Celebrating Poetry and the Outdoors

   

Being outdoors has always been Emmy's favorite thing to do.  From a very young age, her curiosity led her to explore nature in wide open spaces and in little nooks and crannies. Today Emmy still enjoys being outside, but I am starting to see a difference in how she relates to nature.  The magic of fairies and gnomes hidden amongst the flowers and leaves is disappearing and in its place is more of a scientific approach to life around her.  I hear things like, "Did you know that sand is made up of millions of tiny rocks?  Did you know that the anther is the part of the flower that produces pollen?  Did you know that there are more than 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth?"  I know that these facts are important and am grateful that she is interested in learning these things, but I am a believer that life is magical and will continue to encourage her to look at things in a variety of different ways (not black or white).  For example, we know that an orb web is made of spirals and is used to catch prey, but seeing an orb web in the early morning mist is magical as the first rays of the morning sun hit its spirals and creates shimmers of gold.

Emmy has attended a Montessori school for the past six years (pre-school through second grade). Going out and exploring nature has always been a part of her school day.  It is understood that fresh air along with children's natural desire to explore their surroundings is beneficial to their growth and learning. Montessori believes that to delight in the wonder of the natural world at a tender and impressionable age is to become a steward to the earth in the years to come. I will be forever grateful to all of her Montessori teachers for gifting Emmy with the awareness that nature doesn't belong to us, but rather that we are responsible for its care.  

This past school year, Emmy spent a lot of time immersed in poetry.  It wasn't just a unit to teach, a box to be checked off, but rather a time to delve into the beauty of words - sweet, juicy, interesting words.  Through read alouds, the poems came to life begging Emmy to dive in.  Through writing, poetry became a way for Emmy to express herself.  By using mentor texts, Emmy began to understand the different ways that poets put words together. Through reciting poems, Emmy realized that the rhythm and rhyme of poetry was a fun way to play with words.  Through drama, Emmy took her love of poetry to a dramatic level by creating little skits to go along with the poems.  In the spring, the children helped to organize a Poetry Tea as a celebration of all that they had learned.  From the invitations to the set up of the classroom, the children were involved in the process.  It may have been lacking a smoky atmosphere and the adornment of berets, but it felt very "beatnik" anyway.  The children each took a turn reading from their hand sewn poetry books where they had written five types of poems such as a couplet and a diamante.  The look of pride on their faces as they stood before a large group of adults and read their poems was a joy to witness.  Also part of the Poetry Tea was food and drinks.  When we arrived, Emmy greeted us and showed us to our table.  She then went and got the snacks and served us hot tea with honey, lemon and/or sugar.  It was such a sweet celebration.  Emmy continues to find poetry wherever we go from noticing words that rhyme to making very poetic remarks such as, "Doesn't the color of the sun have a shade as deep red as a beautiful Poppy in spring."  When she carries what she has learned in school into her day to day life, I know that learning has really occurred. A love of poetry has truly been instilled in her being and I, again, thank her teachers for helping to facilitate this love.  Please take a moment to watch this video of Emmy as she reads her poems at Inn Street Montessori's Lower Elementary Poetry Tea.

 

Ever since her work with poetry at school, Emmy has become interested in books that hold collections of poems.  We have quite a collection of poetry books including Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Shel Silverstein and Mattie Stepanek.  Stepanek has been described as a peacemaker, a philosopher and a prophet.  He suffered from a rare form of muscular dystrophy and died in 2004 at the age of thirteen. His poems are full of messages of peace and love.  Stepanek called his poems heartsongs.  

"A heartsong doesn't have to be a song in your heart, " he said.  "It doesn't have to be 

talking about love and peace.  It can just be your message.  It can be your feeling.  

Some people might even call it a conscience."  

At a very early age, Stepanek developed his personal life philosophy summed up in the following quote,                                              "Remember to play after every storm."  

You can read more about Mattie Stepanek and his books of poetry and essays titled, Heartsongs, (all NY Times bestsellers) on his website.  

With Emmy's love of the outdoors,  I searched for poetry books that focused on nature. These two books stood out as winners.

The first one is A Stick is an Excellent Thing (poems celebrating outdoor play) by Marilyn Singer with illustrations by LeUyen Pham.  

This book of poetry celebrates universal types of play that are timeless and engaging no matter what generation is participating.  From organized games like jumping rope, hop scotch and hide-and-seek to imaginative games like making mud soup and turning sticks into magic wands, the poems held within these pages invite children to join in the fun.

A Stick is an Excellent Thing

A stick is an excellent thing,

If you find the perfect one.

It's a scepter for a king,

A stick is an excellent thing.

It's a magic wand, It's yours to fling,

To strum a fence, to draw the sun,

A stick is an excellent thing,

If you find the right one.  

(Click HERE for our post about the book Not a Stick)

The second one is Outside Your Window (a first book of nature) by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld.  Hearld's juicy layered collages bring the poems to life.  Davies, a zoologist and best known for writing books about science, finds a way to bring amazing facts and fun things to do in her poetry writing. The book cycles through the seasons with a good number of poems focused on each one.  I like that the poems do not always follow a rhyming format, but instead bring about vivid images through colorful language.  

Honey

Buzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz

It's coming from the beehive

It sounds like sweetness

And the sleepy, sleepy summer

Hmmmm mmm

The bees bring nectar from the flowers

For miles around and in the hive,

They make it into honey.

Buzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz

Hmmmmm mmm

The sound of sweetness and the smell of flowers

Of sunny, sleepy summer -

The sound of honey.

Emmy and I hope that we have inspired you to enjoy the poetry of nature!  I leave you with a quote by one of my favorite philosophers and the person that my Emmy is named after, Ralph Waldo Emerson.    

"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." 

Summertime

It's Summertime!

     

Plum Island ~ Massachusetts

What Emmy loves about SUMMER...lazy days, flip flops, 

chocolate ice cream, juicy watermelon, swimming pools, walks in the woods, bike riding, 

the ocean:  the smell of the warm sea breezes, the sound of the crashing waves, 

the warm sand between her toes and so much more.  SUMMER!  

With more time spent outdoors during the summer, we find ourselves working to create moments in the day for reading and creating indoors (quite different from wintertime when we work on creating moments to be outdoors).

When we first wake up and right before bed seem to be the best times for reading and creating in our household. I recently restocked Emmy's paint supplies and set up her art table with an "invitation to paint." When she woke up the next morning and saw her table, she was so surprised and very motivated to get back to painting.

Emmy's art table and her painting of a sailboat at sunset 

inspired by the view outside of our living room window.  

We've also been motivated to keep reading thanks to our local bookstore and library.  Both have fun summer reading programs going on right now.  At The Book Rack, children are given a passport to Find Waldo in Newburyport.  Local businesses have a small cutout of Waldo hidden somewhere in their store and it's up to the child to find him. Emmy is much better at this seek and find game than I am. She gets so excited when she can ask the shopkeeper to sign her passport.  We have two more Waldos to find and then we can enter our name into the grand prize drawing (a set of Where's Waldo books).

The library's Fizz, Boom, Read program has Emmy reading books for prizes like a coupon to her favorite frozen yogurt shop - Orange Leaf, a free book (she choose Gingerbread Friends by one of her favorite authors Jan Brett) and a free Topsfield Fair ticket!  Emmy fractured her wrist six weeks ago so I've been helping her to fill in her reading log with the titles of the books.

Here are a few books that we've been reading to celebrate the season of SUMMER! (books are listed from a more difficult reading/listening level to an easier one)

Time of Wonder, written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey, won the Caldecott Medal in 1958 for the gorgeous illustrations which depict the Maine landscape in summer.  This is McCloskey's second Caldecott award the first being for Make Way For Ducklings. Time of Wonder revolves around two sisters who spend the summer with their family at the seashore.


When the Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant illustrations by Steven Gammel  You can just feel the family love as soon as you open this book about distant relatives coming to stay for the summer. Many people will relate to the connection one has with relatives that you only see once or twice a year ~ you make the visit worthwhile filling each other up to last until the next gathering.

Summersaults and A Summer Day by Douglas Florian...the first is a collection of poems that shares the joys of summer and the not so joyful things - annoying flies! The second is the story of a family that leaves the sweltering heat of a summer day in the city to spend time exploring in the country.  Emmy and I love it when a book shows a family that lives in an apartment since that is home to us.

Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee  I love the nostalgic feel of this sweet story. Emmy loves that the main character is the same little girl from one of our favorite winter books Tracks in the Snow (check out our post here).  Yee creates a summer day that is full of wonder and magic from sun up to sun down.  

I See Summer by Charles Gigna, better known as Father Goose, thrills us with his lyrical rhymes. This book is one of four in a series of books about the seasons. Emmy's favorite part is when the children are chasing fireflies in the dark. Such fascinating little creatures.

Summer by Gerda Muller - This book is one of four in a series of wordless picture books about the seasons.  We have enjoyed this set of books since Emmy was a baby first talking about what we saw as we slowly turned the pages to telling a different story each time we opened the book using the beautiful detailed pictures.  Now we use the books to inspire creative writing about the seasons.  Here's an example of a recent poem inspired by the book...

Summer 

by Emmy

hot and sweaty, sunny and rainy, 

biking and swimming, chilly and juicy

splashing and diving
SUMMER!

We wish everyone a summer full of fun adventures and relaxing days!

Sammy in the Sky

"My sunshine doesn't come from the skies, it comes from the love in my dog's eyes."

This is Connick (named after Harry Connick, Jr.).  He was part of our family for 15 years.  He passed away in October 2007 when Emmy was 20 months old.  She doesn't remember him, but I do because he filled my heart with joy every single day.  It is this joy as well as the happy memories that my husband and I share with Emmy that allows her to talk about Connick like she remembers him.  She loves to tell others how Connick liked to chase tennis balls, how he let her climb into his doggy bed and snuggle with his blanket, how he stood by her from the day she was born and watched over her with a protective eye.

The loss of a pet is an extremely difficult experience and only those that have had this experience can truly understand the emotional pain.  I am thankful that Emmy was so young when Connick left us because she was spared this pain.  However, I know that loss is inevitable and I know that a dog will join our family again soon.  When it's time to say goodbye, I will be very thankful that we came across the book Sammy in the Sky and that we shared this book with Emmy many, many times.

Sammy in the Sky is beautifully written by Barbara Walsh with exquisite watercolor paintings by Jamie Wyeth. The story was inspired by Walsh's family's first dog, Sam - a loyal and loving hound dog.

We were very fortunate to meet Barbara Walsh at our local bookstore in the summer of 2011. We had her autograph our copy of the book. She wrote,

"To Emerson, With dog licks 

from Connick." 

and signed her name. Emmy was delighted and so was I!

Walsh wrote Sammy in the Sky in a way that allows the reader to imagine herself as the main character since the character remains unnamed.  The little girl can be any child who has ever lost a dog. The story takes us through all the joy and love that Sammy brings to the family, to the announcement that he is sick, on to his death, and to a celebration of his life.

"Then we blew bubbles into the wind.  They floated higher and higher toward 

a cloud that looked like a dog running in the sky.  I could see its paws, 

floppy ears, and tail.  It's Sammy!" I yelled.  "He's chasing the bubbles!  

Sammy's with us!"  

Jamie Wyeth's paintings are the perfect match to Walsh's story.  Absolutely extraordinary!   Wyeth's love for dogs is evident in his thoughtful illustrations and his understanding of the beauty of the Maine landscape, where the story takes place, is captured dreamily in the pale colors of the paintings.  The illustrations evoke every emotion (love, joy, grief) of the unconditional love between a dog and his human.  Emmy and I fell in love with Sammy on the very first page. Just take a look at his eyes!

"My dad said Sammy was the best hound 

dog in the whole world.  All I knew was 

that I loved Sammy and Sammy loved me."

Emmy's favorite part of the story is when the little girl finds the cloud shaped like Sammy in the sky. To this very day, Emmy will look up into the sky and squeal with delight when she finds a special cloud shaped like Connick.  Sammy in the Sky shows us that our love and our memories is what keeps our loved one with us forever tucked inside our hearts.  This message is an important one to pass along to a child and a great reminder to adults.  Anyone, young or old, would treasure this book, and its message, forever.  

Most recently, Emmy and I came across a fantastic book of poems that celebrates the uniqueness of the human/canine relationship.  Dog Songs, by well known poet Mary Oliver, contains 35 simple poems and prose that capture the wholehearted devotion of dogs and is enhanced by the simple pen and ink drawings found throughout the book.  One of our favorite poems is Little Dog's Rhapsody in the Night.

Little Dog's Rhapsody in the Night
He puts his cheek against mine
And makes small, expressive sounds.
And when I'm awake, or awake enough
He turns upside down, his four paws in the air
And his eyes dark and fervent
"Tell me you love me," he says
"Tell me again."
Could there be a sweeter arrangement?
Over and over he gets to ask.
I get to tell

Please listen to Mary Oliver read Little Dog's Rhapsody in the Night:



Emmy would love to have a dog as her buddy again and my husband and I would love to have a dog as a part of our family again. Unfortunately, we live in an apartment building where the policy is "No Dogs Allowed" which always makes me think of the Charlie Brown episode when Snoopy gets kicked out of the library and a very deep voice says, "No Dogs Allowed!"  How can they kick a dog who LOVES to read out of the library?  CRAZY!

We did want Emmy to experience the joy, as well as the responsibility, of a pet so we decided recently to add two guinea pigs to our family - Fluffy and Lightning.  They are the sweetest little things!  We love to hear them squeak and whistle whenever we come home.  Emmy is such a wonderful caretaker of her little "piggies."  Her favorite thing that her guinea pigs do is hop about in their cage.  When she found out that this is called "popcorning" she loved it even more.

Emmy and I hope that you have the opportunity in your life to experience the love of a dog (or a guinea pig).  The affection and wholehearted devotion of a pet, who loves us unconditionally, is amazing. While in the process of caring for a pet, he teaches us such an important lesson...TO LOVE.  By letting us see ourselves through his eyes, we allow ourselves to believe what he sees, to believe that we are worthy of love - that we ARE love.

Thank you for being our teacher Connick!  We keep you tucked inside our hearts every day.  

"What we have once enjoyed

we can never lose;

All that we love deeply,

becomes a part of us."

~ Helen Keller ~ 

The July 2011 Carnival of Children's Literature

Welcome to the July 2011 Carnival of Children's Literature!

My childhood memories of carnivals are filled with warmth and joy. From our church carnival to the county fair, games of chance, exciting rides, delicious food, foot tapping music and smiling people were always guaranteed. Emmy has already acquired quite a few carnival memories and looks forward to the Topsfield Fair (America's oldest agricultural fair) every year. She likes to see the animals especially the mama pigs with their piglets, but her favorite thing to do is experience the rides and she is willing to try just about anything.

Emmy at the Topsfield Fair October 2010

I hope your memories of carnivals sets the mood as Emmy's Book of the Day hosts this month's Carnival of Children's Literature. There are exciting books, great tips and wonderful projects. You cannot help but leave this carnival with a smiling face! Emmy likes to be in charge of the tickets for the rides, but she is willing to share them with you. So grab your tickets and get ready to explore some wonderful posts by some very talented bloggers!

Ali B at Fantastic Reads starts us off with a wonderfully titled post: Nannies and Grannies and Governesses, Oh My! (fiction). Did you see the movie Nanny McPhee? Be sure to check out this review of the Nurse Matilda books which the movie was based on. There's of course Mary Poppins, but new for me was Granny Nothing and The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.

Amy Broadmoore at Delightful Children's Books presents 12 Children's Books About Birds (non-fiction). This post showcases 12 favorite picture books (a mix of fiction and non-fiction) about birds. In addition, there are recommendations for three fantastic websites for young bird watchers and their parents and teachers.

Amy Pertl-Clark (that's me!) at Emmy's Book of the Day (you're here) presents Fairy Tales With a Modern Twist (fiction). Rapunzel living in the 1970's, Cinderella living in the Jazz Age and Little Red Riding Hood living in Colonial America??? A terrific twist on three classic fairy tales.

Anastasia Suen at Chapter Book of the Day presents Who What Wear (Book Projects). The author, Olivia Bennett, of this novel about a teen fashion designer (in disguise) has created a DIY project for you to try.

Angela Craft at Bookish Blather presents Book Thoughts: Why I'm Not Worried About Boys (or Men) (book projects). This post addresses the problematic nature of the "boy book" question.

Carmela Martino at Teaching Authors presents Book Giveaway and Guest Teaching Author Interview With Deborah Halverson (interviews). Although the giveaway contest is over, stop by to read an interview with editor and YA author Deborah Halverson, author of the new craft book Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies.

Carol Hampton Rasco at Rasco From RIF presents A Bell for Ursli (fiction). Read about one of the most revered folktales in Switzerland about a young boy and a festival that continues to this day.

Catherine Nichols at The Cath in the Hat presents An Interview With Stephanie Barden (interviews). A fun interview with Stephanie Barden who is the first-time author of the novel Cinderella Smith, the story of a girl who is always losing her shoes!

Danielle Smith at There's A Book presents I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klasser (fiction). A bear's most prized possession, his hat, is gone! Danielle's children "Turkeybird" and "Littlebug" do a great job recreating this story!

Gail Gauthier at Original Content presents Loved It! (fiction). Gail writes a review of the book Dust City by Robert Paul Weston. The back cover of this book states, "When your dad is the wolf who killed Little Red Riding Hood, life is no fairytale." I'm intrigued!

Jeff Barger at NC Teacher Stuff presents Aggie Gets Lost (early literacy). Aggie Gets Lost is a terrific early reader chapter book. Ben's beloved dog Aggie doesn't come back after chasing a ball. Will he ever find her? Young readers will easily connect with this book.

Jen Robinson at Jen Robinson's Book Page presents Forever: Maggie Stiefvater (fiction). A review of the final book in Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. Sounds like this one will not disappoint her fans!

Jennifer Wharton at Jean Little Library presents Finding Books for Boys at the Library (book projects). The logistics behind why there are more books for girls than boys in the library.




Josh Hanagarne at World's Strongest Librarian presents Book Review: Goodnight Moon (early literacy). There is a reason why parents have been reading Goodnight Moon to their kids since 1947. The combination of words and illustrations create a lovely, irresistible mood.

Kathy Stinson at Turing the Pages: Kathy Stinson's Blog presents Reading Liberia - June 2011 (book projects). Reading Liberia is a program through which books for Liberian children are being written by Liberian authors and Liberia’s teachers are being trained how to use them effectively in their classrooms.

Katie at Secrets & Sharing Soda presents Review: One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joanne Rocklin (fiction). A contender for the 2012 Newbery Medal, this book captures and distills exactly what it means to be a kid.

Katie Gilbert at Best Online Colleges presents 15 Insightful Blogs for Book Club Leaders (book projects). Leading a book club can be hard work but very rewarding at the same time. Check this post out for some great blogs that will help get your book club started or breathe new life into it.

Laura Grace Weldon at Laura Grace Weldon presents The State of Library Addiction (interviews). Children's lifelong literary connections to knowledge, awe, even awakening to other languages often have to do with libraries. Here are 9 reasons for developing a library addiction.

LH Johnson at Did you ever stop to think and forget to start again? presents "Gosh, odds bodkins!" expostulated Jemima: The very curious tale of the British Boarding School story (fiction). There is a very distinct identity given to the genre of boarding school stories and Johnson gives her thoughts on some of her favorite ones.

Lisa at Shelf Employed presents Dear Hot Dog (poetry). In Dear Hot Dog, Mordicai Gerstein brings us three friends and the mundane, but infinitely wonderful things that bring them joy and for which they are thankful.

Liz at Children's Books to Love presents Ladybug Girl (fiction). Ladybug Girl is a book about creativity and imagination. Everything in it is real, and more than that, rings true.




Margo Tanenbaum at The Fourth Musketeer presents Book Review: Sylvia & Aki, by Winifred Conkling (Tricycle Press, 2011) (historical fiction). This is an excellent novel about a little-known landmark civil rights case in California, Mendez vs. Westminster, that helped pave the way for school desegregation. A must for California libraries in particular.

Mary Ann Scheuer at Great Kid Books presents Sidekicks by Dan Santat - Superhero Pets Take Over a Graphic Novel (ages 7-12) (fiction). This graphic novel has it all - superheroes, pets, friends loyal to the end, and illustrations with enough POW to knock your socks off! Lots of fun!

Myra at Gathering Books presents Here Comes the End of July: A Round Up (fiction). Gathering Books celebrated their one year anniversary! This post gives a summary of things that have happened, over at Gathering Books, in the month of July in connection to children's literature and the kidlitosphere. Check out their bi-monthly Fractured Fairy Tale theme.

Pat Zielow Miller at Read, Write, Repeat presents Kid Review: Faith Finds "Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown" Funny (fiction). Young guest reviewer, Faith, gives her two-cents about this book in Jarrett Krosoczka's lunch lady graphic novel series.

Rachel Yap at Nurturing Kids: How One Mom Did It presents When Did I Start Reading to my Kids? (early literacy). Rachel shares how and when she started reading to her children and mentions the first books she read to them.

Read Aloud...Dad at Read Aloud Dad presents The #1 Way to Excite Children About Reading (early literacy). Do you want your kid(s) to love reading and learning? Ahhh, yes...the ultimate parental fantasy.

Roberta Gibson at Wrapped in Foil presents Sarah Emma Edmonds in the Spotlight (non-fiction). A wonderful comparison between two picture book biographies about Sarah Emma Edmunds that came out this spring.

Sam at Parenthetical presents Harry Potter, Schmarry Potter (fiction). Would the Harry Potter series have been more interesting if it had been about Hermione? Interesting question.

Sandie Mourao at Picturebooks in ELT presents A Fishy Exuberance (early literacy). Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins is a great choice for young children and always a favorite!

Shirley Duke at Simply Science Blog presents Rah, Rah, Radishes!
(non-fiction). Visit the vegetables in this rollicking chant book by April Pulley Sayre to learn their names and see the gorgeous photographs used to illustrate the text. (No Bows is one of Emmy's favorite books. Thanks, Shirley, for autographing it for me many years ago in Austin, Texas.)

Susan Stephenson at The Book Chook presents Our Garden, Our Library - Guest Post (book projects). An Australian mum, Holly Cardamone of Adventures in the Land of Cherubs, shares her delight in children's literature and the garden - a wonderfully creative combination!



Toni at Wifely Steps presents A is for Adobo, B is for Bagoong (illustration). "Don't read this book on an empty stomach!" The alphabet and Filipino food - YUMMY!





Wendy Braun at Good Books for Young Souls presents Happy Birthday to THE SECRET GARDEN - 2011 is its Centennial Year! (fiction). Loved seeing all the book covers of The Secret Garden over the years.

Zoe Toft at Playing by the Book presents The Perils of Pet Sitting (fiction). Leaving a pet in the care of someone else? Present the book, Thank You for Looking After Our Pets by Tim Hopgood, to show your appreciation.

Thanks for stopping by Emmy's Book of the Day and may I recommend...

Finale

Our carnival is ending soon,
As all things must in time.
The music's almost over -
We approach the final rhyme.
In moments all the animals
Will take their parting bow.
We hope you'll visit us again,
But say farewell for now.

Camille Saint-Saens composed The Carnival of the Animals in 1886 to express in music some of the silly habits his friends shared with animals. To compliment this composer's work, many acclaimed modern poets have created poems to go along with each animal.

Emmy's choice is Jack Prelutsky - America's first Children's Poet Laureate. Beautifully illustrated by Mary GrandPre and accompanied by a CD featuring Prelutsky reading each poem followed by the musical piece and ending with the entire musical score. Children will delight in moving with the rhythm of the music and imitating the sounds. They'll walk like an elephant, swim like a fish, hop like a kangaroo, and so on. Older children will begin to hear and identify the various instruments used to exemplify the animals. The Carnival of Animals is a definite winner!

Also worth looking for is this book/CD package featuring eleven poets and riotous illustrations by Satoshi Kitamura.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Children's Literature. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Children's Literature using our carnival submission form. Next month's Carnival will be hosted by Mary Anne Scheurer at Great Kid Books. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. (Yes, we have been around since 2006!) For an email reminder of the location of the next carnival and announcement when it is posted, subscribe to the Carnival of Children's Literature Round-up Information blog.