Book Review of HOPSCOTCH LOVE

Bibliography:

Grimes, Nikki. 1999. Hopscotch Love: A Family Treasury of Love Poems. Ill. by Melodye Benson Rosales. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books. ISBN 0688156673


Summary:

Nikki Grimes has written twenty-two original poems about various forms of love, including parent-child love, sibling love, love of a friend, first love, and true love.


Critical Analysis:

Nikki Grimes’ collection of love poems captures the entire spectrum of love a person can experience in a lifetime from parental love, to sibling love, to love of a friend and, eventually, a spouse. The simple, heartwarming poems in Hopscotch Love touch readers because they deal with an emotion that everyone experiences. For this reason, you can relate to the young girl who is discovering puppy love in “Why I Hate Jamel” when she reveals, “So even though I mostly hate Jamel, / I love him otherwise” (page 8). And, you can relate to the young boy in “Christmas Valentine” when he gave his Mama “her very first Christmas valentine . . . and (saw) a little tear (run) down her cheek” (page 14). Grimes is able to reach her audience because, as they read each poem, she reminds them of the love that surrounds them.

In addition to the connection that readers feel to this powerful emotion, Grimes is also able to capture her audience through the straightforward manner she uses. There is no need to decipher figurative language, because the poet does not include it in her work. Instead, she writes in every day language that tells you exactly what is happening. It is refreshing to read poetry simple to enjoy it rather then to have to try to decipher a hidden message. For instance, after reading “Words”, you are reminded that many names used for affection - sugar, honey, sweetie pie, cupcake, etc., “might just lead to cavities” (page 7). This might not be earth-shattering information, but it does provide you with a laugh when you realize that many terms of affection refer to sweets.

The illustrations included in Hopscotch Love add to the enjoyment of this book. Melodye Benson Rosales has illustrated nine of the poems. Her watercolor pictures capture the essence of Grimes’ poems and make the reader smile. You can see the love grandma feels for her granddaughter as she watches her eat the pineapple upside-down cake she “baked for nobody else but (this little the girl)” (page 18). Rosales has focused on the faces of the people she is portraying, and her work reveals, through the person’s smile or look, the love that exists between the individuals in her illustrations. This is especially evident in “Sweethearts Dance” which depicts an elderly couple dancing as they reminisce about the day they met. As you look at the joy in their faces, you can almost picture the young couple at “The Sweethearts Dance / The day they met” (page 38-39). Thus, the pictures are the perfect complements to the poems collected in Hopscotch Love for they bring to life the many forms of love that exist in the world.

While I enjoyed Hopscotch Love, I wonder whether this book will be appreciated by children. They might laugh at the humor of “Words”, but will they appreciate the continuing love of the aging couple in “Sweethearts Dance” or the desire by Uncle Willis to care for his ailing wife in “Uncle Willis”? In order to truly enjoy all of the poems and to appreciate the author’s intent, children may need to be guided by an adult. In addition, the poems, overall, do not have a measured rhythm to capture the attention of a younger crowd. For this reason, I think Hopscotch Love is a book which will enjoyed by older readers, but not necessarily selected by younger ones.


Review Excerpts:

Booklist (February 1999) - “A long way from Grimes' tough, poignant YA novel Jazmin's Notebook, (1998), these 22 upbeat one-or two-page verses are mainly greeting-card sentimental, with a few funny vignettes and lots of warm affection. Melodye Benson Rosales' smiling pictures show young teens exchanging notes and cheeky glances; there are also a couple of "graying sweethearts" and a joyful mother and small son. The lines are short; the words are very simple. The red cover and creamy pages fit with the valentine cuddly style.”

School Library Journal (January 1999) - “A fresh celebration of love based on the African-American experience. The 22 selections run the gamut of all types of affection, from teenaged crushes to the feelings between siblings and the bonds between children and their parents. Grimes has expressed a wide range of emotions in this collection, and each poem validates the importance of love in that situation. Rosales's warm illustrations, rendered in pastel pencils on acrylic-and-oil paints, reflect the mood of each selection. This small treasury will lift readers' spirits and touch their hearts.”


Connections:

Use before Valentine’s Day as an introduction to the many types of love that people can experience.

Discuss “recipe poems” using information found at http://www.tcnj.edu/~mckeon2/poetry%20format.htm. Have the class brainstorm to create a recipe poem for love.

Have students work in groups to select poems from Hopscotch Love, create Reader’s Theater scripts for the poems, and perform them.

Read “Pineapple Surprise” on page 18 and talk about the ways that people show love without saying “I love you”. Have students think of things they do to show their parents, their siblings, etc. that they love them.

Read other poems about love and Valentine’s Day, such as:

LOVE TO MAMA: A TRIBUTE TO MOTHERS. Edited by Pat Mora.
ISBN 1584300191

Prelutsky, Jack. IT’S VALENTINE’S DAY. ISBN 068814652X

VALENTINE HEARTS: HOLIDAY POETRY. Edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins.
ISBN 0060080574

VALENTINE POEMS. Selected by Myra Cohn Lovingston. ISBN 0823405877