One Leaf Rides the Wind (Monday Poem)

by Celeste Davidson Mannis


One leaf rides the wind.
Quick as I am, it's quicker!
Just beyond my grasp.


One leaf rides the wind.
Quick as I am, it's quicker!
I reach for the sky.



from One Leaf Rides the Wind: Counting in a Japanese Garden
by Celeste Davidson Mannis
2002, Viking

Somewhere (Monday Poem)

Where, oh where,
Can somewhere be:
In outer space?
Beneath the sea?

Is somewhere
Always far away?
In other lands?
Beyond today?

Is somewhere
Always farther still?
Beyond the woods?
Beyond the hill?

It's difficult
To be aware
Of somewhere else
Until you're there.



from Is Somewhere Always Far Away? Poems About Places
by Leland B. Jacobs
1993, Henry Holt

Tree (Monday Poem)

by Douglas Florian


Out of the earth
Springs a trunk.
Out of the trunk
Springs a branch.
Out of the branch
Springs a stem.
Out of the stem
Springs a leaf.
Inside the leaf
Are rivers
And oceans
Of life.



from Bing Bang Bong
by Douglas Florian
1994, Harcourt

Ahoy Mateys! Pirates Ahead! - FAMILY magazine reviews

Hunt for summertime treasure as you ride the high seas in these pirate tales of adventure and travel! Watch out! Imagination required, as a shipload of magical new discoveries await. 

One-Eyed Jake by Pat Hutchins

            One-Eyed Jake was the meanest pirate ever. “Nobody liked him.” The cook, the bo'sun, and the cabin boy wanted to escape. But Jake “robbed every ship in sight. . .  And if anyone dared complain,” Jake threw him overboard.

            The colorful and detailed illustrations show Jake and his ship with the requisite pirate flag, spyglass, eye patch, treasure chest and much more against a white background and bright blue sea. Pirate activity moves the story in a beautifully choreographed combination of busy paintings and jaunty text. A variety of skin colors, plus faces and body language, demonstrate the threat and fear Jake’s greediness produce.

            What the cook, the bo’sun and the cabin boy wish for becomes clear as the story progresses. And what Jake does, despite the fishermen’s warnings, actually helps each of the three achieve their dreams. And satisfyingly, “One-Eyed Jake was never seen again.”

Greenwillow

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 1

Poppy the Pirate Dog and the Missing Treasure by Liz Kessler, illustrated by Mike Phillips

            Adorable Poppy comes to the rescue once again in this third adventure starring the pirate pup. Expressive illustrations in ink and watercolors, surrounded by lots of white space, show Poppy and her human family preparing for a pirate show in honor of Mom’s birthday. Poppy's job is to “guard the treasure and keep it safe.”

But while protecting the treasure, Poppy injures her eye and must wear a plastic cone around her neck. Thinking this will keep her from all the fun Poppy tries to take a nap. However, along with the other family members, Poppy realizes that the sparkly new necklace Dad bought for Mom's birthday is missing.

Text and illustrations together offer clues for beginning readers. How Poppy discovers this treasure's hidden location doesn’t require a pirate map. It does, however, assure readers that Mom's pirate show and party are not spoiled.

Poppy with her family supply another episode of fun for fans of this early chapter book series.

Candlewick Press, $3.99 (paperback) $14.99 (hardcover)

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3

Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke, illustrated by Kerstin Meyer

Molly is on a trip, sailing to visit her grandmother, when she is captured by Captain Firebeard, the “terror of the high seas,” and his fearsome crew. They decide to hold her for a “handsome ransom.”

Meyer’s cartoon-like illustrations use mixed media to show scruffy bearded buccaneers in partnership with Funke’s humorous text. In spite of being forced to perform endless chores, Molly resists threats to feed her to the sharks, if she doesn’t reveal her parents' names and address. Instead, she makes a clever plan, waits until the pirates are sleeping, and tosses messages into the sea, secretly tucked in bottles

When she’s caught in the act, and is about to be thrown overboard, rescue arrives in the form of pirate Barbarous Bertha, who happens to be her mom. Firebeard and his mates are now required to take over Molly's chores. She, meanwhile, sails happily off to Grandma's house.

Chicken House, $15.95

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 1

 

-->

 

-->
-->

Nightmares (Monday Poem)

by Francisco X. Alarcon


sometimes
dreams

that ignore
or exclude

the dreams
of others

become
nightmares



from Poems to Dream Together / Poemas Para Sonar Juntos
by Francisco X. Alarcon
2005, Lee & Low

Until I Saw the Sea (Monday Poem)

by Lillian Moore


Until I saw the sea
I did not know
that wind
could wrinkle water so.

I never knew
that sun
could splinter a whole sea of blue.

Nor
did I know before,
a sea breathes in and out
upon a shore.




from Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems
Selected by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, Eva Moore, Mary Michaels White, Jan Carr
1988, Scholastic