Jazmin's Notebook (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) [Hardcover]

Nikki Grimes (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books

Her name is Jazmin, and like the music of her name, her life throbs and swings--a few flat notes to be sure, but also bursting with rich passages that rise and soar. Sitting on her stoop she fills her notebook with laughs, anger, and hope. There's the risky lure of luscious-looking men and the consequences of free haircuts. This is a fourteen-year-old so-real girl living in Harlem in the 1960's, born with clenched fists and big dreams, and strengthened by the love of a steadfast sister. Captured within pages of her tough, exuberant life are all the beauty, chaos, confusion, and clarity that accompany the excitement of exploring life's possibilities--and discovering they are endless.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hard times in 1960s Harlem do not squelch the ambitions of Grimes's (Growin'; Raining Laughter) doughty protagonist, nor inhibit Jazmin from penning her eloquent ideas. Readers will be drawn into Jazmin's neighborhood, where they meet the characters who have made an impact on the teen with "coke-bottle spectacles" and "chicken-legs": Jazmin's mother, institutionalized for alcoholism; her protective sister, CeCe; her best friend, Destinee; and Crew, a professional gambler who is sweet on Cece (he secretly sees to it that the pair can pay their bills). In this slender volume, Grimes depicts both the humor and tenacity of an adolescent who spent most of her childhood in foster homes and is determined to make something of herself. Jazmin's poems, sprinkled among her journal entries, crystallize her emotions from joy and reverence ("The library/ is no place to kneel/ but this cathedral of books/ feels holy") to sorrow (e.g., "The homes/ are just fine./ It's the people/ who are broken"). Her prose expresses a more detailed account of her fears (contending with rats, potential rapists and school bullies) and hopes (laughing with CeCe, celebrating holidays and observing signs of her mother's recovery). An articulate, admirable heroine, Jazmin leaps over life's hurdles with agility and integrity. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10-With exuberance, passion, perception, and wit, 14-year-old Jazmin Shelby fills her notebook with glimpses of her life, neighborhood, family, and dreams in Harlem in the 1960s. Rescued from a series of foster homes and makeshift living arrangements by her older sister, CeCe, Jazmin draws strength and wisdom from her devoted sibling when their alcoholic mother is institutionalized. Jazmin is an observer and a thinker. From her apartment stoop, she savors the rhythm and blues that drifts out of the Garden of Eden Bar & Grill next door and watches customers come and go. At school, she avoids a fight by locking herself in the bathroom and scribbling her anger in verse. When a high-school guidance counselor suggests pursuing a vocational career, Jazmin clings to her aspirations of being a writer and demands a college-prep schedule. Despite her "second hand" appearance, the girl's goals are high and her attitude is positive. The sadness in her life comes from watching her gentle father die after a car crash and being unable to connect with her troubled, aloof mother. However, Jazmin is resilient. Her lyrical journal is a treasure of sensory observations, intellectual questioning, and moral decision-making. Secondary readers will delight in her candor and imagination. Her gritty determination to survive and succeed is inspiring and heartwarming.
Gerry Larson, Durham Magnet Center, Durham, NC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803722249
• ISBN-13: 978-0803722248
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,206,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nikki Grimes conveyed the fire-in-the-belly fervor of a Harlem girl who knows she was born to write in Jazmin's Notebook, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. In My Man Blue, a Booklist Editor's Choice and Newsweek Children's Books of the Year selection, her artful words expressed a boy's journey from skepticism to trust. And now with Bronx Masquerade she presents a rich chorus of eighteen voices, singing openly about ideas, feelings, and questions--things that open minds, invite debate, provide release. A recent Booklist review proclaims: "As always, Grimes gives young people exactly what they're looking for--real characters who show them they are not alone."An accomplished poet, novelist, journalist, and educator, Ms. Grimes was born and raised in New York City and now lives in the Los Angeles area.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jazmin's Notebook, April 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Jazmin's Notebook (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) (Hardcover)

Two of the major literary elements in this book are the point of view and the setting. The point of view of this book is first person. The book is actually Jazmin's journal, so the entire novel is told through Jazmin's perspective. Through the eyes of this 14-year-old girl the reader sees what Harlem in the 1960's was like. In reading this book it is as if the reader is actually picking up someone's journal and taking a peek. Jazmin is young and still exploring her world. She does not have the hard bitterness that could be seen if an older person was writing this book, nor does is have the obliviousness that could be seen if a child was writing it. Jazmin's personality is portrayed through her journal, and the point of view of this story allows for the soul searching and revelations that only a journal could provide. Another major literary element of this book is the setting. The setting is told through Jazmin's commentary in her notebook. This commentary gives the reader a clear picture of what Harlem was like in the 1960's, or at least what it might have been like. Jazmin's descriptions of her surroundings are both matter-of-fact and accepting. The following description of a nearby bar gives the reader vivid mental imagery of what it is really like. "The bar & grill blasts rhythm and blues on the jukebox all hours of the night, while cocaine changes hands in dark corners, and pool-sharks in the back room beat amateurs out of a week's pay." page 6. The setting is developed throughout the book by descriptions like this and casual comments, until the reader is able to picture the tenement houses with their paper-thin walls and the rats that can sometimes be found creeping from openings in the floor and walls. The time is not developed as well as the place, but it is apparent in some places such as the drugs that are prevalent in some scenes and the clothing that is described.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazmin's Notebook, January 30, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Jazmin's Notebook (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) (Hardcover)

The book Jazmin's notebook, is a book of courage and hope. I really enjoyed the book. This book is a book once you start reading, you can not put it down because you have so many questions. I suggest you to read this book! Its a good book for teens, although it might be a little bit confusing, but try to stay on task. Jazmine's name is spelled weird, her parents were debating on what the letters should be. She has an older sister named CeCe, who cares very much for her. CeCe is the only one really who cares for Jazmine all the time. Jazmine is upset that no one has pictures of her from when she was little, with strawberry icing, cake, on her face like other little kids. Her sister is the only one whob has pictures of her. Her mom is in the hospital, and her dad died, so hes no longer around. Jazmine has no perminent home. Shes always moving, weather it's apartment, or a relatives home. At one point in the story, jazmine lives with her sister, and Aunt Sarah, is over at the house. She is their neighbor. She actually is not there aunt, but they call her aunt because shes a very kind lady, and she cares a lot for them. Thata part of a review, and I am going to let you figure out the rest! I hope the description intrested you!!!

Here's a few question maybe that might help motivate you to read this book.

What happens to Jazmine? Will She be steered out of academics like the one girl wants her to? Does her mom ever get our of the hospital?

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazmin's Life in New York, March 1, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Jazmin's Notebook (Paperback)

Jazmin is a fourteen year old African American girl living in New York in the 1960's whose father was killed in a car crash. Jazmin's mother became an alcoholic and couldn't raise Jazmin. Jazmin had to live with relatives or in foster homes her whole life. She moved from place to place and never lived in the same place for longer than one year. She wrote in a notebook to keep track of where she had lived and who she had met. She loved to write and dreamed about becoming a writer despite her past.
I think this is a good book for middle school aged girls or boys to read. It easy to read and you don't want to stop at the end of a chapter. It makes you think about what it would be like to not have parents to raise you. Jazmin is funny and tells stories about things that happened to her and how she felt about them. She can make bad things sound funny. This is the first book I have read by this author and it is very amazing to read.