"As energetic and relevant as ever, Nikki now offers us an intimate, affecting, and illuminating look at her personal history and the mysteries of her own heart. In A Good Cry, she takes us into her confidence, describing the joy and peril of aging and recalling the violence that permeated her parents? marriage and her early life. She pays homage to the people who have given her life meaning and joy: her grandparents, who took her in and saved her...

There is nothing more important to a child than to feel loved, celebrated in this gathering of poems written by Nikki Giovanni. Selected by illustrator Ashley Bryan, who adds a visual layering that drums the most impartant message of all to young, old, parent, child, grandparent, and friend alike: You are loved.

Borrowing the title of a traditional African American hymn, Standing in the Need of Prayer poetically describes the vulnerability of black men and the ongoing injustice they encounter in America. Noted poet, Nikki Giovanni speaks to participants of the Million Man March, Tupac's mother, and expresses her own trepidation felt in response to late-night callers who may or may not be the bearers of tragic news. Her writings are bookended with poems by...

Insightful and fun, this collection of poetry captures the essence of the African American experience for young people.