Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China [Hardcover]

Nikki Grimes (Author), Ed Young (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 2004 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

In 1988, award-winning poet Nikki Grimes spent three weeks along the east coast of China. At the same time, artist and China native Ed Young was there writing and sketching his impressions in a personal journal. Both observed signs of the old China alongside the new, and both set what they saw on paper. Through Grimes's penetrating verse and Young's deft drawings, Tai Chi Morning blends two voices that speak not only about China but also about the many ways of experiencing the world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-A harmonious blend of travelogue, sketchbook, and poetic reflections, this offering will be enjoyed for its content and its teaching potential. In 1988, Grimes traveled to China with a theater group and recorded her impressions of the country. Tethered by her African-American roots, she paints her personal visions of a particular area or experience in a narrative paragraph, and then knits the ideas together into a poem on the facing page. She considers the political strife of China, and the world at large. She muses about meeting a Mongolian mother and child whose features and clothing remind her of Swedish Laplanders and American Eskimos, "-which got me thinking how interrelated we human beings are. It seems we're all connected somewhere down the line. Why is it that we only see our differences?" Young's simple artwork complements Grimes's eloquent images. The reedy pen-and-ink drawings deftly capture the exotic and ancient culture of the country. While the author and illustrator worked independently of one another, the book has a collaborative effect. The evocative poetry and persuasive sketches create a collage of a land and people as different, unusual, ancient, and humane, as our own. Beyond its obvious use for providing a multifaceted picture of China, this sparse gem is also a perfect choice to demonstrate journal writing. It will provide inspiration for poetry and creative writing. Black-and-white snapshots appear throughout.
Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. Snapshots is the word for this small journal that captures personal moments in Grimes' tour of China 15 years ago with a group of artists. 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. There are also occasional small photos, and Grimes talks about where and why she wrote each poem and how she feels about it now. Most moving is her poem entitled "Same Difference." It's honest about Grimes' first impression that everyone in China seems the same--and also about her changing feelings as she looks more closely, gets to know people in all their diversity, and sees the contrasts between people in the city skyscrapers and the women at the river doing laundry on the rocks. The truth of the tourist experience, engaged but outside, will touch young travelers as much as the views of the place. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 51 pages
• Publisher: Cricket Books (January 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812627075
• ISBN-13: 978-0812627077
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,342,112 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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars China Revisited, July 18, 2006

By 

Paul Vaughn "Piano Man" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China (Hardcover)

I'd heard that Nikki Grimes had written a book about her trip to China titled "Tai Chi Morning". Finally, after two years, I ordered a copy. Reading through it instantly transported me there. Her poetry paints a vivid picture of her travels. From all the bicycles, to the trains, to the food, she takes you there with love, humor and wonder. I was on this very trip with her. By the time I finished the book, I'd relived the experience. I sat there with a big lump in my throat, not wanting the book to end. Nikki is a truly gifted writer and I'm so thankful to have this beautiful memento of an experience I will never forget.

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate and Beautifully Done, April 3, 2010

By 

Keely (FL, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tai Chi Morning: Snapshots of China (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan of both Nikki Grimes and Ed Young, and I love the way that their work fits together so seamlessly in this book. I spent twelve years living in China, and I was enchanted by the accuracy of the illustrations, the incorporation of Chinese phrases, and the unique perspective that Grimes offers. I shared this book with my family and they enjoyed it just as much as I did.