At the Library
by Nikki Grimes
I flip the pages of a book and slip inside
where crystal seas await and pirates hide.
I find a paradise where birds can talk,
where children fly and trees prefer to walk.
Sometimes I end up on a city street.
I recognize the brown-skin girl I meet.
She’s skinny, but she’s strong, and brave, and wise.
I smile because I see me in her eyes.
Copyright © 1997 Nikki Grimes. From the book It’s Raining Laughter. Dial Books for Young Readers. Reprinted by permission of the author.
About The Author
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Her distinguished works include ALA Notable book What is Goodbye?, Coretta Scott King Award winner Bronx Masquerade, the novels Jazmin’s Notebook, Dark Sons, and The Road to Paris (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books). Creator of the popular Meet Danitra Brown, Ms. Grimes lives in Corona, California.
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172 responses to “At the Library”
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I love those crystal seas and flying children! Perfect poem given all the diversity conversation lately, too!
me to!
same
very good poem did not understand though.
si amigo/amiga
yes
cool
That was really good!
It was all right but I think it inspired me a bit
This also reminds me
sorry i dont really like its ok tho
cool poem
same it good i guess
I LOVE THIS POEM ITS AMAZING!!!!!!!!
wow i like flying children
Short but wise
Me to
This poem was great!!!!
it good
this book is not my fav it has a litte
I love this Book!!
I love them and it gives details
Terrific poem by a favorite poet! I love how Nikki recognizes the wisdom kids have. So much inside and so often it doesn’t come out soon enough.
I love the amount of detail you put into your response.
Love it!
ha
I LOVE THIS POEM IT REMINDED ME OF ME!
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!!!!!
WOW! Its pretty good! (UVU)
I Really Like This This Poem is like A World of “Wise Freedom” Like That is Sooo Cool! :3
me too
that poem is soooo me when i read!!!!!
Good peom it tell alot
Nice Poem!!!!!
I LOVE THIS POEM IT REMINDED ME OF ME!
Why
great poem
nice poem. :)
wow i,ts awesome
What is the theme of this poem and what does it means when they say I smile because I see me in her eyes
Nice poem
I hate poems but this one is good
I like poems because they can be turned into songs.
Cool :)
Wow ‘this is amazing!
I love this poem!!!
I really like this poem
i think the poem was okay.
boo
I like it :(
love bug I agree
great
Fun and good
I love it
I like this book.
great poem
I really like the poem because it is creative
This was a great poem, loved the creativity.
i relly liked it
this is amazing
it was bad
I LOVE it
I LOVE it it’s not bad
your poem is awesome love it
hi :)
i liked it
Good poem
Cool
Love this!
This is a good story!
I’ve deffinetly seen better but they were really long and we had to memorise them in order to recite them on Fridays in assembally so that had a lot to do with it. For a nice short and simple poem it’s really good!
Great poem i could really understand the narrater’s feelings about reading books.
I like it as well, because Nikki shows Nikki’s feelings about how much she likes to read books.
hey this is fun
I LOVE IT!
hate it!
I enjoyed it, a lot, especial when she meets her future self.
I didnt really get it thus i didnt like it
same
I really like it! It is incredibly diverse and well written.
I really like it! It is incredibly diverse and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Same
It is definitely a good poem to teach kids how FUN reading CAN be!!!
it was good person named “me”go to heck
this is good
Really great poem. I enjoyed reading it.
it was ok
:D yay cool
I LOVE THIS POEM IT REMINDS ME OF WELL ME!!! IN EVERY WAY
cool
Ruby Bridges? She’s awesome!
Love the poem BIG TIME!!!!!!
Nice Poem!!!!!!
It was so interesting
it was fine
love it
nice poem
I love this! It really brings out detail and makes you think of what beauty our world has and also emphasizes how much wisdom kids can have.
nice
It was ok you know.
I love it! it’s so cool!
its so good
This poem was GREAT!!!
IT WAS A-MAZE-ING!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve never rely been into poetry but this is ok i guess.
i liked the poem
I love the poem
This poem was one of the best poems I have ever read and I LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!
awesome! LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!
i like it but, i mean whaaaat??????????
i like it but, i mean whaaaat??????????
wow
This was awesome! It was just enough to get me started too!! :)
I loved the poem, really good and meaning full.
This is soooooooooo gooooooooooood
It was such a good poem JK gottee
Very good poem best ever should turn it into a rap
T!$ !$ C00|
didn’t even read it just waiting for the time to be up so I can move on to someting else but sure great story?
I like them because they have ritham
cool
that is so cool
I really understand the way the author feel about reading! Such a good poem.
Hello, This poem doesn’t remind me of… Well, Me on the outside, i am a young girl who looks hispanic, but the peom speaks to me, i talks even though it doesn’t it reminds me of kindness and respect, please remember to do both. Look at the link below,
Love,
Sophia Simpson
() love it lol
This poem reminds me of when you could just walk into the library like it’s an open world of curiosity and exploration to fill your mind with creativity and imagination.
This poem is cool
i was good
i love it
its great.
ha ha lol nice poem
i really like this
this story was ok but it was very short
ME TOO I LOVE IT
I do not get it at all
hi i am a kid at burns school I love your pome i think its graet
I kinda relate to this poem. I think it is awesome!
I like the poem too.
too short but good!
I LOVED it!
This is a wonderful poem! I love it a lot! I hope I can find MORE poems made by her!
awsome sause
amazing poem
If i could rate this book it would be a five star, it also inspired me a little bit too.
This book is AWSOME thx auther for writing it.
This peom just reminded me that life is every where and anything can happen so i must use my life wisely.
I love this poem!
I like the poem because,it’s very descriptive!
I LOVE the peom, it really spoke to me like a song does.( im a musician)
I did not like this poem it was… well… weird in a way I just think there is so much better things to read!!
OMG cool poem
This is amazing! I love all of the detail put onto the book!
This poem is pretty awesome!!
This is the best
nice peom
great poem!
I wish I could fly.
it was a cool poem actuly
This is not easy or fun
i dont understand but its a good poem
this is so weird- literally
Very good poem highly recommended!
This is such a good poem lots of feelings and emotions
love it but it just needs more.
but very good!!!
this is an amazing story!! I love it!!!!
Yes this is such a good poem. I wish I could fly like those kids, their lucky!
really good
It was good and short :/
I like how the auther was vary detaled!!!!
soooooo good:)
so amazing
nice peom i wish it was not that short.