Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes Summary of Planet Middle School Told through freeverse poems this sensitive story perfectly captures the craziness of adolescence and first love Playing basketball with the boys used to be all it took to make tomboy Joylin happy But now her world is turnin ID: 769655
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Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes
Summary of Planet Middle School Told through free-verse poems, this sensitive story perfectly captures the craziness of adolescence and first love. Playing basketball with the boys used to be all it took to make tomboy Joylin happy. But now her world is turning upside down. Suddenly, all Joylin can think about is boys, especially Santiago. She's doing things she never thought she'd do, like wearing makeup and trying on dresses. And her best friend and basketball buddy Jake doesn't like it one bit. Is Joylin trying to be something she's not, or is she just growing up? (Scholastic)
The Produce Section Sometimes I feel like slave labor forced to run errands whenever my mother gets a whim. “Say!” says Mom. “I think I’ll makebuckwheat pancakes with bananas.Doesn’t that sound great? We’re a little low on syrup though,and I could use an extra banana.Joylin?”Next thing I know,I’m slouching downa supermarket aislelike I got nothing better to do.I growl at the listthat grew to ten itemsby the time I hit the door. I’m grumbling about the unfairness of lifewhen this cute guy reaches around meand grabs a plum tomato.“Excuse me,” he saysas if he needs to apologizefor being fineand popping into my lifelong enough for me to get closeto his sweet-smelling beautifulness.He continues down the aisleI just left behindand my head swivelsso I can go on staring.There I am, grinning, when bang--I crash my cart into this nice old ladysince I wasn’t watchingwhere I was going. “Sorry. Sorry,” I say turning three shades of purple. I close my eyes and count to ten. “Okay,” I say to myself. “What am I looking for again? Oh, yeah. Bananas.” (Page 42-43)
Lipstick I stand in front of Mom’s vanity like most girls do at three, splashing on perfume and smearing blushfrom cheek to ear.And here I am,snagging lipstick.“Crimson Touch”is a nice name.I wipe it across my lips,then dash out the doorbefore Mom can catch me.Minutes later, I meet up with KeeLeeand we strut through the school hall,me waiting for my chance to impress Him.I’m all smiles when I see Santiago,which is when KeeLee startspoking me. But I ignore her‘cause all I can think aboutis Santiago, whotakes one look at meand laughs out loud.Not the reactionI was hoping for.KeeLee pokes me again.“You’ve got lipstickon your teeth, silly.I tried to tell you.”My hand flies to my mouthtoo late.I sprint to the girl’s room, l eave “Crimson Touch” on wads of toilet paper, suddenly realizing the color looks just like blood. Disgusting . Can this day get any worse? (Page 67-68)
Extension 1. In what ways can you relate to the narrator? What connections can you make to these poems? 2. Choose five action verbs that are especially descriptive in these poems. 3. The narrator is a middle school girl, so you might expect some exaggeration. What is an example of hyperbole in the poems?4. Based on how the author ends the poem, “Lipstick,” what do you predict will happen in the following pages? Be specific.