Mother

Mother

Iva, I made this move
for your own good.
You will become

a proper lady.
I let Auntie down,
but you will overcome

growing up on that wretched farm.
You will rise in society
to the level you are from.

You can squirm all you want,
but I've got you firmly
under my thumb.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Iva

Iva

Dear Henry,
I found this picture of Mother
in Great Uncle's attic.

Wishing I could send you
that dead coyote.
Bet it would be worth more than

all those skunks you trapped
last summer
when you hatched that plan

to get rich quick.
Let me tell you,
rich ain't always grand.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Iva

Iva

When Mother's rich uncle in Denver died
and left everything to her,
she took it as a sign

that we were meant to leave
"that dirty farm" and
"those ignorant farm wives" behind.

I missed the class picture,
but Marjorie wrote and told me
how Jack masterminded

a plan to become
as famous as his siblings.
I wish I had been there to remind

him -- be happy with what you are
and what you've got.
Sometimes good enough is just fine.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Lizzy

Lizzy

When Lewis came home
from basic training
Jack suddenly remembered the chores

Pop has been nagging him to get done.
Everyone looks up to Lewis.
He's a natural-born

pilot if there ever was one.
Why does everyone's favorite
have to go off to some war?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Henry

Henry

It stinks being youngest.
Lizzy's famous
for her forty-inch hair,

and Jack's the ringmaster
whose life is a circus.
Last week, he made a pair

of dogs do a pony show,
and now he's holding
a pig in the air

by its back feet.
With one hand.
Being youngest is just not fair.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Lizzy

Lizzy

Over mama's shoulder
I see Jack, cornering
a shoat in the corral.

He's going to show
how he can hold
it up by the hooves.

Henry's watching, also.
Jack, do you know he idolizes you?
Watches your every move?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Poetry Friday -- Bygones

Jack

He had a reputation
for being a prankster
and a tease,

but if you could
stop time,
somehow freeze

the moment,
you would realize
that he's

not forcing them
to do this. All they want
is to please.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Happy National Poetry Month! When Mom and I were sorting through a drawer full of old pictures last December, I was struck by the forgotten faces and the unknown stories that were captured on film. This April, I'll bring 30 of the photos back to life through poetry. The main home for this project is on my poetry site, Poetrepository, but I'll be cross-posting here at A Year of Reading every day in April.

Amy LV has the Poetry Friday roundup today at the The Poem Farm. Let the wild rumpus known as Poetry Month begin!!!

My Online Reading over Spring Break

I loved my online time over Spring Break. I discovered lots of new things and found many new ideas to ponder. Here are some of my favorite online things from this week's reading.

Miscellaneous Articles

'When You're Accustomed to Privilege, Equality Feels like Oppression' by Chris Boeskool

 Children Should Learn Mainly Through Play Until Age 8, says Lego

 I loved this post by Clare and Tammy at Assessment in Perspective:  We Know Our Song.

And I loved this story about a ten year old who designed new bathroom signs to include people with invisible disabilities.

Book Lists

I spent some time with two booklists that were announced this week.  Both of these lists added to my stack of must-be-read soon!

We're the People 2016 Booklist

2016 NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts

TED Talks

I watched  two TED Talks that I absolutely LOVED!

Shonda Rhimes' My Year of Saying Yes to Everything was powerful for me.  It is about work and play and family and creativity.  I will definitely revisit this one--an important message for all of us.

And I am so glad to have discovered Grace Lin's Ted Talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child's Bookshelf. Wow! What an amazing talk and one that is so important for teachers as we think about the power of books.  

 Podcasts

And I have discovered how much more fun it is to clean when I am listening to great podcasts. I caught up on some podcasts I had missed and got lots of cleaning done at the same time!  I listened to the Scholastic podcast on Book Trends for 2016. It was fascinating!  Wish I had listened to it earlier in the year!

I also had time to listen to a bit from the Book Love Foundation Podcasts hosted by Penny Kittle!  These are incredible PD and such fun to listen to. I haven't had time to listen to all of them but I did have time to hear Kylene Beers and am excited to listen to the 2nd part of this podcast at Book Love. Another great podcast series!

I also caught up on several episodes of The Yarn (Colby Sharp and Travis Jonker) that I had missed.  I listened to Salina Yoon, Matt Tavares, Lindsay Eager and Jennifer and Matt Holm. All of these were incredible and such fun to listen to. The Yarn is the best--if you haven't made time to subscribe, you should do so soon!

Video

And if you aren't already excited about the upcoming book by Kate Roberts and Maggie  Beattie Roberts (DIY Literacy:  Teaching Tools for Differentiation, Rigor and Independence)
you should be.  And not only do we get a new great book, we also get a video series that goes along with the book! Whoop!

2 New Books Thanks to Donalyn Miller!

I love when Donalyn Miller shares her Best Books (So Far) of the Year.  Last week, Donalyn shared the books she recommends (so far) for 2016 on her blog and I was thrilled to find some new titles that I purchased immediately. (You can access her most recent slides on Slideshare that is linked in her post.)

Their Great Gift: Courage, Sacrifice and Hope in a New Land was a book that was new to me. This is a celebration of immigration and one that will start lots of important conversations across grade levels and ages. The words are powerful as are the accompanying photos.

The other new-to-me book that I ordered after browsing Donalyn's slides was Tokyo Digs a Garden by Jon-Erik Lapping. This is a gorgeous picture book that I think will invite lots of great conversations in the classroom.  There are definitely many issues to explore in this book.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the ways I try to keep up with new and upcoming books.  Donalyn is definitely someone I rely on to find the best new books!  Glad to have discovered these two!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It was nice to catch up on reading a bit over Spring Break. I read some great titles--even some adult fiction. I'd definitely recommend all of these! And I think they'd all be great additions to 4th-6th grade classroom libraries.

Middle Grade Fiction

Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban. An incredible historical fiction story of a Japanese-American girl and her family who must live in a camp during the war. The character is one that will stay with me for a very long time and the story is a perfect one for middle grade readers whether they are familiar with this piece of our history or not.

Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt is an incredible story of grief and healing.  Jules is another character who will stay with me for a very long time. This my be my favorite book by this author! The relationships in the book reminded me a bit of her earlier book, Keeper, which I also loved.

Just My Luck by Cammie McGovern is a quiet story about a family going through challenging times.  This was another great character who finds courage in the midst of tragedy.

The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly was my first read of spring break. I read much of it on audio and it is a great audio.  This is the story of two sisters from the Philippines whose father has left them with their (not so nice) stepmother. This is an intense read as there is a great deal of sadness but the girls have hope and strength so it is a good read. It is one I think lots of 4th-6th graders will enjoy.


Adult Fiction

I don't make much time to read adult fiction and I know I need to fit more into my reading life. But I did take some time to read Dietland by Sarai Walker which was highly recommended to me by a friend. This was a good read and one I'm glad I read.  I thought the storylines were good and the issues addressed were important ones.  It would be great for a book club book as I definitely wanted to talk to someone about it after I finished it!

Overall, a good week of reading!