Supporting Readers at All Levels

I've still got a handful of readers in my fourth grade classroom who are reading beginning chapter books. As long as these books are what's "just right" for them and they are reading with understanding and joy, I don't mind. They'll get there, one book at a time!

Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk
by Megan McDonald
illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick Press, 2012
review ARC provided by the publisher

A couple of my boys read this arc and chatted with me about it when they'd finished. This story is mostly about Stink and Webster, and Stink is as funny as usual. He's trying to get money for a Midnight Zombie Walk. The boys' favorite parts were at lunch time, when the characters in the book talked about gross zombie things, and the pages of extra information, like "Zombify Yourself," and "Zombie After School Snacks."

Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Makes a Splash
by Jacqueline Jules
illustrated by Miguel Benitez
Albert Whitman & Company, 2012

In this fourth book in the Zapato Power series, Freddie Ramos' super power shoes go missing and Freddie has to figure out how to deal with a bully and how to conquer his fear of putting his face in the water at the swimming pool...all on his own.

Jasper John Dooley: Star of the Week
by Caroline Adderson
illustrated by Ben Clanton
Kids Can Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Jasper John Dooley is one of my new favorite characters! Seriously, how can you not love a character who has a collection of lint?!? (Including rare belly button lint from his dad's belly button!)

It's his turn to be Star of the Week, but things just aren't turning out right. His friend Ori has a new baby sister, and she seems to be getting all the attention, when it should be Jasper's week to shine. Even his wooden brother Earl bites him (gives him a splinter). But Jasper makes it all the way through the week to the day when his classmates write compliments to him.

Daisy's Perfect Word
by Sandra V. Feder
illustrated by Susan Mitchell
Kids Can Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Daisy is another great character! She collects WORDS! When her teacher announces that she's engaged, Daisy tries to figure out what the perfect gift should be. After she realizes that she wants to give Miss Goldner a special WORD as a gift, Daisy has to figure out which one is the perfect word.

I can't wait for the next books featuring all of these characters!

CHILDHOOD

CHILDHOOD

Scab -- pick it.

Booger -- flick it.

Penny -- find it.

Kite string -- wind it.

Horse -- pretend it.

Fort -- defend it.

Snowball -- throw it.

Marigold -- grow it.

Happiness -- scream it.

The future -- dream it.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

Poem #11, National Poetry Month 2012

The first two lines of this poem jumped into my head, and the rest followed quickly behind. It was a fun poem to write. Many lines are ones I've lived...okay, I'll admit it...I've lived EVERY line of this poem! I'm still working on that last line...

Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining me in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, Linda at TeacherDance, Donna at Mainely Write, Laura at Writing the World for Kids (daily haiku), Liz at Liz in Ink (daily haiku), Sara at Read Write Believe (daily haiku), Jone at Deo Writer (daily haiku)...and YOU?

WHY TAI CHI? - a metaphor poem

WHY TAI CHI?

Tai Chi is a deliberate dance,
both solitary and in tandem.

It is a chorus
sung with body instead of voice.

You are rooted
to the floor,
yet bending
in invisible wind.

Begun with a mind full,
you end mindful:

self
moment
movement
calm


© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012




Poem #10, National Poetry Month 2012

Yesterday I got to Tai Chi class a little early, and so did a woman who was going to try the class for the very first time. She asked me to tell her what Tai Chi was like, and I found that the only way to really describe it was with metaphor.

I hope she'll keep coming back for a few years, because Tai Chi is NOT as I describe in my poem until you are deeper into the practice than the first few months of struggling to keep up while feeling very self-conscious.

Hmm...that's sounding like the growth of a writer, isn't it?

I've blogged a couple of times about Tai Chi, and last year I wrote a Tai Chi acrostic.




Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining me in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, Linda at TeacherDance, Donna at Mainely Write, Laura at Writing the World for Kids (daily haiku), Liz at Liz in Ink (daily haiku), Sara at Read Write Believe (daily haiku), Jone at Deo Writer (daily haiku)...and YOU?

Books I've Recently Added to My Poetry Collection

Years and years ago, I realized I didn't have a great poetry collection in my classroom.  So, I decided that year to really focus on only buying poetry books and really building that area of the classroom library.  Once I had 20-30 great poetry books, kids started to notice. Every since then, I try to add several poetry books a year to the collection and I now have tons of great poetry books for kids. April is such a fun month to add to my poetry collection--so many new titles being released and always not-so-new ones that I haven't yet discovered. These are the books I've added to my collection this year and I love them all!

A MEAL OF THE STARS: POEMS UP AND DOWN by Dana Jensenat

DEAR HOT DOG by Mordical Gerstein

FORGIVE ME, I MEANT TO DO IT by Gail Carson Levine

AMAZING FACES  by Lee Bennett Hopkins

OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW by Nicola Davies

EVERY THING ON IT by Shel Silverstein

EVERY DAY'S A DOG'S DAY: A YEAR'S IN POEMS by Marilyn Singer

TAKE TWO:  A CELEBRATION OF TWINS J. Patrick Lewis

THE ARROW FINDS ITS MARK: A BOOK OF FOUND POEMS by Georgia Heard

STEP GENTLY OUT by Helen Frost

LOOK DOWN -- a forest haiku

LOOK DOWN

Tree stump and mushrooms --

two speckled brown and gold discs.

Forest floor surprise.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

Poem #9, National Poetry Month 2012

Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining me in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, Linda at TeacherDance, Donna at Mainely Write, Laura at Writing the World for Kids (daily haiku), Liz at Liz in Ink (daily haiku), Sara at Read Write Believe (daily haiku), Jone at Deo Writer (daily haiku)...and YOU?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thanks to Jen and Kellee at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS for organizing IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING? Go visit their blog for more posts!

Last year, I read RUN LIKE A MOTHER-before I started running. Last week, the authors releassed a new book.  So, I spent some time with TRAIN LIKE A MOTHER by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea this week. This is not really a book that you read cover to cover. There are lots of running plans, running tip, etc. and the authors are supportive no matter where you are in your journey as a runner. I love reading about mothers who fit running into their life. Not only do these two write about their own experiences, but they have voices of others throughout the book. It is nice to hear about individual runner experiences.

I forget where I discovered this book-FORGOTTEN BOOKMARKS: A BOOKSELLER'S COLLECTION OF ODD THINGS LOST BETWEEN THE PAGES by Michael Popek. It is  collection of "bookmarks" that a second-hand bookstore owner has found in books over the years. This book comes out of a blog by the same name and there are great stories in here from the lives of readers. Great fun for any reader.

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts recommended THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern as a great adult novel and I fell in love with it on the first page. Unfortunately, I would love to have more time to sit and read it but am not getting that time.  But I am reading a bit a day and loving it. So glad to have a great adult novel in my stack.

I read about A MEAL OF THE STARS: POEMS UP AND DOWN by Dana Jensen at Carol's Corner and knew I had to have it. This is a fun book of poetry about things up and down. The fun is that you have to read some from top down and others from the bottom up!

BIRTHDAY CAKE - a food poem, a cooking poem

BIRTHDAY CAKE

Measuring Spoons
Our advice?
Be precise.

Kitchen Aid
I stand…
I mix, blend,
whip, stir, knead…
at your command.

Cake Pans
We’re fickle.
Three layers stick
whenever we pick.

Violets on the Windowsill
We choose
purple for our blooms.
You make the air go blue
because of what the pans decided to do.

Table
Come sit.
Unwind.
Write a bit.
Find
the humor in all of it.
Be resigned,
start again. Don’t quit.


© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012



Poem #8, National Poetry Month 2012

Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining me in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, Linda at TeacherDance, Donna at Mainely Write, Laura at Writing the World for Kids (daily haiku), Liz at Liz in Ink (daily haiku), Sara at Read Write Believe (daily haiku), Jone at Deo Writer (daily haiku)...and YOU?

PETTY THEFT -- a newspaper blackout poem

PETTY THEFT

the 

snatch

was

a

fluke

the 

move

abandoned

denied  

for fun

and

fickle income

and

that

power

It was just the only option we

had.

I

feel really weird

Still 

it took

risk

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

Poem #7, National Poetry Month 2012

I never should have let myself wander into the poetry section at Barnes and Noble yesterday.

I walked out with three new books: THE BEST OF IT by Kay Ryan, WHERE I LIVE by Maxine Kumin, and NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT by Austin Kleon.

If I accidentally start writing more like Kay Ryan and Maxine Kumin, I somehow think that won't be a bad thing. 

And newspaper blackout poems? Those are just plain FUN!

In 2010, I tried a newspaper blackout poem, but after reading Kleon's suggestions for composing, and more of his poems, I decided I would try again. 

Writing a newspaper blackout poem takes a lot of trimming back. (This reminds me of Janet Wong's advice here, or Susan Taylor Brown's advice here.)

Writing a newspaper blackout poem means being open to surprises. This article was about a band, and I wound up with a poem that sounds like a punk kid who, after getting caught stealing something, wavers between, "It was an accident!" "I didn't have a choice!" and "I know it was wrong...but it was also kind of fun..."

Murder yesterday, theft today. What will tomorrow bring?

Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining me in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, Linda at TeacherDance, Donna at Mainely Write, Laura at Writing the World for Kids (daily haiku), Liz at Liz in Ink (daily haiku), Sara at Read Write Believe (daily haiku)...and YOU?

MURDER? - a food poem

Photo Credit: Farmanac iPhone App

MURDER?

Sunflower sprouts on my chicken salad:

baby sunflower plants.

Infanticide?

No, inPLANTicide.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

Poem #6, National Poetry Month 2012

Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining me in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, Linda at TeacherDance, Donna at Mainely Write, Laura at Writing the World for Kids (daily haiku), Liz at Liz in Ink (daily haiku), Sara at Read Write Believe (daily haiku)...and YOU?

Poetry Friday -- PROGRESSIVE POEM

The first ever National Poetry Month KitLit Progressive poem is the brainchild of Irene Latham, and got its start on her blog, Live Your Poem.

Line, by line, day by day, the poem is growing across the Kidlitosphere (see schedule in the sidebar).

I haven't peeked since line two, so I was surprised how closely the poem (so far) was describing my life. It was a similar sensation to the one when I open the Gaping Void cartoon in my email and it "speaks" to me.

Right now this seems to be a poem of friendship, a poem of comfort...with the possibility of a little magic thrown in. What will become of those silver slippers?

If you are reading this
you must be hungry
Kick off your silver slippers
Come sit with us a spell


A hanky, here, now dry your tears

And fill your glass with wine




Penny, at A Penny and her Jots, has the next line tomorrow.

Robyn has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Read, Write, Howl.