Stepping Out with Grandma Mac

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimes, Nikki. 2001. STEPPING OUT WITH GRANDMA MAC. New York: Orchard Books - an imprint of Scholastic, Incorporated. ISBN 0-531-30320-9.

PLOT SUMMARY
A 10-year-old girl learns many valuable life lessons from her Grandma Mac. Grandma Mac is somewhat aloof and very proper, and she takes her job as rolemodel very seriously. She instructs her granddaughter by personal example about the intrinsic value of education, good-quality clothes, and etiquette.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Nikki Grimes' delightful tale of the relationship between a 10-year-old girl and her grandmother is played out through a compilation of 20 poems. A table of contents provides a list of the titles of the individual poems. Although the poems written from the granddaughter's perspective are capable of standing alone, there is a natural progression from one poem to the next that exemplifies the evolution of the relationship between the two characters. Three poems placed one after the other towards the end of the book serve as a turning point in the girl's perception of Grandma Mac. "Duet", "Grandma's Gloves", and "Keeping Secrets" each relate in exquisitely expressive language a facet of the grandmother's life of which the girl was unaware. In particular, "Grandma's Gloves" speaks poignantly of the gloves "worn and warm-/all loyal to the form/of work-weary hands/that have spared/Mom and me/more hard times/than we know." The simple vocabulary and short lines of the poetry give it a conversational quality.

Black-and-white pencil drawings by Angelo are used sparingly but to great affect in Grimes' book. The illustrations are almost photographic in quality, and the effect suggests that one is looking at a family photo album. The facial expressions and body-language of Grandma Mac and her granddaughter speak volumes about their personalities.

Stepping Out with Grandma Mac is presented in a slender, manageable size that even the most reluctant poetry reader will find appealing. Grimes' window into the strong, loving relationship between the girl and her grandmother may encourage children to share this reading experience within their own families.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal: "Simple metaphors and carefully chosen vocabulary make these selections read more like conversations that formal poems."

Booklist: "Angelo's black-and-white photorealistic illustrations in soft pencil are as hands-off as the words, just a glimpse of two strong people and their connection."

CONNECTIONS

>Make a list on a large piece of paper of all the titles of the poems in Stepping Out with Grandma Mac. Have each child in the group write their name next to every poem to which they can relate. Tally the results and discuss two or three of the most "popular" poems.

>Visit Nikki Grimes' website which includes a teacher's guide for another poetry compilation entitled Oh, Brother! about the relationship between stepbrothers in a newly blended family.