The strict structure of the Tanka form is carried off effortlessly by Nikki Grimes.

This novel is written totally as a Tanka poem. What happens?ĭoes Garvey sing his song beautifully? Why is his heart so light? What does Garvey learn about self-acceptance? Why can friends make such a difference in a person’s life? What is the author trying to tell us about kindness and acceptance? To find out, go to the library and check out this award winning novel, “Garvey’s Choice” by Nikki Grimes. Garvey looks out and sees his parents and sister. All the families of the students come to the event. What will his Dad think if he takes up music? Will it bring on more bullying?īut singing just seems to be so natural for Garvey. The choir director is impressed and tells the chorus that their problems with having a tenor are over. Suddenly, the boy sometimes called “Chocolate Chunk” begins soaring through the scales. But with Joe’s encouragement, Garvey goes to the choir tryout. Garvey is reluctant at first because he thinks singing will make him into a bigger dork than he already is. Joe asks him to consider joining the school chorus since Garvey is always singing and humming to himself. For the first time, Garvey finds a person willing to accept him.

Fortunately, he makes a friend with a boy named Joe. But Garvey likes to study astronomy and read. At school, Garvey is bullied and made fun of by many of his classmates.īeing a bookworm makes him seem even odder. All that this does is make him even less acceptable to his father or his classmates. His sister, Angela, is an outstanding athlete and his father constantly mentions this to his physically inept son.įilled with self-loathing, Garvey tries to eat his way to happiness. Garvey, quite frankly, is pathetic in sports.

His father is a sports enthusiast and continually tries to get his son to play football and other sports. Garvey is an overweight child disinterested in sports. Her use of the Tanka poetic form is brilliantly displayed in this moving novel.

This poetic structure helps the writer focus on mood and the meaning of life. Nikki Grimes has chosen a second type of Japanese poetry, Tanka, for the novel “Garvey’s Choice.” Tanka poems are five lines long and have 31 syllables. This poetic style has three line poems with a total of 17 syllables. In Japan, poetry has traditionally been written in the form of haiku. Today, free verse is one of the dominant forms of poetry in the United States. This type of poetry is akin to writing ideas in brief sentences. In the 20th century, poetry in the form of free verse became popular. Traditionally, American poetry followed certain rhyming patterns. Highlights Press, Honesdale, Penn., 2016, 108 pages, Grades 4-7.

Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes