Blue Lipstick by John Grandits

Blue Lipstick by John Grandits, Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
ISBN: 978-0-618-85132-4

Plot Summary

In this collection of poems, Jessie explains what it is like to be a teen. Through her poetry, readers learn of the prevalent social hierarchy in her world (jocks and cheerleaders are at the top) as well as her everyday frustrations (like her annoying little brother). In fact, every poem she writes allows readers to know her just a little bit better as the topics of her poems range from her cat to teaching her brother manners. Readers will laugh with her when she tells of an unfortunate hot air balloon ride that leaves her sick and sympathize with her when she complains about her unfair English project. Indeed, through Jessie’s concrete poems readers will be captivated as she crafts the ordinary, such as an impromptu jam session, into the extraordinary.

Critical Evaluation

John Grandits’ Blue Lipstick is a humorous, witty poetry collection that is sure to entice even the most reluctant of teen readers. Because poetry is not often experienced outside of the classroom Grandits’ concrete poems will surely change teens’ definitions as to what poetry is. All thirty-four pieces address themes that teens will find applicable, such as homework, crushes, and body image and are expressed in a visually engaging fashion. While all the poems are creatively structured there are some titles that truly standout such as Bad Hair Day in which the words form crooked strands of hair and Volleyball Practice, in which the words follow the arc of the volleyball as it crosses from one side of the net to the other. In fact, the structure of the words are just as important as the words themselves as readers not only read but watch Jessie’s bowling ball fall into the gutter in The Bowling Party or read about gossip through interacting with a convoluted grapevine in The Secret. Jessie’s character development is just as intriguing as Grandits’ illustrations and text for it is not often that students see subtle shifts in character in school read poems. In the beginning of the book Jessie writes in The Wall of the people she considers on her side—her parents, cousin Natalie, her cat, Lisa, and occasionally her little brother. However, when she revisits her wall toward the end of the collection (in The Wall (Revisited)) readers learn that Jessie has challenged her assumptions and stereotypes, resulting in her wall crumbling and including more people within her circle. Overall Grandits’ Blue Lipstick is an excellent read and hopefully will be incorporated not only in school curricula but in library displays as well.

Reader’s Annotation

In this collection of 34 concrete poems, Jessie relates her trials and triumphs at school, home, and on the volleyball court.

About the Author

“John Grandits is a poet, typographer, art director, designer, & writer. He’s written cartoons, articles, humor pieces, fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. Occasionally he’s been published. In his previous life he was associated with a number of juvenile publishing ventures including Cricket, Muse, and Click magazines, Crown Books for Children and Random House. He has also art directed adult trade and children’s textbooks. For a short time he was owner and publisher of Film and Video News magazine.”

“He has written and designed books, book jackets & covers, brochures, advertisements, periodicals, record jackets, corporate logos (although he hated doing it), posters and, of course, poems. Oddly enough he didn’t become funny until he was 55 years old. His ultimate goal is to design the perfectly illegible font and use it for the perfectly unreadable concrete poem.”

Hughes, J. (n.d.) Biography of John Grandits. Retrieved from http://www.johngrandits.com/bio/index.php

Genre

Humor, Poetry, Sibling rivalry, School story

Tags

Jocks, punk, sibling rivalry, older brother, Mondrian, cats, volleyball, punctuality, body piercings, bowling

Curriculum Ties

This volume of concrete poetry would fit well into any poetry unit especially as concrete poetry is not often studied (except for George Herbert’s Easter Wings).

Booktalk Ideas

--Read one of the poems before beginning the talk

--Define concrete poems before beginning the talk

Reading Level/Interest Age

Reading Level: 3^rd grade

Interest Level: 9^th-12^th grades (14-18 yrs.)

AR BookFinder. (2010). Blue lipstick. Retrieved from http://www.arbookfind.com/bookdetail.aspx?q=120058&l=EN&slid=191319304

Challenge Issues

N/A

Favorite Quotes

This is not quote related per se but my favorite poems in the collection were A Chart of My Emotional Day, Volleyball Practice, Grownups Talking: A+ Grownups Listening: D-, and Happy B*day, Mom.

Why Was This Included?

I wanted to include more poetry in my blog but my library branch only had two poetry collections specifically targeted to young adults. I chose this particular book over the other because the other focused on famous art whereas this one focused on concrete imagery and concrete imagery seemed more fun.