A Poem A Night

I have resolved to read each child at least one poem before we plunge into whatever book we are in the middle of each night because otherwise, our poetry collection just languishes on our shelves.  I figure that, like anything, the beginning may be a bit bumpy, but soon it should become a habit.  After a rough start (the first two nights we didn't read any poems!), we've been off and running.  My younger daughter is still not a fan but even if she never becomes one, exposure to the rhythms, rhymes, and language of poetry is a good thing.

Here are some of the poetry books that we've been reading from:

• A Child's Garden of Verses (in one indulgence, I bought multiple copies, each with a different illustrator, and have my own childhood copy, at right)
  
  
• Talking Like the Rain: A Read-to-Me Book of Poems
  
  
• The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
  
  
• The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury
  
  
• Here's A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry
  
  
• The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems
  
  
• A Light in the Attic and
  
  
• Where the Sidewalk Ends
  
  

I'm thinking of buying Poetry Speaks to Children as well.

I think of poetry anthologies as a bit like cookbooks.  You're not going to like every recipe or poem in the book, but if there are a few amazing ones, it may be worth owning the whole volume.

When do you read poetry to your kids?  What books of poetry for children are your favorites?

The Dr. Seuss Dichotomy

My mom never liked Dr. Seuss books and so I've always had a bias against them.  But now my almost-five-year-old's preschool class is studying them and I'm developing a new appreciation for at least some of them.  She came home thrilled after they read Horton Hatches the Egg, repeating "An elephant's faithful, 100 percent!" ad nauseum.  But she explained to me she didn't like the Dr. Seuss books that are "just rhyming" like Fox in Socks.  Although she didn't have the vocabulary to express it, she likes books with plot.  (This might explain why she has a general aversion to poetry but makes an exception for narrative poetry, like Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems.)

This school unit exposed me to a Dr. Seuss book I wasn't familiar with (to be honest, he was so prolific that I am always discovering new ones): Please Try to Remember the First of Octember!  A parent keeps promising his child outlandish things... but not until "the first of Octember."  I don't think my daughter quite got the joke that the first of Octember would never come and therefore the parent would never have to make good on his promise, but I did and it amused me!  I also like I Am Not Going to Get Up Today! although the rhyme scheme peters out at the ending, and my kids love finding all the "wacky" things in Wacky Wednesday.  As for the "just rhyming" books, I have a soft spot for There's a Wocket in My Pocket! since I used to sing it to my older daughter.  It's rollicking rhythm just lends itself to song.  And how could I not like it after she told me that I'm her "zillow" because "the zillow on my pillow always helps me fall asleep"?

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Library Round-Up #6

Brief reviews of some of the poetry and picture books we have out from the library right now. My 7-year-old is whipping through chapter books so quickly I can't keep up but maybe soon she'll write her own reviews!

Press Here by Herve Tullet.  Worthy of all the buzz it's been getting, this interactive book has readers press and rub dots on the page, shake the book, and perform other acts in order to get the dots to move, multiply, or change in other ways on each successive page.  My 4-year-old loved being in on the joke: "You don't really have to press.  There's already more dots on the next page but I still like doing it." 

Sunflakes: Poems for Children edited by Lillian Moore and illustrated by Jan Ormerod.  I picked up this poetry anthology after having read and loved the title poem in a different anthology.  I didn't even realize at first that the illustrations are by one of my favorite children's book illustrators!  While the title poem, about building sunmen out of sunflakes and other such reversals, by Frank Asch, is probably still my favorite, this compilation captures the essence of childhood and is definitely worth a look, if not a purchase. 

The Art of Miss Chew by Patricia Polacco.  Another sophisticated autobiographical winner by Patricia Polacco.  Perfect for the aspiring artist and the teachers in your life.

All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel by Dan Yaccarino.  A lovely story about immigrants, tradition and family and the power of things to convey memories and values.

How Much Is A Million? by David Schwartz.  Similar in concept to How Many Jelly Beans? this book explains big numbers by showing how high a tower of a million, billion or trillion children would be, how large a bowl would be needed to hold a million, billion, or trillion goldfish and, perhaps most amusing, how long it would take to count to each number (and which of the counters would be dead, shown by gravestones, by the time the count was complete!).  Unlike How Many Jelly Beans? this book doesn't actually show a million, billion or trillion of anything, although it does show 100,000 tiny stars.  My 4-year-old is obsessed with both of these big-number books but I prefer this one.

Chloe, Instead by Micah Player.  My expectations for this one were so high they were bound to be disappointed and they were.  I love the cartoon-y, big-eyed children and the brightly colored illustrations but Chloe turns out to be a rather typical mischievous younger sibling who eats crayons and the like.  But the demonstration of how the underlying sibling relationship is a loving one is very sweet. 

The Mitten by Jan Brett.  A classic retelling of a Ukranian folktale.  My girls recognized that it was by the same author-illustrator as that of The Hat right away.

The Honeybee Man by Lela Nargi.  Award-winning, yet it didn't grab our attention and I found myself tripping over the words as I read it aloud.

Follow the Line Around the World by Laura Ljungkvist.  Not my favorite of the Follow the Line books in terms of the illustrations, but it held my 7-year-old's interest, rare for non-fiction for her.

I Feel Better With A Frog In My Throat: History's Strangest Cures by Carlyn Beccia.  After renewing this one from the library 5 or 6 times, I thought we'd never read it.  But then my 7-year-old picked it up the other day and was fascinated and loved the multiple choice format.  Another non-fiction winner.

My No, No, No Day! by Rebecca Patterson.  Adored by my younger daughter, I can't help but think of this as a pale imitation of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day (which is actually one of the results retrieved when you search for the Patterson book on Amazon).  However, it has its place as it is definitely geared toward a younger audience than that classic.

Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems by Gail Carson Levine.  The second book of poems we've read inspired by the famous William Carlos Williams poem, This Is Just to Say.  This one struck me as repetitive and required a good deal of background knowledge to get all the allusions.  However, I loved the first one we read, This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness  by Joyce Sidman, fictional apology poems and responses to them.

Don't Want to Go! by Shirley Hughes.  Ms. Hughes always captures the daily minutiae of childhood so perfectly and this book is no different.  A young child who doesn't want to go to a family friend's house while her mom has the flu ends the day by not wanting to leave the friend's house.  This one doesn't have any of the familiar Hughes characters like Alfie and isn't my absolute favorite of her books (that would be Dogger) but it's still a lovely, relatable story with Ms. Hughes trademark warm, realistic illustrations.  I had no idea she was still writing until we found this 2010 work at the library! 

What have you been reading from the library?

Books for a Seventh Birthday

Usually, I have great ideas for birthday gifts for my older daughter.  By great I don't mean fancy or expensive - just things I'm 99% sure she'll love.  But this year, I was pretty stumped.  Her only request was for books, especially poetry books.  I wanted to give her at least one or two poetry books, one or two chapter books she could read to herself, a book or two that was meaningful to her and/or me, and at least one read-aloud.  As much as possible, they also had to be purchase-worthy, not just library-worthy.  After much agonizing, here's what I finally settled on.

From me and her dad:

Amelia and Eleanor Go For A Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan.  Two amazing feminist role models, a great story, beautiful illustrations by Brian Selznick.  The birthday girl loved it when we had it out from the library, so it should be a sure bet.

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems by Kristine O'Connell George.  Another winner when we had it out from the library, it seemed appropriate for a big sister.  I'm just worried the little sis will be jealous.  It fills both the "meaningful" slot and the poetry slot!

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.  This one is to fulfill the poetry request.  We already have A Light in the Attic.

Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall by Emily Bearn.  For me to read to her.  I'm excited to try something different, since we've mostly been reading about kids her own age (Ramona, Betsy-Tacy, Little House, Fudge).  Animal protagonists (here, mice) will be a nice change, I hope.  The birthday girl was eager to read it but we decided it was more prudent to read The Long Winter first, since that one's a library book.  I'm kind of regretting that decision as The Long Winter may take as long to read as the winter actually lasted. 

"From" her sister:

The Elevator Family by Douglas Evans.  Not pictured as it is the birthday girl's backpack for reading during downtime at school.

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey.  Did you know he wrote chapter books?  I didn't.

Both recommended by our local independent bookstore staff (and yes, purchased there), the latter because of the birthday girl's love of Ramona.

"From" our babysitter:

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary.  Another mouse book.  I'm thinking Stuart Little will be next.

 I chose both of these with the idea of "If she loves Ramona she'll love..." in mind, too.

And I'm expecting she'll receive The Random House Book of Poetry for Children this weekend at her party (hint, hint!).

So, how'd I do?

It's Hard Being a Big Sister

A new book of poems understands that it's hard being a big sister.  Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems, by Kristine O'Connell George, is the picture book equivalent of a novel-in-verse.  The non-rhyming poems, read together and in order, especially the last few, tell a story.  That concept really excited my older daughter, who requested that we buy the book and, surprisingly, my younger daughter loved it too (she made me read it 5 times the other day - in a row!).

I love how the poems capture the contradictions and complexity of the sibling relationship.  The sisters know each other better than anyone else.  The elder "translates" the younger's baby talk; the younger knows when the older one needs comforting.  They push each other's buttons like no one else can.  The big sister experiences feelings of annoyance, guilt, responsibility and even schadenfreude.  But ultimately, these sisters love each other.  These poems ring true to me, both as an older sister myself and as the mother of two girls.   The realistic, warm illustrations complement the poems perfectly. 


I hope the author writes another set of poems from the perspective of a little sister.  Here's my attempt, written from the point of view of my younger daughter:

I want to be near you.
Every second of the day and night forever.
Because you're the funnest and the smartest and you
know
everything.
You are the best at playing family and school and
when you tell me to sit
criss-cross applesauce
and not move until after recess
I always do it.
Mommy and Daddy come in and ask why
I have been sitting still
not moving for
10 minutes and I tell them,
"The teacher said 'Don't move!'"
You are only six but
you ride your bike and read
like a ten-year-old.
I want to marry you
but
Mommy says I can't.

Real Poems by Fictional Children

I'm embarrassed to admit that when I first picked up This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, I wasn't sure if the children who'd allegedly written the poems were real or not!  The fact that the book was written and not edited by Joyce Sidman should have tipped me off, but I was a little slow on the uptake.  While I was a little disappointed to realize that the children poets of the book are all fictional, the poems themselves are wonderful.  A set of apology poems paired with responses (although, oddly and inconveniently, the apologies are responses are not on facing pages but all the apologies are in a section at the front of the book, followed by all the responses), the poems ring true.  Based on the famous William Carlos Williams poem of the title, the subjects range from dodgeball injuries to sibling rivalry, to parental neglect.  Some are sincerely apologetic; others are not.  And not all the offenders are forgiven.  My 6-year-old loved this book, as did I.  It would be great to read it with real kids and then challenge them to write their own apology and response poems. 

Summer: Lemonade; Winter: Hot Chocolate

I love word games.  Scrabble, Boggle, Bananagrams - I love 'em, one and all.  And, sometimes, when I am bored, I play the "make little words out of a big word" game, a kind of word game solitaire.  Lately, my daughter has been asked to do the same as part of her homework.  She finds it pretty difficult even though the teacher sends home large-print versions of each letter to be cut out, so that the children can physically move them around (like Scrabble or Bananagrams tiles) to make words.  I'm at a loss for how to help her because when I look at, say, "encyclopedia," one of her assigned words, I immediately see zillions of possibilities: cycle, lope, cope, plaid, pedal, lance, clap...

There is a new book of poetry out, Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed From a Single Word, (I love, love, LOVE the title!) which creates poems by playing exactly this game.  Rule-abiding as I am, however, I  must point out that poet Bob Raczka cheats, at least given the way I play - he uses letters which appear only once in the "big" word more than once in the little words he creates.  In my version, that is strictly prohibited!

Nonetheless, this is a fabulous book.  Each poem is printed in twice in a typewriter-style font, once, on the right-hand side, with the letters placed directly under their placement in the "mother" word and once, after the page turn on the left-hand side, with normal spacing.  This format lets the reader to try to decipher the poem first without seeing the "answer" on the facing page.  As other commenters have written, the poems rise above their gimmicky premise.  I can't pick a single favorite but, one is surely:

chocolate

hat
coat
hot
cocoa

providing a nice wintry beverage counterpoint to the lemonade of the title.  Here in New York, though, it is definitely lemonade weather, the calendar notwithstanding.

What is your favorite word game?