Perfectly Percy

Perfectly Percy
by Paul Schmid
HarperCollins, 2013
review copy provided by the publisher

Can't you tell just by looking at the cover what will happen in a book about a porcupine who has a balloon?!?

The fun thing about this book is that even though you know what will happen, you have NO IDEA how it will all turn out in the end! Kudos to Paul Schmid for a perfectly delightful book that can be enjoyed on its own, or to lead students in thinking about making, confirming, and changing their predictions.

Books I Want to Read

So, I've been recovering from a concussion for the last 4+ weeks.  It has been a long, slow process with lots of "brain rest".  Brain rest is no fun, in case you are wondering. Especially when you do not choose to do it.  You may have noticed that Mary Lee has been pretty much covering the blog as I have been limited on screen time (almost none) for the past four weeks.  Brain rest also includes little to no reading.  I don't remember a time in my life when I have gone more than a day without reading.  It has been pretty awful. But my headaches happen fewer hours a day, so I am hoping another week and I'll be able to get back to reading.

You can imagine how my TBR stack has grown during this time-of-no-reading (not to mention how poorly I am doing on my Goodreads 2013 Challenge!).  I thought I'd share the books I wish I could read--books that have been piling up during the last few weeks.  I am sure they will be worth the wait, but how will I ever catch up?

3 by J. Patrick Lewis

World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of

by J. Patrick Lewis

illustrated by Anna Raff

Candlewick Press, 2013

review copy provided by the publisher

Any day's the perfect day to take a holiday and read funny poems by J. Patrick Lewis! Whether it's Dragon Appreciation Day on January 16, World Rat Day on April 4, Limerick Day on May 12, or (my favorite) Chocolate-Covered Anything Day on December 16, there's an animal poem for every reader in this book.

Face Bug
by J. Patrick Lewis
photographs by Frederic B. Siskind
illustrations by Kelly Murphy
WordSong, 2013

review copy provided by the publisher

Eye-catching close-up photos of creepy bug faces will draw the reader into this book, and Lewis' descriptive poems will delight. Sketches of the action in the poems and back matter full of factual information keep readers poring over this buggy book.

When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders
by J. Patrick Lewis
illustrated by Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra, and Meilo So
Chronicle Books, 2013
review copy provided by the publisher

On a more serious note, When Thunder Comes "...celebrates the struggles and achievements of seventeen men and women who dedicated their lives to fighting injustice based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation."

These poems are far from silly, and require a reader who will read and re-read, utilizing the biographical information in the back of the book to understand the impact of each of these diverse civil rights leaders.

March Madness Poetry--Round 2 Voting is Open!

INHUMAN vs INCONGRUOUS

a hard working kid thwarted by March weather 

vs. 

the unlikely bond between a tarantula and its prey

Thank You, March Madness Poetry Voters!

Poetry Friday

THE DANCE OF LIFE

Oak,

not mobile,

chaperones,

roots tapping

the season's

beat.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

It's been an amazing poetry week for me. My poem using CAIRN is in a WON a neck-and-neck race with Lori Degman's using CLAQUE in the March Madness 2013 poetry tournament. I'll get my next word tonight, and guess what I'll be doing tomorrow!!

I was interviewed for an Education Week article about poetry in "the Common Core Era." When you share space in an article with Georgia Heard, and Joyce Sidman comments on it on FaceBook, you've got to sit back and have a little wow moment.

I'm starting to gear up for IRA in San Antonio at the end of April:

And, I'm playing a fun little line-by-line game of poetry email ping-pong with today's roundup hostess, Jone, at Check it Out. More on that when we decide it's ready to share.

March Madness Poetry 2013--Time to Vote!

The Round One Poems are up on the Live Scoreboard.

My poem using the word CAIRN is here. 

It is a poem about balance. 

I dedicate this poem to Franki,

and to ALL teachers,

who struggle daily to keep their

"rock piles"

in balance.

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/22/28102100_da5b480bd8.jpg

An Interview with Katherine Applegate

I have four students who are creating a blog series of author interviews.  This week, they finished their interview with Newbery winning author, Katherine Applegate.  You can watch it on our class blog.

March Madness Poetry 2013

Shh...Mary Lee's busy writing. Her word is

CAIRN

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

and her poem's due tomorrow morning.

While she works, you can check out the #MMPoetry information at Ed DeCaria's blog, Think Kid, Think.

Poetry Plus

Poetry Plus...Fairy Tales

Grumbles from the Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist
by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich
illustrations by Matt Mahurin
WordSong, 2013
review copy provided by the publisher


Poetry Plus...History

Brick by Brick
by Charles R. Smith, Jr.
illustrated by Floyd Cooper
HarperCollins, 2013
review copy provided by the publisher



Poetry Plus...A Different Way of Life

Cowboy Up!: Ride the Navajo Rodeo
by Nancy Bo Flood
photography by Jan Sonnenmair
WordSong, 2013
review copy provided by the publisher