Thanks a Million (review)

Gratitude is probably expressed less often than it ought to be, and Nikki Grimes attempts to redress this deficiency with a collection of sixteen poems of and about thanks. Some poems directly offer thanks (to a tutor, to an author of a cherished book, to a kind classmate, to God); in others, speakers describe things for which they are grateful (an overture of friendship, the closeness of family); a few poems examine the expression of thanks itself. Some of the scenarios are a little more optimistic than realistic (the boy who, in spontaneous thanks for his father's participation in his life, shines his dad's shoes), but the modeling of possible acts of gratitude is a good thing in itself, and the variety of possibilities ensures that just about every reader will get some food for thought. Poems vary in form as well, with the free-verse entries more successful than the occasionally stilted rhymed poetry, but there's clever use of forms such as the rebus and the riddle, as well as witty numeric play in the thanks to the math tutor. Cabrera's deep-toned, moody acrylic paintings provide dramatic, sometimes stylized portraiture of a multiracial cast; turbulent backgrounds and landscapes are often brightened by floral or still-life details. Since many poems could work individually as readalouds for younger audiences as well, the collection offers a useful entrée to discussion of thanks in religious or secular contexts, with particular possibilities for looking beyond turkey and football at Thanksgiving.