Nonfiction Monday Is Here!

It is Monday and that means it's time to see what great nonfiction titles folks are reading this week. I'll be rounding up throughout the day, so leave me a note about your post and I'll add it to the list below.

Jone of Check It Out shares a review of Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow.

The Wild About Nature writers share a review of Over in Australia.

Abby the Librarian shares a review of Mythbusters Science Fair Book.

Jeff at North Carolina Teacher Stuff shares a review of Animal Eggs: An Amazing Clutch of Mysteries and Marvels.

Bookish Blather shares a review of Frozen Secrets: Antarctica Revealed.

Lisa of Shelf-Employed shares a review of A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis.

Jennifer of the Jean Little Library shares a review of Not Your Typical Book About the Environment.

Roberta of Wrapped in Foil shares a review of Silk and Venom.

Anastasia Suen of Picture Book of the Day shares a review of The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy).

Mary Ann Scheuer of Great Kid Books shares a review of The Magic School Bus Oceans as an iPad app.

Lori Calabrese shares a review of Where Did Dinosaurs Come From?.

Jeanne Walker Harvey of True Tales & A Cherry on Top shares a review of Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave.

Shirley of SimplyScience Blog shares a review of Beco's Big Year.

The Fourth Musketeer shares a review of Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Looking Up

I threw my back out a few weeks ago and have spent a lot of time on my back staring at the ceiling. It would have been so much nicer to recline in the grass and stare at the sky, but alas my immobility and the cold prevented that. Whether you're bird watching, star-gazing, cloud watching, plane spotting, or just plain enjoying the sun on your face, there's a lot to be said for looking up. While looking up literally can be a lot of fun, looking up figuratively has it's benefits too (you know the power of positive thinking and all).

So, let's write about looking up. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results later this week.

Monday Poetry Stretch - In My Shoes

If you saw my Facebook post yesterday you'll have noticed that I went to church wearing two different shoes. Now, lots of folks have gone out with shoes of different colors. I went out looking like this.

In my defense, I did dress in the dark so my husband could sleep in. I reached in, grabbed two pair of slingbacks, slipped them on, and walked out of the house. When I got out of the car and found my feet were cold, I looked down and was shocked.

This story leads me to our writing topic - shoes. There are lots of things we put on our feet. I prefer mine to be bare, but I have had a few well-loved pairs over time. I was particularly fond of a pair of clogs I had in middle school. When I started teaching I bought my first and only pair of red shoes. I have a sparkly gold pair of heels I've only worn once . They're pretty, but they hurt and only match the dress I bought them to match. The dress is long gone, but the shoes remain. Perhaps I'll write about my first pair of skates. There's just so much from which to choose.

So, there's your challenge. Leave me a note about your shoe poem and I'll post the results here late this week.

Check Me Out in the January Issue of Book Links!

This month you'll find me sharing a thematic book list somewhere besides this blog. Check out the January issue of Book Links for my article entitled Classrooms Like Ours: Books about Schools around the World. You'll find picture books, informational titles, and a few broader cultural overviews that include information about schools.

I had a lot of fun reading and reviewing books for this list. I don't mind telling you that after reading about many different kinds of schools around the world, I was particularly grateful for my public education, and even more grateful for all the teachers out there working so hard on behalf of children and young adults today.

Poetry Friday - Monotone

I've been reading Sandburg this week, so I'm sharing a poem I can't seem to get out of my mind.

Monotone
by Carl Sandburg

The monotone of the rain is beautiful,
And the sudden rise and slow relapse
Of the long multitudinous rain.

The sun on the hills is beautiful,
Or a captured sunset sea-flung,
Bannered with fire and gold.

A face I know is beautiful—
With fire and gold of sky and sea,
And the peace of long warm rain.

The round up is being hosted by Irene Latham at Live. Love. Explore!. Do stop by and take in all the wonderful poetry being shared. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Lost and Found

The challenge this week was to write about things lost and found. Here are the result.

Lost and Found
by Kate Coombs of Book Aunt

The day loses color
as the sun slides away.
Gold turns to blue
and blue turns to gray.
Gray turns to charcoal
and charcoal to black.
I'll live without color
till dawn brings it back.

--Kate Coombs, 2011, all rights reserved


Lost and Found
by Jane Yolen

I have lost love,
am trying to find it again.
Not like a black ribbed sock,
lost in the washer,
or a puppy unleashed
who has run away,
or a noun once firmly in my head
and now somewhere in the ether
of an aging mind.

My love was lost to the crab,
to a succession of treatments
that prolonged but did not sustain life.
And now I am looking,
like a bad country song,
in all the wrong places—
on the Internet, at conferences,
during dinner parties,
at gray-haired men on Scottish streets,
in the assembly line of old hands
wanting one more chance at the gold ring,

©Jane Yolen 2011, All rights reserved


Lonely
by Amy LV of The Poem Farm

It’s lonely here in lost and found,
one mitten whispered to one glove.
I hope someone will help me find
the child I will forever love.
I miss throwing piles of snowballs
with that hand I used to hold.
I wonder if he has warm pockets.
I hope he does.
It’s getting cold.

© Amy Ludwig VanDerwater


The Changeling
by Diane Mayr of Random Noodling

Okay, so the baby wasn't perfect,
blemished we often wrapped her
in a blanket of myth. But her
constitution was so sweet.
Admirable. She was loved.

The fairies came under cover
of flag and cross. We became
distracted by trinkets. Our thoughts
shut out by constant noise.
We lost sight of our precious baby.

And the fairies had their way.

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved


LOST AND FOUND
by Carol Weis

That single
staggering word
the one you’ve
lifted rugs to find
swirled lusciously
inside your head
while you dawdled
around your day
lost with one
innocent twirl
of spaghetti
sauced spoon
when fixing
dinner last night
only to reappear
split-secondly
as you sank
deep into
paralyzing
sleep.

© Carol Weis, all rights reserved


Susan Taylor Brown of Susan Writes left this poem.

found
on Christmas eve
1 turkey, stuffed
1 bowl of potatoes, mashed with butter
helpings of sweet corn, slices of bread
pumpkin pie, 2 pieces
numerous glasses of wine and champagne

found
on Christmas morning
a stocking full of
fudge, peppermint sticks
a breakfast of bacon, eggs,
biscuits drizzled with butter and honey
more champagne

lost
1 waistline
and most of my willpower

© Susan Taylor Brown, all rights reserved


UPON LOSING ANOTHER EARRING
by Julie Larios of The Drift Record

It’s a long story with lots of losing –
one earring, two earrings, ten, then my hearing,
then the fine hair of my right ear’s interior,
then my balance and my bearing.
Believe me, what’s happening
is the opposite of win-win but why
start whining about the small things?
Soon the lobes will go, and the cartilage after,
as well as what’s larger, what’s between one ear
and the other, then the neck and everything below,
shoulders to toes, breasts, elbows, knees,
God knows there are no safe zones, all of it
will go missing soon enough, just toughen up,
buy another pair and get on with it.


Missing Person
by Toby Speed

I looked for you in the letter you sent.
I looked for you in your chair.
I looked for you in the steam of the soup.
I drew a picture of you, and I looked there, too.
I looked for you in the veins of the leaves.
I made up a song about you, and the song evaporated.
When I looked in my pockets, I found my hands.
When I looked in my hands, I found my face.
I looked for you in half a moon, but you were in the half I couldn't see.
I dreamed you were standing on a hill far away, and the hills kept moving.
I looked for you everywhere,
and I couldn't find you anywhere.

Then I heard your voice on the telephone.
You said some words, and I heard the inside of your voice and not the words.
I looked in the mirror, and I saw you.
I looked in a pile of leaves, and I saw you.
I listened to a chord on the guitar, and I heard you.
I smelled the scent of pine needles, and I smelled you.
I bit into an apple, and I tasted you.
When I looked at the clock, it told me you were coming closer.
I drew your picture in my palm.
I kept that picture in my glove.
I looked for you anywhere,
and I found you everywhere.

My son got a ship in a bottle kit for Christmas. The informational book that came with it was all about tall ships. The USCG vessel Eagle graced the cover. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since. So, here's my contribution for the week.

Memories of the Eagle

Found
Courage while climbing the main
deep love for the sea
an iron stomach
respect for Mother Nature and her fickle ways
the ability to do almost anything

Lost
Ever so briefly, a fear of heights
clipped on and hanging
more than 100 feet above the deck

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.

Another New Web Site - Math!

I have been putting the finishing touches on my math methods class for spring. This means I'm creating sample assignments, writing rubrics, and launching another new web site. (Yes, I am certifiable!)

Without further ado I give you my new site devoted to math in the elementary classroom. It's called Teaching Elementary Math.
As with the science site, this one is limited right now and definitely a work in progress, but it will grow considerably over the semester. I hope you'll visit and let me know what you think.

Books With Lasting Connections

The January 2011 issue of Book Links features Lasting Connections of 2010, a "list of the 30 picture books, novels, and nonfiction books that most effectively connect to the K–8 curriculum." If you haven't seen the list, you should check it out. There is a wealth of poetry on it (hurray!) as well as many other wonderful titles. Here are a few.

• Borrowed Names: Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters, written by Jeannine Atkins - It took me until mid-summer to finally get my hands on this book, but once I started reading I could not put it down. This one is beautifully written and utterly fascinating.

• Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems about Love, written by Pat Mora - I had the pleasure of hearing Pat read some of these poems at NCTE in November. They are breathtaking.

• Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josee Massee - I wrote about Marilyn's work and this book as part of the lead-in to NCTE. What else can I say about this title? Perhaps that I'm still astounded every time I read it. I've read and re-read and it never gets old. (Read my post.)

• Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beckie Prange - This one is a perfect combination of science and poetry. How you can you possibly go wrong?
  

There are many other terrific books on the list, so head on over and check out the Lasting Connections of 2010 list.

News for Elementary Science Teachers

I have been putting the finishing touches on my class for spring. This means I'm creating sample assignments, writing rubrics, and launching another web site. Yup, you read that correctly. I was unhappy with the class blog this past semester, as we had a lot of technical problems, so I decided to leave that platform and try something new.

Without further ado I give you my new site devoted to science in the elementary classroom. It's called Teaching Elementary Science. Here's the great thing about this site. It took my only a few hours to create, it's hosted for free, and the ease using of the drag-and-drop features is amazing. It's pretty small right now and definitely a work in progress, but it will grow considerably over the semester. I hope you'll visit and let me know what you think.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Lost and Found

Hello dear friends! Happy 2011. It's been a long while since I've been here with any regularity, but this is a new year and a new start. We could write this week about endings and beginnings, but I've been thinking a lot these last few weeks about things that I have lost and found. Whether they be material things (those darn mittens!) or people we love, surely we've all lost and found things in our lives. Let's write about that.

Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Poetry Friday - Auguries of Innocence

I'm in shock that this is the last day of 2010. I'm also finding myself a little blue and very ready for the promise of a new year. The end of the year always seems to bring this poem to mind.

Auguries of Innocence
By William Blake

To see a World in a grain of sand,
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.…

The bat that flits at close of eve
Has left the brain that won’t believe.
The owl that calls upon the night
Speaks the unbeliever’s fright.…

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine;
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.…

Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in Eternity.…

The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar
Are waves that beat on Heaven’s shore.…

He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne’er believe, do what you please.
If the Sun and Moon should doubt,
They’d immediately go out.…

God appears, and God is Light,
To those poor souls who dwell in Night;
But does a Human Form display
To those who dwell in realms of Day.

The round-up today is at Carol's Corner. Here's wishing you a happy Poetry Friday, and even happier New Year.

Poetry Friday Is Here!

Today I'm sharing a poem by Mary Oliver.

White-Eyes

In winter
      all the singing is in
          the tops of the trees
              where the wind-bird

with its white eyes
      shoves and pushes
          among the branches.
              Like any of us

he wants to go to sleep,
      but he's restless—
          he has an idea,
              and slowly it unfolds

Read the poem in its entirety.

I'm your intrepid host this week so leave me a note about your poetry offering and I'll round up the posts throughout the day.

Honors and Awards

Julie Larios of The Drift Record shares a poem and shares the news of J. Patrick Lewis'selection as the recipient of this year's Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.

Elaine of Wild Rose Reader shares the complete list of NCTE poetry notables for 2009.

Book Reviews and Excerpts

Laura Purdie Salas shares an excerpt from the Bob Raczka book Guyku.

Laura of Author Amok shares a scat review of When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat.

Carol of Carol's Corner shares some thoughts on two decidedly different versions of the classic poem The Night Before Christmas.

Jeannine Atkins shares a review of Salley Mavor's book A Pocketful of Posies.

Anastasia Suen of Picture Book of the Day shares a snippet of Dinosaur's Night Before Christmas.

Original Poetry

Amy VanDerwater of The Poem Farm shares an original poem and a sneak peek at the NCTE poetry notables.

Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) shares Christmas is Coming! at his Father Goose blog and the poem Hands That See at his Bald Ego blog.

Melissa of through the wardrobe shares a poem entitled Colloquy (for Emily).

Andi of a wrung sponge shares some "cheer-up" haiku.

You'll find lots of original poetry in Laura Purdie Salas' post of 15 Words or Less Poems.

Kyle of The Boy Reader shares some winning poems from a school district poem competition.

Heidi Mordhosrt of my juicy little universe ruminates on the Gingerbread man and shares a poem entitled Half-Baked.

Posting at The Blue Rose Girls, Elaine shares two poems for Jack, her daughter's rather frisky dog!

April Halprin Wayland of Teaching Authors shares the poem Beware of Books! and a bit of a writing workout.

Poetry of Others

Jone of Check It Out shares The Coming of Light by Mark Strand.

Tabatha Yeatts of The Opposite of Indifference shares some poetry from Brian Jacques' Redwall series.

Ruth of There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town shares the poem Dawn Dreams by Rachel Hadas.

Mary Lee of A Year of Reading shares the poem The Woodcutter Changes His Mind by David Budbill.

Diane Mayr of Random Noodling shares the poem Dust of Snow by Robert Frost. She also shares a quote of Frost's at Kurios K's Kwotes.

Over at Kurios Kitt's Kurio Kabinet, Diane shares the poem Distances by Michael Hettich. All the snow and birds this week are making me happily dizzy! I love it when so many of us are on the same wavelength.

Tara of A Teaching Life shares the poem Mimi's Fingers by Mary O'Neill.

Susan of Chicken Spaghetti shares some poetic thoughts on dads who cook.

Sally Thomas of Castle in the Sea shares Poem in Advent from the Life and Times of LSM: A Living History.

Music and Other Poetic Diversions

Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup shares thoughts about Joni Mitchell's song River.

B.C. of The Small Nouns shares some thoughts on poetry in the movies and a clip from The Royal Tennenbaums.

Happy poetry Friday all!

Monday Poetry Stretch - Inspiration

During David Weisner's CLA talk he said that in creating art you can't wait for inspiration to come to you. Instead, you must get to work and focus on the process. Truer words have not been spoken. I know I can't just stare at the blank page and wait for the words to come. I have to put pen to paper and write. That said, I've never been one to easily "free write." Those were dreaded words in my high school English class. I did often stare at the page because I needed some parameters within which to write. That's why I like poetry stretches--they give me something to focus on and think about. They may be a minor inspiration, but they do help me get started.

This week, let's write about something that inspires you. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Quick Update - NCTE and Thanksgiving

NCTE has been amazing! The panel presentation on Friday went very well. The poets were terrific, as were Sylvia and Elaine. Did you know that Elaine and I started our e-mail and blog correspondence in the spring of 2007 and now I can say we've finally met! I also had the opportunity to meet Heidi Mordhorst and Amy Ludwig Vanderwater. Hurray! I heard Gary Paulsen, Carole Boston Weatherford and David Weisner speak. I shipped a box of books home to the tune of $40+!

I have lots to tell, but since my family arrived yesterday, the next few days will be devoted to family vacation. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of NCTE.

Amy Ludwig Vanderwater and Heidi Mordhorst

Three of the Four Poets on the Panel
Pat Mora, Lee Bennett Hopkins, and Jame Richards

Elaine Magliaro and Mary Lee Hahn

Centerpiece from the CLA Breakfast and David Weisner's Talk

Once my NCTE obligations ended I hit the pool with my son. It's called the "Dig Site" and sports a Mayan temple!
We're having fun so far, so I may not update much until we return home. If I don't see you before then, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

William hamming it up!

Monday Poetry Stretch - Finding the Right Adjective

I've been inspired by reading Marilyn Singer's poems these last two weeks and want to try writing poems that mirror a poem of which I am particularly enamored. Here's the poem.

What Water Can Be
(from How to Cross a Pond: poems about water)

A furrow that's filling
       Water, collective
Your face in the puddle
       Water, reflective
A network of rivers
       Water, connective
Your boat drifting downstream
       Water, directive
A storm in the city
       Water, objective
One drop on your eyelash,
       Water, selective

For me this challenge will be all about finding the right adjectives for the poem's topic. I hope you'll join me. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Poem ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.

Marilyn Singer and Footprints on the Roof

I've been a facilitator for Project Learning Tree for some time now. When I lead workshops I always read this poem from Marilyn Singer's book Footprints on the Roof.

Go-Betweens

Trees are go-betweens
        listening to the stories
of both earth and sky
           the conversations
of vireos and star-nosed moles
       of eagles and worms
Trees know the soft secrets of clouds
       the dark siftings of soil
The hear the high keening of squalls
           the deep rumbling of rocks
Trees whisper for the sky's damp blessings
       and the earth's misty kisses
They issue warnings
They offer praise
       This is trees' work
and they do it with such uncomplaining grace
       it never seems like work at all

Here's what Marilyn had to say about this book.

It's obvious that I'm a nature-lover. I'd done several books of poems about the natural world before FOOTPRINTS, but I'd say that the poems in it are more sophisticated. FOOTPRINTS represents my reflective side. One reviewer wrote that my work is the poetry of questions. I really, really like that because, in terms of the natural world, I think I'm always asking myself questions, trying to puzzle out what things mean , how they work and what our place is in relation to them. I like feeling a small part of a large universe.

FOOTPRINTS is part of a series of three books which focus on those questions. The others are HOW TO CROSS A POND: Poems about Water and CENTRAL HEATING: Poems about Fire and Warmth. These books represent a kind of intersection of science and poetry. I write both nonfiction about the natural world and poetry. To me, both are about curiosity and wonder. Nonfiction can explain things we take for granted or things we find mysterious and make us appreciate them. Poetry can take these same things and make them mysterious or relatable in surprising ways. The excitingly strange can become intriguingly familiar, and vice versa, all leading to that sense of wonder. That's what I've tried to do with these poems--give the reader a bit of a surprise, make him or her curious, and encourage him or her to take delight in the wonders of our world.

The three books in this series are wonderful little packages full of surprises. The trim size is small, but don't let that fool you. These little gems are filled with Meilo So's gorgeous India ink drawings on rice paper (grays in FOOTPRINTS, blues in HOW TO CROSS A POND, and reds in CENTRAL HEATING) and poems that in turn will make you laugh then nod and smile in agreement. Here are two favorites from the other books in the series.

What Water Can Be
(from How to Cross a Pond)

A furrow that's filling
       Water, collective
Your face in the puddle
       Water, reflective
A network of rivers
       Water, connective
Your boat drifting downstream
       Water, directive
A storm in the city
       Water, objective
One drop on your eyelash,
       Water, selective


Holidays
(from Central Heating)

Holidays are marked by fire:
Sparklers in summer,
Jack-o'-lanterns in fall.
Menorahs, luminarias,
Christmas lights mimicking flames
       of yuletides past.
Paper lanterns afloat
       in Japanese harbors,
           sending departed spirits on their way.
Clay lamps shining
       in Indian streets,
           greeting goddesses and each new year.
So much light and warmth,
So much hope reflected
       in watchful eyes,
           joyous or solemn,
           pale or dark,
All year long in our brilliant worldwide
           gala.

If you are interested in seeing Meilo's work, visit her blog Meilo So Illustration.

Unfortunately, finding these books in print can be difficult. I've done particularly well with Abebooks and found nice copies of Central Heating and How to Cross a Pond.

All poems ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.

Marilyn Singer and Turtle in July/Fireflies at Midnight

So Turtle in July is the book that introduced me to Marilyn Singer. In the late 80s when I was teaching a unit on animal adaptations I decided I wanted to share some animal poems with my students. While browsing in a local bookstore I stumble upon Turtle in July. This collection of nature poems includes poems that pair animals with the months of the year as well as four seasonal poems focused on the bullhead (a type of catfish). The poems on hibernation (timber rattlesnake) and migration (Canada goose) sold me on the book and turned me into a fan. I've been looking for and reading Marilyn's poetry and nonfiction ever since!

Here's what Marilyn had to say about these titles.

I've mentioned that TURTLE IN JULY began as a prose picture book about a grandmother and grandson walking around, looking at animals, and that it never worked. I was at pond in the Japanese garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden when I saw a turtle and heard its voice in my head telling me how good it felt to be in cool water during that hot day in July. I really loved the idea of getting under the shell of that turtle, as it were, and wondered if I could get into the skin of other animals as well. To do that, I spent quite a bit of time at parks, zoos, wild places, observing, as well as researching. Sometimes (usually when no one was looking), I tried to make sounds or move like those animals as well.

I did the same thing for FIREFLIES AT MIDNIGHT. TURTLE features animals during different months/seasons; FIREFLIES at different hours of the day. I have always loved fireflies--I used to catch them when I was a kid and put them in a jar, then let them go--but I think the first poem I actually wrote for this book might have been "Frog." I've written a lot of frog poems. I'm very attracted to these amphibians, though I'm not sure why. My husband and I have a house in Connecticut and frogs rule the night there with their calls. All of the animals in TURTLE are in the same general locale, but for FIREFLIES, I was thinking even more specifically of critters I've seen near that pond in Connecticut.

I want to share two wonderful things regarding these two books. The first is that an elementary school class set "Beavers in November" from TURTLE to music and performed it for me. What a delight! The second is that I writer I idolize, Susan Cooper, was handed FIREFLIES at a conference. I stood there as she looked through the book, then pointed to "Spider" and said, "Very good poem." I grinned like a fool!

Here's a favorite poem from each book.

Canada Goose
(from Turtle in July)

Did I tell you?
I should tell you
Going home
We're going home
Are you coming?
Yes, you're coming
Going home
We're going home
How the sun will warm each feather
How the wind will make us fly
Follow me -- I'll be your leader
As we flap across the sky
Are you ready?
I am ready
Going home
We're going home
Is it time now?
It is time now
October's happened
And we're going home


Crayfish
(from Fireflies at Midnight)

I, crayfish,
no day fish
no way fish
at all
Nosy otter, watch its jaws
Careless wader, watch my claws
Spend each morning
lying soundless
under stones
Spend each evening
shredding stems
picking bones

If you teach poetry writing, you can use Fireflies at Midnight to teach about personification. Learn more by reading the article Personification by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

You can find a nice review of Fireflies at Midnight with some classroom suggestions at the blog written by Emily Cox.

All poems ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.

NCTE Poetry Posts - What's Cookin'?

Here's a question for you. What happens when you spill an Earl Grey latte on your laptop? Well first you curse like a sailor (yes, I did) and hope no one hears you (they did). Then you panic. Finally, you pray that the amazing computer support folks can fix your monumental screw-up and save everything you haven't backed up on your hard drive, which is all your recent work from the last few months.

Whew! Thank goodness someone was smiling down on me! Now that I'm back, here's what I missed and what's new in our run-up to the NCTE panel on poetry and blogging.

This Week
At Poetry for Children, Featuring New Poet Jame Richards
At Wild Rose Reader, Eating Poetry, Number Two: A Poem for Lee Bennett Hopkins
At The Miss Rumphius Effect, Marilyn Singer and Monster Museum and Marilyn Singer and Monday on the Mississippi

Last Week
At Poetry for Children, Pat Mora on the Web and in Print
At Wild Rose Reader, Lee Bennett Hopkins: A Silent Mentor and The Anthologist: A Poem for Lee Bennett Hopkins

Go now, read and enjoy!

Marilyn Singer and Monday on the Mississippi

A while back I was looking for some poetry books to use in a geography unit in came across the book Monday on the Mississippi, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Frané Lessac.

Here's what Marilyn had to say about this book.

Guide books can be interesting and useful. Tours can be engaging and fun. Could there be such a thing as a poetic guide book, a lyrical tour? I thought so when I wrote NINE O'CLOCK LULLABY (Harper) and ON THE SAME DAY IN MARCH (Harper), trips through the world's time zones and weather. I liked researching and writing those and wondered what my next poetic trip could be? Well, why not a path steeped in story and history--the Mississippi River?

I'd been to New Orleans, St. Louis, and Minneapolis. My first glimpse of the river was at the latter location, as my husband and I drove from Wisconsin to Minnesota, and I recalled how excited I felt, seeing this famous river road. To write the poems for this book, I used those recollections and I also took another excellent road trip, stopping at Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin; Dubuque, Iowa, where there's a great river museum; Gutenberg and McGregor, Iowa to see the barges; and Effigy Mounds State Park, also in Iowa. I wish I could've visited every place I wrote about, but I could not, so for research I turned to reading, films, and correspondence/conversations with folks who lived in or spent time in those places.

In 2006, the American Library Association conference was held in New Orleans, the first big convention following the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. Each year at this conference, I co-host the ALSC Poetry Blast, a reading by children's poets, and that year, I read from MONDAY ON THE MISSISSIPPI. It was a poignant moment for me and the audience and it made me appreciate even more strongly how poetry can not only entertain and enlighten, but unite and strengthen writers, readers, and listeners.

I love poems that introduce and explore places, particularly places I've never been. Here's a poem about a stop on the east bank of the river.

Friday on the Mississippi
Memphis, Tennessee

At Mud Island, where their brothers admire
the perfect miniature model of the Mississippi--
its tiny towns, its little twists and turns--
two sisters want to sit quietly by the real thing,
listening for Martin Luther, B.B., Elvis,
and all the others that would've been,
should've been,
or never could've been.
They want to sit and hear the river that rings
with the voices of Kings.

One of my students wrote a nice little review of this title. You can read it here.

If you are interested in more poetry about places and using poetry to teach geography, consider these links.

• Poetry of Place - This site encourages the reading and writing of poetry in geography instruction and includes many fine examples of student work.
• Consider the following poetry titles about place to expand your teaching of geography.
• Tour America: A Journey Through Poems and Art, written by Diane Siebert and illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson
• A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme, written by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Alison Jay
• My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
• GOT Geography!, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Philip Stanton
• Home to Me: Poems Across America, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
• Travel Pals - In this geography unit, a class sends out four different stuffed animals across the United States to learn about U.S. geography through the eyes of the Travel Pals. Poetry books can be used to support instruction.

Poem ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.

Marilyn Singer and Monster Museum

Halloween may have passed us by, but for some folks monsters just never get old. Monster Museum, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Gris Grimly, is a book of poems that shows what happens when a group of children follow a docent (an undead one at that!) through a monster museum. Are Frankenstein, Dracula, Bigfoot, Medusa and others wax replicas? Or are they something else? Grimly's illustrations are terrific and reward those who take the time to study them.

Here's what Marilyn had to say about this book.

I dislike horror movies, but I do like monsters. Let's face it--monsters are fun! I'd written a few poems about them that I thought were pretty good and I liked the idea of a book about them, but what kind of a book? There were certainly other books of monster poems out there. I was mentioning this dilemma to a writer friend, and he suggested I set it in a museum. Zowie! That did it, and MONSTER MUSEUM was born! The monsters would be the exhibits (sometimes they'd be talking ab out themselves--I requested that the amazing illustrator, Gris Grimly, feature "Press Me" buttons) and there'd be a guide, who described the rest of the exhibits.

I remember going through several books and online guides to famous monsters. Those helped me with the poems and the "Glos-Scary" at the back of the book. I needed to know the "essence" of these monsters to write the poems, which also gave me a chance to play a lot with language, to be witty, and to write a few limericks.

The book was well-received, so I got to write a companion, CREATURE CARNIVAL, in which the attractions at a carnival are beings from myths, fairy tales, movies, etc. For that one, I visited several county and country fairs to get ideas for the attractions. A delightful way to spend a late summer day!

My son requested I share his favorite poem from the book, so here it is.

Medusa

You want to be a millionaire?
Have gold and jewels beyond compare?
I'll give you wealth
(can't promise health)
if you will dare
to do my hair.

Lately I have such a whim
to get a perm--or just a trim.
An antique Greek
can still look chic.
A bit more prim--
but far less grim.

My ends will never split or break.
My scalp won't shed a single flake.
There's just one condition--
to be my beautician,
have you got what it takes
to put curlers on snakes?

Marilyn's follow-up to this title, Creature Carnival, was named an honor book for the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award in 2005. You can hear Marilyn read some of the poems from this book in her wonderful acceptance speech. (You even get to hear her sing!)

For more monster poetry titles check out the thematic list monstrously good poetry.

Poem ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.