Poem #23 -- A Pair of Spring Haikus

All of a sudden

dandelions shout with joy.

Yardies...not so much.

Inner city nest

Tricky place to raise your chicks

 But it can be done

Poem #22 and Poetry Friday -- Controversy

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Stephen Downes

Poetry is an interruption of silence.

Prose is the continuation of noise.

Poetry is a bird.

Prose is a potato.

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by PaKKiTo 

No copyright again today. We'll call this a "found poem." These are Billy Collins' words, spoken at the poetry reading I went to on Wednesday. Since his words/my found poem yesterday sparked some lively discussion, I thought I'd go ahead with another "found poem" that seems to have controversy (pun intended) at its heart.

What pair of metaphors would you propose for poetry and prose? (Obviously, Billy Collins is a leeetle biased towards poetry!!)

The roundup today is at Book Aunt. Happy Friday! Happy Poetry Month! Happy Spring! Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Happy!!!

LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE by Julie Sternberg

I always love when I pick up a great, new short chapter book. This week I picked up LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE by Julie Sternberg.  This is the story of Eleanor. Eleanor is eight years old and learns that he lifelong babysitter, Bibi, is moving away. It is a hard time for Eleanor as she deals with the transition.

The book is told in verse. It is a good length--119 pages and there are illustrations throughout.  That is what I love about this book. It is a great book for readers of early chapter books because it has some depth--a real issue that young children can relate to.  I also think older kids would like it because of this.  If I taught older elementary grades, this would go in the "Novels in Verse" basket.  I think readers of those books would love the addition of this one. For younger readers, this book provides a great option for advanced readers who are looking for a chapter book that is appropriate and meaningful for them.

Poem #21 -- Overheard

WHAT BILLY COLLINS SAID AFTER THE POETRY READING LAST NIGHT

The reason there is so much bad poetry written

is that the tools of poetry are so accessible --

with pencil and paper anyone can write a poem,

unlike, say, playing the saxophone,

which requires the instrument and some lessons.

And who could just go out and start hacking

at a block of marble and make a sculpture on the first try?

The training for writing poetry is in the library.

Reading.

Reading poetry.

Reading deeply.

And you find your voice by 

being jealous of other poets.

By reading other poets.

You write poetry because of 

an urge to emulate,

to imitate.

No copyright on these words, folks, because Billy Collins said them -- I just wrote them down. What he said about bad poetry...ouch. I feel like a poser with this "tra-la-la, I'll write a poem a day" project. And yet, what he said about reading poetry, and the urge to emulate...I do that! I have nearly every book of poetry he's published, plus one long and two short shelves of other poetry books (not to mention Amy LV's The Poem Farm, the weekly impromptu anthology known as Poetry Friday, and The Writer's Almanac). 

Billy Collins has a new book of poetry, published just this month:

Horoscopes for the Dead

And now I have a whole new slew of favorite Collins poems, such as the five-liner that made the crowd burst into laughter, the one that riffs off a comment overheard in a restaurant ("I was like give me a break"), the one about having a hangover and listening to kids playing Marco Polo, the poem about memorizing a poem. 

Favorite Series: Fox and Hen

Fox and Hen Together
by Beatrice Rodriguez
Enchanted Lion Books, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

The surprise in Chicken Thief (a PW Best Book of 2010), the first book in this trilogy (watch for Rooster's Revenge in September), is that when the fox steals the chicken, the outcome is happily ever after and not chicken feathers at the corners of fox's mouth. In this book, Chicken leaves Fox in charge of her egg while she goes out to catch a fish for dinner. The adventure that ensues for Chicken takes up the rest of the book, except for the part at the end where there's a surprise with that egg.

I'm not telling. Sorry. You'll have to read it for yourself.

Why I love this series:
1. It's more than just the Fox and the Chicken, it's a whole series of wordless books that Enchanted Lion is doing called Stories Without Words. (see also my review of ICE by Arthur Geisert)
2. The size and shape of the books -- they are different from other books -- long and skinny.
3. Wordless picture books are "just right" books for EVERY reader in my classroom.

Poem #20 -- Happy Birthday, Franki !!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRANKI !!

We're the cupcakes,

You're the frosting.

You're the sprinkles on the top!

We're the shelves,

You're the books.

You could practically be the shop!

You're the fulcrum

of our balance.

You remind us to stay sane!

You're the laughter

that brightens our days.

A toast to you, with poetic champagne!

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

I hope you'll add your birthday wishes to Franki in the comments! Help me celebrate a fabulous blogging partner, a good friend, and a dynamic teacher/librarian. Three cheers for Franki !!!

SEED SOIL SUN: EARTH'S RECIPE FOR FOOD by Cris Peterson

I picked up quite the fun pile of books at the Debbie Miller workshop this weekend. One book that I am really excited about is SEED SOIL SUN by Cris Peterson.  This is a nonfiction book with gorgeous photographs.

I was surprised at how much I loved the writing in this book and how much I actually learned. I assumed this would tell me about plants growing as so many other books do.  But this book takes a unique look at the topic. Each page has several gorgeous photos accompanied by a bit of text giving details about the way plants grow. I loved information like this, "Microscopic one-celled bacteria that munch away on dead leaves and insects in the soil are so minute that it would take a thousand of them lined up in a row to reach across the head of a pin."  The author does a great job of creating visuals that help readers understand difficult concepts.

One of the interesting new things I learned, was, "Each handful of soil contains more living things than all the human beings on Earth."

The author does a great job of making this book accessible to young readers and at the same time introduces very sophisticated concepts ideas.

The length of this book makes it good for both read aloud and independent reading.

Poem #19 -- Life

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by ADoseofShipBoy

LIFE

the price of gasoline

pistachio ice cream

colonoscopies

bunches of daisies

stages of cancer

a friend with the answer

haze in the sky

pecan pie

graffiti

confetti

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

Patrick Carman on Multimedia Books

I recently had the opportunity to interview author, Patrick Carman for Choice Literacy. In this podcast, Patrick Carman talks about his commitment to literacy and the role multimedia can play in hooking kids into reading.  If you are interested, you can listen to the podcast on the Choice Literacy site.

Patrick Carman also talked about this at a recent TED NYEd Talk.


If you had not had a chance to hear Patrick Carman speak about Mutlimedia books and the doors they can open, I would highly recommend it. He really helped me see possibilities for students that I hadn't seen before.  Also, if you had not had time to take a look at his multimedia books (Skeleton Creek, Trackers) or his new 3:15 project, they are brilliant.  I promise they will totally hook you.  Great stories and amazing use of various forms of media.  I love the fact that Carman has some multimedia books and then more traditional books that kids can go to once they get hooked on his writing.

Poem #18 -- To Educate

TO EDUCATE IS TO FUNAMBULATE*

My students are the
absorbate
for all that I
communicate.

All day long I
motivate,
they
concentrate,
we
collaborate.

For some I must
abbreviate,
for others I
accelerate.

On my best days I
fascinate and
motivate.

On the other days I
hesitate
dubiate**
cogitate

then

reinvigorate,
regenerate.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011





*Funambulate -- to walk or dance on a tight rope.

**dubiate -- to doubt