Genre 3: Poetry - Tai Chi Morning
Posted by Tamra S , Friday, July 2, 2010 8:59 AM
Bibliographic Data
Grimes, Nikki. 2004. Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China. Illus. by Ed Young. Chicago: Cricket Books.
Summary and Analysis
Nikki Grimes visited China in October 1988. While there, she recorded observations and transformed them into poems. The eighteen poems in this collection reflect Grimes' experience of traveling through China. Each poem is introduced with a backstory. Here, Grimes inserts her commentary on the events surrounding each poem and its origin, as well as some history. The poems vary in style, from free verse to rhyming patterns, such as "Tai Chi Morning," which is free verse and reads like the graceful, slow exercise itself, and "Street Sweeper," which follows an ABCB rhyming pattern.
Grimes works in Chinese names and composes some poems from an alternate point of view, such as "Huang Shan & the Great Wall," where Grimes relates the feelings of the Yellow Mountains not getting the same attention as the Great Wall. The mountains express their discontent at the admiration the Great Wall receives, while the mountains are "deftly carved by Heaven's hand" and the wall is "made by merely mortal men." Another poem, "Tiananmen Square," reflects Grimes visit to this popular spot and sentiment about the tragedy that occurred a few months after being there. At the end of the book, Grimes included the itinerary of her China trip, so that one can almost follow her journey in the poems.
The poems are complemented by either photographs taken by Grimes during her journey, or sketches by Ed Young. Young, who is a native of China, provided drawings from his own observations during visits to family. The illustrations are accompanied by titles or descriptions written in Chinese, and translations are provided at the end of the book. Young's sketches correlate with the time that Grimes was in China.
For someone who has never visited China, the poems and illustrations provide a glimpse into Chinese life and culture in the late 1980s. This collection would be appreciated by older students in grades 4 and up.
Awards and Reviews
*School Library Journal: A harmonious blend of travelogue, sketchbook, and poetic reflections, this offering will be enjoyed for its content and its teaching potential. . . Beyond its obvious use for providing a multifaceted picture of China, this sparse gem is also a perfect choice to demonstrate journal writing.
*Booklist: Young's beautiful, black-and-white drawings from his visits back to his Beijing family during the same period extend the poetry with glimpses of the places, people, and ways of life, from a crowded scene of hundreds of bicycles in the city parking lot to a quiet spread of people who appear to be meditating in the park.
Reviews courtesy of: Amazon.com. Editorial Reviews. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0812627075/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Connections
*This book lends itself to research. Students in the upper grades could research the places that Grimes visited and compare the way it was then to now.
*Have students think about places they have visited and write a poem or two about what they remember. Remind students that, like Grimes' poems, their poems do not have to fit a pattern. Have them try using some of the various styles that Grimes used.
*For older students, do a mini history lesson on the events at Tiananmen Square using the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, why).
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