FORGET-ME-NOTS: POEMS TO LEARN BY HEART by Mary Ann Hoberman

I know I did a post last week on the poetry books I've added to my collection this year. But since that post, I added another that I just had to share.  Mary Ann Hoberman's new book FORGET-ME-NOTS: POEMS TO LEARN BY HEART is fabulous! It is a big anthology with lots of poems. The poems are chosen because they are all perfect for learning by heart. I am not a big "learning by heart" person but the introduction to this book made me think about it a little bit differently.  Hoberman says, "When you learn a poem by heart, it becomes part of you."  She goes onto say that the poems in this book were chosen because they are "memorable".  She says, "Memorable has two meanings: 'easy to remember' and "worth remembering'.  She shares pages and pages of poems to memorizing, starting with shorter poems that readers can memorize quickly.  She moves on with various categories and then ends with longer poems that readers may want to memorize.  She adds tips for memorization on the last few pages of the book.

My memories of memorizing poems in school are not good. When I had to do this, I had to choose a poem, memorize it and say it out loud to the class.  I don't remember much else. But this book introduces the idea of memorizing poetry in a fresh and inviting way.  Not only is Hoberman excited about the idea herself but the illustrations by Michael Emberley make poetry performance look like such fun!  The book makes this idea of memorizing poetry something kids might choose to do!

This book definitely needs a place in classrooms and libraries. I think it will be the perfect invitation for kids who want to give memorizing poetry a try.  Not only does Hoberman give great tips but she has chosen a great many engaging poems. Such a great variety too! And for those readers who want nothing to do with memorizing poetry, this is still a great anthology to enjoy!

IT'S MONDAY! What Are You Reading?

Thanks Jen and Kellee for hosting this weekly event at Teach Mentor Texts!

So, I have not been reading many books lately. Lots of online reading in little snippets. I've been busy finishing up my ebook project for Choice Literacy so I try not to get too caught up in many books--otherwise I won't do the writing I need to do.  But I did fit in a bit this week.

I read and LOVED NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern. What an amazing adult novel.  It was recommended by Jen and I am so glad I read it. I was worried at first, that it would be like WATER FOR ELEPHANTS which is not a favorite of mine.  But it wasn't.  This is a story of a circus--of magic, of love, of loss and of life. It is an amazing story-the characters will stay with me and I love the way the book is crafted. I'm not usually about setting but the setting in this book matters and I think it will live with me like no other setting has.  Brilliant.

I also read lots online. A few pieces stand out for me.   One of my favorite reads this week was a post by Kylene Beers.  In the post, "How Cancer Helped Me Find my Superficial Self" she shares a recent keynote she gave at a breast cancer awareness luncheon. A powerful piece by an amazing woman.  One I've shared with everyone I've talked to since I read it.

Another was a post by Jen at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS called WONDER REMINDS US THAT KINDNESS MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND. If you missed it, it is a must-read. I so wanted to attend the R.J. Palacio event at Anderson's this weekend but just couldn't fit it in. So glad so many of my friends posted all about it.  Sounds like it was a great day.

I've also been reading lots on the Boston Marathon which even I find amusing. I follow lots of running blogs these days and just like the Newbery Awards for reading teachers, the Boston Marathon is the topic of conversation on many of these blogs this week.  The race is today but with the predicted heat, the organizers are sending out lots of warnings to runners. I feel badly for people who have worked so hard for this--the weather is definitely a little bit unexpected. I loved this article about the technology piece of the Boston Marathon and I love that you can follow runners with their bib number. So fascinating how much technology has changed everything. I also enjoyed reading a little bit about fashion tips for the marathon. I also like this post about the day before the Boston Marathon by a mom/runner I follow. This mom has 12 kids--ages 3 to 16 and she is running the Boston Marathon. Amazing, really  :-)

I also thought this article on the Common Core was interesting and worth reading (from EdWeek).

And of course I read my regular blogs and tweets.  Heard about lots of new books, authors, etc.

Pardon My French -- a poem about language

PARDON MY FRENCH

Do I parlez-vous Français?
Well, I really couldn't say.
I know that checkers are passé,
And what a fencer says: "Touché!"

Merci gives someone my thanks.
Money used to be called francs.
(Now they've euros at their banks).
Beyond these words, my mind's a blank.

No, wait! A lot is said "beaucoup,"
And ballerinas wear tutus.
When you're mad, shout, "Sacrebleu!"
That's enough of French -- "Mon Dieu!"

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012


Poem #15, National Poetry Month, 2012

This poem goes out to Josie's husband, Jim. He gave me the title...or should we say, gave it BACK to me, since I'm the one who said it first?!?

The poem has nothing to do with the original context, but that's probably for the best...




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?

Found Poem -- Steven King -- 11-22-63: A Novel

For a moment,

everything was clear,

and when that happens

you see that the world

is barely

there

at all.

Don't we all secretly know this?

It's a perfectly balanced mechanism

of shouts and echoes

pretending to be wheels and cogs,

a dreamclock

chiming beneath a mystery-glass we call life.

Behind it?

Below it and around it?

Chaos, storms.

Men with hammers,

men with knives,

men with guns.

Women who twist

what they cannot dominate

and belittle

what they cannot understand.

A universe of horror and loss

surrounding a single lighted stage

where mortals dance

in defiance

of

the

dark.

from 11-22-63: A Novel

by Steven King

Scribner, 2011

p. 615-616

Poem #14, National Poetry Month 2012

I was listening to 11-22-63 in the car this morning, and when I heard this, I shut off my iPod and just let King's words soak in. 

Later, during Saturday errands, I took the print copy of the book off the shelf at B&N, found my spot, and (like a spy or something) took photos of the text on the two pages.

On Thursday night (at the cake pop event), Cathy was talking about how she was living with her eyes wide open for the next poem. Yeah, me, too. And apparently, we should have our ears open as well. Thank you, Mr. King, for today's poem.

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?

GREEN by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (**gush alert**)

Green
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Roaring Brook Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

If it's by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, I know I'm going to be surprised and amazed. This book takes surprise and amazement to a whole new level.

GREEN is an homage to the color green, to all of its shades and hues. Each spread is a painting that goes with the text, and each page has one or more cut-outs that include color from the next spread. The text seems to be a simple rhyming list, but as one who has worked really hard on the endings of my poems, I so admire the fact that her text is far from "simple" and her ending...perfect.

I read GREEN the first time for the language, barely noticing Seeger's signature cut-outs. I got to the end and said (aloud, to myself, in the still-sleeping house), "Wow."

Then I read it again and noticed the cut-outs. How the art in THIS page links magically to the art in the NEXT page. One page turn that makes me absolutely shake my head in wonder: The cut-out that describes the green of the jungle where the tiger is hiding says "Jungle" beside the text "green," but when you turn the page, the word "Jungle" disappears into the background of the salamander and the word "khaki" appears in the cut-out...wait a minute...that means the word khaki was hiding somewhere back in the tiger picture!!!

I read it a third time with my fingers. Finding every cut-out. Exploring what the exposed color means in this picture, turning the page and exploring what the color means in the next picture, and going back again.

This book is astonishingly, amazingly, delightfully BEAUTIFUL in every way.

I hesitate to even give you a link to the book trailer. It shows you the WHOLE book. I want you to hold the book in your hands and experience the surprises in the tactile way that only the real live book provides. But if you must...it's here.

Choice Literacy Podcast with Kevin Hodgson

I had the opportunity to talk with Kevin Hodgson about technology in the Writing Workshop recently. The podcast is up at Choice Literacy this week. I have learned so much from him over the years and was thrilled to chat with him about his current thinking. Enjoy!

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1822.cfm

Poetry Friday -- CAKE-KU - a cake pop haiku

CAKE-KU

Planet on a stick,

I orbit, hungry --

a drooling comet.

© Mary Lee Hahn

Poem #13, National Poetry Month 2012

This poem was written in collaboration with Franki. She made the cake pops for a gathering at her home last night, and she "donated them" to my poem-a-day project, along with providing the title and poetry form for today's poem. Thanks, Franki!!!

Anastasia has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Booktalking.

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?

I've Lost My Hippopotamus

I've Lost My Hippopotamus
by Jack Prelutsky
illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic
Greenwillow Books, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Kids just love Jack Prelutsky!

This collection has a different feel than the others. Maybe it's because James Stevenson isn't the illustrator. There are plenty of silly poems, but there are also some that are thoughtful...on a kid level.  Here's an excerpt of "I Planted a Whistle:"

I planted a whistle
And grew a flute,
I planted a shoelace
And grew a boot,
I planted a button
And grew a blouse,
I planted a whisker
And grew a mouse.

There are even a few haiku!

"Mole" 

Tunnel! I tunnel!
I never see my tunnels,
Yet they comfort me. 

DECLARATION - a sky poem, a tree poem

DECLARATION

I
am sky,

background
for your silhouette.

We
are trees,

earthbound
artists of form and substance.


© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012



Poem #12, National Poetry Month 2012

I have another student who is choosing words from the dictionary for her poetry prompts. I decided to choose one with her yesterday. I got SILHOUETTE. She got MERMAID.

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?

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.

Three by Two

Two of children's literature's most prolific poets have three new books out this spring. The first they wrote together. The other two will inspire readers younger and older to look closely at the world around them.

Take Two! A Celebration of Twins
by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen
illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Candlewick Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

This must-have book of poems about twins is divided into four parts: Twins in the Waiting Womb, Twinfants, How to Be One, and Famous Twins.

I have one of a pair of VERY identical twins in my room this year. I think she'll enjoy sharing this book with her twin, and with her family.

This book has gotten lots of well-deserved attention. Here's a sampling:

The New York Times
Kirkus Reviews
Laura Salas at Writing the World for Kids
Linda Kulp at Write Time

Bug Off! Creepy, Crawly Poems
by Jane Yolen
photographs by Jason Stemple
Worsdsong, April 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Jane Yolen and her son, Jason Stemple, have another great poetry/science book this spring. (I LOVE An Egret's Day!)

Each spread has a poem, a photo, and a little bit more information about each insect. The only one with a lot of "EWWWW" factor for me, was the one about the tick. I just about can't look at that picture!
But Jane reminds us in the poem,

"The tick is mostly mouth,

and if he lands on you

he'll try to suck your blood,

'cause that's what all ticks do."

What's Looking at You, Kid?
by J. Patrick Lewis
illustrated by Renee Graef
Sleeping Bear Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

For the younger set, J. Patrick Lewis takes us on a rhyming nature walk that invites us to look, look, look at the world around us.

"Skimming ponds

and country lanes,

whizzing wings

of windowpanes.

Look, a pair

of fairy planes."  

(with an illustration of dragonflies)