MY MAN BLUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimes, Nickki. 1999. MY MAN BLUE. Ill. by Jerome Lagarrigue. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.  ISBN 0-8037-2326-1

PLOT SUMMARY
This one will get your heart wrenched as you read the poignant story-poems of a young boy without a father. Damon meets a former friend of his mother's,Blue , who has lost his son to the streets. See  how mistrust grows to deep and heartfelt friendship between Damon and Blue. Damon learns from Blue’s street wisdom about love, anger, fear, and hate. Experience the feeling of caring and protection that Blue gives Damon through his smile and strong presence.

Feel the emotion heighten as Damon determines to care for his Mother no matter what his friends think of him. As you're touched with emotion as Damon realizes he can “fly” after conquering his fears with Blue’s as his guardian angel. Be left with the sense that though someone represents a toughness on the outside they can be  soft and caring   on the inside. Be challenged to show the soft side as you look for those individuals who need that protection.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Grime's ability to write and have the reader feel her emotions is evident in the poetic pieces of My Man Blue. The character's Damon and Blue are real and Damon's use of first- person point of view throughout the book evoke feelings of closeness from the reader. When Damon says "I grab her wrists til she calms down," the reader can't help but applaud and want nothing but the best for the young boy. His refusal to retaliate against the young girl who is provoking him on the playground is an excellent example of how Damon is learning to make good decisions. These collections of individually titled poems doesn't show much rhyme, but examples of alliteration are present in many lines of the poem. Blue's hands show that he has experienced much in his lifetime and the lines, "thumbs tipped with work-proud callouses," tell us just how much hard work Blue has endured. Moreover, Grimes' use of imagination to create this story in order to express some of her personal feelings is canny and proves that this is a true work of poetry.

The illustrations in the book by Jerome Lagarrigue are dark, yet true to life. The intricate details of Blue's strong face and muscular stature allow us to see the strong willed man that Damon wishes to be like. The neighborhood pictures and even more so, the clearness and vividness of the shots for "Class Bully," may bring some readers back to their days growing up. A very touching part of the poems occurs when Damon isn't taken by the taunts of the neighborhood kids. He shows that he's a "man" by responding "...if I take care of my mom so what? She takes care of me."

This is an excellent book to share with children, particularly young boys who are faced with many adversities in life, especially those of being the "man in the family". This book shows that in spite of, we don't have to be victims of our surroundings, especially when we have someone who geniunely cares in our corner.



Review Excerpts

Booklist: 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. 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. A great picture book for older readers.

Horn Book Guide: The poems are accessible and filled with imagery, and the inter-generational friendship is believable, though Damon sometimes sounds older than he is. The unsentimental acrylic paintings aptly reflect the poems.

Publisher's Weekly: Though each of these accomplished poems could easily stand alone, together they form an enticing story arc. 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 cityscape's, 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.


CONNECTIONS:
*Students could write a poem about someone who has affected their life in some special way.
*In the story Blue wrote a letter for Damon, students can write a letter to someone who has made a difference in their own life.
*This story could lend itself to a reader's theater focusing on the perils of a young fatherless child connecting to an old family acquittance and how this person helps to change the direction of a life. 

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Hesse, Karen. OUT OF THE DUST. ISBN: 0590371258
Nelson, Marilyn. CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS. ISBN: 1886910537
Heard, Georgia. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort. ISBN 0763619248