Nikki Grimes

Nikki Grimes is a bestselling author of children's fiction and inspirational fiction in addition to some critically acclaimed poetry. Given her reputation, she frequently conducts poetry lectures and poetry readings at international schools across the globe. During the 1970s, she was the host and coproducer of WBAI FM’s “The Kid’s Show.” She was also the host of “Grunslost,” a Swedish Educational Radio program for immigrants when she lived in Sweden.

The best place to start is the Jerry Pinkney as Illustrator series, the earliest of Nikki Grimes's multi-book series: it opens with Tales from Africa(0)Description / Buy at AmazonThe Ugly Duckling (1843) and runs to 96 books across 1843–2023, ending with A Walk in the Woods (2023). Nikki Grimes's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Nikki Grimes has 188 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1605 and 2026. 114 of them belong to 5 named series — the largest being the Jerry Pinkney as Illustrator series with 96 books — and 74 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Nikki Grimes's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Jerry Pinkney as Illustrator (1843–2023, 96 books), Danitra Brown (1984–2005, 3 books) and Disney's Winnie-The-Pooh's Helping Hands (1991–1994, 9 books), plus 2 more.

This guide splits Nikki Grimes's 188 books into 5 named series and 74 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Jerry Pinkney as Illustrator (96 books, 1843–2023); Disney's Winnie-The-Pooh's Helping Hands (9 books, 1991–1994); Dyamonde Daniel (4 books, 2000–2012); Danitra Brown (3 books, 1984–2005); Garvey (2 books, 2016–2022).