This is just to say (spoof with apologies to William Carlos Williams)

I have read all
the emails
that were in
your inbox

and which
you were probably
thinking
were private

Forgive me
they were so tempting
and your
password known

Readers Annotations

I'm taking Materials for Children this semester. Our latest assignment was to compose readers annotations (i.e., brief, enticing descriptions) for three picture books and one novel (from this week's reading list). I loved all four of these books, and thought I'd post my readers notes here:

And Tango makes three
By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole

The engaging true story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo and how, with determination and the help of their enlightened keeper, they become a family. (Picture book - all ages)

The Higher Power of Lucky
By Susan Patron, illstrated by Matt Phelan

Lucky Trimble is tired of waiting for her higher power; she’s tired of waiting for her guardian to admit she’s leaving. Her survival kit packed, Lucky decides to take control of her life, and heads out into the desert. (Novel - middle grade and up)

Orange Pear Apple Bear
By Emily Gravett

One playful bear, three pieces of fruit, and five simple words add up to delicious wordplay, and a deceptively simple look at language and the power of the comma. (Picture book - baby and up)

Zen Shorts
By Jon J Muth

Karl, Michael and Addy have a new neighbor—a giant Panda with a red umbrella—whose amazing stories help them see the world in new ways. (Picture book - all ages)

NPM - week #4

National Poetry month to-do's for the week:

April 21-----
Buy a book of poems

April 22-----
Start a commonplace book

April 23-----
Start a notebook on poets.com

April 24-----
Add a poem to your e-mails

April 25-----
Ask post office for more poet stamps

April 26-----
Sign up for a poetry class/ workshop

April 27-----
Subscribe to poets.com newsletter

[Calendar found on Facebook]

Help Save RIF

From the RIF website:

"Reading Is Fundamental was eliminated from the President's proposed FY2009 budget. Congress can save it.
Contact your congressional representatives and urge them to support RIF's $26 million funding appropriation.
Last year, 4.6 million at-risk children were able to choose and keep 16 million free books through RIF programs. Without this funding, these programs will cease."

Take action.

NPM - week #3

NPM to do's for the week:

April 14-----
Take a poem to lunch

April 15-----
Write a poem on the pavement

April 16-----
Recite a poem to family or friends

April 17-----
Attend poetry reading

April 18-----
Promote public support for poetry

April 19-----
Start a poetry reading group

April 20-----
Read some literary criticism


[Calendar found on Facebook]

Poetry 180

Check out the "new" widget in my sidebar. Poetry 180 is a project of the Library of Congress and former poet laureate Billy Collins that offers high schoolers (and their teachers and media specialists!) a poem for each day of the school year. Looks like it came out in 2004, but I missed it then, and maybe you did too. Plus, it is still being updated/maintained--I found several poems published since 2004 on the list, including Ron Koertge's “Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?", published in 2006. Enjoy!
[Widget courtesy of Widgetbox.]

NPM to do list: Subscribe to a literary magazine

The best sources for new poetry and short stories are literary magazines. NewPages.com has a list of literary magazines. Peruse, pick one, subscribe or order an issue.

My favs are based on my love of short stories, and include the more popular McSweeney's and Zoetrope: All-Story. I've also picked up Michigan Quarterly Review and Ploughshares, when I can find them. All good choices.

For kids and teens, there are Cricket, Cicada, Stone Soup, among others.

Happy Birthday, Beverly Cleary!

...and happy D.E.A.R. day to the rest of us. For the official hub bub, visit Reading Rockets and Ramona Quimby. Unofficially, you can join me in celebrating Mrs. Quimby's birthday by setting aside some time to drop everything and read today.

Here's an idea: combine D.E.A.R. day with National Poetry Month and read a book of poems together. I suggest Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Eric Beddows (Haper Trophy, 2004; ISBN 0064460932). It's a perfect day in NJ for this book: spring has arrived with all of its creeping, crawling critters. Joyful noise celebrates these little creatures, nature, poetry, and reading together with lyrical poems that beg to be read aloud - even performed.

Enjoy the day! (And don't forget to have some birthday cake in Mrs. Cleary
s honor.) :-)

Give books to kids

NPM - week #2

Here's the to-do list for this week in National Poetry Month:

April 8-----
Read a poem at an open mic

April 9-----
Support literary organizations

April 10-----
Google a poem

April 11-----
Hear a poem

April 12-----
Read a poem to a young person

April 13-----
Subscribe to a literary magazine

April 13-----
Put a poem in a letter

April 14-----
Take a poem to lunch

Again, I found this day by day list on Facebook, and no, I don't know why they have April 13th listed twice.

Review: Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People

Color Me a Rhyme: Nature poems for young people
by Jane Yolen
photos by Jason Stemple
Boyds Mills Press 2000
ISBN# 1-56397-892-X Boyds Mills hardcover

I recently read this for my Materials for Children class. (I'm an online MLIS student. And, yes, it is awesome that I get to read children's books for graduate level credit.) Anyway, our assignment was to read a book of poetry aloud to a child or group of children and write about the differences between reading the poetry aloud and reading it silently. I chose Color Me A Rhyme. Here's my post from class:

"Yolen and her son collaborated to produce this a beautiful collection of nature poems and photographs. The layouts are beautiful, with layers of full color photographs and text setting/enhancing the mood for each poem. After sitting and reading and absorbing the visual detail of this book, I was convinced that it would be best enjoyed for solitary reading - giving the reader time to let each poem and all of the visuals resonate.

For this reason, instead of reading to a group, I chose to read Color Me a Rhyme to my daughters one at a time. They enjoyed hearing the poems - picking up on the rhythm of the longer poems, and asking me to read the shorter poems 'again.' I purposefully let them turn the pages, to see if they would choose to linger as I had when I read it alone. At first, they flipped the pages as soon as I was done reading the poem. However, by the end of the book, they would pause and look at the photos longer before turning the page. At the end, one of my daughters asked if she could look through the book again without me.

So, I guess I was half right: the rich visual detail of Color Me a Rhyme calls out for solitary reading; however, the poems also beg to be read aloud. I'm curious to see if anyone read this book to a larger group of children, and if they thought the visual impact was lessened in that setting. If I were to read Color Me a Rhyme to a larger group, I would be sure to invite students to revisit the book up close on their own."

disclaimer: This thumbnail doesn't do the book cover justice at all. I couldn't find a good free image online, not even on Yolen's site.
empty_promise: If I get a chance, I'll get it out of the library again and scan a better img.

National Poetry Month '08

Okay, we're 4 days into National Poetry Month, so I have come catching up to do. The American Academy of Poets has posted 30 ways to celebrate. I found the list assigned to days in Facebook. Here's your first week:

April 1-----
Read A book of poetry

April 2-----
Memorize a poem

April 3-----
Revisit a poem you have read before

April 4-----
Put poetry in unexpected places

April 5-----
Bring a poem to your place of worship

April 6-----
Organize a poetry reading

April 7-----
Play exquisite corpse

Like I said, I guess I have some catching up to do. I'll post my progress here. In the meantime, how are you celebrating NPM? with your students? with your family? Do tell!