Grand Mothers: Poems, Reminiscences, and Short Stories About the Keepers of Our Traditions

Brief Description: Poet Nikki Giovanni asked her friends--people such as Gloria Naylor and Gwendolyn Brooks--for their stories and recollections of their grandmothers. The result of their collaborative efforts is this wonderful collection which celebrates those special women who preserve our heritage and prepare our future. An NCSS/CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Social Studies. Review Quotes: "While contributions from established writers....act as lures, the real treasure here are offered by relatively unkown authors. A diverse and moving tribute."--"Publishers Weekly""The portrait of a grandmotherhood that comes into focus here is three-demensional and full-blooded, and the deversity of setiment and opinion as to what a grandmother means is the very quality that makes this collection such an enthralling, authentic read."--"Voice of Youth Advocates"Biographical Note: Nikki Giovanni has written many books of poetry for children and adults. She is the author of "Rosa," a Caldecott Honor book, " Lincoln and Douglass," "The Genie in the Jar," and "Ego-tripping and Other Poems for Young People." Giovanni calls herself, "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." She was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Lincoln Heights, an all-black suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. She studied at Fisk University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University. She published her first book of poetry, "Black Feeling Black Talk," in 1968, and since then has become one of America's most widely read poets. Oprah Winfrey named her as one of her twenty-five "Living Legends." Her autobiography "Gemini "was a finalist for the National Book Award, and several of her books have received NAACP Image Awards. She has received some twenty-five honorary degrees, been named Woman of the Year by "Mademoiselle Magazine," "The Ladies Home Journal" and "Ebony," was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and has been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. Nikki Giovanni lives in Christiansburg, Virginia, where she is a professor of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Publisher Marketing: Nikki Giovanni created this book by asking her friends--people like Gloria Naylor, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Maxine Hong Kingston--for their stories and recollections of their grandmothers, then went to a group of writers in their nineties for their thoughts. "Grand Mothers" celebrates those special women in every culture who preseve heritage and prepare the future. Publisher Marketing: Nikki Giovanni created this book by asking her friends--people like Gloria Naylor, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Maxine Hong Kingston--for their stories and recollections of their grandmothers, then went to a group of writers in their nineties for their thoughts. Grand Mothers celebrates those special women in every culture who preseve heritage and prepare the future. Review Citations:

Wilson Middle/Junior Hi Catalo 01/01/2000 pg. 261 (EAN 9780805049039, Paperback)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2002 pg. 332 (EAN 9780805049039, Paperback)

Publishers Weekly 09/16/1996 (EAN 9780805049039, Paperback)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 431 (EAN 9780805049039, Paperback)

School Library Journal 10/01/1994 pg. 152 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Booklist 09/15/1994 pg. 122 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly 08/08/1994 pg. 450 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/1994 pg. 142 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Wilson Middle/Junior Hi Catalo 01/01/1995 pg. 267 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/1995 pg. 47 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/1997 pg. 339 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Wilson Middle/Junior Hi Catalo 01/01/2000 pg. 261 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2002 pg. 332 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 431 (EAN 9780805027662, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Giovanni, Nikki Nikki Giovanni, poet, activist, mother, and professor, is a seven-time NAACP Image Award winner and the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award, and holds the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry, among many other honors. The author of twenty-eight books and a Grammy nominee for The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, she is the University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.