Poetry Friday: Jazz

Louie, Louie, How You Play So Sweet

Louie, Louie, How You Play So Sweet?
What have you heard, down on Bourbon Street?

“I heard London
Turned it black and white
Heard Copenhagen
Played it my way, too
Heard a sad song
Swung it into joy
Heard a bad tune
Spanked it like a naughty boy.”

Louie, Louie, How You Play So Sweet?
What have you heard, down on Bourbon Street?

America’s Music

What did the word see?
What did the world hear?
Black men sweating in 4/4 time
Behind the beat, around the beat
Bending in-between
Strings crying like midnight windows
Horns tearing down Jericho walls
A clarinet sassing
its way through
a Sunday-night sermon
And the chorus calling out blues!
And ragtime!
And jazz!

From Mississippi to Harlem
While the folks across the ocean
were just saying

AMERICA

These selections are from Jazz by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers.   Jazz was one of  the finalists of the 2007 CYBILS Award for poetry. 

I bring these to you today for Poetry Friday in honor of Black History month.  Father and son have created a marvelous collection of poetry with a definite jazz vibe.  The line breaks, use of white space, and onomatopoeia make these poems fun to read aloud. Using black ink, acetate and acrylic in creating the illustrations, the mood for each poem is set.

I was in New Orleans almost twenty years ago. I witnessed a funeral procession down the streets of the French Quarter. Myer’s “Good-bye to Old Bob Johnson” took me back to that time. I really like how the poem begins somber and then takes an upbeat turn.

The book begins with a brief introduction about jazz.  A glossary of jazz terms and time-lines end the book. And in-between, you will be toe-tapping while reading each poem.  It will be a welcomed addition to any library.  This is especially true for middle school and high school.

So my book club will be meeting on Sunday to discuss The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos. It should be very interesting.  I plan to get started on my copy of The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff.  It arrived in the mail as one of the free ones given away last week.

Happy Reading,

MsMac

The Higher Power of Lucky: Why Select This Book?

I had the opportunity to read 2007’s Newbery Award choice this weekend. I am so happy for that experience.  Lucky, the 10 year main character, is fresh, curious and trying to make sense of a world that hasn’t been so kind to her.  She lost her mother in an electrical storm, her father is absent, and when Brigitte arrives to be her guardian, we don’t know if she will stay. 

Lucky likes to eavesdrop on the local twelve step meetings in her little town of Hard Pan. And it is there that she hears about hitting rock bottom, finding a higher power, and yes, the word scrotum. 

So why select this book for the library?

Because Susan Patron has created strong characters in this slim book.  I love the quirkiness of Lucky.  She has her survival pack-back, HSM Beagle, a loyal companion, and she collects bugs. Her friends Miles and Lincoln, are equally fun to know.  Lincoln is obsessed with knot-tying.

Because Patron has woven many humorous moments into a book that explores death of a parent and abandonment issues. 

Because Patron uses anatomically correct words and not slang. 

Because it is an award winning book with characters the same age as my fourth and fifth graders. 

Because Patron creates a sense of wonder about having a “Higher Power”  and I have heard similar wonderings in kid conversations.

Because the writing is such quality. The reader is pulled in from the first page and keeping turning those pages until the end.

Because Lucky is not a “girlie girl” she will resonate to those girls who are not active readers.

And finally, because quality literature belongs in the library.  The Higher Power of Luckyis an example of that.  There will be students who will nod in recognition as they read this story. There will be students who will be transported to an unfamiliar world.  There will be students who will want more.

Happy Reading,

MsMac

Legos and the American Revolutionary War

The library has been abuzz this past week. I was anticipating the announcement of the CYBILS Awards, students were anticipating Valentine’s Day and everyone couldn’t wait for our four day weekend.

These are my fifth graders.  They are studying the American Revolution, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence by working in groups and readingfrom  “A True Books” series.

Right now, the groups are taking notes. The students are fact-finders.  They’ll create group posters about their topics to present to each other.

We are hoping to get to the bonus part and create a “Jeopardy” like game about this period of time in American History.

The kindergartners through third grade are continuing exploration of the titles nominated for the Washington Choice Picture Book Awards.  I love reading each of these nominees.  We laughed hilariously at The Great Fuzz Frenzyby Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel.  The dragon lovers were happy to see that the dragon in The Knight Who Took All Day by James Mayhew escaped without injury. 

One third grade class has taken the plunge into research.  The teacher is having them research topics they love.  It has provide me the opportunity to talk about the BIG6 with both the teacher and the students.  Hopefully, others will jump in.

One of the most exciting things to happen in the library is the beginning of the Lego structure.  A staff member visited another school. He saw what students were doing with earned points from Accelerated Reader; a lego block to add to the structure.  Then I attended a conference about books and boys.  The presenter spoke about the importance of creating some competition with especially boys.  The light bulb came on.

I have had students keep track of the number of hours they read for about three years. It needed some refreshing. So now when the students turn in their 20 hour log, they get 3 legos to add to the structure.  I adapted the project for kinders and first graders by bringing in weekly reading logs.  Here is a first look at our structure.

Have great weekend and get out there and read.

Happy Reading,

MsMac

Poetry Friday: Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow

I hate choosing. I hate when I am asked, “What’s your favorite book?” But I loved being a judge for the CYBILS Poetry Award (that experience is a post for another day).  My selection for Poetry Friday is in honor of the first awards being handed out.

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman is a collection of poetry about the meadow. The book alternates between two poem riddles followed by a two  page spread with the information and answers to the riddles.  The words of each poem rolled of my tongue with such an amazing rhythm that I  read the poems aloud twice.  The artwork is an intricate look of an ecosystem. I spent hours on the telling details.

I love words. I keep a notebook just for “juicy words”.  Butterfly Eyes is filled with these words:
sunwarm
almost-light
leaf-crisp
spume
xylem
phloem
dip-dodging

The first two poems, ”In the Almost Light” and “Sunwarm” in the collection are among my favorites. 

In the Almost-Light

In the dark,
in the light,
in the almost light,
in the leaf-crisp air just before sunlight,
sprouts a secret, silent, sparkling sight:
berried grown on the vines at night

On the grass,
on the buds,
on the bark of trees,
on the small clear wings of the bumblebees,
on the spiderwebs (and spider knees),
come the jewels of the dawn
    in the cool night’s breeze.

And the sun
when it comes
through the purple haze
touched each clear gem with its sidelong gaze,
fingers each clear drop with its lazy rays,
gathers each one back for the summer’s days.
What is it? (Dew)

 Sidman uses such a great variety in her poems. I loved how “Sap Song” is laid out on the page. I felt like I was moving up and down the stem as I read it.  And have you heard of “heavenly lavender muffins baking in the sun”?  You will need to read “Heavenly” to guess what they are. 

I hope that Butterfly Eyes will be recorded. I hope they choose different people for the unique voices of this book. If they do, I vote to have Anthony Hopkins read “An Apology to My Prey”.  He is in my ear when I read that poem.

The last poem, “We are Waiting” is written in a form new to me.  It is a pantoum and is brillantly crafted.

This book provides inspiration in exploring, reading, and crafting poems.  Silver Star Library welcomes it to the collection.  I hope I won’t see it on the shelves. much.

Happy Reading.

MsMac

Fanconi Anemia, One of My Heroes, and Valentine’s Day

A mother, three sons
Fanconi Anemia
Mother of two now
This is my friend and colleague, Peggy. She teaches third grade here at Silver Star.  Her eldest son, Jake, was away at college when he went to the doctor about a cold that he couldn’t shake. Blood taken, tests run, and a life altering diagnosis given. Jake had Fanconi Anemia, a genetic disease of the blood. He would need a bone marrow transplant.

First stop, the sibling brothers. And an answer to prayers. Her youngest son, Spencer, was a perfect match. And then, the sky fell again. Further testing revealed that Spencer also had Fanconi Anemia. (Spencer is currently attends college and so far he is stabilized with the disease).

The months ahead were a roller coaster ride no family should have to take. A bone marrow donor was eventually found. Jake received the transplant but complications ensued. Jake passed from this world in November 2003. Peggy is one of my heroes. Her dedication and commitment to finding a cure for FA is inspiring.

The first spring without Jake, Peggy organized an benefit dinner and auction. It raised well over a hundred thousand dollars. And then another idea came to her. Jake loved to run and why not create a running event in his memory. Thus the Valentine’s Day 5K was born in 2005. It happens the Sunday before Valentine’s Day.

The run is growing up. This year, Peggy garnered major sponsors for the run. And this year the donations grew by a third from last year. Early totals show that over $31,000 was raised for research. Valentine’s Day was yesterday. Many of our staff wore the red shirts from this year’s run in honor of Peggy and all her hard work.

For further information, here are some websites to check out:

http://www.fanconi.org/

 http://www.valentine5k.com/