Remembering Lee Bennett Hopkins with Poetry

I have been thinking a lot lately about my dear friend Lee Bennett Hopkins who passed away earlier this month. I've also been thinking about all of Lee's poetry books that I have collected over the years. I have dozens and dozens of them! I used his books often when I was teaching elementary school. I treasure those books even more now that he is gone.

One of my favorite anthologies compiled by Lee came to mind a few days ago. It's titled ON THE FARM. It's a thin volume of sixteen poems that is beautifully illustrated by Laurel Molk. It was published by Little, Brown in 1991. The book contains poems by some of America's finest children's poets--including David McCord, Aileen Fisher, Lilian Moore, Myra Cohn Livingston, Valerie Worth--and Lee Bennett Hopkins.

 

Here's a sampling of the poems you'll find in this lovely anthology:

FOAL

by Mary Britton Miller

Come trotting up

Beside your mother,

Little skinny.

Lay your neck across

Her back, and whinny,

Little foal.

You think you're a horse

Because you can trot--

But you're not...

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

LAWNMOVER

By Valerie Worth

The lawnmower
Grinds its teeth
Over the grass,
Spitting out a thick
Green spray;

Its head is too full
Of iron and oil
To know
What it throws
Away...

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

PRAYER

By Myra Cohn Livingston

Thank you for the sun,
          the sky,
     for all the things that like to fly,
          the shining rain that turns grass green,
          the earth we know --
          the world unseen...

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

 

THE COW

By Robert Lewis Stevenson

The friendly cow all red and white, 
I love with all my heart: 
She gives me cream with all her might, 
To eat with apple-tart. 

She wanders lowing here and there, 
And yet she cannot stray, 
All in the pleasant open air, 
The pleasant light of day... 

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

FAMILIAR FRIENDS

By James S. Tippett

The horses, the pigs,

And the chickens,

The turkeys, the ducks

And the sheep!

I can see all my friends

From my window

As soon as I waken from sleep.

 

The cat on the fence

Is out walking.

The geese have gone down

For a swim.

The pony comes trotting

Right up to the gate;

He knows I have candy

For him...

Click here to read the rest of the poem. (NOTE: You will have to scroll down a page as the link takes you directly to a poem by Elizabeth Coatsworth.)

 

THE PICKETY FENCE

By David McCord

The pickety fence
The pickety fence
Give it a lick it's
The pickety fence
Give it a lick it's
A clickety fence
Give it a lick it's
A lickety fence...

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

Lee opened ON THE FARM with his own poem titled HELLO, FARM.

HELLO, FARM

By Lee Bennett Hopkins

Hello, ducks,

chickens,

cows.

Hello, hen house,

stable,

barn.

Hello, woodpiles,

silo,

swing.

Hello,

hello,

everything.

I used Lee's poem as a model for the following poem that I wrote in his memory.

HELLO, POETRY

By Elaine Magliaro

Hello, children,

library,

books.

Hello,

reading

in cozy nooks.

Hello, meter,

rhythm,

rhyme.

Hello,

poetry

all the time!

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Kathryn Apel has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week.

 

NPM: World Make Way for Ekphrastic Poetry!: Post #10

 

I love reading ekphrastic poems. One of my favorites is X.J. Kennedy's Nude Descending a Staircase, which begins:

 

Toe after toe, a snowing flesh,

a gold of lemon, root and rind,

she sifts in sunlight down the stairs

with nothing on. Nor on her mind.

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp

 

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I was thrilled a couple of years ago when Lee Bennett Hopkins asked if I'd like to contribute to an anthology of ekphrastic poetry he was editing for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I was a bit taken aback, however, when Lee sent me an image of the painting that I was to write a poem about. It wasn't what I had expected. It was an ancient Chinese painting of a horse titled Night-Shining White done by Han Gan. I looked at the painting for a while. Panic set in. I didn't feel any kind of inspiration at all. I feared I might have to tell Lee I wasn't up to the assignment.

Then I went to the museum's website. I read the blurb about the painting. It said that this charger epitomized Chinese myths about Central Asian "celestial steeds" that "sweated blood" and were actually dragons in disguise. That started my poetic juices flowing! I did a little more reading about celestial steeds--and I was off to the races. A mask poem poured out in the voice of Night-Shining White. It seemed the best way for me to tell about the painting. I wrote the poem in less than a day. Lee loved it. He asked me to make just a few minor changes. Boy, was I ever relieved!

With its burning eye, flaring nostrils, and dancing hoofs, the fiery-tempered horse epitomizes Chinese myths about Central Asian "celestial steeds" that "sweated blood" and were actually dragons in disguise. The seals and inscriptions added to the painting and its borders by later owners and appreciators are a distinctive feature of Chinese collecting and connoisseurship. The addition of more than one thousand years of seals and comments offers a vivid testimony of the work's transmission and its impact on later gene

NIGHT-SHINING WHITE

I am a charger,

    a heavenly steed—

       best of my breed.

I am a dragon

    in horsey disguise,

        flashing fire through my eyes.

 

My sweat is blood-red.

    The mane on my head

        stands stiff as a crown.

I prance through a town,

    my emperor astride me.

        How he loves to ride me—

          parade me around

            as my hooves stomp the ground.

 

I am a charger,

    a stout-hearted steed.

I race into battle—

    taking the lead.

The emperor’s favorite,

    I don’t fear a fight.

I am daring and brave.

   

I am

    Night-Shining White.

**********

From Publishers Weekly (April 24, 2018):

 

 Lee Bennett Hopkins Celebrates Eight Decades and Two New Anthologies

 

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BOOK GIVEAWAY

I'll be giving away a copy of GREAT MORNING!: Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. Janet autographed the book for me. It's a poetry book every teacher and school librarian should have.

To be entered into the drawing for the book, all you have to do is to comment on any of my Wild Rose Reader posts that I publish from April 8th through April 13th. I'll announce the winner on Sunday, April 14th.

 

NPM: A Birthday Poem for Lee Bennett Hopkins: Post #9

I wrote this little ditty in celebration of Lee's 81st birthday:

Lee Bennett Hopkins likes rhythm and rhyme.

He LOVES to read poetry all of the time.

Lee loves to read it,

            and write it,

                        and share it.

A day without a poetry?

Lee couldn't bear it!

**********

 

I wrote the Eating Poetry for Dear One: A Tribute to Lee Bennett Hopkins, an anthology compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong in celebration of Lee's receiving the 2009 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. I used the titles of Lee's poetry books when writing it. The titles are printed in italics.

 

Eating Poetry

Here we are
sitting side by side,
eating through a day
full of poems,
chewing on wonderful words,
delicious words
full of surprises—
words that flit, flutter, fly
from our tongues,
words that taste of
April, bubbles, chocolate,
words with the scent of sky magic.

Here we are
sitting side by side
savoring similes,
munching on metaphors,
rhymes dribbling down our chins,
licking rhythm from our lips.

Here we are
sitting side by side
in the city I love
eating poetry
a l l  d a y  l o n g…
Yummy!

**********

 

The following post has links to several of my other posts about Lee Bennett Hopkins:

Wild Rose Reader Looks Back: A Belated 80th Birthday Post for Lee Bennett Hopkins

 

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BOOK GIVEAWAY

 

I'll be giving away a copy of GREAT MORNING!: Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. Janet autographed the book for me. It's a poetry book every teacher and school librarian should have.

To be entered into the drawing for the book, all you have to do is to comment on any of my Wild Rose Reader posts that I publish from April 8th through April 13th. I'll announce the winner on Sunday, April 14th.

 

 

 

Wild Rose Reader Looks Back: A Belated 80th Birthday Post for Lee Bennett Hopkins.

I had hoped to put together a special 80th birthday post for Lee Bennett Hopkins before I left for  Hattiesburg, Mississippi--but I got sick with a respiratory infection Easter weekend. I was keeping my fingers crossed that I'd get better by April 10th so I could accept my Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor Award at the Fay B. Kaigler Children's Literature Festival. Fortunately, I was fine by the day of my departure--but I never got around to whipping up a birthday post for Lee.

I decided today to post links to some of my previous blogs about Lee and his poetry books. I thought some of you might like to read them.

Here they are--in chronological order:

Party for a Poetry Man (2009)

Lee Bennett Hopkins: WHY POETRY? (2010)

PASS THE POETRY, PLEASE!: A Wild RoseReader Interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins (2010)

A Question for Lee Bennett Hopkins(2010)

Lee Bennett Hopkins: A Silent Mentor (2010)

The Anthologist: A Poem for LeeBennett Hopkins (2010)

Eating Poetry, Number Two: A Poem for Lee Bennett Hopkins (2010)

Q & A with Lee Bennett Hopkins(2010)

Happy Birthday, Lee Bennett Hopkins!(2012)

Poetry for Little Ones: "Lullaby & Kisses Sweet" (2015)

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, DEAR ONE!!!

 

 

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REMINDER: I am giving away signed copies of my book THINGS TO DO during National Poetry Month. I will collect the names of people who have commented on my blog posts each week in April and put them in a bag. Next Sunday, I will draw a name from the bag of someone who commented on a post that I published during the week of April 8-14.

Drawing dates: April 22, 29, 30.

 

 

 

Poetry for Little Ones: "Lullaby & Kisses Sweet"

LULLABY & KISSES SWEET

Poems to Love with Your Baby

Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Alyssa Nassner

Abrams Appleseed, 2015

I haven’t written a poetry book review in ages! Actually, I haven’t been buying many children’s books since my husband and I downsized when we moved into our new place—right next door to my daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters. It took soooo long to move all my books—many of which are children’s poetry books—to my new abode. It also cost a lot of money to have custom-made bookcases built and installed in my new library/slash office and upstairs hallway so my books would be easily available when I wanted to get some to read to my granddaughter...or myself. I thought it best to cut back on book purchases. In addition, my favorite children’s bookshop closed its doors in June 2012. The owner—who is a good friend—couldn’t compete with big businesses like Amazon. I so miss visiting her store, browsing through the books there, chatting with her and getting her advice.

In the past week, though, I splurged and ordered a couple dozen children’s books from Barnes and Noble. First, I needed some baby gifts. (I always give books to new parents.) Second, I wanted to give Julia some picture books for her fourth birthday. Third, I wanted some new children’s poetry books for myself!

When I saw that Lee Bennett Hopkins had recently published a book of children’s poetry titled Lullaby & Kisses Sweet: Poems to Love with Your Baby, I knew I HAD to get three copies—two for the grandsons of a good friend and one for my five-month-old granddaughter Allison. When Julia saw the two copies that I had put aside for my friend’s grandchildren, she wanted one of them. I told her that they were gifts for some other children. She looked at me and said, “I want one for MY baby!” I asked, “Who is your baby?” She quickly replied—quite emphatically—Allison!

So…I fetched the copy that I had gotten for HER baby—and we read it while we sat side by side on the sofa. Then Julia took the book and “read” it by herself.

I’m so glad that I had found out about Lullaby & Kisses Sweet on Lee’s journal. My granddaughter Julia loves the book…and it’s a wonderful baby gift.

The book is divided into five sections: Family, Food, First, Play, and Bedtime.  

• FAMILY includes poems about Mama, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa.  
• FOOD includes poems about sitting in a high chair, eating spaghetti, and snack time.  
• FIRST includes poems about a baby taking its first steps, getting its first tooth, and saying its first word (Ma-ma). 
• PLAY includes poems about building with blocks, painting pictures, and playing in a sandbox.  
• BEDTIME includes poems about bath time, reading books, and a night light. 

Lullaby & Kisses Sweet is a perfect little package—a padded casebound board book that contains thirty delightful short, rhyming poems, which toddlers will enjoy having read to them at any time of the day. Many of the poems are brand new—and I assume—were commissioned for this collection.

The poets whose works you’ll find in Lullaby & Kisses Sweet include: Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Marilyn Singer, X.J. Kennedy, Laura Purdie Salas, Kristine O’Connell George, J. Patrick Lewis, Alice Schertle, and Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.

Alyssa Nassner's uncluttered illustrations are a fine complement to the poetry. The babies and parents and grandparents are depicted as cats and bears and bunnies and lions and foxes--all with friendly rounded faces.

The collection opens with Rebecca Kai Dotlich's poem Morning, which begins:

Sun woke up,

So did I.

Good morning, Mama. 

Good morning, sky.

The book ends with Michele Kruger's poem Lullaby, which begins:

Let the world grow dark

and spin.

It's time to tuck

sweet baby in.

If you're friendly with young parents who have a newborn, this would be a special little gift to give to them. It would be an excellent book to introduce toddlers to poetry.

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Tabatha Yeatts has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Opposite of Indifference.

Happy Birthday, Lee Bennett Hopkins!

Happy Birthday,

Lee Bennett Hopkins!

(April 13, 1938)

(I think it most appropriate that Lee Bennett Hopkins

--aka Mister Poetry Man--was born in the month of April.)

A star danced

and under that

was I born.

~ William Shakespeare

Then poetry did a jig!!!!!

Mining with a Jeweler’s Eye: The Work of Lee BennettHopkins By Janet Wong and Rebecca Kai Dotlich

5Q Poet Interview Series: Lee Bennett Hopkins (Poetry for Children)

PASSTHE POETRY, PLEASE!: A Wild Rose Reader Interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins

LeeBennett Hopkins: WHY POETRY?

PoetryMakers - Lee Bennett Hopkins (The Miss Rumphius Effect)

Chatting with Poetry Man Lee Bennett Hopkins (Jama Rattigan)