Things to Do If You Are a Book: An Original List Poem



 

My granddaughter Julia loves books. That makes her grandma smile! One of her new favorites to look through is a poetry collection that I gave her for Christmas—Christmas Presents: Holiday Poetry. Yesterday, she even sat in my lap as I read her some of the poems in the book.

 

 

Another one of her favorite books is Jamberry. Here are some pictures that I took of her reading it recently.

 

 

 

 I hope Julia will continue to love books. I’m happy that she doesn’t chew on them now.

 

 

Here’s a list poem that I wrote some time ago. I’m dedicating it to my granddaughter Julia today.

 

THINGS TO DO IF YOU ARE A BOOK

Be filled with words that tell a tale

of a little mouse and a giant whale
of a runty pig and his spider friend
who was true and loyal to the end
of a child who ate just bread and jam
of a funky guy, green eggs, and ham
of a spunky girl named Ramona Q.
of a Jabberwock that a young boy slew.
Be filled with words and tell a tale
that will let my imagination sail.
Be a mystery
or a fantasy
and sing with sounds of poetry.
Between your covers
let there be
a story that’s just right for me.

 

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The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Carol’s Corner.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!



A Holiday Video to Make You Smile

I wanted to wish all my friends in the kidlitosphere a MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wild Rose Reader Holiday & Gift Books Post 2012

 

THE HORN BOOK

Holiday High Notes 2012

Holiday High Notes 2011

Holiday High Notes 2010

Holiday High Notes 2009

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

December Holiday Books:October 2012

December Holiday Books 2011

December Holiday Books 2010


SCHOLASTIC

Holiday Booksfor Ages 8-10

 

READING ROCKETS

Ten Books for the Holiday Season


THE CHILDREN’S BOOK REVIEW—GROWING READERS

Kids’ Christmas Books, 2010: Forthe Naughty & Nice

THE LOOKING GLASS CHILDREN’S BOOK REVIEWS

Christmas Picture Books

BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS (BCCB)

Guide Book to Gift Books: An Annotated List of Booksfor Youth 2012

Guide Book to Gift Books: An Annotated List of Booksfor Youth 2011

 

WILD ROSE READER & BLUE ROSE GIRLS

Christmas Board Books for BabiesPicture Book Reviews: Winter Trees, Christmas Trees

Christmas Books in Verse

Picture Book Review: The Best Christmas Ever

Picture Book Review: Christmas Magic

 

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!

 

HALLOWEEN BOOKS

 

KIDS READS

Halloween Books Roundup 2012

Halloween Books Roundup 2011

THE CHILDREN’S BOOK REVIEW

Kids’ Halloween Books: Cats, Bats, & Skeletons (2011)

Best Halloween Books for Kids: Scary, Spooky, and Silly (2010)

Kids’ Halloween Books: All-Time Family Favorites

Halloween Crafts for Kids: 4 Spooky Activity Books (2011)

NO TIME FOR FLASH CARDS

Halloween Books For Kids

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Halloween Picture Books: Wherefore the Style? ByElizabeth Bird (2010)

HUBPAGES

Children's Picture Books forHalloween: For Preschool, Storytime, or Anytime


SCHOLASTIC

Read-Them-If-YouDare Horror Tales for Tweens

Spooky(But Not Too Scary) Picture Books

WILD ROSE READER

Three Halloween Books for Wee Ones (2011)

Poetry for Halloween (2011)

Three Great Picture Books forHalloween Reading (2011)

 

Halloween Poetry

 

The website of The Academy of American Poets has a special section devoted to Halloween. It features poems about ghosts, haunted houses, vampires, and the underworld. It even includes suggestions for poet costumes.

Ghosts 

Haunted Houses  

Vampires 

The Underworld 

Poet Costumes



Here are two poems to share on Halloween--one from William Shakespeare and one from my friend, children's poet David McCord.

Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I [Round about the cauldron go]
by William Shakespeare
The three witches, casting a spell   Round about the cauldron go;   In the poison’d entrails throw.   Toad, that under cold stone    Days and nights hast thirty one   Swelter’d venom sleeping got,   Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.          Double, double toil and trouble;      Fire burn and cauldron bubble.     Fillet of a fenny snake,   In the cauldron boil and bake;   Eye of newt, and toe of frog,   Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,   Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,   Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,   For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.          Double, double toil and trouble;        Fire burn and cauldron bubble.    Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,             Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf         Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark,               Root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark,    Liver of blaspheming Jew,      Gall of goat, and slips of yew              Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse,             Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips,           Finger of birth-strangled babe               Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,    Make the gruel thick and slab:             Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,           For the ingredients of our cauldron.        Double, double toil and trouble;        Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

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Mr. Macklin's Jack O'Lantern
by David McCord
Mr. Macklin takes his knife And carves the yellow pumpkin face: Three holes bring eyes and nose to life, The mouth has thirteen teeth in place. Then Mr. Macklin just for fun Transfers the corn-cob pipe from his Wry mouth to Jack's, and everyone Dies laughing! O what fun it is Till Mr. Macklin draws the shade And lights the candle in Jack's skull.   You can read the rest of the poem here.   ********************   Irene Latham has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Live Your Poem...