PEACEFUL PIECES: POEMS AND QUILTS ABOUT PEACE by Anna Grossnickle Hines

While in San Antonio this weekend. we visited the local independent children's bookstore, Twig. I always like to visit bookstores in different cities. Even though we have the best children's bookstore here in Columbus (Cover to Cover), I know that other stores might have books by local authors and other things I may have missed.  I always find a few little surprises when I go to bookstores while traveling.

PEACEFUL PIECES is a poetry book that I picked up in San Antonio.  I was so excited to see this book. I don't know the author so I think it was the idea of peace that drew me in.  This book is amazing. It gives readers to much to think about. The book is filled with poems around the idea of peace.  And the author, Anna Grossnickle Hines looks at the idea of peace from so many angles.  Some poems ask questions like, "What If?". Others celebrate peacemakers in history. (Additional biographical information on the peacemakers is included on the last page of the book.)  Still others deal with the kind of peace that children can truly relate to--peace in the home, with siblings, etc.  This is a brilliant book. Not only is the quilt art amazing, but the poems are written in a way that are powerful and also accessible to children. I love that it gives readers so many ways to think about peace.

This is definitely a poetry book I am excited to add to my collection!



Carol at Carol's Corner has also reviewed this book.  She has some other great links in her post. I so love that we seem to have discovered this book at the same time!

Poem #12 -- Between Rain Showers

Flickr Creative Commons photo by deb mae

BETWEEN RAIN SHOWERS

The boy in the yellow slicker
riding his tricycle
up and down the driveway across the alley
stops to watch the old woman bend
carefully all the way down
until her face is next to the ground,
next to the hyacinths still wet with rain.
He studies her without moving, and he
cannot imagine the scent
of the stalk of waxy blooms.
The troubles of her day dissolve.
She catches his eye when she stands up,
and she returns his serious gaze.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

Poem #11 -- Similies, Metaphors, and Idioms

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Graham Canny

Crafty metaphor is a sly fox,

hiding in plain sight.

Simple simile is as easy as 1, 2, 3,

as obvious as your nose on your face.

Idioms run around 

like chickens with their heads cut off,

get down to brass tacks, and

hit the hay when they get tired.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by NitroxAnyOne

Poem #10 -- Book Spine Poem, Notables Edition

KEEPER

Half upon a time

one crazy summer,

the dreamer,

spilling ink:

Zora and Me,

Lulu and the Brontosaurus...

We are in a book!

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

To make this book spine poem, I used only books from the 2011 NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts.  For an AMAZING gallery of book spine poems, check out 100 Scope Notes. Then go get a stack of books and give it a try yourself!

Poem #9 -- Politically Correct

POLITICALLY CORRECT

Stand.
And know why you stand.

Speak.
And let your passion ring out.

Listen.
And make sure that you hear.

Fight.
And prepare to compromise.

Believe.
And stay firm in the truth.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

Poetry Friday and Poem #8 -- Words That Give Me Hope

Flickr CreativeCommons photo by mmbooklover



WORDS THAT GIVE ME HOPE

I love you.
Delicious!
Come in!
I finished my book!
Thank you!
Don't worry, I can fix that!

How may I help?
Would you like seconds?
You want to play, too?
Is it okay to use the dictionary?
Are you feeling better?
Will you sign this petition?

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

Yesterday, I was (more than) a little discouraged about words I heard that were used to put down, tear down, shut down. That made me listen extra hard all day (in my world and in my heart) for words that were being used to build up, open doors, invite conversation, nurture, heal, and include. I'm feeling more hopeful about words...and about humans.

What are your favorite words to hear? What words give you hope...for your life, or for the world?

Poetry Friday (two of my favorite words, both together and apart!!!) is at Madigan Reads today. Happy Poetry Month!

WON TON: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku

I loved Andrew Clements' book DOGKU and so did my students.  DOGKU is a story about a dog who finds a new home.  Each page is told in Haiku and the Haiku work together to tell a story.  So, I was thrilled to see a new book that is similar called WON TON: A CAT TALE TOLD IN HAIKU by Lee Wardlaw.  This is the story of a cat--told from the cat's perspective.  He starts the story from a shelter and is quickly adopted by a young boy. The story shares the joys and stresses of moving in with a new family and the relationships between the cat and his new family.  There are parts in the story that are more serious and others that are humorous.  The shape of the book and the colorful illustrations add to story. A fun addition to any poetry collection and a great companion to Dogku.

Poem #7 -- Words

THE TRUTH, AMENDED

Sticks and stones have fallen out of favor.
The weapons of choice these days are the words.
What were they thinking when they declared words harmless?
Most likely, a bully penned the childhood chant
That was meant to soothe our feelings
But which left us feeling betrayed, lied to, twice burned by words.
Words have power.
They are weapons of mass destruction and meticulous torture.
They belittle and marginalize. They slap, pummel, goad, and mock.
In a culture of competition, words are for winning, beating, challenging, conquering.
Words hurt.
And they do to leave marks. Just too deep to be seen.

Favorite Series: Stink

Stink and the Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown
by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter Reynolds
Candlewick, 2011
review copy purchased for my classroom

Stink gets a U on his report card in Phys Ed, and his parents make him take up a sport. He considers (in the first comic of the book) Pogo Badminton, Tuna-Tossing, Cheese-Rolling, and Unicycle Hockey. After watching some sports on TV, he rules out slow-pitch softball and golf as "BOR-ing" and "WAY-boring," and he throws out seven other sports before he finds thumb-wrestling. (is that sport or "sport"? and you can find this on the sports channel? for real? yet another reason why we don't have cable...) Unfortunately, Stink's parents don't buy into thumb-wrestling as a sport, but karate gets the okay.

If you know Stink, you know that the discipline of karate doesn't come easy, although the kicking and smashing and yelling do. When Stink uses his "calm as a pool of water" at the library to tame the rambunctious reading dog, you know he's on his way to success.  In the climax of the book, Stink is going for his yellow belt, AND his Shark Hammersmash goes up against T-Rex Wasabi in the Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Thmackdown.

Why I love this series:
1. The illustrations and comics.
2. The way Stink and Judy banter. (" 'Stink, you lie like a guy with a booger in his eye.' " and " 'Prove it like Nancy Drew.' ")
3. Kids who love the series, but who have outgrown it, still read the new ones as they come out. This means that there is no stigma about reading Stink. It's not an "easy" book, it's a funny book with a great character.

Poem #6 -- Favorite Book

A Wrinkle in Time

takes me back to 6th grade --

I'm awkward and ugly and shy.

Just 75 cents

from Scholastic Book Club --

I keep my old copy close by.

Every couple of years

I revisit my old friend --

I listen or maybe re-read.

Meg Murray and I,

with the strength of our faults

battle evil with love and succeed.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011