about words that she has learned. If your looking for a poetry book, this is not it! I really expected rhyming verses and things of that nature. The way poems in a childrens book are. But It was nothing of the sort. The best thing about the book to me was the pictures. They are very creative. The pictures in the book are made out of differnt objects like aluminum pans, s
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Jan 31, 2009
Janelle
rated it: 
I think this is a great poetry book to read with kids. It's colorful and the multi-media illustrations could inspire follow-up arts and crafts. Children could also take turns choosing their own words and writing poems about them. I think the poet does a nice job capturing the essence of a word - "spring" is planted, "hot" is thirsty, etc. These poems are linked together to tell Tiana's story, as the seasons change.
Jul 25, 2011
Laura
rated it:
This book combines a year's worth of free verse and haiku poems from Nikki Grimes with colorful collage art from Javaka Steptoe. The poems, featuring an African-American girl named Tiana, are playful, as are the illustrations. My favorite poem: "Pigeons masquerade as wildlife. They can't fool me. We're all city folk."
Oct 31, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
This book is about a young girl who claims to have a pocket full of words and letters. She uses them to make haiku poems. This book could be used to introduce poetry and haiku poems.
Oct 19, 2008
Debbie
rated it:
Nikki Grimes uses free verse and haiku poems to show the life of a young girl in the city. The poems reflect different seasons, animals, baseball, food, and life in Harlem. Her poems are lively and descriptive. What catches your attention is the illustrations! They are very unique collage illustrations by Javaka Steptoes made from a wide range of materials, including a hand-sculpted, gilded alaphet. The illustrations are almost 3-D and jump out on the page. Very cool!
Jan 21, 2008
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
rated it:
I just love the illustrations in this book. They look like they're made out of some kind of clay or dough-- almost as though you could eat them!
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