JULIE ANDREWS' TREASURY FOR ALL SEASONS

To be honest, I'm generally not a big fan of celebrity authors. When I saw Julie Andrews' TREASURY FOR ALL SEASONS: POEMS AND SONGS TO CELEBRATE THE YEAR on the CYBILS list, then,  I was not expecting much. I was very pleasantly surprised. The anthology, consisting of approximately 150 poems collected by Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton (they even wrote a few) is terrific, one I would definitely love to own or give as a gift.

TREASURY FOR ALL SEASONS  contains a variety of poems to read throughout the year. First, there are 8-10 poems for each month of the year. Many are traditional, ranging from Longfellow and Coleridge to e.e. cummings and Robert Frost, but there are also many contemporary poets (e.g. Sandra Cisneros, Barbara Juster Esbenson, Bobbi Katz, Myra Cohn Livinston, Valerie Worth). November, for example, includes:

•  "November" by John Updike
•  "Autumn Fires" by Robert Louis Stevenson
• "The First Thanksgiving"  and "I Ate Too Much" by Jack Prelutsky
• "Father, We Thank Thee" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "Rhapsody" by William Stanley Braithwaite
• "Jack Frost" by Helen Bayley Davis.  

Within each month, there are poems for pretty much every holiday, all the ones you'd expect, but also others--  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Chinese New Year,  and Grandparents Day. There are also poems for religious holidays such as  Ramadan, Purim, Rosh Hashanah, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa.

Andrews and Hamilton also include  ections for other holidays or occasions, including The Sabbath/Shabbat,  Birthdays, New Babies,  and Coming of Age/Rites of Passage. Many of the sections begin with a letter from Julie Andrews, explaining why they chose certain poems, or making personal connections. These letters would be good mentor texts if kids were trying to assemble their own poetry anthologies

I also love the layout of this book. Most poems have their own page or two-page spread, so there is plenty of "breathing room" on each page. Marjorie Priceman's illustrations are gorgeous- vibrant, joyful, bright and flowing.

Adding this to my repertoire of gift books- it would be perfect for a baby shower, or family Christmas/Hanukkah gift, or for a student teacher or mentee, who was just starting a collection of poetry books.

IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Question: What am I reading?

Answer: A whole lot of poetry (and ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO'S, but I reviewed that yesterday.  Some of it is for the CYBILS.

Some of it is for work- I'm at a bilingual school  and am always on the lookout for high quality children's poetry in Spanish.
S

 

 

Some of it is just because…

ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO'S

Yesterday, I set out for the Denver Public Library. I had two goals. First, I wanted to pick up a batch of CYBILS poetry books. Second, I wanted to pick up Barbara O'Connor's newest book, ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO'S. I  I got about ten poetry books, which will keep me busy for at least a week. I couldn't find MR. MINEO, however, and when I asked the children's librarian about it, she said she had taken it home, because Barbara O'Connor is one of her favorite authors. She promised that she would bring it back and save it, and I could have it next week.

I did what any self-respecting reader would have done. Even though I am in a total spending (especially book buying) moratorium, I immediately headed over to Tattered Cover, found the book on the shelf, and bought it. Then went home, and didn't do laundry, didn't wash the kitchen floor, didn't clean bathrooms, instead, I just sat down and read. I have to tell you, Barbara O'Connor has another hit. HOW TO STEAL A DOG is still my all-time favorite, but this one is really, really good.

MR. MINEO is the story of a one-legged homing pigeon named Sherman. Sherman is supposed to live in a coop with a flock of homing pigeons (Edna, Frankie, Martha, Samson, Leslie, Taylor, Amy Joe, Christopher and Martin) and their owner, Mr. Mineo, and his fat dog, Ernie. When the story opens, however, Sherman has, literally, flown the coop, and is making appearances all around the town of Meadville, South Carolina.

Throughout the book, a variety of different characters try to capture Sherman.  Of course, Mr. Mineo wants Sherman to come home. But  the adventurous Stella, and her best friend, the much-less adventurous Gerald, are trying to catch the bird. And there's Stella's older brother, and his friends CJ and Jiggs, middle school bullies. And Mutt Raynard, the town liar.  Several adults- Amos and Ethel Roper, an elderly couple who fight all the time, and Luther, who owns the Chinese Take Out, and his friend Edsel. And then there's a little brown dog…

The amazing thing about Mr. Mineo is how Barbara O'Connor knits all of these character's lives together. At the beginning of the book, each chapter is about a separate character or group of characters. Gradually, they come closer together, until bingo, you are at the climax, and everyone's lives connect around Sherman. MR. MINEO is a book I read once for plot, then wanted to start all over again, right away, to read to see how in the heck she managed to put the whole thing together. And like I always do with O'Connor's books, I have already marked a few favorite paragraphs/scenes as mentor texts for kids, to teach them about specificity, and dialogue and character development.

Can I just say, too, even though I'm not sure how it fits with my review, that I love using Barbara O'Connor with struggling readers. The content is complex enough for my intermediate grade and middle school readers. But the book is relatively short-- only 181 pages. And the chapters are short. A struggling reader could easily get through a chapter, without forgetting what it's about. And the writing is really clean and rhythmic and easy to read. The sentences are short. It's totally supportive of kids who have not quite got the hang of the reading thing.

I'm really glad I spent money I wasn't supposed to spend on this book. It's a keeper.

SLICE OF LIFE

Two weeks ago. Saturday night. I am almost asleep when the text comes. It is from my oldest son. The one in Phoenix. Nine hundred miles away.

 "Hurt my knee. On crutches on the sidelines."

"Bad?" I text back.

"Naw. Hyperextended it. Just need to rest. It'll be awright."

Later he texts me that a trainer has driven him to his apartment. He has ice on it. The next day he tells me it is a little bit better. I feel relieved.

Until Monday. When he tells me he will be having an MRI on Thursday.

And Thursday. When he tells me he will be having ACL surgery the following week.

He wants to give up. "I only came to school to play football," he says. "And now I can't do that." I might as well just come home." I talk him off the ledge. Call a semi-sympathetic coach. Get him to talk to my son.

I want to go. To be there. To take care of him.

But in the meantime, Son #2 has made a stupid stupid stupid 5 second teenager decision that has potential for huge, life changing legal ramifications. And I cannot leave the state. Because I have to take care of Son #2 and his issues.

I have to settle for phone calls with coaches and the athletic trainer.

The surgery is Friday.  We talk every day. I try to explain that he needs to go to the grocery store ahead of time. Stock up. Prepare. He spends $20 at 7-11.

Thursday night. "You scared?"

"Naw. It'll be awright."

I talk to him in the waiting room on Friday. He is still calm. Or at least he sounds calm on the phone.

The surgery is supposed to be at 7. He is supposed to be done by ten. Home by noon.

The coach texts and tells me he has dropped Son off. He will call when the surgery is over.

12:00 passes. 12:30. 1:00. 1:30. 

I cannot stand it anymore.  I call the coach. He tells me that the surgery did not start until after ten. I imagine my baby sitting in a waiting room by himself for three hours. I am sure he did not take a book.

He is waiting for my son to come out of surgery.

Two hours later, I get a call. My son is home. He is groggy but ok. The coach has picked up his prescriptions. His roommate, 18, talks to me. Reads the directions off the pill bottles.

"I'll take care of him," he assures me. And again, I so want to be there.

Saturday, my son, who never misses a practice, never complains after a game, never stays home sick, tells me his knee hurts. A lot.

I have never heard him say anything hurts. Even when he dislocated his thumb. Or ruptured his eardrum.  Never. And I know it hurts. A lot.

And I so want to be there. To take care of him. To remind him to do the knee machine. To give him pills at the right time. To make ice bags. To feed him.

And now we are ten days out. The boys lived, for a week, I think, on pizza, Seven-Eleven nachos and  Chinese delivery. But he is a little better. Or at least he tells me he is. And I so want to be there.

He will start physical therapy soon.  Insurance only pays for part of it. I will need to find another $400 a month. I wonder what else I can cut out of our budget.

And  he has missed a week of school. And he was never a strong student. I wonder what his grades will look like. Whether he will be able to go back next semester.

Whether he will want to go back.

What he will do if he doesn't.

What he will do if he can't play football again.

And I so want to be there. 

IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

We had two days of fall break last week, which meant I got a little more reading time than usual. I read three intermediate grade novels, all with girl protagonists.

My favorite, and one that I cannot wait to share, was DOUBLE DOG DARE, by Lisa Graff, which I think would be a perfect fourth or fifth grade beginning-of-the-year  (or later in the year) read aloud too. Francine Halata has dreamed of becoming the media anchor at Auden Elementary for years.  Her plans are changed, however, when Kansas, a brand new kid, king of dares at his previous school, somehow ends up being nominated for the anchor job. Francine and Kansas challenge each other to a month of dares, with the winner guaranteed the coveted media anchor. At the same time, on a much deeper level, Francine and Kansas have more in common than anyone knows. Lots of really funny scenes, but also some very real life issues.

The second book I read was  SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS by Sara Pennypacker. I love Pennypacker's CLEMENTINE series, so I was excited to see this book.  Stella, the main character, lives with her Great Aunt Louise, the manager of a group of guest cottages on Cape Cod, and Angel, a foster child that Louise has taken in to keep Stella company. The two girls are not friends, at all, until a tragedy strikes and then the two girls have to learn to depend on each other. 

I don't want to give away the book, so I'm not going to say a lot. I will say, however, that I loved, loved, loved Stella. She is everything I would want in a girl character-  plucky, independent, resourceful, and level-headed. Angel reminds me of a lot of foster kids I have known- afraid to trust, but a really good-hearted kid. While I liked these two characters, there were parts of the plot that I had trouble swallowing. Even so, I think kids who enjoyed the CLEMENTINE series would be excited to know that there was another Pennypacker book available. 

The last book I read was ABOUT AVERAGE, by Andrew Clements. The main character, Jordan, was another character that was really easy to like, she was just an all around great kid. Jordan, however, doesn't view herself that way- she knows that she is not the prettiest girl in her class, or the smartest, or the most athletic, or the best musician, and her goal insixth grade is to be recognized for being good at something. Again, I have to confess that this is not my favorite by the author, but again, I think it's a book that kids who like this author will be glad to find. 

And on the TBR pile? Umm, not sure. I have Sharon Creech's THE GREAT UNEXPECTED checked out from the library and am waiting for a pile of CYBILS poetry books that I have reserved to arrived. And I have stacks and stacks of TBR books, but am not sure what else I will get to this week. Happy reading!

Check it Out

So much of the reading/learning I do these days is online. I decided, then, that every once in a while, maybe once a week, maybe once every six weeks, I am going to put up a post highlighting a few pieces I especially enjoyed, or learned from, or think other people might learn from.

First, an event all my fantasy-loving friends might enjoy:

FANTASTICAL WORLDS:

In Conversation with Rachel Hartman,

Stefan Bachmann, and Christopher Paolini

10/28/12 2PM - 3PM 2012

http://www.shindig.com/event/fantastical
 

Rachel Hartman, author of the critically acclaimed, instant New York Times bestseller SERAPHINA; Stefan Bachmann, author of THE PECULIAR (Harper Collins), and Christopher Paolini, author of the international bestselling series the Inheritance cycle and, most recently, the INHERITANCE  Deluxe Edition. These three authors will discuss their inspiration and their characters, and also take viewer questions.

 ***********

Next, a couple of posts from Michael Rosen that ll  my poetry-loving/teaching friends will enjoy.
First there is a great piece, "What Poetry Does."

"A good deal of poetry is a kind of 'portable philosophy'. That's to say it expresses quite difficult or challenging ideas in ways that can be carried around in your head." 

"Perhaps (poetry is) a way of concentrating thought in the midst of action."

"Poets make the things we know unfamiliar (often but not always through metaphor, simile, personification etc). Poets also find unfamiliar things and tell us about them in ways that we come to know them, feel them or understand them. You could argue that if education just did this, it would have done a good job. "

And another great poetry-related post by Michael Rosen, "Twenty Things to do in Your Classroom."

********

This year, everyone has been talking about the book WONDER, for good reason, I think. It's an amazing book, with a really powerful message. Last week I stumbled across the website, "Including Samuel" that has a similar focus. "Including Samuel" is the website of photojournalist Dan Habib. Habib has a son named Samuel, who is in a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy. As I understand it, Habib made a film about Samuel, which has morphed into a much larger project. This website has clips, and other ideas for ways people could make their schools and communities kinder and more supportive places.

********

And then probably my favorite time-wasting websitess- puppies!

This summer, I started following a website. www.explore.org. They had a 24 hour webcam set up in at the Warrior Canine Connection, an organization that breeds golden retrievers (my favorite) and labrador retrievers for soldiers coming with PTSD. Those puppies have moved on to training homes, but you can still watch the highlight reel and read the comments, (look for the ones from Warrior Canine Connection because those are from Molly, the director of WCC and contain lots of great information about service dogs).

Another camera on the EXPLORE website shows a farm that breeds great danes for mobility dogs. There are lots of other great cams on this site- this summer, for instance, I watched brown bears catching salmon in Alaska. Fascinating!

Happy Saturday!

POETRY FRIDAY

FREEDOM'S A CALLIN' ME is a series of poems, narrated by a runaway slave, chronicling his attempts to escape his life on a plantation in the south and travel north to freedom. Here area few samples:

FREEDOM’S A CALLING ME

the overseer’s got his hands busy

but I hear that whip bouncing off somebody’s back

bouncing like thousands of toddlers yelping

but it aint but one or two slaves aint picking quick enough

but he aint looking over here           

this here is my chance to get

right out of here…

NEVER AGAIN

he got us hanging like hogs or fresh beef

with us wiggling under

under a rawhide whip

like that going to scare us…

But they are also hopeful.

THE NORTH STAR

…this is a time to follow the north star

‘cause that’ll lead them to freedom somewhere ‘way from here

they sang about it/how the north star was goin to save them

they dreamed about it huddled in caves and under huge trees

& every night they were on their way north

closer to freedom

always followin the north star

This is not a poetry book for young children.The poems are vivid and graphic and strong, perfect for a middle or high school history class. I could also see myself using them in a writing lesson on voice or as an example for multigenre research reports. Or just simply reading the book aloud, because words this strong deserve to be/must be read aloud.

Ntozake Shanghe's words are accompanied by Rod Brown's gorgeous oil paintings.  You can see a few of those illustrations and poems, here,  at the publisher's website. (I believe I read somewhere that Shange wrote the poems after Brown did the paintings, but I could not find that to verify it this morning).  Shange and Brown have evidently paired up at least once before, in WE TROUBLED THE WATERS. I don't know that book, but I will definitely  be looking for it when I head to the library today.

This is a book I need to own. This is a book people need to know.

BOOK DRAGON  also reviewed FREEDOM'S A-CALLIN ME.

POETRY FRIDAY is at TEACHER DANCE. Head over to Linda's blog and enjoy some great poetry.