written by Nikki Grimes
illustrated by Angelo
Dial Books, 1998
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A Dime a Dozen
An excerpt from the book:
“Writers are a dime a dozen …
I heard those words one time too many
from my own mother …
But my heart scripted one phrase truer:
Someday she’ll be/ proud
To shout out loud
My daughter/ the Writer”
from A Dime a Dozen
©1998 by Nikki Grimes
Awards and Recognition
- Junior Library Guild Selection
- Bank Street College Children’s Book of the Year
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Reviews
Where do writers come from? … Grimes traces her struggle to find her voice from an early age; short verses explore the pain and pleasure of growing up. Everyday events come to the fore — a game of hopscotch, a stroll with her mother, playing gin rummy — and help Grimes examine how she fits in with her family and what values they share … This slim volume and its bittersweet entries will encourage readers to locate and acknowledge the poetry in their own lives and to give voice to their own experiences. (Kirkus Reviews)
Written in the first-person voice … these 28 poems celebrate family, culture, writing, and the spirit of a creative, introspective child. They should be read in the order in which they are arranged to appreciate the power and overall loose plot … A quietly profound, heartfelt work. (School Library Journal)
As Lee Bennett Hopkins did with his Been to Yesterdays, Grimes recounts the story of her childhood through poetry … Free-flowing and very accessible, the poetry may inspire readers to distill their own life experiences into precise, imaginative words and phrases. (Booklist)