Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes

Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes

An interview with Nikki Grimes

1. What first drew you to the story of Ishmael and Sam?

What drew me to this story was the story of Ishmael itself. Whenever I came across it in the Bible, it felt so contemporary to me. The issues of sibling rivalry, strained relations with a stepmother- or stepmother-figure, the complex dynamics of father-son relationships, or the lack thereof—these are all issues that many contemporary young men are facing. There is nothing dated about the story of Ishmael. It seemed fresh to me, and hopeful. I love that it ends with Ishmael and his brother coming together to bury their father. The implication we get is that they have, through the years, resolved their issues and restored their relationship as brothers. We also sense that Ishmael has forgiven his father, so the story ends on a hopeful note, and I always look for that in the stories I decide to tell—or retell, as the case may be.

2. How did you decide to intertwine the story of a contemporary son with a biblical one?

Originally, this novel was simply going to be the story of Ishmael. However, after the first draft was complete, I kept thinking that this story was so contemporary it would be interesting to create a parallel tale of a boy the same age living today. I tried writing the story both ways, then gave it to a then-seventeen-year-old to read. He was sold on the version with both boys, so I went with that. I was leaning in that direction in any case, but his unequivocal response was the deciding factor for me.

3. Describe the research you had to do to bring Ishmael’s story in particular to light.

The research was multilayered. I studied maps of the Old World, studied the lives of Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael, Isaac, and Hagar as they all overlapped. I studied the topography of the region and delved into the life and times of Abraham, from the homes people lived in to the clothes they were and the food they ate. I also interviewed Genesis scholars at Hebrew University in New York, and made copious use of their research libraries. There are so many aspects to bringing to life a story from another time and place, the research can be daunting. Sometimes you have to read hundreds of pages of a text to find one useful nugget of information in a single paragraph. When the story comes together, though, it is worth all the work.

4. You depict a relationship with God as tumultuous at times. Why did you want to show this struggle to young readers?

All relationships are dynamic, and that includes our relationship with God. There is nothing wrong with that. Every relationship has its struggles. God invites us to be honest with him about our struggles, to voice our frustrations, even our anger. He is God. He can take it! It’s important for us to know that so that we can maintain a vibrant, authentic relationship with him. To pretend that our relationship with God is all tea and roses would be disingenuous, and young readers deserve better.

5. What do you hope young adults take away from the story of Ishmael and Sam?

I hope young readers leave the pages of Dark Sons realizing that no matter how challenging the struggles they face in life, faith in a loving God can help to see them through. That certainly is the story of my life.

6. Besides writing, how do you express yourself?

In addition to writing, I enjoy a variety of textile arts: knitting, card- and bookmaking, and making beaded jewelry. I also have a passion for photography and painting watercolors. We all have a natural impulse to create, and I find that creating art enriches my life. Try it!

Discussion guide:

1. What is Ishmael’s immediate problem? What is Sam’s? How would you feel if you were Sam and/or Ishmael?

2. How are Sam and Ishmael’s situations parallel? How are they different?

3. Discuss how Ishmael’s birth seemed a blessing to one woman and an insult to another. Who do you mostly feel sorry for: Hagar or Sarah? Why? How did the law complicate these relationships?

4. Why do you think Sarah finally tries to accept Ishmael into the family? Compare his father’s home to his own with his mother. How does Sarah try to make him feel welcome? How do we make others feel welcome in our own families?

5. “No bond is holier/than father–son.” Do you agree? Do you think this statement is true today? What bonds are truly holy? Why?

6. Whose choices are most difficult to accept in Ishmael’s story? How is Ishmael stuck with the consequences of so many other people’s decisions? Are all children subject to other’s choices?

7. Despite the fact that baby Isaac, the promised one, may split Ishmael’s inheritance, how does he feel toward his brother? Would you have such generosity of spirit or not?

8. How is Sam coping with his father’s abandonment of the family? What questions does Sam ask about his mother? Where does he place the blame?

9. Do you think Sam’s religious upbringing makes his father’s betrayal easier or more difficult to bear? Why?

10. If you had to describe Sam’s feelings in one word, what would it be? Is he justified in his feelings? Is there any positive way to channel all this negative emotion?

11. Describe the difference in the way Ishmael and his brother, Isaac, are treated by their father. Is this fair? Are there always differences between how parents raise siblings? Why do you think so or not?

12. How does Ishmael’s life become a tug of war? How would you feel in his world? Ishmael decides “not to stay/where I am not wanted.” Would you come to the same decision?

13. Ishmael thought he was safe in his father’s love and protection, but he is guided to a new decision based on a dream from God. How would you feel if this happened to you? Would it make you question your faith?

14. Sam once trusted his father “to hear the voice of God more clearly/than anyone else.” Could there be anything positive about Sam losing this trust? Have you ever lost faith in a person? What did it teach you?

15. Sam’s mother encourages him to rebuild his relationship with his father. How hard do you think this was for her to do?

16. What new decision erases all the progress that Sam and his dad have made over the last couple of years? How does Sam deal with his disappointment and pain? What do you do with your own disappointment?

17. Despite his feelings for his dad, how does Sam feel about David? How does he show this? How is it rewarded?

18. In the end, Sam realizes he has “my own ball to bounce/my own shots to take./It’s me standing at/the free-throw line now.” What does this mean for his life? What promises has he made himself? What promises have you made for yourself?

19. How does Ishmael’s story give Sam strength and hope? Whose stories (both biblically or otherwise) inspire your own?

20. What have you learned by reading this story? What will you carry into tomorrow?

This guide was created by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a children’s author and literacy specialist, visit her website to find hundreds of guides like this one.

Nikki Grimes: Poet Interview

and more titles! Visit Nikki's fabulous website at: www.NikkiGrimes.com

Nikki Grimes is an award-winning writer and poet whose words inspire so many. She's brave and compelling in her writing and I count myself lucky to call her a friend! Her books are destined to be classics in children's literature.

Nikki Grimes

1. If you had to choose between writing novels or poetry from now on- which would you choose? Why?

That's an impossible question.  I could never give up poetry because that's my first love.  However, I'm able to explore storylines and characters in a novel in a way that I can't through poetry, so I will always find ways to do both.

 2. Your characters have such strong personalities. Do they reveal themselves as you write    about them or do you do a lot of pre-writing to figure them out first?

I am a character-driven writer, and most of my work begins with a character sketch.  I draw from that sketch as I develop my story, adding nuances as I go along.

 3.  All of your poems- whether free verse or rhyme-have a terrific sense of rhythm. How do you accomplish that? Do you think music has influenced that quality of your writing too?

I definitely credit my musical ear for the sense of rhythm in my poetry.  My father was a musician and, so I have that in me. Apart from my writing, I've explored music quite a bit, once even playing the violin, as my father did, though my real instrument is my voice.  When I'm writing poetry, I rely heavily on my ear for pitch, for flow, for rhythm.  For me, poetry is the place where words and music meet.

4.  Which is harder for you: the blank page or revision?

 Revision.  I am so nit-picky!  I'll rewrite something  twenty times, then go back and rewrite it again.  I make my editors crazy.  They're trying to drag my manuscript off to the printer, and I've still got my grubby fingers on it, screaming, "Wait!  Wait!  There's just one more thing!"  It's maddening.  But I do know when to stop: when I'm making changes, but not improvements.

  

 5. I know you have a very special book coming out this year titled WHAT IS GOODBYE?
Can you tell us a little bit about it?

For years, I've wanted to write a book for children tackling the subject of grief.  No, not the subject, per se, but the experience.  Most juvenile books in the market on this subject are about a child losing a pet, or losing a grandparent.  But, these days especially, many children are losing parents to Aids and cancer, and losing their contemporaries, some through violence.  Yet, few seem to know how to help these children process their grief. 

Generally, when there is a death in the family, the parents are so caught up in their own maelstrom of emotions, that the child is left to his/her own devices.  The common notion seems to be: If little Johnny doesn't act out, then little Johnny is fine.  Well, he isn't.  He's hurting on the inside, but doesn't have a handle on how to express that, especially since he's usually protecting his parents from witnessing his grief so as not to heap more on their already trembling shoulders.  So, what happens to little Johnny?  His feelings get sublimated, and may well turn into something twisted.

In the best case scenario, a child is taken to a grief counselor to sort these things out.  But how many children are lucky enough to end up in a counselor's office?  Meanwhile, the great majority of them are left to grapple with this monster all on their own.  Well, WHAT IS GOODBYE? is for those children. 

WHAT IS GOODBYE is, or I intend it to be, a tool to help children process grief on their own, if necessary.  I want them to understand that what they are feeling is normal, that their pain is legitimate, and that there is an end to it.  I want them to understand that a day spent without thinking of their loved one is not a betrayal.  I want them to know that it's okay to cry, and scream, and let it all out. 

I think this book may serve a secondary function, as well, which is to clue parents and teachers into the mindset of a child who is grieving, so that they can better help that child through the experience.  That is my hope.  That is my prayer.

Thank you so much for sharing with us!

C is for City

Teacher’s Guide for

C is for City by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Pat Cummings

Pre-reading

List the letters of the alphabet on the chalkboard and then brainstorm as many words as you can that begin with each letter. Then, circle the ones that would only be seen in a city. After that, put squares around the ones you might see in your own neighborhood. Discuss the difference.

Knowledge:

1. First without looking at the list on the last page, try to locate as many items for each letter that you can. Then, peak and see how you did.
2. Now, locate the items on the list that you missed.

Comprehension:

1. Describe a city in your own words.
2. List three things that are in the book that you may not see in your own neighborhood. List three things that ARE the same.

Application:

1. If you were going to write an ABC about your own hometown, how might you go about getting ideas for it?
2. Choose your favorite illustration from the book and explain why you picked it.

Analyze:

1. Which letters do you think would be the most difficult to find enough words for?
2.  Examine the illustrations for Q & R pages. From what view is the artist drawing the picture? How do you know?

Synthesis:

1. Play eye spy with a friend using the book. You know, “ I spy with my little eye, something that is brown and white and black” (the dog with the newspaper in his mouth on the “A” page.

Evaluation:

1. Looking closely at each picture, decide what you think is going to happen next.
2. Can you find the cat on each page? Make a list of where he appears.

www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com

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Multiple Intelligence Projects for

C is for City by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Pat Cummings

Verbal/ Linguistic

Color in the vocabulary chart to best match your understanding of some of the words in C is for City.

Logical/ Mathematical

Word Problems:

1. Count the number of kids that appear in C is for City, and then divide by 26 (number of letters in the alphabet).
2. Count how many cars appear in the book and add the number of kids in your class.
3. How many balloons would you need for each kid to get two?
4. At the doughnut shop, the kids want a piece of cake. If the mom has $4.00 and each slice cost $1.50, how many can they buy?
5. If the trombone player usually gets $10.00 an hour, how many hours will he have to play to get $30.00?

Visual/ Spatial

On construction paper, copy large letters one for each student. Then, students can search through magazines and catalogs to cut and paste items that begin with their letter. Sew together for an instant ABC book.

Body/ Kinesthetic

Give each student a lunch bag with a letter attached to it, and then let them search the room for at least one item that begins with it. SHARE. Trade bags, and begin again. (This is also a great activity to play at home, especially with letters that are confusing).

Musical/ Rhythmic

Pair students in groups of two or threes and assign them a page from C is for city. With small hand-held instruments they can create a tune that matches a letter poem. Put them together for a fantastic song.

Interpersonal

Write the names of common objects (preferably one beginning with each letter of the alphabet) and then post them around the room. Walk around to familiarize the kids with the words. With a matching set of cards, send them off to find the pair. To encourage cooperation, have them work together. When they are done, they can replace the notes, and round two begins.

Intrapersonal

Give students a golf ball size amount of play doh each and an index or half sheet with the alphabet printed in both upper and lower case (D’Nealian, etc.). Then, one at a time have students roll out their letters. Then they can mark whether they knew how to create the letter without looking, or with help. A fun way to assess letter knowledge.

Vocabulary Graph

C is for City by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Pat Cummings

Color in the block that best matches what you know about each word.

	I KNOW this word	I’ve heard this word before	I need to learn more about this word
arcade
Afghans
butcher
boulevard
deli
dazzle
El train
elders
factory
frail
grocer
Hasidim
kosher
knishes
laundromat
majorette
nightclubs
oboes
stickball
skyscraper
tourists
uncanny
vermillion
yams