Poems--My Man Blue

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimes, Nikki. 1999. My Man Blue. NewYork: Penguin Putnam Inc. ISBN 0803723261

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Nikki Grimes’ poems are about a character named Damon who moves with his single mother to her old neighborhood. He meets a man named “Blue”. The poems are about Damon’s journey from skepticism to trust in his hero, Blue. When Damon first meets Blue, he is a little insecure because he feels that he is the “man” in his single parent household. In the poems, Grimes discusses sensitive issues such as insecurity, trust, fear, and anger. Another important aspect of the poems is the strong male model. In “The Class Bully”, Damon emphatically asserts that “it’s guys who don’t hit girls who’re strong”. In another poem, “My Own Man”, Damon says, “What’s the matter with that?” “And, if I take care of my mom so what? She takes care of me”. The colorful and lifelike pictures make the poems meaningful and easy to understand for the young and the old from every culture.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The poems in “My Man Blue” are written from a child’s point of view about the growing bond between Damon and Blue. In “Fearless”, Grimes’ clever use of simile in the following verse is impressive. “And urges me to loop my fear like twine around a branch and use the rope to climb”. For Damon, Blue becomes a symbol of hope, trust, and friendship in tough times. Lagarrigue uses the abstract illustrations of the characters to inspire the imaginations of young children with the message that “Blue” could be someone in their lives. The dark background in the illustrations denotes the hidden danger in the neighborhood.

It is very obvious that Harlem-born Grimes uses some of her own experiences and issues to create poetry. The poem exposes readers to topics such as anger, fear, trust, independent thought, role models and self-esteem. According to Blue, anger is a waste and fear has to be overcome. Also, a “real” man helps and protects women and does not hurt them.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
BookList, 10/15/1999

Gr. 2-5. In a simple, lyrical series of poems, Grimes speaks in the voice of Damon, a child in Harlem, whose "missing daddy's left a hole" and who finds a mentor in Blue, who lost a son to the streets. It's a scary place ("A boy got shot / At school last month"). Lagarrigue's strong realistic acrylic paintings show the poignant connection between the needy child and the gentle, heavily built man in the dangerous neighborhood, where wedges of blue sky are sandwiched in between the roofs. Blue is a dream-perfect father figure, and some metaphors are obvious, as when Blue urges Damon to climb ("You know I'll be right here / In case you fall"), but the words and paintings show the hard place and the child's yearning for safety and strength. Damon and Blue spar every day, and the expressive pictures show their punches are almost an embrace. In the most beautiful poem, Damon's feeling about Blue is in the action and the visual detail: Blue's hands, calloused and tender, are strong stories, and "He tells them / sometimes when / I let him hold mine." A great picture book for older readers. ((Reviewed October 15, 1999)) -- Hazel Rochman. Booklist, published by the American Library Association.

Publishers Weekly, 05/17/1999

In 14 knowing, heartfelt poems, Grimes (Come Sunday) invites readers to witness the friendship that blossoms between Damon, an African-American boy without a father, and Blue, a tough-looking man who has lost his son to the streets. At first Damon isn't sure what to make of "This rugged dude/ Who some folk think/ Looks fierce in clothes/ of midnight black." But the boy quickly discovers Blue's "harmless, gentle-giant side." In between shooting hoops and outings to the park, Blue fortifies Damon's values and self-confidenceAthe very things that prevent Damon from resorting to the violence and antisocial behavior prevalent in his urban world. Though each of these accomplished poems could easily stand alone, together they form an enticing story arc. In his picture book debut, Lagarrigue doesn't interpret Grimes's words literallyAhis Blue looks approachable. Readers never see, for example, the teeth that startle the boy ("one gold, three cracked"), and Blue's getup doesn't match the text's description of perpetual shades and black leather. The deep-hued acrylic paintings have a rough, slightly smudgy texture, and they demonstrate a remarkable color sense. Unexpected fields of sharp blues and greens blend into the gritty cityscapes, and blocks of text are set against canvases thinly brushed with paint in palettes that complement the facing illustration. The art creates an ideal setting for the text: the look is inescapably urban but also subtly lyrical. Ages 6-up. (May) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal, 05/01/1999

Gr 2-5-A child's suspicion of the new man in his mother's life grows into admiration and love in this set of linked poems. "When We First Met," young Damon recalls, "I circle, look him up and down and let/Him know his grin's not winning points with me," but all resistance melts in the face of Blue's respect, his quiet strength, his willingness to teach and to listen, and to look out for Damon's safety. By the end, Damon is hoping, one day, to be "Like Blue"; "Not fierce/In black leather/Or built like/A heavyweight/Boxing machine/But like that/Other Blue I've seen/The one who/Says he cares/And shows it." Lagarrigue debuts with a set of twilit, impressionistic, sparsely populated street scenes in which Blue, with his shaven head and heavy frame, leans hugely but attentively toward his diminutive companion. Damon mentions his mother several times, but because she appears in the illustrations only once, she remains a background presence as man and boy bond.-John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

5. CONNECTIONS
Encourage children to make up and use illustrations to create their own poems about relationships or role-models. Display poems in the classroom or the library. Use two poem books by Nikki Grimes to compare and contrast.

Other books by Nikki Grimes:

Bronx Masquerade 0-14-250189-1

Meet Danitra Brown 0-688-15471-9

Jazmin’s Notebook 0-14-130702-1

Other engaging books of poetry for middle graders:

The friendly four by Eloise Greenfield 0-06-000759-1

You and Me selected and illustrated by Salley Mavor 0-531-30045-5

I like you if you like me: poems of friendship elected and edited by Myra Cohn Livingston 0-689-50408-X