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The Genie in the Jar
In verse influenced by jazz, folktales, and nursery rhymes, a small African-American girl celebrates the freedom of a long afternoon, the joy of being with her friends, and the love of her mother's open arms.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Nikki Giovanni
167 books1,428 followersYolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she was named as one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends". Giovanni was a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement of the period, her early work provides a strong, militant African-American perspective, leading one writer to dub her the "Poet of the Black Revolution". During the 1970s, she began writing children's literature, and co-founded a publishing company, NikTom Ltd, to provide an outlet for other African-American women writers. Over subsequent decades, her works discussed social issues, human relationships, and hip hop. Poems such as "Knoxville, Tennessee" and "Nikki-Rosa" have been frequently re-published in anthologies and other collections.
Giovanni received numerous awards and holds 27 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities. She was also given the key to over two dozen cities. Giovanni was honored with the NAACP Image Award seven times. One of her more unique honors was having a South America bat species, Micronycteris giovanniae, named after her in 2007.
Giovanni was proud of her Appalachian roots and worked to change the way the world views Appalachians and Affrilachians.
Giovanni taught at Queens College, Rutgers, and Ohio State, and was a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech until September 1, 2022. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, she delivered a chant-poem at a memorial for the shooting victims.
Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement of the period, her early work provides a strong, militant African-American perspective, leading one writer to dub her the "Poet of the Black Revolution". During the 1970s, she began writing children's literature, and co-founded a publishing company, NikTom Ltd, to provide an outlet for other African-American women writers. Over subsequent decades, her works discussed social issues, human relationships, and hip hop. Poems such as "Knoxville, Tennessee" and "Nikki-Rosa" have been frequently re-published in anthologies and other collections.
Giovanni received numerous awards and holds 27 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities. She was also given the key to over two dozen cities. Giovanni was honored with the NAACP Image Award seven times. One of her more unique honors was having a South America bat species, Micronycteris giovanniae, named after her in 2007.
Giovanni was proud of her Appalachian roots and worked to change the way the world views Appalachians and Affrilachians.
Giovanni taught at Queens College, Rutgers, and Ohio State, and was a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech until September 1, 2022. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, she delivered a chant-poem at a memorial for the shooting victims.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 20, 2009
LOVED the illustrations, loved reading this aloud - the rhythm is perfect. I think I could enjoy reading this hundreds of times to a child, if only because it is not clear what it means. Every time I read it I get a slightly different feel.
April 15, 2010
I liked the artwork in this book a lot. Along with the poetic nature of the words, this book was really beautiful.
September 6, 2016
I liked the illustration as it was simple yet meaningful. The emphasis on the blue color; the use of different media really brought out this symbolism. The story itself was a bit confusing, even for me, and I had to reread the words carefully in order to understand the deeper meaning of the poem. I do not think this is a very good poetry for young students as they would not be able to grasp the meaning behind the poetry, but it will be a nice poem for upper grade students to analyze.
February 14, 2017
The loving power of the black loom. Spin it around!
May 2, 2007
I'm still deciding about this book. Love the pictures. And I think that I could really like the words ... if only I could get a sense of what they mean. Hopefully I will rate this book higher after my next reread.
August 26, 2017
I really enjoyed the rhythm and flow if the words in this book and I loved the illustrations. However, I'm not quite sure if I understood the full meaning of the text and so I think young children would also have a hard time understanding the meaning.
May 24, 2013
This is a beautiful book. I read it in storytime. It has good rhythm and movement. It is a great book to use to bring poetry alive for kids in storytime.
April 30, 2015
Like the simplicity of this book. Nikki Giovanni's masterful rhythms create a safe place for our children in this poetic picture book. A keeper.
January 9, 2016
I understand what this book is getting at but I don't think kids will.
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August 30, 2016wonderful!
April 15, 2021
3 stars for this one
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews