Tired (Monday Poem)

by Langston Hughes


I am so tired of waiting,
Aren't you,
For the world to become good
And beautiful and kind?
Let us take a knife
And cut the world in two -
And see what worms are eating
At the rind.



from Genius.com
https://genius.com/Langston-hughes-tired-annotated

Sun (Monday Poem)

by Valerie Worth


The sun
Is a leaping fire
Too hot
To go near,

But it will still
Lie down
In warm yellow squares
On the floor

Like a flat
Quilt, where
The cat can curl
And purr.



from All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
by Valerie Worth
Farrar Straus Giroux, 1994

The Hummingbird (Monday Poem)

by Mary Oliver


It's morning, and again I am that lucky person who is in it.
and again it is spring,
and there are apple trees,
and the hummingbird in its branches.
On the green wheel of his wings
he hurries from blossom to blossom,
which is his work, that he might live.

He is a gatherer of the fine honey of promise,
and truly I go in envy
of the ruby fire at his throat,
and his accurate, quick tongue,
and his single-mindedness.

Meanwhile the knives of ambition are stirring
down there in the darkness behind my eyes.
and I should go inside now to my desk and my pages.
But still I stand under the trees, happy and desolate,
wanting for myself such a satisfying coat
and brilliant work.


from What Do We Know? Poems and Prose Poems
By Mary Oliver
De Capo Press, 2002

Moms Rule! (FAMILY magazine reviews)

Moms and grandmas are often sheroes – sometimes they are the rescuers, sometimes they need others to help. Whether the families are human or animal, the females are in charge in these stories. Their children and grandchildren depend on and celebrate the strong women in their lives. 

When the Wind Blows 

by Linda Booth Sweeney

illustrated by Jana Christy

            A wild wind is too good to miss for a kite-flying grandson and his grandma. The rhythmic rhymes that show the story are brief and descriptive, just four lines on each double page spread with two-word phrases that capture the frenetic blowing and the delight of the adult/child pair. A periodic refrain, When the wind blows, frames the poetic text with a comforting repetitive pattern.

            Younger listeners will be caught up in the digital paintings with their brilliant jewel-like colors and the movement of the wind as the kite escapes. The family, including the mother and baby, race in a wild chase along the beach and into town where puddles offer jubilant jumping.

            The sensory sights, sounds and feel of a blustery day before the storm are lyrically matched with detail-rich images. As the storm arrives, “Skies darken. Thunder BOOMS. Rain falls. We zoom!” and the family hurries home to safety, snacks, bath time and bed. A wonderful spring story that demonstrates the pleasures and excitement that crackle before a storm shoos everyone indoors.

  

Putnam, $16.99

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2

Lucky Ducklings 

by Eva Moore

illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

            Mama Duck and her baby ducks are taking a walk one fine morning from the pond and through the town when “Pippin, Bippin, Tippin, Dippin, and last of all . . . Little Joe,” fall through the grate of a storm drain!

            Firefighters are called to the scene of the wild ruckus of quacking ducklings from below and the “Whack! Whack!” of Mama Duck’s frantic noisy attempts to protect her babies from above. Lyrical language, dramatic storytelling and the suspense of the repetitive “Oh dear! That could have been the end of the story. But it wasn’t, because . . . .” combine with large beautiful charcoal and digital media art using varied perspectives to create a warmly satisfying tale.

            Reminiscent of Robert McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings, this appropriately shorter story is based on an actual incident that happened in Montauk, Long Island, New York in 2000.

Orchard Books, $16.99

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 1

Superhero Mom 

by Timothy Knapman

illustrated by Joe Berger

            The author/illustrator team known for Superhero Dad, sets up readers for the female version with rhyming text that lilts as mom in an early morning leap out of bed keeps moving nearly constantly through the day. Beginning with breakfast (she has to mend the mixer with a screwdriver first), “flying” to catch the bus, and while racing, carrying not only her daughter but the scooter, backpack and coat, too! Playing “super” games on the playground, bandaging an injured knee, creating bath time fun with bubbles, and just in time for bed, locating the missing teddy, are all in a day’s work for this “super mom.”

            The flashing colors of the digital illustrations are fittingly bright slashes with stars, polka dots, and stripes to identify the superhero theme, albeit with greens, yellows, pinks and sky blues instead of the reds, bright blues, and yellows of Superhero Dad. This fast-paced story is an rousing picturebook to read in preparation for Mother’s Day.

Candlewick Press, $15.99

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2

What is Green? (Monday Poem)

by Mary O'Neill


Green is the grass
And the leaves of trees
Green is the smell
Of a country breeze . . .

Green is the coolness
You get in the shade
Of the tall old woods
Where the moss is made.

Green is a flutter
That comes in Spring
When frost melts out
Of everything.
Green is a grasshopper
Green is jade
Green is hiding
In the shade --
Green is an olive
And a pickle.
The sound of green
Is a water-trickle.
Green is the world
After the rain
Bathed and beautiful
Again . . .

Green is the meadow
Green is the fuzz
That covers up
Where winter was.
Green is ivy and
Honeysuckle vine.
Green is yours
Green is mine . . .



from Sing a Song of Seasons
A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year
selected by Fiona Waters
illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon
Candlewick Press, 2018