30. Danitra Brown Leaves Town by Nikki Grimes

 

30. Danitra Brown Leaves Town by Nikki Grimes


Grimes, N. (2002). Danitra Brown leaves town. NY: Amistad

 This is the story of two friends: Zuri and Danitra.  Danitra is going to visit her aunt in the country for the summer and Zuri is sure that the summer will be boring without her. The girls correspond through a series of poems and letters to keep in touch. The girls talk on the phone to say their goodbyes the night before Danitra leaves.  Zuri is cross with Danitra for leaving her.  She worries about this argument until she receives a letter from Danitra.  Danitra tells Zuri about events in the country like the fireflies, how beautiful the night sky is, working in the garden and her family reunion.  Zuri tells Danitra about the block party, playing softball, and going to the beach with her mother. At the end of the summer, the friends are reunited.

This is a good book to teach compare/contrast to younger readers.  The girl’s summer experiences were so different.  One stayed at home and did “city” activities.  One traveled to the country and experienced “country” activities. I found a cute activity on teacher pay teachers. It is a trifold comprehension with different comprehension activities on each panel.  If you don’t want to pay for things, you can always design and make it yourself.  If I were creating this activity, I would put Danitra’s experiences on one side and Zuri’s on the other.

I also found an educator’s guide on a Nikki Grimes website.

 https://www.nikkigrimes.com/teacher/towncg.html

 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:danitra%20brown%20leaves%20town


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