Hopscotch Love
illustrated by Melodye Benson Rosales
Lothrop/HarperCollins, 1999
ISBN: 978-0-688-15667-1

From the book

My sister and I dream of adoption—someday.
In the dream, we're never apart.
Then this nice lady comes to the group home
With a girl-shaped hole in her heart...

My age was closest to her boy's
So she asked if I wanted to go.
I squeezed my sister's trembling hand
And whispered, "Thanks, but no."

from Hopscotch Love
© 1999 by Nikki Grimes

Reviews
"Twenty two poems, with varied meter and rhyme schemes, transform everyday situations into wonderful human experiences about loving and caring. Some poems are humorous, others philosophical, and several become social commentary...This is a gem of a little book that bubbles with joyous affirmation of relationships." Boston Globe

"A fresh celebration of love...The 22 selections run the gamut of all types of affection, from teenaged crushes to the feelings between siblings and the bonds between children and their parents...Grimes has expressed a wide range of emotions in this collection, and each poem validates the importance of love in that situation...This small treasury will lift readers' spirits and touch their hearts." School Library Journal

"Poems about love indeed hopscotch among the generations, and every one of the 22 entries tells a story...Grimes and Rosales succeed in imparting the small, telling moments in loving relationships." Kirkus Reviews