TERMITES: An Original Animal Mask Poem

I know I’ve mentioned more than once on this blog that I LOVE writing animal mask poems. I have written dozens of them. A few years ago, I took the advice of my friends Grace Lin and Janet Wong and culled out all the poems about smaller animals and insects that children might observe in their backyards or find close to home for a collection. I also wrote some new poems. I had tentatively titled the collection Backyard Voices. Then I changed it to Listen! Listen! after I wrote the following poem to introduce my collection of animal mask poems:

Listen. Listen. Cup an ear.

Little creatures living near

Speak in voices we can hear.

One of the new poems that I wrote for Listen! Listen! is about insects that we hate to find invading our homes—TERMITES.

TERMITES

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

Yum, yum!

Wood

Tastes so

Tastes so

Tastes so good.

A piney plank

A two by four

A big broad beam

A parquet floor

A pair of clogs

A tool shed door

We eat all day

And we still want more.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

Yum, yum!

Wood

Tastes so

Tastes so

Tastes SO GOOD.

 

 

Amy has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Poem Farm.

 

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We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving at "The Farm." Julia didn't sleep all day. She so enjoyed having lots of company.

 

Julia on Thanksgiving





This week I took Julia outside  a couple of times so she could explore her yard. I took this short video of her:

 

It is great being a nanny granny! I love spending so much time with my granddaughter Julia.

 

 

Winner of 2013 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children Announced!

I am happy to announce that Joyce Sidman has been named the winner of the 2013 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children!

 JOYCE SIDMAN

Congratulations, Joyce!

Here are links to my Wild Rose Reader and Blue Rose Girls posts about Joyce and her work:

Book Review: Dark Emperor and Other Poems of theNight by Joyce Sidman (2010) 

UBIQUITOUSby Joyce Sidman & Beckie Prange: A Poetry Book Review (2010)

Red Sings from Treetops: A Book Review & An Invitation (2009)

Interview with Joyce Sidman (2008)

POETRY FRIDAY: Touching the World (2007)

POETRY FRIDAY: This Is Just to Say (2007) 

POETRY FRIDAY: Joyce Sidman, Part I (2006) 

POETRY SATURDAY: Joyce Sidman, Part II (2006)

Poetry and Songs for Thanksgiving

 

THANKSGIVING
Author Unknown

The year has turned its circle

The seasons come and go.
The harvest is all gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.

Orchards have shared their treasures,

The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway—
Thanksgiving comes again.

THANKSGIVING TIME Author Unknown   When all the leaves are off the boughs, And nuts and apples gathered in, And cornstalks waiting for the cows, And pumpkins safe in barn and bin, Then Mother says, "My children dear, The fields are brown, and autumn flies; Thanksgiving Day is very near, And we must make thanksgiving pies!"

 

Click here and here and here to read some more Thanksgiving poetry for children.

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Thanksgiving Song - Mary Chapin Carpenter

 

Thanksgiving Songs for Children - FIVE LITTLE TURKEYS - Turkey Kids

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Anastasia Suen has the Poetry FridayRoundup at Booktalking.



 



 

A Poem about Night

 

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for me. We had a family Halloween party the last weekend in October at “The Farm.” That’s what my husband calls the house that we’ll be moving to at some time in the future. My daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter have already been living there for two months now.

 

My husband and I have plans to have some renovations done on our new living quarters before we move in. One thing that is a must—having a wall of bookshelves built in our upstairs office/den. I have thousands of children’s books that I don’t want to sell or give away. I want to keep them for my granddaughter Julia. She LOVES Books!

 

Last week, we had to batten down the hatches in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. Fortunately, the storm didn’t hit my area too hard. This week we had a nor’easter. We got snow here on Wednesday night. The weather is looking up here for the long weekend ahead.

 

I’ve been so busy taking care of Julia and with our renovations plans that I’ve found little time to blog or write poetry. I did, however, write a poem “in my head” a few weeks ago when I was taking Julia for a walk to a nearby park on a beautiful autumn day. Here it is:

Night

Sang the sun a lullaby

And sprinkled stars across the sky

And lit the moon

And made it shine

Into this little room of mine.

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Ed DeCaria has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Think Kid, Think!