James Carter - Clouds Like Us

Clouds Like Us
a poem for Mr. Wordsworth
       @@@@
        @@@
          ! !
           ! !
You're n e v e r lonely as a cloud
for like the sheep, you're with the crowd.
And then there's always loads to do
like soak a fete or barbeque.

Clouds are water - boiled you know.
We're recycled H20.
Stream to sea to cloud to rain
ever moving through a chain.

How we love it when it's warm.
For then we cook a mighty storm.
When it's time to help some flowers
we'll brew up those April showers.

Going back to our CV-
we’ve a range of skills you see
snow to hail and mist to fog -
to forming shapes for you to spot!

Sunny spell? Oh we'll be back.
You'll need some rain - and that's a fact.
We're high as kites and cool as jazz.
That's clouds like us - our life's a gas!
                                                         !
                                                     !
                                                         !
                                                            !
                                                         !
                                                               !

© 2010 James Carter. All rights reserved.

---

James Carter had me at "hello." You see, my first contact with his work was when I ran into his book Time-Travelling Underpants. Sweeeeeet!!!! For me, the instant love was not that "underpants" is considered a funny word and he'd used it. Nope. It's that it was used in such a way that I laughed and was intrigued - a fresh image created, and one that made my mind race with possibilities. I admit it coulda been a short term love affair if I'd read the book and it wasn't smart, clever, funny, and wonderfully varied. But it was!

I highly recommend a trip out to his website to listen to him perform a few of his poems. I listen to track one, Electric Guitars, and I think "how can I get him into my school?!?!" What makes me so happy is that the poem works without any accompaniment but comes to life in yet another way with it, and a really fun way, at that. Which, it turns out, is how I feel about so much of his poetry... and just one reason I'm so excited to have James Carter here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday we saw Lesson from Bobbi Katz. Tomorrow... Things To Do If You Are King Kong by Elaine Magliaro! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Bobbi Katz - Lesson

Lesson (working title)
by
Bobbi Katz

On this daffodilicious day
I am judging a community poetry contest
               in a distant city
swimming on waves of words.
A tsunami of images and emotions
     is carrying me
               deep,
so deep
        into other lives: Lives of children
who hear things no child should hear.
Lives of adults aching for lost loved ones.
Wounded veterans invisible to passers-by.
Kids fearing death before college.
Teens fenced-in by peer pressure…
or parents living through them…
I do not know their names or faces.
Poems have introduced me to their hearts.

And how to choose just three “winners”
  for each category
  and just three “honorable mentions”?
Each poet is a winner. Each is honorable.
I winnow the piles
      Down
down,
      down
         until I too
            am
                down.
Sadness swells over my head
sweeping me off my feet.
I know I must take a break.

I walk outside.
Earth sings green and yellow spring songs.
I stretch my arms out and look up.
A young child's poem appears.
Each letter written in a different color:

The sky is in

the sky is in

the sky is in

   the sky.

Imagine a sunshined heart of many colors
Blossoming beneath the poem,
completing it.

 Yes! I'll remember this fine lesson:
   this fine poem
written by a child in a distant city.

© 2010 Bobbi Katz. All rights reserved.

---

Bobbi Katz can write about anything and make it lyrical and poetic, or at least that's how it seems to me. Whether it's monsters in her wickedly fun collection The Monsterologist (illustrated by Adam McCauley), the desire for a dog in her newest book, Nothing But a Dog, science, grammar, poetry or... well... anything, I tell ya, she creates dazzling images and wonderful phrases on a regular basis.

I admit I'm a sucker for poetry about different aspects of poetry, so her work-in-progress Lesson is a lot of fun for me. I love the emotions it captures, the perspective it offers. Plus, I like to read it alongside this piece Bobbi wrote for David L. Harrison's blog. (And for even more insight but on a broader scale, check out last year's Poetry Makers profile of her over at the Miss Rumphius Effect). Yes, I'm glad she wrote about poetry, but I'd've been happy no matter the topic... just one of the reasons I'm thrilled to have Bobbi Katz here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

It's Friday, and that means it's Poetry Friday here in the Kidlitosphere. This week, the roundup of posts is being held at the always fabulous Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Go on over and check it out for a whole lot of poetry fun. 

Yesterday, Eileen Spinelli gave us Praying Mantis. Tomorrow... James Carter with Clouds Like Us! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Eileen Spinelli - Praying Mantis

PRAYING MANTIS
by
Eileen Spinelli

Praying mantis
near my door
I wonder what
you're praying for.
A meal, perhaps,
a gentle wife,
a simple
well-blessed
mantis life?
And should the day
bring rain
and thunder,
a sturdy leaf
to shelter under.

© 2010 Eileen Spinelli. All rights reserved.

---

Eileen Spinelli has written over 40 books for children, poems galore, won awards aplenty... and done it all writing longhand and using something called an "electric typewriter." I will research what that is, but I tell ya, if it will let me write poems or picture books like hers, I'll consider getting one ASAP.

Truth is, of course, I don't think anyone can write like her. It's not just that I love her point of view and wonderful words. Beyond that... well... when I used to do a lot of read-alouds in my volunteer librarian gig, I knew that if I was rushing in at the last minute, I could just grab one of Eileen Spinelli's picture books and be set. The books, like her poems, always read perfectly - you can't mess 'em up! That is incredible to me and something I admire greatly... just part of why I'm so glad to have Eileen Spinelli here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday we had These rules are here for your protection from Arthur A. Levine. Tomorrow... Lesson from Bobbi Katz! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Arthur A. Levine - These rules are here for your protection

These rules are here for your protection
by
Arthur A. Levine

Banging on the windowed door
to J. Carberry Middle School
the sick green tinted glass bending to my fist
I can SEE the Hall monitor
who can surely see me
though she is staring ahead
as blank and stiff as if she were the Queen’s Guard
and not a guard in Queens.

Good for her. She’s protecting the school from me
the kid who left the building
(which no one seemed to mind)
to avoid the shock and awe offensive
being carried out in our lunchroom.
I just wanted two blocks of sun.
I wanted the one close sound
to be my sneakers
squeaking their plan of escape,
to buy yogurt
and eat it with no risk of collateral damage
from the insults and objects thrown.

Oh sure, I say to her, a whisper, a breath; ignore me.
That’s original. You think I WANT
To come back in here? Well.
With my glasses and backpack
my dangerous hoodie
I’m sure I look just like a terrorist threat.
Keep me out here; yes, please.
Keep the student body safe
from sarcasm.

© 2010 Arthur A. Levine. All rights reserved.

---

Arthur A. Levine is well-known for his work as an editor and publisher, shepherding award winning picture books and novels at different publishing houses and at his own imprint, Arthur A. Levine Books, at Scholastic. And, yes, he's the American editor of the Harry Potter books. No denying he's known for all that. But here's one thing you might not know about Arthur - he is an amazing poet and wonderful storyteller in his own right (and with many books to his credit as author).

I love the way Arthur plays with language and creates a whole, totally recognizable world and emotional oomph with such economy in the poem above. I flashed back to middle school instantly... and I'd bet anyone who's still there will read or hear this poem and feel the impact, too. As an aside, I also love that Arthur, busy in a demanding job and with a full life outside it, still makes time to pursue something he loves: writing. That should be a lesson to everyone of every age. Frankly, I'm glad he finds the time, because I look forward to more poems and picture books BY him in the years ahead. Until then, I'm just incredibly happy to have Arthur A. Levine here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday we heard... okay... we saw The Big Snore by Kurt Cyrus. Tomorrow... Praying Mantis by Eileen Spinelli! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Kurt Cyrus - The Big Snore

The Big Snore
by
Kurt Cyrus

Mama's wrecking furniture inside her throat tonight.
She drags a table to the left, then scrapes it to the right,
rips it with a chainsaw till it's just a pile of chips,
grinds it down to sawdust, and--

poofs it out her lips.

© 2010 Kurt Cyrus. All rights reserved.

---

I had known of Kurt Cyrus as an illustrator, (M.T. Anderson's Whales on Stilts, for example) but somehow didn't know about his verse until Kenn Nesbitt pointed me his way. OH MY! Leave this post right now and get a copy of his Tadpole Rex. I'll wait. Good. Now, read it. Fabulousness! Now go find Hotel Deep. I'll wait. More fabulousness! Now go find... well, you get the idea. If you want to learn more about what makes Kurt Cyrus tick and rhyme, let me send you off once more to his Poetry Makers profile over at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

I love the quirkiness and the rhythm in his poems, plus, and this is a big plus, his verse makes me laugh and constantly surprises me. His books are also a wonderful marriage of text and art (two pieces of which are used here by his permission). The art, which is remarkable simply by itself, often has hidden jokes and images that join with the words for an even bigger overall impact. Still, I'll take his words with or without art... just one reason I'm exceedingly happy to have Kurt Cyrus here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday brought us The Ouija from Kathi Appelt. Tomorrow... These rules are here for your protection by Arthur A. Levine! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

It's National Library Week, and...

In honor of National Library Week... and in recognition of the difficult times facing libraries these days... I created a video (while testing out a new, free tool!) and wrote about how social media efforts by the children's lit community and others might be able to help libraries. Or at least, here's hoping.

You can see the video over at my other blog, the Happy Accident.

Also, this is the week for Operation TBD (that's Teen Book Drop, a fabulous event happening on April 15th. I hope you'll head on over to the Readergirlz site to learn more about Operation TBD.

Along with TBD, over at Guys Lit Wire, you should read Colleen's fantastic post about the project GLW is doing: wish lists for two specific school (Alchesay High School and Ojo Encino Day School) where new books are a very rare thing. And after you've read the post... maybe you can pick up something from the wishlists? Ya. That'd be swell.

So much going on out in the world and in the Kidlitosphere. More soon, but for now, I gotta book!

Kathi Appelt - The Ouija

The Ouija
by
Kathi Appelt

It scared the bejesus out of us
two at thirteen, no former
experience with spirits,
especially ones who had
such a command of spelling.

Words like ramose,
which look simple on the page,
but when you have to spell
it goes right out of your head,
even if you ask for the definition--
“having many branches.”

Our arms were like that,
our fingers thin buds
on the edge of its
round, plastic eye.

One of us asked when
the other would die, and when it
gave an actual date,
she blanched, and ran
to the toilet, knelt
down in front of it
and begged for mercy.

I can’t remember which
of us was sentenced, only
that we loved each other so
it didn’t matter. One death
would have meant two.

© 2010 Kathi Appelt. All rights reserved.

---

Kathi Appelt has written many beloved picture books for younger readers and a novel, The Underneath, which was a Newbery Honor Book and finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. She also teaches, writes non-fiction and, clearly, writes poetry (and while I mean stand-alone poems in this case, I'd argue that if she were in charge of the phone book, it would read as a poem, too). Her next novel, Keeper, is due out in May. Excited, anyone (ya know, besides ME)?

Her ability to convey so much with amazing turns of phrase and images (just look at the last six words of The Ouija, for example) is something that I study as a writer and love as a reader AND read-alouder. In fact, if you've never shared her books aloud, you're really missing out, so get thee hence and do so. In case it's not clear, I'm a fan... and I'm so excited to have Kathi Appelt here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday gave us I Love Being Me by Charles Waters. Tomorrow, The Big Snore from Kurt Cyrus! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Charles Waters - I Love Being Me

I LOVE BEING ME
by
Charles Waters

I love being me
With zits in many places,
Tripping over everyone,
Trying to eat with braces.

I love being me
With my frizzy auburn hair,
Day-Glo polka-dot wardrobe
That I carry off with flair.

I love being me
With thick ebony glasses,
Saying hello to flowers,
Attending science classes.

I love being me,
How do you feel about you?
Look yourself in the mirror,
Check out that beautiful view.

© 2010 Charles Waters. All rights reserved.

---

Charles Waters is a poet and actor who, among other credits, gave three years of service to Poetry Alive! - an organization that sends teams of performers/workshop leaders out and about, reaching an estimated 600,000 students nationwide each year. Yep - he's a poetry (and prose and performance) emissary! He also currently holds the coolest job ever - a judge at the American Idol Experience at Walt Disney World. But I digress. Though how could I not?

I find that it's hard for me not to feel good when I read his poetry. There's such positive energy, and, as in the above poem, a direct, honest voice that I think kids will connect with instantly. I'm looking forward to much more from him, hope I'm lucky enough to get to see him perform his own poetry one day, and am very excited to have Charles Waters here today at 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday brought us Dancing Fingers from Carmen T. Bernier-Grand. Tomorrow... The Ouija by Kathi Appelt! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand - Dancing Fingers

The following poem comes from Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina Assoluta, a biography due out in 2011, written by Carmen Bernier-Grand and being illustrated by Raúl Colón. Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso is blindfolded in the poem because she had just surgery for detached retinas. At that moment, doctors thought she wouldn’t be able to dance again. But she danced until she was seventy-five.

Dancing Fingers
by
Carmen T. Bernier-Grand

Blindfolded Alicia listens to the music of Giselle.
Her fingers are her feet, the bed sheet the stage.
“I see the theater curtain open. I absolutely see it.”
            Giselle is in love with another peasant, Loys.
Alicia’s fingers jump high—Giselle’s feet.
            Giselle learns that Loys is Prince Albrecht in disguise.
            As a peasant she cannot marry him. She becomes insane.
Alicia’s fingers move stiffly, horribly distorted.
            The earth shakes the day Giselle dies.
            That evening she becomes a Willi,
            a female spirit whose love is unfulfilled.
Alicia’s fingers jump high, but land silently as spirit feet.
            In the cold dawn the Willis rise from their graves
            to force Albrecht to dance until he dies of exhaustion.
Alicia’s fingers float softly.
            She doesn’t let the Willis touch him.
            Giselle’s devotion saves Albrecht from Death.
The golden damask curtain closes.
The theater almost falls with applause.
Alicia’s fingers take a bow.

© Carmen T. Bernier-Grand. All rights reserved.

---

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand has written biographies, tales from her native Puerto Rico (as an I-Can-Read book), a novel, and poetry, too. She also has, on her vibrant, fun website, one of my favorite ever answers to the question, "Why do you write?" Says Carmen - "Because I get grouchy if I don't." Yes! For more quotes and insight, I highly recommend a trip to Carmen's website and to this Cynthia Leitich Smith interview both.

Her poetry packs power, with wonderful images created by perfectly picked words (written in her second language, no less) which simply pull you into whatever's going on in the verse (fiction, non-fiction, comedy, drama, or I'm sure any mix of them all). I hope she continues to avoid being grouchy so that we can all read more from her... and I'm thrilled to have Carmen Bernier-Grand here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday, we had Ch-ch-ch-check, Please from Alan Katz. Tomorrow... I Love Being Me by Charles Waters! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Alan Katz - Ch-ch-ch-check, Please

Ch-ch-ch-check, Please
by
Alan Katz

I only eat foods that begin with “c-h,”
like chicken and churros and chili.
If you're cooking dinner and there's no “c-h,”
then trying to feed me is silly.

Today I had chocolate and chickpeas and chips,
chimichangas and chow mein and cheese.
Tonight, chunky chowder is the only choice--
(Mom is out of “c-h” recipes).

She ordered a cookbook that's coming tomorrow;
Mom promised great foods she'll be makin'.
It will be a menu of new “c-h” treats--
like chmeatloaf!! Chomelets! Chbacon!

(from a collection to be published by McElderry Books in 2011 (and to be illustrated by Ed Koren))

© Alan Katz. All rights reserved.

---

Alan Katz knows funny. Yes, he also knows silly (as his labeled likeness by his frequent illustrator-collaborator David Catrow proves), but if you're one who gives "silly" a bad rap, I've chosen to play the "funny" card. Cuz he is. His "silly dilly" books of songs, like Take Me Out of the Bathtub, have created mirth for years, and if you're lucky enough to hear/see him perform some of these songs, I challenge you not to laugh. Yeah, even if you're in a room of adults as I was. In a room of kids? There's no chance of silence.

What I find in his books, including his poetry collection Oops, is an infectious spirit of joy. When I heard him at an SCBWI conference, I experienced that same joy when he generously gave advice and talked about writing, his family, encouraging kids to laugh and write - any and all types of poetry, by the way - and, well, everything. For all those reasons (and did I mention he's funny?) that's why I'm so happy to have Alan Katz here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

This week's Poetry Friday roundup is over at the always-worth-a-read Paper Tigers blog. Why not go check it out?

Yesterday we had Weeds from Ralph Fletcher. Tomorrow... Dancing Fingers from Carmen Bernier-Grand! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Of Reversos and More....

Ever written a reverso? It's a new form by Marilyn Singer (who gave us a triolet as part of 30 Poets/30 Days last year!) that reads as a poem going down the page... then as a different one going up. Her book, Mirror Mirror (illustrated by Josee Masse) is full of reversible verse, and it is simply brilliant.

And let me tell you, reversos are HARD. Over at The Miss Rumphius Effect, she used the reverso as her prompt this Monday. You can see what folks came up with (I finally got a three line one in the comments).

Staying poetic... Elaine Magliaro typed up a wonderful "week-in-review" about some of what's been going on in the Kidlitosphere to celebrate the Month. So much poetry fun... and more coming here soon. But for now, I gotta book.

Ralph Fletcher - Weeds

Weeds
by
Ralph Fletcher

Weeds in the sunlight,
swaying in the breeze.

Weeds pollinated by
hordes of hungry bees.

Weeds softly whispering,
spilling secret seeds.

Weeds multiplying:
weeds, weeds, weeds.

Dandelion, ragweed,
Queen Anne’s lace.

Weeds in my dreams,
weeds in outer space.

Weeds on vacation
but more staying home.

Sneaky little weedlings
sprouting in this poem!

© 2010 Ralph Fletcher. All rights reserved.

---

Ralph Fletcher writes poetry, picture books, and novels as well as penning fantastic books about the craft of writing for teachers and students both. In fact, I'd argue that any one who writes can learn from his books (and get ideas from the tips section of his website, for that matter). But it is his poetry I want to focus on today, because I've found time and again that it can make me laugh... can make me see things in a whole new light... can make me feel.

His book Moving Day (illustrated by Jennifer Emery), holds a special place for me, since I moved a few times as a child. While my experiences and memories were different than Fletch, the main character in Moving Day, the emotions these poems capture still connected spot on with me... and with everyone I've read them to who's gone through a similar experience (and most who haven't, too!). You can read a poem from Moving Day in last year's Poetry Makers profile to see if it doesn't impact you, too. He's a wonderful poet, author and teacher, indeed, and I'm thrilled to have Ralph Fletcher here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday, we had Wonders from Susan Marie Swanson. Tomorrow... Ch-ch-ch-check, Please from Alan Katz! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Susan Marie Swanson - Wonders

Wonders
(after the traditional rhyme “I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail”)
by
Susan Marie Swanson

I saw a tiger
burning bright

I saw the sun
in the middle of the night

I saw a star
torn from a tree

I saw a leaf
holding a key

I saw a pocket
full of art

I saw a book
shaped like a heart

I saw a stone
coming untied

I saw a shoelace
wiggle and hide

I saw some tadpoles
buzzing round a cake

I saw a bumblebee
high above the lake

I saw a cloud
pacing at the zoo

You can see
these wonders too!

© 2010 Susan Marie Swanson. All rights reserved.

---

Susan Marie Swanson writes poetry and picture books that pick perfect details and have juuuuust the right words to tell their stories. For a reader, they're a treat, and for a writer, they're a master class if you study them. Perhaps this comes from spending 25 years writing poetry WITH kids not just for them or perhaps it's natural talent (or both!) - check out this interview or her site to see if you can decide - but whatever it is, it is an inherently good thing.

Susan's The House in the Night (2008) received the Caldecott Medal for illustrator Beth Krommes (the second such poet-to-Caldecott mentioned here this week - editors/illustrators take note!) and a slew of other awards and stars and the like. No wonder - it's gorgeous and an amazing read-aloud. You really should share it with children (and parents and grandparents) today so you can understand why I'm such a fan and so happy to have Susan Marie Swanson here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday gave us Cancion De Mango/Mango Song by Jorge Argueta. Tomorrow, Weeds by Ralph Fletcher! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Jorge Argueta - Cancion De Mango/Mango Song

CANCION DE MANGO/MANGO SONG
by
Jorge Argueta

CANCION DE MANGO Detrás la casita Pintada de muchos colores Y techo de lámina Hay un árbol Muy Muy grande de mango Los mangos Los verdes Son ácidos Y los amarillos Saben a miel Por las mañanas Las ramas del árbol Se llenan de pájaros Y se arma Ayyyy señor Que gran fieston El árbol muy Muy grande de mango Detrás la casita pintada De muchos colores Y techo de lámina Balila Esta bailando El árbol muy Muy grande de mango Detrás la casita pintada De muchos colores Y techo de lámina Canta Esta cantando El árbol muy Muy grande de mango Detrás la casita pintada De muchos colores Y techo de lámina Ya no es árbol Ahora es canció

MANGO SONG There is a tall Tall Mango tree Behind the tin roof Colorful houses The mangos The green ones Are sour And the yellow So sweet In the mornings Bird all colors Fill the tree And there is What a party In the branches of the tree The tall Tall tallllllll Mango tree Behind the tin roof Colorful house Dances Is dancing The tall Tall tallllllll Mango tree Behind the tin roof Colorful house Sings Is singing The tall Tall talllllll Mango tree Behind the tin roof Colorful house Is not a tree any more Now is a song

© 2010 Jorge Argueta. All rights reserved.

---

Jorge Argueta has won numerous awards for his books of bilingual poetry, including the Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature. His background - he's a native Salvadoran and Pipil Nahua Indian who grew up surrounded by love in a house with dirt floors before leaving his civil war torn country to come to the U.S. in 1980 - lets him draw on themes and topics that are far afield from what I can draw on... yet his use of language and images and his point of view enable me to connect with his poetry completely.

Whether he's writing about nature or the contrasts between countries or food - he is writing a series of cooking poem books, the first of which Sopa de fijoles/Bean Soup was a Junior Library Guild Selection in 2009 - I can honestly say that his poetry makes me wish I could read Spanish so I could appreciate each poem for the first time twice. I'm truly excited to have Jorge Argueta here at GottaBook as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday gave us Move Out! by Carole Boston Weatherford. Tomorrow... Susan Marie Swanson with Wonders. For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Carole Boston Weatherford - Move Out!

MOVE OUT!
From a work in progress about the Tuskegee Airmen
by
Carole Boston Weatherford

Conflicts cross oceans, continents.
Bombers topple buildings,
Turn villages to rubble.
My love of country blazes
Bright as my love of flight.
We are itching to get into combat.

But how can America win
With one arm tied;
Black troops stuck
as second-class soldiers,
Barred from the skirmishes
Flaring in the skies.

William Hastie resigns his
War Department post, saying
The Air Corps has clipped our wings.
Even First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
Asks why the Ninety-Ninth
Has not been deployed.

Secretary of War Henry Stimson,
Who never thought blacks should be pilots,
Visits Tuskegee to inspect the troops
And confer with our commander.
Stimson has a change of heart,
Declares us outstanding by any standard.

Then, the order comes,
The words I have waited
A year to hear: Move out!
Four hundred of us
from 99th Fighter Squadron
Boards train for New York
and the S. S. Mariposa—
a luxury liner turned troop ship—
across the Atlantic.
Jim Crow followed us to sea:
on deck, a rope separates
us from the white troops.
But we are flying too high to care.

© 2010 Carole Boston Weatherford. All rights reserved.

---

Carole Boston Weatherford wrote her first poem in first grade and has kept on writing since. That's a great thing for us, because now she keeps writing amazing book after amazing book. I love the way her books always resonate with me, give me insights into people not just tell me about them, and make me feel so personally involved even if the stories are far from my own experience.

Carole's books have won honors ranging from the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award to the NAACP Image Award to an SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Award to a Caldecott Medal for illustrator Kadir Nelson (for Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom - an extraordinary book on every single level) and beyond. And I'm telling you, when your read her books you immediate know why - the way she uses words is something that, as an author, I aim for and as a reader and listener I lose myself in completely. Yes, I'm a fan... and I'm thrilled to have Carole Boston Weatherford here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Re: Me by Calef Brown was yesterday's fun. Tomorrow... Cancion De Mango/Mango Song by Jorge Argueta. For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Today's poem fits nicely, I think, as an entry in Non-Fiction Monday (a kissing kin to Poetry Friday). This week, the roundup is over at the Lerner Publishing Group blog. It's well worth a look-see to see this side of the Kidlitosphere, too.

Baseball! (And a little poetry)

It's opening day of baseball season, and that, for me at least, is a cause for excitement. But, this isn't a baseball blog... so instead of waxing rhapsodic, I want to celebrate by first sending you off the The Happy Nappy Bookseller to make sure you saw Doret's fantastic series, wherein she asked the authors of nine baseball novels the same series of 12 questions. Here's a second link, cuz you really oughta check this out.

Not kid-lit specific, but I truly enjoyed Rachel Levitin's article Five Baseball Lessons From Thomas & Billy Heywood. Thomas and Billy, you see, are characters from the movie Little Big League, which I wrote! Her advice is for the Nationals, but I think works for any team.

And two poetry notes: for some baseball poetry (and more) check out The Miss Rumphius Effect's Poetry Makers profile of Gene Fehler today. Sweet!

Finally, head over to Poetry For Children and see Avis Harley's new poetic form, the intravista. That's a home run!

Thanks for hanging out here (and going to all those theres). I'll be back soon with more 30 Poets/30 Days, but for now, I gotta book.

Calef Brown - Re: Me

Re: Me
by
Calef Brown

My behavior is, I admit,
a bit strange.
Some examples:
I like to show crayfish crochet samples.
I sometimes sell sandpaper to sandpipers,
and I just invented plant stand diapers
for people who over-water.
My beloved alma mater
is The College at Endover.
There on my own
I was mainly known
for falling head over teakettle.
I would pause, let the debris settle,
then sing a song about the space shuttle
and my days as an astronaut.
Mostly I just gasped a lot.
First, from the incredible view,
then from the taste of that inedible goo –
the tubes full of food, pre-chewed.
I got in a feud
with another astronaut
but at least I got
the best elastic cot
for sleeping.
I’m such a cheapskate
my keepsakes
are barely worth keeping:
My spats.
My slide rule.
My toad-shaped commode stool.
I’m totally old school.
Nouveau riche.
Stuck in the drive-thru.
I can’t find my car quiche.
My new niche,
since my jam band disbanded,
is teaching tennis, two handed
(a racquet in each)
to a guy named Dennis
from Venice Beach
who loves to preach
but never practices.
I was once attacked by cactuses
so I’m careful to a fault.
My fishing pole
is stored in a pole vault.
I never fold felt
or spill salt,
and I don’t often don a caftan
or a shawl.
Very seldom,
if at all.
The same goes for a cape
or a cloak.
Just a regular bloke,
I’m not too macho.
Not much of a honcho.
I will, in a pinch, though,
wear a poncho
with a couple bandoleros.
I load ‘em with breadsticks
to feed the sparrows.
I’m a fly in the kitchen
at home on the range.
My behavior is, I admit,
a bit strange.

© 2010 Calef Brown. All rights reserved. 

---

Calef Brown writes poems that make me giggle and chortle and revel in their wordplay. And, as if that's not enough, he's an illustrator who consistently makes me giggle and chortle or go "oooooh!!!!!' in a very happy way. Combine those talents, and you get fantabulous books like Polkabats and Octopus Slacks (in which this illustration appears) and Tippintown: A Guided Tour. Here's a challenge for you - say "octopus slacks" and think about an octopus wearing slacks without smiling. I don't think it can be done.

Besides children's books, Calef Brown also does editorial illustration (to my knowledge making him the first poet on this year's 30/30 list to be in Rolling Stone) and much, much more. His website is chock full o' eye candy, and I highly recommend reading more about him at the wonderful 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast. And his books... yes... did I mention how fun they are or that later this year, we'll get a new Halloween themed one? True! That makes me happy... as does having Calef Brown here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday gave us Anaconda by Laura Purdie Salas. Tomorrow... Move Out! by Carole Boston Weatherford. For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Laura Purdie Salas - Anaconda

Anaconda
by
Laura Purdie Salas

I slither through the swamplands--
A sneaky, silent slayer.
Survival is a deadly game
And I’m the longest player.

I’ll wrap myself around you,
I’ll squeeze in nice and snug,
Then share your final moments in
My anaconda hug.

Submerge, surprise, and swallow:
My favorite active words.
Jacanas, herons, screamers:
My favorite lunchtime birds!

© 2010 Laura Purdie Salas. All rights reserved.

---

Laura Purdie Salas has written over 80 books for children, but I actually came to know her and her poetry from her blog. In fact, it was from reading so many wonderful poems of hers from villanelles to free verse to short and funny gems that I knew I had to buy her book Stampede (illustrated by Steven Salerno) when it came out last year. Good call! If you don't have it, let me urge you to get it and a bunch of kids together. Mix well. Laughter and conversation will ensue.

Besides being a fabulous poet and writer, Laura is also generous with information and support for her fellow writers. Her website is full of resources, her blog is full of insight and honesty, and her weekly 15 Words or Less Poetry feature is a great, no-pressure source of inspiration. You can learn more about her and her work at her site and blog and at Tricia Stohr Hunt's Poetry Makers profile of Laura from last year. And from me, well, Laura exemplifies what I love about children's poets and poetry, and I'm really thrilled to have her here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday's poem was Bear Path by Joseph Bruchac. Tomorrow... Re: Me by Calef Brown! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Joseph Bruchac - Bear Path

   BEAR PATH
        by
Joseph Bruchac

All of our people
tell stories about you--
how you move
through the woods,
how you know
all the trails.

You walk quiet, move slow
but when your young ones
are threatened, your roar
is as strong as a storm wind.

We all have tales
of how you took pity
on human children
when they were lost--
how you took them in,
how you helped them survive.

Older relative,
we humans do well
when we learn to walk
the same path you walk.

© 2010 Joseph Bruchac. All rights reserved.

---

Joseph Bruchac writes award-winning poetry, picture books, plays, novels, and songs, makes crafts and instruments, and is a storyteller and performer extraordinaire. He is best known as a Native writer and storyteller, drawing on his Abenaki heritage and much more, but I didn't know any of the above when I first stumbled into his book Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back. I just knew he was an incredible storyteller who used words brilliantly.

As I read more, I realized I was gaining perspectives and insights into cultures I knew far less about than I would like to admit. This is something I love about poetry and something Joseph Bruchac does masterfully - open that window often with brevity, always with clarity by telling stories and never lecturing. If you don't know his work, you should now, now, now go to his website to hear a few poems. Then read his books and share his poems and stories. You and whoever you share them with will be glad you did.

I'm so honored to have Joseph Bruchac as part of 30 Poets/30 Days, and happy to have his poem up on the first Poetry Friday of National Poetry Month. This week's roundup is hosted by Kate Coombs over at the Book Aunt. There's lots of great stuff going on in the Kidlitosphere, so I hope you'll check it out.

Yesterday gave as Alice Schertle's Triolets That Trouble My Sleep. Tomorrow... Laura Purdie Salas with Anaconda. For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Alice Schertle - Triolets That Trouble My Sleep

         Triolets
That Trouble My Sleep
             by
    Alice Schertle

Does a tree make a sound
if there’s nobody there
when it falls to the ground?
Does a tree make a sound?
The question’s profound—
but why do I care
if a tree makes a sound
when there’s nobody there?

Was it the chicken
or egg that came first?
I feel my pulse quicken—
was it the chicken?
Now I am stricken
with doubt. I am cursed!
Was it the chicken
or egg that came first?

I ponder each riddle
that troubles my sleep.
Thumbs all a-twiddle
I ponder each riddle
ensnared in the middle
of “timber!” and “peep!”
I ponder each riddle
that troubles my sleep.

© 2010 Alice Schertle. All rights reserved.

---

Alice Schertle "pens poetry anointed with magic," says Rebecca Kai Dotlich. To which I reply, "Yes! What she said!" For me, a lot of that magic comes from her ability to make me look at things from a different (often quirky) angle. Take the above poem - I laugh at the ideas, relish the phrasing, connect with the emotion of the "I" in the poem, wonder why we ever ask those question... and totally forget that I'm reading a triolet (a form that stymies me time and again). All that in 24 short lines!

If you haven't already had the pleasure, you should find one of Alice's books and read it aloud. If you can gather up some kids to listen to you, that's great, but even if you can't, you should give it a go. I'm particularly fond of Very Hairy Bear (illustrated by Matt Phelan), but you can grab anything she's done and you'll have a blast. Is it magic or simply incredible talent? You be the judge, because either way, I'm thrilled to have Alice Schertle leading off the 2010 edition of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Coming up tomorrow, Bear Path by Joseph Bruchac as we continue on into April. For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

The Month Ahead

Hard for me to believe, but, to misquote the good Dr. Seuss, "tomorrow is April! It's practically here!"

Starting tomorrow, you'll get a new poem/poet combination every day, but that won't be all (I hope!). There will be other poetry news, other posts, and who knows what else popping up as the month goes on. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm so glad to see so many folks coming by already to check out the fun.

I hope you'll all jump into the comments section of the poems and let us know what you're thinking. And if you have any questions or ideas during the month, you can also feel free to e-mail me.

There's also a lot more going on in the Kidlitosphere this month. Such as...

Tricia Stohr-Hunt will interview 30 children's poets. The Poetry Makers list is stellar! Tricia and I have some overlap, too, and that should be pretty fun.

Lee Wind shares GLBTQ Teen Poetry.

Jone MacCulloch shares Thirty Days, Thirty Students, Thirty Poems. Original poems by students. Jone will also again offer the Poetry Postcard Project where original student poems are sent out on decorated postcards. Request yours now.

Check out Mary Lee Hahn's daily poems about teaching each day in April. Also at A Year of Reading, Franki will review poetry books & share Poetry Month activities.

Jama Rattigan is posting original poems & favorite recipes by some of the Poetry Friday regulars (including me!).

Irene Latham will give away a favorite poetry anthology each poetry Friday during April.

Laura Salas will post a children's poem per day from a poetry book she loves.

Sylvia Vardell will be inviting poets to play Poetry Tag by offering a poem for readers to enjoy, then "tag" a fellow poet who then shares her/his own poem that is connected to the previous poem.

ORIGINAL POEM-A-DAY CHALLENGE
New original poems every day by a lot of wonderful folks:

Susan Taylor Brown

Mary Lee Hahn

Andromeda Jazmon

Irene Latham

Jone MacCulloch

Elizabeth Moore

April Halprin Wayland (one of last year's 30 Poets/30 Days poets!)

It's gonna be a great month, indeed. There's more come up here real soon, but now I gotta book. See you in April!

Blockhead!!! (The Life of Fibonacci)

How excited was I to find out that there was a biography of Fibonacci coming out for kids? VERY. Ever since Fibs went viral, I've gotten lots of questions about Fibonacci here and done research of my own... but nothing like what's gone into Joseph D'Agnese's book (with truly wonderful illustrations by John O'Brien, examples of which dot this post). So it not only filled a need for me but was also was the type of book I knew I'd've loved as a kid.

When I saw that it was called Blockhead: the Life of Fibonacci and then later read the story of its journey to print, I became kinda swoony fanboy about it. And I knew... just knew... I had to ask the author some questions. So I did, and better still, he answered them! So now you get not only my huge fandom, but also much more. Here then are my questions, and Joe D'Agnese's answers....

What led you to write the story of Fibonacci for kids rather than adults? I mean, I’d’ve read this as a kid or adult… but what pushed you that way?

Two things pushed me to do this book for kids. I first learned about the Fibonacci Sequence when I was working as an editor for a 5th- and 6th-grade children's educational math magazine called Scholastic DynaMath. Every couple of years at DynaMath, it's time to do an article on the Fibonacci Sequence. But these articles were always short and they didn't allow me much room to tell everything I was learning about Leonardo the man. I thought a picture book was an obvious choice. After all, the sequence is inherently visual, and the medieval setting is rich and visual too. 

The second thing that pushed me to write for kids is my own innumeracy. I'm not a mathematician, and one really needs to be a number theorist to write an adult book about Fibonacci's contributions to mathematics. By the way, I think my illustrator, John O'Brien, did an amazing job with making Fibonacci's world come to life. Part of the fun of reading the book is looking for all the little Fibonacci objects that John hid in the artwork. How two guys from New Jersey ended up bringing a medieval Italian mathematician to life is probably the book's biggest mystery!

I had always thought of Fibonacci only in terms of the sequence that now bears his name. But he was well known for so much beyond that, wasn’t he?

Yes! Absolutely! He is recognized as one of the most important mathematicians of the western world during the middle ages. His contribution is a huge one: He helped import Hindu-Arabic numerals from the east to the west. That's the part of the story that fascinated me from the beginning. Here's this young boy growing up in Tuscany, where they use Roman numerals. And then his father, who is a customs official, takes him to Algeria, North Africa, to do accounting work, and lo and behold, the young Fibonacci discovers that the wise men of this land are using not I, II, III but 1, 2, 3. And they are using zero, and have an understanding of something called place value. Fibonacci quickly realizes the significance, the importance and efficacy of these numerals and shares them with the western world. I've read some of his writings and they are clearly the work of a brilliant, serious mind. 

Some historians argue that were it not for Fibonacci's work, the economic thrust that drove the Renaissance would not have been possible. He showed the west how to do its books.

Actuaries, stock traders, knitters, and others use the Fibonacci sequence, and there’s even a band named the Fibonaccis. Were there any great places you found Fibonacci or his numbers pop up?

The wackiest thing I've ever heard is the cosmetic dentist who claimed to use the Fibonacci Sequence to create the perfect smile on his patients' faces. I myself have spent most of my time seeking out Fibonacci numbers in nature because I like to garden and I'm always astonished to see how often the Sequence pops up. 

I think teachers and parents might have fun planting a Fibonacci Garden, where they plant flowers likely to produce flowers that grow in the sequence. And I would plant the garden in a spiral shape. Sunflowers could go in the center of the spiral because they are the tallest, and then you can work your way down to shorter plants. I haven't spotted Fibonacci in strange places. More like strange minds! In other words, I can't believe how many different types of people know a little about Fibonacci. Artists, illustrators, designers, web designers all seem to know him. But then so do a lot of engineers I've met. As do musicians, architects, photographers, and many others. If your work touches on some aspect of aesthetics, you probably know a little about Fibonacci.

One of the most frequent questions I get in comments here is “Did Fibonacci have a wife and kids?” So I gotta know… can people find an answer to that in Blockhead (even if the answer is “no one knows”)?

Well, you see, what happened was, Mr. and Mrs. Fibonacci had twins, and then they had triplets. After that, Mrs. F. refused to have more kids because she could see which way this was going. It was tough to have quints in the 13th century. But seriously, folks, the sad thing about the Fibonacci story is that we know very little about him. He wrote a one-paragraph autobiography in one of his books, and that's how we know about his early life, his father, and his travels. We do have his mathematical writings. And there is evidence that people in his hometown of Pisa regarded him as a learned and worthy man because there are records showing they paid him to perform work for the city. But after that, we know nothing more. We don't know when he was born, when he died, or if he ever had a family. 

We do know that during his lifetime he never used the name Fibonacci. That name was coined by later mathematicians who experimented with the Sequence. In his day, Leonardo called himself Leonardo Pisano, aka Leonard of Pisa; or Leonardo, son of Bonaccio. He also had an odd nickname that he used in his writings: Bigollus. This probably means wanderer, dreamer, traveler, lazy good-for-nothing, etc. For my book, I interpreted this as "Blockhead." I think his neighbors were doing the typical Italian thing, gently teasing him for being an absent-minded prof. 

Greg, I want to thank you for you having me visit, and thank you for presenting the world with the wonderful concept of Fibs. I'm sure that if Fibonacci were around, he'd warmly embrace the idea of poetry being used to celebrate the glory of numbers!

And I want to thank Joe for taking the time to answer my questions (and making me laugh in the process, no less!) and for being tenacious enough to bring Fibonacci's story into print. I am thrilled this book is out in the world, and hope you are, too!