Poetry Friday: Children's Party

I'm a big lurker of kid lit blogs. And I've been toying with the idea of joining in on the Poetry Friday fun. (Though I shudder at the thought of commitment.) Finally, today, I can resist no longer: Susan at Chicken Spaghetti is seeking poetry recommendations for children re: parties and/or princesses, which reminded me of a fun poem, and it is Friday, and I have 10 minutes free to post.

Unfortunately, my poem isn't quite what she's looking for. (I'll be interested to read the more relevant replies to her post.) In the meantime, can't resist offering up a post-party poem for the host parent(s). If you've ever hosted a horde of little ones at your home, you will appreciate this one. Enjoy!

Children's Party
by Ogden Nash

May I join you in the doghouse, Rover?
I wish to retire till the party's over.
Since three o'clock I've done my best
To entertain each tiny guest.

My conscience now I've left behind me,
And if they want me, let them find me.
I blew their bubbles, I sailed their boats,
I kept them from each other's throats.

I told them tales of magic lands,
I took them out to wash their hands.
I sorted their rubbers and tied their laces,
I wiped their noses and dried their faces...

For the rest of the poem, please follow this link, where it has been posted in full with permission. It's worth the trip! :-)

The City of Ember

My son and I loved this book. I can't wait to see the movie.

Harry moves on

Sunday brought a bittersweet milestone for Harry Potter and his fans. After 9 years, 11 months and 14 days, "the boy who lived" has left the NY Times Best Sellers list. (Wait, make that the NY Times Children's Series Best Sellers list.)

Dwight Gardner has written a nice article about Harry's run and the changes it brought to the list. The problem with the "nice article" is the nice part--it glosses over the creation of the separate Children's List, making it seem less sinister, like an accomplishment for J.K. Rowling, rather than a farce for the NY Times Book Review. For a little insight (and a healthy dose of vitriol), I suggest Michael Gitz's July post to the other HP (Huffington Post).

Answer trivia questions and help donate books

From their website:
"The Cheerios Book Donation Challenge gives individuals the power to help decide where the books will be donated by answering trivia questions based on children’s books, from now until Sunday, June 15, 2008. For every correct answer, individuals can cast one vote. Cheerios will donate 20,000 children books, written by John Lithgow to the five states with the most votes."

The books will be donated to FirstBook.org. Fun, easy, entertaining and all for a good cause. Be sure to click on your state after each correct answer.

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!

Middle Grade Books for Boys (and Girls)

Okay, so it has been a while. These are terribly outdated, but here are some things my son read and enjoyed at age 11:

Boba Fett by Terry Bisson

Hoot by Carl Hiasson

Flush by Carl Hiasson

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

I am supposed to love this book: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is written by Newbery Medal-winning author, Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Desperaux, Because of Winn Dixie); starred reviews abound (School Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist; SLJ calls it, "achingly beautiful" and "ever-so-marvelous;" and I can't tell you how many times I've heard it called an "instant classic" or "new classic."

TMJOET is a certainly packaged like a classic - from the full bleed illustration on the dust jacket, the embossed pocket watch on the cover and the engraved copper lettering on the spine to the antique cream paper, large Centaur MT typeset and Bagram Ibatoulline's sepia toned and full color bookplate illustrations. Even its size and shape - 7 x 8 (?) - suggest this book is something special.

And for the most part, TMJOET is something special. I read it aloud to my children (ages 11, 7 and 7) last month. Together, we fell in love with Edward Tulane - an expensive china rabbit with real rabbit fur ears and tail, an exquisitely custom tailored wardrobe and an aloof, elitist attitude to match. Unfortunately for Edward, his charmed life is short-lived, as he is literally snatched from the arms of his adoring 10-year old owner, Abilene, and tossed to the bottom of the sea. From that point on, Edward endures trial after trial, heartbreak after heartbreak, until he learns how to love unconditionally. Together, my children and I worried about Edward, we cheered for him and mostly, we cried for him. (Okay, I did most of the crying while the kids patiently waited for me to resume reading.)

So, what’s not to love?

Well, according to Washington Post reviewer, Elizabeth Ward: a lot. Check out her scathing review, “When Bad Things Happen to Bad Bunnies,” in the Washington Post.

While I don’t share Ms. Ward’s complete disdain for the book, I do have mixed feelings about TMJOET.

First, the story arc doesn’t quite work for me. Each time I thought Edward had made “progress” and opened his heart to someone, I was told (not shown) that it wasn’t enough and Edward was forced to endure another trial. Instead of a gentle arc showing Edward’s growth from completed self-centeredness to an ability to love, Edward’s transformation is achieved through violent stops and starts, setbacks and regressions – often for no immediately apparent reason other than to prolong his suffering and increase word count.

Second, some of the material seems unnecessarily violent. Really, Edward being nailed to a wooden cross? It is either a strange case of misguided, over-the-top, symbolism or a complete disregard for the cultural context of much of TMJOET’s readership. How could anyone think that nailing a rabbit (an adopted symbol of Easter) to a cross was going to escape criticism? Or was that the point? To get people talking about the book? I don’t get it. Truthfully, as I read it (and looked at the illustration of Edward hung by his ears as a scarecrow), it didn’t bother me. It puzzled me. It struck me as being in poor taste. But it didn’t bother me. However, the violence of this and other episodes in the book might be a bit much for young ears. (Pun intended.)

Speaking of being a bit much, some of this rabbit's episodes were too melodramatic and overdone for my taste. (Again, pun intended.)

My final verdict? I still have mixed feelings about this book. TMJOET was a good read-aloud book for my children. They enjoyed it and it has stimulated a new round of shared reading for us. Plus, we were haunted by this story for days after we finished reading it – my children with the emotional force of what they had heard and experience through Edward Tulane, and me with thoughts of the book and story it could have been with a bit more editing. I've been cautiously recommending TMJOET to friends, but I remain uncomfortable with the marketing of this book as an “instant classic.” It was good, but that good? Hopefully, time and discriminating readers (not marketing dollars) will decide.

For more reviews and info, check out:

Candlewick Press's Edward Tulane site.

Common Sense book review

A Fuse #8 Production: Review of the Day: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

It's National D.E.A.R. Day!

Happy 90th Birthday to Beverly Cleary!

The NEA, National PTA, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), and Reading Rockets have teamed up with Ramona Quimby and HarperCollins Children's Books to declare Ms. Cleary's bithday National Drop Everything and Read Day.

How to celebrate?

The D.E.A.R. and Reading Rockets sites have lots of suggestions complete with bells and whistles: teacher guides, free materials, printables, e-cards ... even t-shirts. These are certainly ways to generate excitement and publicity, but I'm with Read Roger - D.E.A.R. Day at our house will be much simpler.

I've been reading Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane aloud to the kids this month. (Even my 11-year-old son loves it! I'll post a review when we're done.) So, tonight, we'll read together a little longer, lights out will be a little later, and we'll all enjoy a little extra quiet reading time.

Happy D.E.A.R. Day!

Here are some links to help you celebrate:

First, of course, is Beverly Cleary's website.

Then, check out Reading Rockets' D.E.A.R. Day content for the video interview with Beverly Cleary.

A Fuse #8 Production has a link to NPR's All Things Considered interview with Ms. Cleary.

Finally, you can help replenish libraries hit by Hurricane Katrina by contributing to the NEA's Books Across America campaign.

Recommended books from the SCBWI Winter Conference

Last month, I attended my first writers' conference in New York. I'm working on a post about it for my other blog. Here's a quick list of some of the authors and illustrators from the conference and links to some of their wonderful books I brought home with me (signed!):

Middle Grade/Young Adult

The Fire-Eaters (Whitbread Children's Book of the Year), by David Almond. This is the first YA book I've read since I was a YA. :) Wow. There is a lot happening - bullying, parental illness, abuse, justice, redemption, poverty, class, isolation, spirituality, the Cuban missile crisis, and mental illness as a result of war - in this deceptively simple, lyrical story. I plan to re-read this together with my 5th grader.


Picture Books (for all ages)

Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs, by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. Robert Sabuda's pop-up books are amazing! I hear so many parents (and teachers - even librarians!) say, "Oh, they're beautiful, but the kids would destroy them in a minute." How tragic! These are exactly the books that should be shared with kids. The amazing illustrations jump out of the book at kids and then draw them into a different world. "Look!" I say, "Touch! Explore! Experience! Enjoy!"


Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato, An Irish Folktale, by Tomie de Paola. Okay, so I didn't get this one at the conference. But Tomie was there and he was just fabulous! I read this to the 3rd graders in my children's school in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

Rosa, by Nikki Giovanni and Bryan Collier (illustrator). A powerful, beautifully illustrated telling of Rosa Park's personal story and summary of the Civil Rights movement. Nikki Giovanni's keynote was one of the most powerful I have ever heard. Brilliant and totally unexpected for a conference of children's writers and illustrators. She shook us out of our seats. I plan to seek out more of her work.


Wild About Books(Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature), by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown. Written in Seussian rhyme in honor of Theordore Geisel's birthday, this book is a joy to read aloud. (Marc Brown read it to us at the conference!) Find out what happens when librarian Molly McGrew accidentally drives her bookmobile into the zoo!



Picture Book (for the little ones)


Party Animals by Katie Davis. Ant is watching all of the farm animals open their party invitations. Will he be invited, too? This book is perfect for the little ones, and even my 7-year-old twins - as we struggle with birthday party invitations coming for only one or the other from their classmates. And Katie Davis personalized it for the girls so adorably! You have to see it to appreciate it. I'll try to scan and post it as a comment here later.


There were so many talented authors and illustrators at the conference: Francine Pascal, Pat Cummings, David Diaz, Elizabeth Levy, and so many others I missed. I can't wait until next year!