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Garvey's Choice Paperback – September 14, 2021
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Garvey's father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading—anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey's life changes. The chorus finds a new soloist in Garvey, and through chorus, Garvey finds a way to accept himself, and a way to finally reach his distant father—by speaking the language of music instead of the language of sports.
- Reading age8 - 12 years
- Print length128 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level3 - 7
- Lexile measureGN560L
- Dimensions5 x 0.38 x 7.38 inches
- PublisherWordsong
- Publication dateSeptember 14, 2021
- ISBN-101635925118
- ISBN-13978-1635925111
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Editorial Reviews
Review
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
★ 'Grimes returns to the novel-in-verse format, creating voice, characters, and plot in a series of pithy tanka poems, a traditional Japanese form similar to haiku, but using five lines.... (w)ritten from Garvey's point of view, the succinct verses convey the narrative as well as his emotions with brevity, clarity, and finesse.' —Booklist, starred review
★ "(A) sensitively written middle grade novel in verse... (readers) will fall hard for Garvey, a tender, sincere boy who dislikes athletics. Grimes writes about adolescent friendships in a way that feels deeply human. A short, sweet, satisfying novel in verse that educators and readers alike will love." —School Library Journal, starred review
★ "Grimes' newest follows a young black boy searching for his own unique voice, lost among his father's wishes and society's mischaracterizations. This compassionate, courageous, and hopeful novel explores the constraints placed on black male identity and the corresponding pains and struggles that follow when a young black boy must confront these realities both at home and in school.... This graceful novel risks stretching beyond easy, reductive constructions of black male coming-of-age stories and delivers a sincere, authentic story of resilience and finding one's voice." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Grimes tells a big-hearted story of Garvey...(e)mploying the Japanese poetic form of tanka—five-line poems (or, here, stanzas) with haiku-like syllable counts—Grimes reveals Garvey's thoughts, feelings, and observations, the spare poetry a good vehicle for a young man's attempts to articulate the puzzle that is his life." —The Horn Book
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Wordsong (September 14, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 128 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1635925118
- ISBN-13 : 978-1635925111
- Reading age : 8 - 12 years
- Lexile measure : GN560L
- Grade level : 3 - 7
- Item Weight : 4 ounces
- Dimensions : 5 x 0.38 x 7.38 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #210,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #301 in Children's Books on Bullying
- #383 in Children's Performing Arts Fiction
- #693 in Stories in Verse
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Nikki Grimes dabbles in watercolors and collage (she created one of the illustrations for One Last Word!), she crafts handmade books, cards and beaded jewelry, is a textile artist, and once sang, danced and acted her way down the east coast of China. Her primary passion, though, is writing books for children and young adults. Her complete bibliography of trade and mass market books number close to 100. Her trade titles include historical fiction, biographies, chapter books, and novels in prose. However, poetry and novels-in-verse are her genres of choice.
A bestselling author, Grimes is the recipient of the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Award, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Other awards include the Coretta Scott King Award for Bronx Masquerade; CSK Honors for Jazmin's Notebook, Talkin' About Bessie, Dark Sons, The Road to Paris, and Words With Wings; the NAACP Image Award for New York Times Bestseller Barack Obama:Son of Promise, Child of Hope; The Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry; Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for One Last Word; Claudia Lewis Poetry Award; the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award; the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor; Horn Book Fanfare for Talkin' About Bessie; The Horace Mann Upstanders Book Award; the VOYA Non-Fiction Honor; The Lion & The Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry; International Youth Library White Ravens List; ALA Notables for What is Goodbye? and Words With Wings; Notable Books for a Global Society, and more.
The novel Growin' marked Grimes' entry into children's literature. In addition, her books include Something on My Mind—her first book of poetry—A Dime a Dozen, From A Child's Heart, A Girl Named Mister, Planet Middle School, Aneesa Lee & The Weaver's Gift, Chasing Freedom, the popular Dyamonde Daniel chapter book series, the beloved Meet Danitra Brown, Wild, Wild Hair, and Welcome Precious.
A much anthologized poet, her own collections include Pocketful of Poems, Poems in the Attic, Thanks a Million, When Daddy Prays, Come Sunday, Voices of Christmas, When Gorilla Goes Walking, and Shoe Magic. Check the bibliography on her website for a full listing.
In addition to her work for children, Grimes has written articles for such magazines as Essence, Horn Book, Today's Christian Woman, Book Links, English Journal, and Image: Journal of Arts & Religion, among others.
Those who follow her on social media know that Grimes is also a photographer and avid gardener with a special penchant for roses. They also know that a new poem is apt to pop up on her wall at any given time, especially if something heavy is on her heart, usually in response to a report of social injustice.
Social justice is one of the themes readers find in books written by Grimes, often set against an urban landscape. Her themes, though, are wide-ranging: bullying, friendship, foster care, forgiveness, gratitude, empathy, identity, mental illness, loss, sexual assault—all find a place in her work. Whether the themes are light or heavy, the consistent thread of hope, in stories laced with humor, are hallmarks of books written by Nikki Grimes.
Her most recent titles include the much-acclaimed novel-in-verse Garvey's Choice the groundbreaking poetry collection, One Last Word, and the picture book The Watcher. Her much anticipated memoir, Ordinary Hazards, releases October 8, 2019.
Customer reviews
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Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020
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With the encouragement of his friends, Garvey blossoms, and gets the courage to tell his true feelings to people he cares about. I think of the 4-6 grade set as a bit young to have coming of age books, but this is surely an exception. In the process, he earns respect from his former tormentors, creates a new bond with his father, learns to have faith in his own choices and literally, find his voice.
Garvey's Choice is spot-on with middle grade issues and feelings. Nary a word is wasted, and every word is chosen for its impact. This is a great book for kids to read on their own. Nevertheless, it would be a fun book to read to younger children and discuss the many thoughtful scenes and marvel at how big life issues are framed in ways young people can absorb easily. Kudos to Grimes!
This is a very quick read with a wonderful, positive message. So many kids struggle with self-image, and I love how Garvey finally begins to accept himself as he is. I also love the style of the book, written in Tanka poetry. Perfect for grades 4 and up.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 19, 2020
This is a very quick read with a wonderful, positive message. So many kids struggle with self-image, and I love how Garvey finally begins to accept himself as he is. I also love the style of the book, written in Tanka poetry. Perfect for grades 4 and up.

I took pictures of our favorite lines. I ended up with so many that I decided to just buy the book before we even finished reading it! Here are a few of our favorite lines:
“All evening long, I
try tucking in my sadness,
but it keeps getting
snagged on my voice when I speak...”
“Do friends make the best mirrors?”
“...Now ‘fat boy’ insults
glide right off me like raindrops.
I dance in the pool they make.”
This is a beautiful book with a beautiful message. I am always a sucker for a happy ending!
--Kate Calina