Chinaka's powerful collection is full of delights and thought-provocation. Her poetry speaks to her life so far, family, and esrliest memories. Hear about her most important people, New York City contrasted with Oakland, and religion.

— Simon Traub-Epstein, International Library of Young Authors

From the publisher: “Few writers have made the impact that Chinaka Hodge has before publishing their first book. For Girls with Hips will further cement Chinaka's place as one of the greats. She is a poet for all of the children first sounding out their letters, first putting pen to paper, first taking pleasure in the way words shape our stories. Many years, awards, and honors from now, we will pull this book off our shelves, and say Look, I have her first - can you believe how good she was even back then? Sometimes we can tell when history is happening. This is one of those times. This is one of those books. This book is part of a series, published by First Word Press, an imprint of Youth Speaks, Inc., dedicated to publishing emerging writer's first book.”