My Soul Looks Back

I have read my share of window books.

And your share.

And your share.

And your share.

I have read so many window books,
I'm afraid to read a mirror book.

For fear I may no longer recognize myself,
and the mirror shatters.

Honey Ma'am

Sigh.

Will I Ever
Tire
of being upset
when
The worker half my age
calls me
Honey?

No.

Isn't it Better
Than
Ma'am?

No.

What if they said "thankyousomuchforvisitingourestablishment,werecognizewewouldnothaveajobherewithoutyourcontinuedpatronage, Honey, Ma'am."

No.

No, honey.
No, ma,am.

Poetry Review - Tighty Whitey Spider by Kenn Nesbitt

The Tighty Whitey Spider 
Kenn Nesbitt
Sourcebooks
97 pg ARC
4 copies

My Thoughts

What a fun book.  Kenn Nesbitt combines animals and craziness into some wacky poems.  Some of the poems are set to the rhythm of familiar tunes: Such as Tighty Whitey Spider (Itsy Bitsy Spider), Ferret Soccer (Frere Jacques),

Get Me Out of the Fish Tank (Take Me Out of the Ballgame)
Get me out of this fish tank,
Get me out of this bowl.
I was just trying to catch the fish.
They looked tempting and awfully delish
but I slipped and fell in the fish tank
and now my future looks grim.
I just went to see and found out something:
Cats don't swim.

Won't you give me a hand here?
All I need is a lift.
Help and I promise I won't come back.
I'll go elsewhere when I need a snack,
for I've learned a valuable lesson;
I know it's not safe in here,
and the next time I want the fish I'll bring
scuba gear!

There are more poems set to tunes you know as well as originals.  They all have a catchy beat and are fun to read aloud! This will be great for the 6th grade classes intro to poetry and I give it 4 copies. Tighty Whitey also includes drawings and you can download the audio of some of the poems.  The table of contents lists which poems are on audio and there's also a separate track listing all the poems that you can listen too.

About the Author

Kenn Nesbitt is the author of several collections of funny poetry for kids. His poems have appeared many bestselling anthologies, including every book in the popular Kids Pick the Funniest Poems series, and anthologies from Scholastic with nearly 2 million copies in print. His works have been in dozens of school textbooks around the world, as well as national television programs, and numerous children's magazines. Kenn travels the country sharing his wacky brand of poetry with kids nationwide, and helping to create a new generation of poetry lovers. His website, Poetry4Kids, is the most popular children's poetry website on the Internet.

Online

Kenn's website - Poetry 4 Kids

Tighty Whitey audio download

As a special bonus, you can read Kenn Nesbitt's other book, My Hippo Has the Hiccups, for free until April 30th!

Read the book, spread the word, listen to the poems!

ARC supplied by publisher.

Poetry Review - Poetry Speaks Who I Am edited by Elise Paschen

Poetry Speaks Who I Am
Ed by Elise Paschen
Sourcebooks
March 2010
176 pgs ARC
5 stars

My Thoughts

Poetry Speaks comes with a CD that includes poets reading their own works.  The table of contents lets you know which poems are on the CD, since only about half of them are included.  The ARC also included a little 1/2 sheet with the selections listed on it.  That was really helpful since I didn't have to turn back to the beginning to check on a poem, I could just consult the sheet I was using as bookmark.  The poems looked like I might have typed them out on recycled paper and then added a design.  Spare but creative and encouraging.  Not a normal standoffish type of poetry book at all. There are even lines in the back to write your own poems.

I am not a huge poetry fan but this book spoke to me.  I loved the mix of contemporary and classic poets, the mix of ethnicities, the well-known with the not-so well known.  We had works from Langston Hughes, Edgar Allen Poe, Maya Angelou, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Sherman Alexie and Billy Collins. Some of my favorites were SEDNA by kimiko hahn, WHAT YOUR MOTHER TELLS YOU NOW by mitsuye yamada, and

MEDIATION
kim stafford

At the dinner table, before the thrown
plate, but after the bitter claim,
in the one beat of silence
before the parents declare war

their child, who had been temporarily
invisible, but who had from school
a catechism, speaks: "Would you like me
to help solve the conflict?"  Silence.

They can't look at each other.  A glance
would sear the soul.  A wall of fire seethes,
Maginot line through the butter plate,
split salt from pepper, him from her.  Silence.

So the child speaks: "Three rules, then:
One--you have to let each other finish.
Two--you have to tell the truth. Three--
you have to want to solve the conflict.

If you say yes, we will solve it.
I love you.  What do you say?"

Another one I enjoyed

POETRY SLALOM
mary jo salter

Much less

the slam

than the slalom

gives me a thrill:

that solemn, no-fuss

Olympian skill

in skirting flag after flag

of the bloody obvious;

the fractional

lag,

while speeding downhill,

at the key

moment,

in a sort of whole-

body trill:

the note repeated,

but elaborated,

more touching and more

elevated

for seeming the thing 

to be evaded.

You can read these for fun as well as teach them.  So many terms you can define: metaphor, simile, enjambment, litote, rhythm, rhyme scheme, free verse, etc.  I think both teachers and students will love this.  I already bought some for our school library! I give this 5 stars because it's not one to be read in a normal lit circle but to put in your pocket and carry around with you.  My only issue is they printed it in hardcover. This needs to be paperback for portability and usability. 

A Poem A Day - Clean the World

Keeping our Earth clean,
Makes for a better place to live,
For you and for me.

Here's one of our Haiku collaborative poems. Just in time for Earth Day.

A Poem A Day - Fog

Folds and Folds
Of spun sugar, like a soft
Gray blanket over the land.

This is from Silver Seeds by Paul Paolilli and Dan Brewer, New York: Scholastic, 2001. This is the book our class read over and over and we practiced writing our acrostics. I will post some of the work over the next few days.

A Poem a Day - Spring

Swinging high on a breezy day,
Pretending to be a kite.
Riding scooters up and down the block.
In my face blows a gentle wind and
Noisy children
Gather Easter eggs.
- Ms. B's class 2005

This poem was written by my class as we experimented with acrostics. We were learning that a sentence does NOT need to be confined to one line.

Poem a Day - April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with liquid silver drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.
- Langston Hughes -

I found this poem in "A Poem for Every Day" by Susan Moger. I used it when I was teaching 2nd grade. I can't wait to dive into it and remind myself of all the wonderful memories we had!