SuitabookWords with wings
Nikki Grimes
- Reading
- Try reading a short section together and noticing how the verse carries Gabby’s thoughts. Pause to talk about which parts of her new circumstances feel hardest, and what seems to help her feel more confident.
- Themes
- Imagination and writing: Gabby daydreams, and her teacher introduces a daily daydreaming-writing session. The book presents this favourably.
- Family change and adjustment: Gabby tunes out her parents’ arguments; following their divorce, she begins at a new school. These changes are part of the difficulties Gabby faces, but how the story evaluates or resolves them is unclear.
- Peer and teacher responses: Classmates tease Gabby and her teacher tells her to pay attention; later, she finds a friend who also daydreams and the teacher makes space for writing. Responses move from conflict towards support, though the precise course of these relationships is not clear.
- Worth knowing
- Parents’ arguments, divorce, starting at a new school, scolding and teasing are part of Gabby’s difficulties. These could be worth noting if family separation or peer reactions feel particularly close to home.