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Come Sunday
Softly, quietly begins the day of the week that, for LaTasha, is always full of glorious the pipe organ, tambourine, and drum; the footfalls of ushers marching down the aisle of the sanctuary; the sweet harmonies of the choir; and the rich vibrato of the preacher’s voice. LaTasha sings along with the congregation, confident that Heaven hears each joyful note.
Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, Nikki Grimes’ poems and the lush tapestry of colors in Michael Bryant’s illustrations celebrate a day of worship viewed through the eyes of an exuberant little girl.
Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, Nikki Grimes’ poems and the lush tapestry of colors in Michael Bryant’s illustrations celebrate a day of worship viewed through the eyes of an exuberant little girl.
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First published May 2, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 3, 2024
A sweet picture book from 1996, a story in verse by Nikki Grimes with illustrations by Michael Bryant, about a little Black girl and how she experiences all the different elements of a Sunday and church services from getting here done in the morning to the Ladies’ Hats in church, the white ushers’ gloves, women preacher and the choir marching in. Can’t believe I’m just now reading it. So good! Illustrations are gorgeous but also I had total nostalgia of going to church with my family growing up.
February 7, 2012
Come Sunday, by Nikki Grimes, describes the routines of a young girl through a series of poems. The main day that is discussed throughout the series of works, is Sunday. On this particular day, LaTasha is woken up by her mother to get ready to go to church. The poems describe each process of her day, from waking up, to the ladies hats, to church supper. Each poem clearly expresses the feelings of the young girl, and her feelings towards going to church; which are all mostly positive.
Throughout the series of poems, Grimes uses many different techniques to create rhythm and sound within her story. Some of the poems rhyme, and some do not. However, they all express a sound to the audience that helps express the emotions of the characters. Grimes uses many exact rhymes, but not necessarily throughout the entire poem. For example, in the poem Ladies' Hats, the author uses many exact rhymes that set the tone of the poem. Rhymes such as "pew and two, balcony and gallery, hours and flowers" are exact rhymes, that also appeared to be fresh rhymes. I was not able to go through the verses of the poem and predict which words would come at the end of each line. I believe that this makes the poem more interesting, while also helping the reader gain a sense of the atmosphere the poem was trying to portray. The rhymes within these poems also act as an addition to the story, rather than distracting the reader away from the meanings and images the poems are portraying. Grimes also includes many poems that have a blank verse, and avoid actually rhyming words. Fortunately, she was able to appropriately match tone and meter to create an enjoyable sound for those particular poems. An example of this would be the poem, Esther. This poem discusses a person from the Bible, and although Grimes uses a blank verse to express the emotions in this poem, it still has a solid, identifiable sound to it.
Throughout the book, Grimes includes many illustrations that correlate with the words in her poems. Even though these pictures provide guidance towards the emotions and places Grimes is attempting to recreate, the words of the poems also act as pictures of the experiences. All of her poems give detail and precise words that create images in the minds of the reader. Therefore, with both precise word choice, and detailed illustrations, the reader is taken beyond the typical reading experience. Many of this poems also offer valuable insight to go with the images that they create. Even though they are retelling the typical church going situations, they still provide some with insight on how this particular church runs.The poems also dive into both the mischievous side of children, as well as their more positive side. She describes the feelings that a young child might have or think while experiencing a church sermon. I think that this provides readers with a better observation on what a child thinks while at this particular church. Since religion is a large part of many peoples' lives, these poems can deepen the awareness of a non-church-goer. Going to this particular church for this particular little girl is an occasion in itself, even though for others the experience might not be the same. I would not think, however, that this would be an appropriate book to read to a group of students. Mainly because of it's discussion of religion, it would not be appropriate to discuss within the classroom.
Being a person that does not attend church services on a regular basis, I reacted to this book with some surprise. I did not necessarily think that going to church was an all day process, however at this church it is. I can relate to some poems because I have had the opportunity to attend a church that was similar to the one described throughout this literature. I could relate to the little girl's fascination of all the hats, and her distaste for the older congregation due to their need to pinch her facial cheeks. Even though this is a book that can be very relatable to many people, I would not use it within the classroom. Being in the urban track through my university, I will be trained to work with student's that have cultural differences from my own. Many of which might attend a church like the one described in this book. However, being that I will have a very diverse classroom, I do not think that it would be safe to assume that all of the student's attend churches like that one. Also, if I am not in an urban setting, the same scenarios might still exist. I also think it is a very thin line that teacher's must walk on when it comes to religion in the classroom. Therefore, I do not think I would include this book in any of my curriculum.
Throughout the series of poems, Grimes uses many different techniques to create rhythm and sound within her story. Some of the poems rhyme, and some do not. However, they all express a sound to the audience that helps express the emotions of the characters. Grimes uses many exact rhymes, but not necessarily throughout the entire poem. For example, in the poem Ladies' Hats, the author uses many exact rhymes that set the tone of the poem. Rhymes such as "pew and two, balcony and gallery, hours and flowers" are exact rhymes, that also appeared to be fresh rhymes. I was not able to go through the verses of the poem and predict which words would come at the end of each line. I believe that this makes the poem more interesting, while also helping the reader gain a sense of the atmosphere the poem was trying to portray. The rhymes within these poems also act as an addition to the story, rather than distracting the reader away from the meanings and images the poems are portraying. Grimes also includes many poems that have a blank verse, and avoid actually rhyming words. Fortunately, she was able to appropriately match tone and meter to create an enjoyable sound for those particular poems. An example of this would be the poem, Esther. This poem discusses a person from the Bible, and although Grimes uses a blank verse to express the emotions in this poem, it still has a solid, identifiable sound to it.
Throughout the book, Grimes includes many illustrations that correlate with the words in her poems. Even though these pictures provide guidance towards the emotions and places Grimes is attempting to recreate, the words of the poems also act as pictures of the experiences. All of her poems give detail and precise words that create images in the minds of the reader. Therefore, with both precise word choice, and detailed illustrations, the reader is taken beyond the typical reading experience. Many of this poems also offer valuable insight to go with the images that they create. Even though they are retelling the typical church going situations, they still provide some with insight on how this particular church runs.The poems also dive into both the mischievous side of children, as well as their more positive side. She describes the feelings that a young child might have or think while experiencing a church sermon. I think that this provides readers with a better observation on what a child thinks while at this particular church. Since religion is a large part of many peoples' lives, these poems can deepen the awareness of a non-church-goer. Going to this particular church for this particular little girl is an occasion in itself, even though for others the experience might not be the same. I would not think, however, that this would be an appropriate book to read to a group of students. Mainly because of it's discussion of religion, it would not be appropriate to discuss within the classroom.
Being a person that does not attend church services on a regular basis, I reacted to this book with some surprise. I did not necessarily think that going to church was an all day process, however at this church it is. I can relate to some poems because I have had the opportunity to attend a church that was similar to the one described throughout this literature. I could relate to the little girl's fascination of all the hats, and her distaste for the older congregation due to their need to pinch her facial cheeks. Even though this is a book that can be very relatable to many people, I would not use it within the classroom. Being in the urban track through my university, I will be trained to work with student's that have cultural differences from my own. Many of which might attend a church like the one described in this book. However, being that I will have a very diverse classroom, I do not think that it would be safe to assume that all of the student's attend churches like that one. Also, if I am not in an urban setting, the same scenarios might still exist. I also think it is a very thin line that teacher's must walk on when it comes to religion in the classroom. Therefore, I do not think I would include this book in any of my curriculum.
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July 5, 2016Ian T. mentioned that his son really enjoys this book about a child whose church experience is very different from his own.
Having a poem for each page is a neat way to break up the scenes.
One thing I was struck by is how much the protagonist character connects with God -- in the poem whose lines intersperse with "Rock-a-my-soul," she says, "I gently sway and / I close my eyes and / my feet start dancing and / I reach for heaven and / I touch God's face and / He rocks my soul," and in the poem "My Offering," she matter-of-factly says, "Daddy says to give whatever God tells me to, / which is what I usually do--- / unless I need an ice-cream cone, / and even then, if I'm alone, / I offer God a lick." I also really enjoyed in "Esther," she asserts that her favorite person in the Bible is Ester "because she's brave / and she's smart / and she's a girl--- / and I'm all of that, too. / Just ask God. / He'll tell you." I also appreciated the visiting preacher "Sister Beverly," at whose preaching the pastor says, "Amen, Sister!" It's easy to position Black church as a patriarchal institution, and certainly some of it still is, but as with all cultures/institutions, there's variety.
Having a poem for each page is a neat way to break up the scenes.
One thing I was struck by is how much the protagonist character connects with God -- in the poem whose lines intersperse with "Rock-a-my-soul," she says, "I gently sway and / I close my eyes and / my feet start dancing and / I reach for heaven and / I touch God's face and / He rocks my soul," and in the poem "My Offering," she matter-of-factly says, "Daddy says to give whatever God tells me to, / which is what I usually do--- / unless I need an ice-cream cone, / and even then, if I'm alone, / I offer God a lick." I also really enjoyed in "Esther," she asserts that her favorite person in the Bible is Ester "because she's brave / and she's smart / and she's a girl--- / and I'm all of that, too. / Just ask God. / He'll tell you." I also appreciated the visiting preacher "Sister Beverly," at whose preaching the pastor says, "Amen, Sister!" It's easy to position Black church as a patriarchal institution, and certainly some of it still is, but as with all cultures/institutions, there's variety.
October 26, 2011
Have you ever been in church on a Sunday and see what happen during service. You will see the usher in their white gloves, people welcome you in, ladies wearing their lavishing hats, the choir marching their way to the altar while they are singing, people being baptist,the offering plate passing by, the preacher preaching, and of course the best of all the Sunday afternoon supper. Wow what a wonderful place and you even get to see your friends in Sunday school. Then you wait until next Sunday and do it all over again. This book put all of these events into a poem and when you read it, you realize that this really happen in most churches because I know that my church in Brooklyn do this. This is the reason why I pick up this book because I could relate to it.
August 29, 2019
I liked this. I didn't love the meter of every poem...I don't know much of her work as a poet, I need to read more poetry by her...but I did love the variety of rhythms and meters, that spoke to the setting very well. It was very evocative of a day spent in black church...a very sensory experience with sights and smells and sounds. I liked the specificity of the setting...it was easy to see that this was a very specific place with a very specific culture and yet at the same time it could be expanded to feel like the experience in a lot of black churches. I enjoyed the experience. Fabulous illustrations.
October 20, 2016
This book is a series of poems describing the excitement of an African American church service. The main character is a little black girl with a strong connection to her faith. The poems are great for reading aloud and the pictures give a great visual of what a Baptist Church Service is like. This book is great for introducing a topic like diversity and talking about religion. This would probably be good for fourth or fifth graders. This book definitely relates to my topic of black girls by accurately depicting the experience of an African Americna girl at church on Sunday. The author is also an African American women giving the story even more authentication.
April 14, 2020
This is a poetry book. Good for grades kindergarten through fifth grade. This is a delightful book that explores Sunday life of many young African American. Its a fun book that I think a lot of kids can relate to and will be able to say I do those same things every Sunday.
March 3, 2012
Come Sunday is a collection of poems about a young African American girl and her Sunday experiences. She attends Baptist Church with her family and each poem is a description of her experience. From waking in the morning, to the church supper these exciting poems remain entertaining.
The pictures are exceptional, and would be excellent for a read aloud. They tell the story accurately and clarify the readings.Not only was the story told by the visible pictures, but the words continuously created pictures in my mind. Some poems include exact rhymes while others do not. Grimes also uses fresh rhymes, the ending of the line was never certain. Nonetheless, all of these poems had an amazing sound. They flowed easily, and told the story through the combination of emotion and tone when they lacked exact rhymes.The insight within in Grimes poems is unmeasurable. Of course the stories themselves expand our knowledge of the day to day church life, but the images and words raise our spirits by describing the enjoyable moments experienced at this particular church, as well. I learned a lot about this particular Baptist lifestyle I did not previously know. Above all the book positively represented the religion. It may be cause conflict within the classroom due to its specification of religion but it may also widen horizons.I would read this book to my students if the topic of tradition or religion became a topic of interest. It is a great way to introduce diversity in the classroom. Although I do not attend a baptist church,I found myself making connections and comparing the similarities in our experiences. It is a great way to make students from different background and faiths connect and relate.
The pictures are exceptional, and would be excellent for a read aloud. They tell the story accurately and clarify the readings.Not only was the story told by the visible pictures, but the words continuously created pictures in my mind. Some poems include exact rhymes while others do not. Grimes also uses fresh rhymes, the ending of the line was never certain. Nonetheless, all of these poems had an amazing sound. They flowed easily, and told the story through the combination of emotion and tone when they lacked exact rhymes.The insight within in Grimes poems is unmeasurable. Of course the stories themselves expand our knowledge of the day to day church life, but the images and words raise our spirits by describing the enjoyable moments experienced at this particular church, as well. I learned a lot about this particular Baptist lifestyle I did not previously know. Above all the book positively represented the religion. It may be cause conflict within the classroom due to its specification of religion but it may also widen horizons.I would read this book to my students if the topic of tradition or religion became a topic of interest. It is a great way to introduce diversity in the classroom. Although I do not attend a baptist church,I found myself making connections and comparing the similarities in our experiences. It is a great way to make students from different background and faiths connect and relate.
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April 6, 2011This is a book of various poems about a little African American girl who describes what happens on Sunday mornings. She talks about how her mother comb and braid her hair in the morning before they go to church. She then goes on to describe what church is like when she gets there. Women wear big fancy hats, the ushers wear white gloves, she curtsey to the preacher’s wife, she sings and dance to the church music, gives offerings in the collection plate, has church supper and so on. This book represents the important role church plays in the African American community. It also has rhymes to help children with phonemic awareness. Overall, its a good book to help students feel comfortable in the classroom and can also ass some element of diversity to more homogenous classrooms. Recommended for grades k-5
April 10, 2011
I absolutely love the way Nikki Grimes write her books. She does them in a series of little poems that make the story easy to read and follow. I like this story by her in particular because I remember the Sunday mornings I had to wake up and prepare to go to church. Grimes capture the little things such as getting your hair combed and braided Sunday morning. This story can be used for the following purposes:
1. Students can make a book of poems that describe their preparation for going to school or church or somewhere else.
2. Good for introducing African American culture to other students in the class to promote multiculturalism.
1. Students can make a book of poems that describe their preparation for going to school or church or somewhere else.
2. Good for introducing African American culture to other students in the class to promote multiculturalism.
April 5, 2012
Come Sunday is a narrative poem about a little girl's point of view of her day at church. Every topic she talks about is in a short poem. She talks about the hats the women wear to church. She talks about the old lady that greets her, the white gloves her mother wears, baptism, her offerings and how sometimes she hopes no one is watching her hold some back. She also talks about the church supper and the lady preacher and at the very end about Sunday evening and how its time to go. I enjoyed this peom/story about Sunday at church.
November 3, 2016
This book really gives you a good picture of a Sunday in the baptist church, and how a little girl might experience such a Sunday. You really get a feel for what she values, and what things she does not yet understand-- typical of any young child. She likes the pretty hats and the food, and longs for the day when she can be recognized as a true lady, like her mama. In this book, nothing seems to be exaggerated, although it is written through poems. I also think the poems do a really good job at separating the different parts of the day.
June 8, 2015
In verse, this story of a trip to church is a sensory-language laden treat. I could use it to describe narrative voice to an audience. It's rather well done, though it being about attending a religious service, I'd be careful about how I used it at school. Still, it's an exceptional piece of writing that's well worth the read.
September 27, 2011
Oh my gosh - I can't believe we didn't have this at school- I thought we owned nearly everything by Nikki Grimes. I love it! And I got to hear it for the first time read by my extremely white little boy, which just added to my enjoyment. Will be buying for school ASAP.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews