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)

YOU'RE MAKING A HUGE ASSUMPTION - a cat poem, a pet poem, a clerihew

YOU'RE MAKING A BIG ASSUMPTION

Willie Morris 

is a catasaurus,

yet his voice is a dainty "mew."

Don't let that fool you.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

Our cat (known variously as Willie Morris, William, Will, and Bubba) is a gentle giant...most of the time (see first picture). He has enough LION in him, though, that he chased this visiting lab down the hall and then co-opted her den and blankie (second picture). Notice that Ruby is not even allowed to look at Will, let alone have her den back until Will decides it's time...

This poetry form is a clerihew. Wikipedia defines the form thus:

"A clerihew has the following properties:

• It is biographical and usually whimsical, showing the subject from an unusual point of view; it pokes fun at mostly famous people
• It has four lines of irregular length and metre (for comic effect)
• The rhyme structure is AABB; the subject matter and wording are often humorously contrived in order to achieve a rhyme, including the use of phrases in Latin, French and other non-English Languages
• The first line contains, and may consist solely of, the subject's name."

Poem #5, 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?

What's On My Kindle?

So, I am finally addicted to my Kindle Fire.  One of my favorite features of the Kindle is the ability to preview books. Sampling chapters makes so much sense and ordering sample chapters allows me to remember books I've heard about that I want to check out.

But my Kindle is getting filled with sample chapters and I need to sit down and really read these, decide which to order and which to delete.  I am almost using these sample chapters as a TBR list and that isn't working. It feels cluttery. So I need to weed, but I love this list of books. Here are the sample chapters I've added recently to my Kindle--thanks to the recommendations on twitter, goodreads, etc.

THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern-I actually bought this whole book after reading the free sample. It was recommended by Jen at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS during a Twitter conversations about romances. I fell in love with it immediately but haven't had time to read much. It is one I could read in a day if I could afford to give myself a full day to read....

STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr. I LOVED HOW TO SAVE A LIFE by this author. I recently read a review of this older title and know I have to read it.  I am sure this is one I will purchase after the free sample.

When my 12 year old was looking for a great new book after finishing DIVERGENT (which she loved and I would add to my Kindle except that we already have a hard copy!), my tweeps jumped in and suggested several titles. She found several she wanted to read and so did I! Two that I added during that conversation were NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer and SWEEP by Cate Tiernan

I have a few adult novels that I keep hearing about.  I am dying to read more adult novels but feel so overwhelmed by all of the K-5 stuff I love and want to keep up with for my students.  But the adult novels I am sampling are UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand, THE SECRET LIFE OF CEECEE WILKES by Diane Chamberlain and APE HOUSE by Sara Gruen.

THINKING FAST AND SLOW by Daniel Kahneman was recommended by Samantha Bennett. It is really a fascinating read and I need time to digest this one.

I keep meaning to reread A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeline L'Engle. I think the last time I read it was in an undergrad children's literature class and I am dying to reread it. 

A YA book I have been hearing lots about is THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK by Kristin Levine. I put the sample on my Kindle and read a few pages and can tell I am going to love it. Just haven't had time to go back to it.

An adult nonfiction book that I sampled is HALF THE SKY: TURNING OPPRESSION INTO OPPORTUNITY WORLDWIDE by Nicholas Kristof. I actually read the entire free sample and was glued but it is pretty intense and I want to read this one later in the summer or sometime when I have time to digest it all.

I've also added several books that connect to my running/fitness goals.  These all looked interesting or have been recommended by friends.  They include WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING by Haruki Murakami, RUN TO OVERCOME by Meb Keflezighi, THE GREAT FITNESS EXPERIMENT by Charlotte Hilton Andersen, FORKS OVER KNIVES by Gene Stone, and THE PRIMAL BLUEPRINT by Mark Sisson.

So, the free samples for the Kindle is quite the perk.  I love that I can sample whatever I want and whenever I want. I love that at the end of the sample, I can buy the whole book with one click and in one second the whole book appears. I love the options. The downfall for me has been that I've done a lot of sampling lately and not much reading of whole books.  I often read at night and just pick up the book on my nightstand. But when I pick up my Kindle, there are soooo many choices--and the option of adding even more choices. It is a distraction I need to figure out.  But a distraction that I like as a reader.

SPRING IS A QUICK CHANGE ARTIST

SPRING IS A QUICK CHANGE ARTIST

sky

darkens

thunder

comes

rain

pounds 

down

sky

lightens

clouds

part

chirps

sound

'round

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

Poem #4, 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?

STREAMSIDE -- a river poem, a spring poem

STREAMSIDE

On the path
a girl is strolling,
by the path
a stream is rolling.

In the stream
the water glitters,
under water
crawdad skitters.

Path in spring
is good for going,
Stream in spring
is good for flowing.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012







Poem #3, National Poetry Month 2012

Thank goodness for my writer's notebook! The poem I thought I was going to write for today refused to be written. But I had bits and pieces of this poem in a discarded version of my SCUTTLE 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)...and YOU?

POETRY MADNESS BEGINS!

Ready for POETRY MADNESS to begin!

I am not a big basketball fan but do keep up a bit with MARCH MADNESS. I really have no choice as my husband is obsessed with it for several weeks each year. But I did pay attention when Tony Keefer started talking about the March "Book" Madness he was doing in his classroom. It sounded like such a great way to create amazing conversations and celebrations around books.  I made a mental note to myself to remember this idea next March. Then came March's #Titletalk on Poetry. It was a great discussion as all #Titletalks are and my head was spinning with all of the ideas. Somewhere in the conversation, someone mentioned that you could do a Poetry type March Madness in April for National Poetry Month. The answer to the part of my personality that hates to wait to implement a great idea!

So, this week, we begin POETRY MADNESS in the Riverside Library! It will be a month long event and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Before I got too far along in my planning, I needed to really think about my big goals. I am not one to do events just because they sound fun. I need to make sure the time spent adds up to something for my students.  And I don't often do the same thing with all classes in grades 1-5. Last year, we did the POETRY PICNIC in the library and kids are still talking about it.  It was a fun two weeks and gave kids lots of experiences with poetry but the interest in poetry didn't carry beyond the picnic.

Poetry seems to be hit or miss in the library. If a class is working with poetry, kids seem interested but I very seldom have kids check out poetry for their independent reading.  I realized that our kids know books, characters, and authors of lots of books but they do not really know poetry books and poets.  Kids stop me in the hall (several times an hour:-) but I realize they never talk to me about poetry.

So POETRY MADNESS is about changing this. One of the things I love about my job is the ability to invite whole school conversations. Because I see all students, I see siblings. I love when one sibling has heard about something in the library from their brother at home over dinner. I love to hear that conversations around books have made it to the dinner table.

One goal I have is to create a whole school conversation around poetry. Because this is a 4 week event/tournament, there is lots of time for this. I am hoping to have a few displays, include some tournament winners, etc. on our morning announcement TV show, etc.  Just quick things to get the entire school community talking about poetry.

I also want kids to begin to see poetry as something worthy of choosing for independent reading time. By getting their hands on 64 books, I am hoping they find books they want to go back to in the future. Because of this goal, I did not bring in any books from the public library, etc. Instead, I pulled them all from our library shelves.

And, I am hoping to have kids begin to know poems and poets in the ways they know characters and favorite authors.  Because we will be really thinking about 16 books, I will have the opportunity to share information, read poetry, visit poets' websites, etc.

So, we started this week with 64 books.  There was no real system for choosing the 64 books. I wanted books from our library and teachers had already checked several out.  I tried to find a variety of authors, forms, publication dates, etc. Each class rotated to 6 tables during their class time to browse the books. Then, every student in grades 1-5 had a chance to vote for 1 book they were hoping would be in the tournament.  It was such fun to listen to the conversations as they revisited old favorites and discovered new books.

After the first round of voting, we will have 16 books in the POETRY MADNESS tournament. I will place the books in a bracket based on votes (1st and 16th, 2nd and 15th, etc.). So, next week we'll have 8 votes to make. I'll introduce the 16 winners/8contests and kids will vote. I am hoping to have time to read a poem or two from each, share a bit about the book, etc. so kids have something to vote from. I know we will revisit some of these books a few more times so that gives me some flexibility.

The following rotation, we'll be down to 8 winners and 4 contests. And so on. I figure each week, we'll get to dig deeper into the books that are still in the running.  During these last weeks, I will build on opportunities as they occur based on the books chosen and the conversations.

My hope is that conversations around poetry will become part of our school community.  I hope that kids share some of this at home with families at the dinner table and that they begin to include more poetry in their conversations as readers.

Below is a list of the books that we have started with. Can't wait to see this play out!

African Acrostics by Avis Harley
Animal Poems by Valerie Worth
Amazing Faces by Lee Bennet Hopkins
Antarctic Antics by Judy Sierra
The Arrow Finds its Mark by Georgia Heard
The Basket Counts by Arnold Adoff
Beast Feast by Douglas Florian
Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant by Jack Prelutsky
Beyond Old McDonald by Charley Hoce
Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Blackberry Ink
Bookspeak by Laura Purdis Salas
Busy in the Garden by George Shannon
Butterfly Eyes by Joyce Sidman
Button Up! By Alice Schertle
Chicken Scratches by George Shannon
City I Love by Lee Bennett Hopkins
The Cuckoo's Haiku by Michael J. Rosen
Dark Emperor by Joyce Sidman
Dear Hot Dog by Mordical Gerstein
Dinothesaurus by Douglas Florian
Dogku by Andrew Clements
Dogs Rule! By Daniel Kirk
Doodle Dandies by J. Patrick Lewis
Emily Stew by Thomas Rockwell
Emma Dilemma by Kristine O'Connell George
Every Day ís a Dog's Day by Marilyn Singer
Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein
Falling Down the Page by Georgia Heard
Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George
Forgive Me, I Went to Do It by Gail Carson Levine
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex
Good Books, Good Times! By Lee Bennett Hopkins
Good Rhymes, Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Good Sports by Jack Prelutsky
Guyku by BobRaczka
Happy Birthday! by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Here's a Little Poem by Jane Yolen
Hey World, Here I Am by Jean Little
Hip Hop Speaks to Children by Nikki Giovanni
Laugh-eteria by Douglas Florian
Loose Leashes by Amy Schmidt
Lunch Money by Carol Diggory Shields
Mathematickles! By Betsy Franco
More Pocket Poems by Bobbi Katz
My Dog May Be a Genius by Jack Prelutsky
On the Farm by David Elliott
Outside Your Window by Nicola Davies
Red Sings From the Treetops by Joyce Sidman
Scarum Fair by Jessica Swaim
School Supplies by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky
Splish Splash by Joan Bransfield Graham
Spot the Plot by J. Patrick Lewis
Step Gently Out by Helen Frost
Take Two! A Celebration of Twins by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen
Tap Dancing on the Roof by Linda Sue Park
This is Just to Say by Joyce Sidman
Truckery Rhymes by Jon Scieszka
A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk by Deborah Ruddell
The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
A World of Wonders by J. Patrick Lewis
A Writing Kind of Day by Ralph Fletcher
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Scary Stories by Mary Ann Hoberman

BOXED IN -- a goose poem, a city nature poem

BOXED IN

They've made their home

in a commercial zone.

He struts down the walk

where no predators stalk:

the vigilant gander

threatening human bystanders,

while goose wishes she

had more privacy.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2012

Poem #2, 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)...and YOU?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Go visit TEACH MENTOR TEXTS for the whole round up of 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? posts.  

Thanks Jen and Kellee!

This Week's Update is Brought to You by Mary Lee

I grabbed FAKE MOUSTACHE by Tom Angleberger at the library yesterday. (I was gathering books for the unit of study on empathy that we'll be beginning Monday. No, I don't think FAKE MOUSTACHE will be part of the study!) Based on all I've heard about it, including Franki's review last week, this is the funniest Angleberger yet. I can't wait to get started on it!

But before I start FAKE MOUSTACHE, I'm embarrassed to say that I need to get caught up and read DARTH PAPER STRIKES BACK. I started it last night, but I soon fell into a food-induced coma from a birthday dinner at Rivage. 

Actually, I need to put this one aside (yet again...and this is how it has happened that I haven't read it yet...) because...

...I really need to read the newest LUNCH LADY (LUNCH LADY AND THE MUTANT MATHLETES) so that it can be on the chalk tray first thing this morning and I can maintain my position as The Teacher With All The Coolest Books.

Now a peek at my adult reading...

I just finished listening to LITTLE BEE Saturday. Because of the two voices in the story, the audio experience was particularly powerful. Plus, this was the first audio book I checked out of the public library. CML has a really easy stepsheet for getting the free OverDrive app and checking out e-books and audio books. 

Now that I'm finished with LITTLE BEE, I'll get back to listening to 11/22/63 by Steven King. I sort of left the main character stuck back in time while I took a break to listen to LITTLE BEE for book club. It made for fascinating conversation to be reading a time travel book while my class was listening to/reading along with A WRINKLE IN TIME.

Happy Monday, and Happy Reading!!