Saturday, October 6, 2012

BOOK GIVEAWAY--Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year by Janet Wong


Last February, I wrote a post about Janet Wong’s poetry collection Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year.  You can read about the book here.

 
Declaration of Interdependence would be an excellent book to use in a middle grade classroom to spark a discussion about this year’s presidential election, voting and voting rights, electoral votes, and choosing a candidate—and a great way to integrate poetry and social studies!

Here’s one of the poems from the book:
Make Your Ballot Count
By Janet Wong

Darken the circles completely
(neatly, not outside the lines).

If you don’t know what to do
ask the helpers (follow the signs).

When you punch the holes, be firm
(no worm-like hanging chad).

When your vote is done,
your vote is gone.

A wrong vote? That’s too bad.
A wasted vote: so sad.

 
BOOK GIVEAWAY: I have three copies of Declaration of Interdependence (kindness of Janet Wong) to give away. If you’d like to have a chance to win a copy of the book, all you have to do is to leave a comment on this post. I’ll enter the names of all those who comment into a drawing and announce the names of the winners next Friday.
Janet Wong

Be sure to visit Janet’s The Declaration of Interdependence Blog.


About the blog: This community is dedicated to exploring topics raised in DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE: Poems for an Election Year by me (Janet Wong). In this book, you'll find topics such as liberty, the election, voting rights of kids, how to choose a president, the electoral vote, and more. Thanks for stopping by, and please jump in with your comments. Whether you're 9 years old or 90, we want to know what you're thinking!

 

 

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12 comments:

  1. Linda BOctober 6, 2012 at 11:54 AM

    I won this book a while ago, Elaine, so don't put me into the drawing. But just wanted to tell others who read this that it's such a great book. I've shared it with many classrooms as something to help with election conversations.

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  2. Bridget R. WilsonOctober 6, 2012 at 12:01 PM

    Thanks for offering the giveaway, Elaine. And thanks to Janet for giving the copies.

    bridgetwilson4765(at)gmail(dot)com

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  3. GretchenOctober 6, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    Thank you Janet for encouraging everyone to inform his/herself and then VOTE through your poetry. I will share this with my granddaughters.

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  4. UnknownOctober 6, 2012 at 1:12 PM

    Janet gave me this book last year. I am excited to use it next week, when I prepare my students for the VFW essay contest.

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  5. Patsy KringelOctober 6, 2012 at 3:09 PM

    I would love to have this book to share with my grandgirls!

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  6. StevieOctober 7, 2012 at 7:32 AM

    I would love this book to share with my 6th graders! I have to say I have been a silent reader of yours for a few years now and I greatly appreciate your knowledge of poetry and sharing of great books!

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  7. laurasalasOctober 8, 2012 at 8:46 AM

    I know Janet's book must be super. Love the poem you shared. Don't enter me in the giveaway, because teachers should really win. But thanks for sharing this!

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  8. Janet WongOctober 8, 2012 at 11:15 AM

    Thanks, everyone, for your comments! So happy to hear that you've had success with this book in classrooms, Linda. And Mary Jane: I hope that it inspires your students to write stellar VFW essays! The whole point of this book was to create discussion. Many of the poems are lighthearted and whimsical because I just wanted to suggest a jumping-off point (for talking about what red and blue states mean, or the electoral versus the popular vote, etc.). A lot of kids hear NOTHING about the election at home, so it's really important that it's at least mentioned in school!

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  9. Mr. Russell's ClassOctober 8, 2012 at 1:28 PM

    Followed a link on Kenn Nesbitt's twitter to here, as we read a lot of Kenn's poetry in our class - love the sample and lots of folks have good things to say about it too! Although we live in Ireland, we're learning all about how the President is elected, we'll be having our own class election, and following the real thing very closely too. Keep up the good work!

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  10. Janet WongOctober 9, 2012 at 2:58 PM

    Hooray for Mr. Russell's class! I think it's SO neat that you're in Ireland and yet you're learning about the American presidential election. It's extra neat that you're holding a class election of your own. What a great reminder of how we're all connected and we enrich our lives by keeping up with each other's news!

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  11. Charles WatersOctober 9, 2012 at 3:49 PM

    I love Janet's writing and I love your too!!!! Thanks for highlighting her.

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  12. vezenimostOctober 11, 2012 at 9:36 AM

    Elaine,
    Thank you for this great opportunity to win another wonderful book by Janet.
    I think that motivating students’ discussion with poems about topics related to the elections is just a wonderful idea. I truly admire Janet’s way of thinking and writing—it’s creative and inspiring and yet simple and understandable to her readers regardless of age.

    It would be great to have this unique book on the shelf in my library with elections just around the corner. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. :)
    Vida

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