If you loved 'One Last Word,' you will be over the moon for this new poetry/art anthology from Nikki Grimes. Each Harlem Renaissance poem is paired with a Nikki Grimes poem written in the golden shovel style she does so well and accompanied by an original work of art that complements the two poems. In the last half of the book, short bios on the poets and artists are included. Reading these beautiful is like balm for the soul and the artwork fires up the imagination. My favorite poem is entitled 'The Bronze Legacy (To A Brown Boy)' by Effie Lee Newsome, written in 1922:

Tis a noble gift to be brown, all brown,
Like the strongest things that make up this earth,
Like the mountains grave and grand,
Even like the very land,
Even like the trunks of trees—
Even oaks, to be like these!
God builds His strength in bronze.

To be brown like thrush and lark!
Like the subtle wren so dark!
Nay, the king of beasts wears brown;
Eagles are of this same hue.
I thank God, then, I am brown.
Brown has mighty things to do.

In this anthology - Nikki Grimes employs the Golden Shovel poetry form to reinvent poems by underrepresented women poets of color from the Harlem Renaissance. This is a perfect book to share with students, especially in light of the inspiration generated by Inauguration Day's Amanda Gorman.