McSweeney's, Twilight, and a Bit of Wuthering Heights

You know I love me some McSweeney's. Take a look at Catherine and Heathcliff Audition for Twilight. I dare you not to laugh.

Poetry Friday - Hand Shadows

The poetry stretch this week was to write about games of childhood. One of my favorite things to do was make shadows on the wall, though I was never very good at it. Here is a wonderful poem about just such a pastime.

Hand Shadows
by Mary Cornish

My father put his hands in the white light
of the lantern, and his palms became a horse
that flicked its ears and bucked; an alligator
feigning sleep along the canvas wall leapt up

Read the poem in its entirety.

The round up is being hosted by Julie Larios over at The Drift Record. Do stop by and take in the wonderful poetry being shared. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results.

Quick Hits - Some Posts of Interest

I'm way behind on my blog reading. I haven't read a single post in the Winter Blog Blast Tour (WBBT for short) yet! But, I am saving those for the weekend, when my computer and I shall be united for too long to mention. Until then, here are two short posts that caught my eye.

John Green - On Liking Twilight

Roger Sutton - One Question or Two?

Poetry Stretch Results - Childhood Games

The challenge this week was to write a poem about a childhood game or pastime. Here are the results.

Jane Yolen left this poem in the comments.

Jacks

I was no Jill at Jacks,
tumbling gracelessly down a hill.
Instead I swiped the little iron-legged tokens
with a quick hand, snagged the ball,
was on to the next round with hardly a wasted motion.
Champion of my camp, of my elementary school,
I privileged jacks over real boys,
keeping my winning streak going
until my first kiss the summer I was thirteen.
The next time I played jacks
was with my own children
who could sit on the floor with an ease
I scarcely remembered.
The last time was at a conference,
with two women friends,
one of whom brought her own jacks and ball
in a velvet drawstring bag.
We sat on the hotel floor
watched over by conference attendees.
They cheered us equally.
But two of us lost.
We lost big.
Never play pool with anyone
who owns his own cue stick, Daddy had warned.
It’s true in jacks as well.

©2009 Jane Yolen, all rights reserved

Amy Ludwig Vanderwater left this poem in the comments.

Ouija Board

My hands hover over
hoping for hints.

Who will I love someday?

I close my eyes.
I hold my breath.

What will the Ouija say?

Letter-by-letter
my future is told.

Word-by-word
her secrets unfold.

For me to make true.
For me to blame.

Ouija board –

Truth?

Or game?

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, 2009

Easter of Owl in the Library shares two poems this week.

Carol Weis left two poems in the comments.

POGO STICK

Up
down
hopping around
how many times
can I go-go?

Up
down
hopping around
zillions of times
on my pogo.

-----

ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO

One potato
two potato
three potato four
rang around our yard
on chilly
autumn days
in our northern
Jersey neighborhood.

Fists held tight
we’d huddle in a circle
ready-or-not to play
the next round of
hide and seek
all wondering
who would
be IT.

Tapping fist to
chin and other
eager fists
it turned out
only
the potato
knew
for sure.

Janet of Across the Page shares a poem entitled Boggle Dreams.

Harriet of spynotes left this poem in the comments.

Rope

Skit skat
Paddywhack
One foot, four;
Jump rope,
Turn twice,
Holler for more!

Double Dutch,
Never such,
Ever such rhyme;
One foot,
Two foot,
Four feet time.

Hold hands,
Back to back,
Shake it sweet;
Whip round,
Skip down,
Don’t miss a beat!

Turning,
Turning
The rope goes round --
Faster,
Faster, that
Whirring sound

Touch down
Turn around
Back against the wall
Oh, no!
Caught a toe
Trip then fall

Jump rope stall.

Get up
Dust off
That’s how you learn
Once more
Jump back
One more turn

Turn once
Turn twice
Count each leap
Skip day
Skip night
Skip in your sleep

Skit skat
Paddywhack
One foot, three
Inside a
Jump rope’s
The place for me.

I wrote several poems, one about playing in the dirt and mud, another about climbing trees, and this one.

That old rope wore my hands bare
but I couldn’t stay away

It traveled high over the corn field
and came back to the edge of the road

Swinging was as good as flying

As I got older, I swung upside down
rope twined around my legs—over, under, between

Swinging was my dare
my truth was freedom in the air

It's not too late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.

Gifts for the Readers and Writers in Your Life - Part One

It's about time for me to begin searching the nooks and crannies of my house for the holiday gifts I've been buying throughout the year. I still have a few folks left, but my recent online searches have me convinced that it will be easy to please the readers and writers in my life. Here are some of the things I've come across that may make my gift list this year.

New York Review Watch - The band may be plastic, but who could snub a watch with the Bard on its face? This one features a caricature by David Levine.

Writer's Pencils - Alright, I know a lot of folks write on the computer, but there are a few dinosaurs like me who write and revise on actual paper. These pencils are inscribed with quotations by O. Henry, Ring Lardner, Confucius, Beatrix Potter, and Charles Baudelaire on the craft of writing.

How to Write a Story Necklace - Hanging from a silver chain is an antique typewriter with the beginning of a story about a curious penguin. If necklaces aren't your thing, there's always the option of a brooch.

Great Poets Coffee Mug - Enjoy a cup of joe, tea, or whatever your poison accompanied by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Langston Hughes.

Women Writers Umbrella - Forget about that plain black umbrella--think how stylish you'll look with Austen, Plath, Dickinson, Hurston, Woolf, Alcott, Shelley, and Bronte keeping you dry.

In My Book Greeting Cards/Bookmarks - I first saw these in the gift shop of the Library of Congress and fell in love. I'm particularly fond of "In my book, you're a mystery," which features an image of Stonehenge.

A Reader's Diary - Maybe I'm just getting old, but these days I need to write down the titles of the books I've read (though the really amazing ones stand out), as well as the ones I want to read. This terrific little pocket diary is just the thing to keep book lovers organized.

Dark and Stormy Night Board Game - Bring this to your next book club meeting and have a little fun when the discussion winds down. The object of the game is to correctly guess the title or author of eight books after hearing only the opening lines.

Raval Page Flags - My books are littered with with Post-It™ notes and loose sheets of paper where I've tried to mark important passages. For the reader in your life who must mark everything, these page flags are just the ticket.

Journals Galore - I'll admit it. I'm a journal junkie. The writer in your life may just harbor this secret passion as well. Some of my favorites include Scintillating Observations, Nepalese Traveler's Journal, The Big Empty Sky, Giraffe Journal, Chapter Books (Set of 3), and Recycled 3-Pack Notebooks.

The Book Lover's Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature, and the Passages That Feature Them - Good food and good books--need I say more?

Okay, I'm done procrastinating for a while. I'll be back with some more ideas in the next week or so. Until then, feel free to share some of your own ideas. I'd love to hear them. And if you have time, you may want to check out last year's list of gift ideas.

Books for Elementary Social Studies - Civics

If you haven't been to Open Wide, Look Inside lately, you're really missing something. In the last few weeks my students have been highlighting books for use in teaching a variety of social studies topics. This week they're focused on civics. You'll find books on patriotism, symbols of America, government, democracy, as well as biographies of figures who have made a difference in the life of our growing nation.

If you want to check out book suggestions for other topics you may have missed, follow these links.

• geography
• economics

Each entry includes a brief summary of the book, curriculum connections, links for some supporting resources, and general information about the book. If you are looking for some ideas for homeschooling or classroom social studies, do take a look. You won't be disappointed.

Nonfiction Monday - How To Build Your Own Country

I've been holding on to this book for a while, but since I'm teaching a class tonight on how to teach civics in the elementary classroom, today is the perfect time to shine a spotlight on it.

As a child I had dreams about having my own room. I didn't have to wait long, because my sister went off to college when I was 9, but before that time there were many days when I longed to draw a chalk line down the center of the room to mark off my space, my territory. If you ever shared a room with a sibling, you know what I'm talking about. For any kid who wants to take the notion of having his/her own territory to the extreme, How To Build Your Own Country will show him/her just how to do it.

Written by Valerie Wyatt and illustrated by Fred Rix, How to Build Your Own Country is a step-by-step guide to building a country from scratch. Here's how it begins.

Suppose you stumble across a chunk of land that no one owns. You could take it over and declare it a brand new country. Your own personal country! The Kingdom of Jason! The Federal Republic of Katie! Even if it were only the size of a bathmat, it would be yours, all yours!

If you think that's highly unlikely, you're right. Unlikely, but not impossible.

What follows are three chapters that guide readers through the country building process. Wyatt uses the micronation of Bathmatia (a hypothetical country founded in a bathroom) to illustrate each point, as well as information about countries currently in existence. The book is chock-full of facts relating to topics in geography, economics, and history. However, they're so creatively woven into the text that kids won't feel like they've picked up a textbook when they crack this one open. You'll be more likely to hear kids sharing interesting tidbits with their friends. Here's an example from a sidebar entitled "One Dog, One Vote."

Duncan M. MacDonald cast his vote in a 2006 election in the United States. There was only one problem: Duncan is a dog. He was registered as a voter over the phone (his owner took the call) and received an absentee ballot in the mail. (Absentee ballots are used by voters who can't vote in person at election time.) Duncan marked his choice with a paw print, and then his owner, Jane Balogh, mailed in the ballot. Ms. Balogh was trying to make the point that it's too easy to get registered to vote because she was concerned about voter fraud. For doing so, she was convicted of making a false statement to a public official.

The first chapter, entitled "Stake Out Your Identity," details naming your country, finding a population, designing a flag and choosing a motto, and writing a national anthem. In addition to helpful hints for completing each task, readers will find some handy-dandy activities along the way, like the U-Name-It matching column for folks stumped for a name, or the Mad-Lib™ style fill-in-the-blanks for writing a national anthem.

Chapter two, entitled "Run the Country," explains setting up a government (autocracy, oligarchy, theocracy, single-party government, and democracy are all described), holding elections, writing a constitution, making the laws, serving your citizens, making money, and taking a holiday. Here's how this chapter begins.

Running a country is a bit like having a pet fish. You have to take care of the fish or bad things will happen (to the fish). Actually, looking after a population is a lot more work than that because your citizens won't be satisfied with just food and clean water. They will expect big things, such as a justice system, a government and an economy, and smaller things, such as roads, schools and hospitals. These are the necessities that will help them lead healthy and prosperous lives. And if your citizens are healthy and prosperous, your country will be, too.

The last chapter, entitled "Meet the Neighbors," highlights the fact that we all live in "one big world, and sometimes we need to work together on issues like peace and global warming and disaster relief." What follows is an introduction to some of our neighbors (big and small, old and new, rich and poor, etc.), international organizations, and talk of keeping the peace.

While there is no bibliography at the end of the book, there is a helpful glossary and an extensive index. Remember how I said that the book covered a range of topics in social studies? Here alone is what you'll find if you explore the index listings for the letter R.

• refugees
• religions
• representative government
• representatives
• revolutions
• rights, citizens
• rights, human
• Russia

The writing in the book is engaging and often playful (jokes and puns abound), but always straightforward and clear. Topics are broken down into easily digestible chunks so that the text never gets overwhelming for readers. The cartoon illustrations are quirky, colorful and fun, adding to the playfulness of the text. (Take a look at these spreads from the book.)

Part of the CitizenKid collection (a collection of books that inform children about the world and inspire them to be better global citizens), How to Build Your Own Country will make a fine addition to school and classroom libraries. For teachers who want to help kids better understand issues related to government, this book will serve as a useful guide to setting up a micronation in the classroom. You can even download some helpful learning resource materials to help with this endeavor. Just don't say I didn't warn you if your class decides to annex the cafeteria and demands its users pay taxes!

Book: How To Build Your Own Country
Author: Valerie Wyatt
Illustrator: Fred Rix
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: August, 2009
Pages: 40 pages
Grades: 3-6
ISBN: 978-1554533107

Source of Book: Review copy received from Raab Associates.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Hosting this week is Tina Nichols Coury at Tales from the Rushmore Kid. Do take some time to check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Childhood Games

While playing some games with my son this weekend I had a chance to reflect on some of the games I played as a child, as well as some of the ways I amused myself when there were no friends to play with me. I was fond of Pick-Up Sticks, Tiddlywinks, and Jacks. I coveted my brother's Battling Tops and my sister's Mystery Date. When I was outside I loved hopscotch, my pogo stick, jumping rope, and blowing bubbles.

I'm sure if I set my mind to it, I could come up with other games I enjoyed, and I'll bet you can too. So, your challenge this week is to write about a favorite game or pastime from childhood. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

*Image courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503155381@N01/

Poetry Friday - Sifting in the Afternoon

Today I'm sharing a poem from the November issue of Poetry magazine.

Sifting in the Afternoon
by Malachi Black

Some people might describe this room as spare:
a bedside table and an ashtray and an antique

chair; a mattress and a coffee mug;
an unwashed cotton blanket and a rug

my mother used to own. I used to have
a phone. I used to have another

Read the poem in its entirety.

The round up is being hosted by Greg K. at Gotta Book. Do stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Rictameter

The challenge this week was to write in the form of rictameter, and unrhymed, 9-line poem with a syllable count of 2/4/6/8/10/8/6/4/2 in which the first and last lines are the same. Here are the results.

Jane Yolen left this poem in the comments.

Today
I am trying
a brand new form of poem.
It is known as rictameter.
Who is it makes up these poetry forms?
Some clown with a post box in Maine?
Or was it just someone
who had a dream
Today?

© 2009 Jane Yolen

Kate Coombs of Book Aunt shares a poem entitled Snail.

Snail

Gypsy
hauls his round brown
caravan behind one
smooth trotless horse up and down small
country roads. When he's gone, so is the green
laundry from the garden's clothesline.
Festooned in lettuce, he
rides on--bold-eyed
gypsy.

--Kate Coombs (Book Aunt), 2009

Laura Purdie Salas shares a poem entitled Bear Attack.

Kelly Polark left this poem in the comments.

Autumn
Is so cool. He
Showers us with vibrant
Colors. Our children race and jump
In the pile the size of a Volkswagen.
We sip cider while we watch the
Breeze scatter leaves on the
Yard yet again.
Tyrant.

---Kelly Polark, 2009

Carol Weis left this poem in the comments.

Mind fog
Creeps shamelessly
Blurs judgment inside brain
Key decisions lost in its midst
Bleary vacillations picking up speed
Yearning for sun to blaze away
Thick overhanging clouds
Obscuring view
Mind fog

© Carol Weis, all rights reserved

Harriet of spynotes left this poem in the comments.

Walking
Over the hill,
Past the long-necked horses,
Thumping the fence with a fat stick
Just for the wooden sound of it,
I wade into the grass
To hush my feet
Walking

Andy of Life Allegorical shares two rictameters at her web site. She also left this poem in the comments.

Harvest
moon is slouching
lazily in the sky.
Her belly is too full to rise
just yet, so she lounges right above the
horizon, peers over the broad
shoulders of farm workers,
and inspects the
harvest.

Easter of Owl in the Library shares a poem about gifted kids.

Julie Larios of The Drift Record shares a poem entitled Late Night Thoughts.

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater left this poem in the comments.

A cat
comes to a door
looking for food and drink.
He finds this. And he finds children
kissing him before they even name him.
Small hands remind him how to purr.
Soft laughter fills the porch.
This home needed
a cat.

Andi of a wrung sponge shares a poem entitled Swine Flu with Asthma.

Bec of Re: Becca plays along for the first time and shares a poem about Scotland, complete with pictures. Welcome!

Mary Lee of A Year of Reading shares a rictameter that serves as a clever review of two books.

Jone of Deo Writer shares a rictameter in honor of Friday the 13th.

Denise Doyen left this poem in the comments.

Tricky,
Arbitrary:
Writing rictameter
Peters out my inner reas’ning,
‘Til my poetary clockworks slip gear,
Catch, and whirr, then keep on ticking,
Picking out syllables
Like live lobsters.
Tricky.

I agree with many of the writers this week who said that this form was particularly difficult to work within. I found it darn hard to make the first and last lines work seamlessly. Here are two of my drafts.

Acorns
drop among fall
leaves, littering the ground
with jauntily capped messengers.
Securing fertile ground is a challenge
when pestered and sequestered by
bushy-tailed tree climbers,
gathering up
acorns!

-----

Lucky
number seven,
four-leaf clovers, horseshoes
crickets, ladybugs, dragonflies
rainbows, falling stars, wishing wells, coins in
a fountain—not superstitions,
but dreams. Make one big wish.
Maybe you’ll get
Lucky.

It's not too late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll it to the results.

In Appreciation - Books That Highlight Those Who Serve

Today is Veterans Day. First called Armistice Day, this holiday falls on the day when the Germans and Allies agreed to end the first world war on November 11, 1918. Though originally established in 1919 to honor Americans who served in World War I, the name was changed after World War II and the day expanded to honor veterans of all wars in which the United States has fought. On this day and every other day of the year I am extremely grateful for all those who have served and currently serve us and our nation today with courage, honor, and sacrifice.

Here are a few books I've read recently that highlight the lives of soldiers (no matter when, where or whom they serve) and their families. These titles can help us to see more clearly what their service truly means.

America at War, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stephen Alcorn, is a collection of 54 poems by more than 40 poets. Divided into sections, each war is preceded by an introductory page that contains the name of the war and the dates it was fought, a quote about the war, and a brief summary of the conflict. (Read my review.)

Flygirl, written by Sherri Smith - Ida Mae is a young, light-skinned woman of color who wants desperately to fly. When she reads about the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program, she decides to keep her identity a secret and "pass" as white. The story of the choices Ida Mae makes to follow her dream provides an account of her training and describes the challenges and risks of being a WASP.

Mare's War, written by Tanita Davis - Alternating between present and past, the story of Marey Lee Boylen's service in the African American unit of the Women’s Army Corp (WAC) unfolds against the backdrop of a roadtrip with her bickering granddaughters. Mare's story is told as she experienced life in the 40's, and as such is filled details about day-to-day life during the war, the humiliations of segregation (even in the army), and the role of WACs in World War II.

Operation YES, written by Sara Lewis Holmes - While ostensibly about the kids taught by Miss Loupe in Room 208 of Young Oaks Elementary School, the story as a whole is set against the backdrop of life in the military during a time of war. When the entire class rallies around a project that unites activism, art, and the town around the base, readers learn what it means to be part of the military family.

Sunrise Over Fallujah, written by Walter Dean Myers - Eighteen year old Robin "Birdy" Perry, an African American born and raised in Harlem, is sent to Iraq at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. The emotional story of Birdy's service in a Civilian Affairs unit is an unflinching look at the life of a soldier deployed during a time of war.

Truce, written by Jim Murphy - This is the story of an event during World War I that I've been hearing about since childhood. Murphy deftly weaves a nonfiction narrative about the war in all its ugliness that still manages to find a bit of humanity in the chaos. (Check out the November 2009 Notes From The Horn Book for some insights from the author.)

What other recent titles highlight those who serve? Please share, as I'd love to know what you've been reading.