...this writing thing was some kind of magic trick I didn't yet understand... Nikki Grimes discovered the power of writing at the tender age of six, when, alone in her room, she poured her fears, anger, and tears onto a piece of paper - and felt sweet relief. Words and faith were her most enduring companions as life flung her headlong from one harrowing experience to the next through her childhood and teenage years. Words, spilled into notebook after...

Presents a selection of the African American poet's work which celebrates childhood, work, solitude, aging, courage, and the experience of freedom.

"A lyrical picture book biography that tells the story of one of America's most celebrated children's book authors, Virginia Hamilton, the first African American to win the Newbery Medal"--