Weekend Pick for January 27, 2023

Weekend Pick for January 27, 2023

​​Welcome to the final Weekend Pick for January! The year is well on its way, and I hope it will continue to be fulfilling and bring many of your plans to the desired results. As always, I am here to offer books—old and new—to remind about great stories for young and not so young adults. Meet A Girl Named Mister by Nikki Grimes.

Meet the Author: Nikki Grimes
 
Nikki Grimes is a New York Times bestselling author and recipient of several literary awards, including the recipient of the 2022 Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2020 ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Award, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.
 

A prolific artist and author, Grimes wrote many award-winning books for children and young adults including the Coretta Scott King Award winner Bronx Masquerade; the Coretta Scott King Author Honor books Jazmin's Notebook, Talkin' About Bessie, Dark Sons, The Road to Paris, and Words with Wings; Horn Book Fanfare for Talkin' About Bessie; ALA Notable books What is Goodbye? and Words with Wings. The list goes on with the popular Dyamonde Daniel chapter book series, and picture books and novels including  Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope and, most recently, Garvey's Choice and One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance.
Today, I want you to consider reading her novel A Girl Named Mister (2010).

A Girl Named Mister by Nikki Grimes

Published by Zondervan in August 2010, the novel tells a story of Mary Rudine, better known as Mister.
​"This novel in poetry looks clearly at both teen pregnancy and struggles with faith... The language is intimate and immediate," according to Kirkus Reviews.

Mister faces a personal crisis of faith when she succumbs to sweet words and sexual pressures from her boyfriend Trey. She finds herself facing increasing guilt and distance in all of her relationships and must come to terms with the reality of her pregnancy.
Throughout the novel, readers witness Mister’s struggles. How will she break the news to her mother?  How will she face people for whom stigma is a guiding post? What happens with faith and how is it possible to faithful and sinful at the same time?
Mister learns how to accept forgiveness and support as she finds comfort in the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and eventually opens up to her friends and family.
It is a fast-read that pulls the reader into the immediacy of Mister’s thoughts and emotions.
Outside theme of teen pregnancy, it deals with many relatable teen struggles.

Points of Analysis
  Universal Themes/Topics:

• Teen Pregnancy
• Social Isolation
• Communication
• Faith
• Identity

 
 Theoretical Lenses:

• Gender
• New Historicism
• Reader Response
• Faith
• Social Class

 
  Some Possibilities for Teaching:

• Poetry and its forms
• Multiple Plot Lines
• Parallelism
• Character Development

 
 Censorship concerns might be raised:

• Sexual content is vague, but present. 
• Violence: One scene that could be considered graphic describes the stoning of a Jewish woman that had committed adultery.
• Controversial issues: Faith can be a sensitive topic to approach in the classroom. There is also a line that alludes to abortion issue, which may spark questions or disapproval. 

Foreseeing probable issues with censorship, Nikki Grimes has published Banned Books Resource List on her website. Please, follow the link to access it:
https://www.nikkigrimes.com/banned_books_resource_list.html 

There are so many other books by Nikki Grimes to explore. Please, look through the gallery.

Thank you for reading,
Leilya