SOMEWHERE (Monday Poem)

by Leland B. Jacobs


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, illustrated by Jeff Kaufman, 1993, Henry Holt and Company

MY OWN DAY (Monday Poem)

by Jean Little


When I opened my eyes this morning,
The day belonged to me.
The sky was mine and the sun,
And my feet got up dancing.
The marmalade was mine and the squares of the sidewalk
And all the birds in the trees.
So I stood and I considered
Stopping the world right there,
Making today go on and on forever.
But I decided not to.
I let the world spin on and I went to school.
I almost did it, but then, I said to myself,
"Who knows what you might be missing tomorrow?"




from The Family Read-Aloud Holiday Treasury selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Marc Brown, 1991, Little, Brown and Company

FALL WIND (Monday Poem)

by Aileen Fisher


Everything is on the run --
willows swishing in the sun,
branches full of dip and sway,
falling leaves that race away,
pine trees tossing on the hill --
nothing's quiet, nothing's still,
all the sky is full of song:
"Winter's coming.  Won't be long."



from The Sky is Full of Song selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Dirk Zimmer, 1983, Harper & Row

Autumn Bonanza of Tempting Tales (FAMILY magazine reviews)

 

As the hours of daylight decrease, and the harvest season tilts away from the heat of summer, these energetic stories offer a simultaneously invigorating and reassuring advance, into an interval of robust intensity.  Add relish to your story times with these affectionate tales.

George Flies South 

by Simon James 

Candlewick Press, $16.99, Ages 3-8

            Although winter is on the way and birds are flying south, and it’s time for bird George to learn to fly -- he’s not quite ready!  Ink and watercolor illustrations show the gusting wind and the unstable nest, while George waits for Mom to bring some worms.

            As daily life in the autumn city progresses, George, in his nest, becomes airborne!  Pastels color the cars, grass, sky, people’s clothing, and more, giving the slightly cartoonish illustrations an energetic liveliness, and adding movement to the story.

            The dialog between George and Mom keeps the story centered:  and like a child learning to walk, shows excitement on his part, and encouragement from her.  In an especially reassuring vignette, Mom is perched on an under-construction building piling, watching over a sleeping George as night arrives, and grey-blue shadows fall. 

            Curled in the nest as it travels from car top (blown from the original tree), to a boat, carrying wooden planks (after floating off the auto as it crossed a bridge), later lifted by a crane to the high-rise, George has rather enjoyed his adventure – due, in large part, to mom’s fluttering nearby, and, just as important, his nest.  When he’s launched once again, the nest disintegrates, and he must, finally, rescue himself.

            The satisfying ending, simultaneously reassuring and intrepid, features Mom’s predictable “I knew you could do it,” followed by George’s final words, “I’m ready to fly south now.  Let’s go! I hope there’s lots of worms . . . “

Stars by Mary Lyn Ray

illustrated by Marla Frazee 

Simon & Schuster, $16.99, Ages 3-7

            Night is not the only place to find stars, although it is the place where this lovely book begins – and ends.  Award-winning illustrator Frazee, using graphite, gouache, and gel pens, opens with an expanding evening sky, amplifying images evoked by author Ray’s lyrical text. 

            Multiple figures on a single page summon readers’ into the story – as a child draws a star to keep in a pocket, share with a friend, or use to augment imagination.  While double page spreads show “days you don’t feel shiny,” a profusion of snowflake energy and dandelion stardust.  The skilled fusion of sometimes dancing paintings with lilting language, stirs memories, conjures experiences, and kindles anticipation.

            You can find stars -- on mossy tree trunks, on plants that promise a later season’s fruit, or seeds -- if you lose yours.  Or, perhaps you can earn stars.  Even buttons or snowflakes are star reminders.   But it’s the immensity of the night sky, both with and without fireworks, that truly captures not only the author’s and artist’s attention, but draws the reader toward the “Every night. Everywhere” ending of profound restorative abundance.

Frisky Brisky Hippity Hop  

based on a poem by Alexina B. White

with new verses by Susan Lurie

photographs by Murray Head  

Holiday House, $16.95, Ages 3-5

            Adapted by children’s book editor and author Lurie, from a favorite poem for younger children -- first published more than 140 years ago by White -- this lively book uses spirited language to match perfectly with Head’s vigorous photos.  Rhythmic rhymes define New York City’s Central Park squirrels, whose images celebrate both the park itself, and its most popular, and agile, residents.

            Capturing the vivacious rodents throughout the day, readers (through the photographers camera eye) can glimpse these creatures hopping, scampering, wiggling, and nearly flying as they evade a predatory hawk, play in pairs, nibble a peanut, build a nest, and tuck away to sleep.  The brief text, seamlessly integrates new verses with old, and flawlessly links with the close-up photos to concentrate readers’ attention on the acrobatic stars.  This perfect book features the exuberance of autumn, ably demonstrated by one of nature’s best-known mammals.

KEEP A POEM IN YOUR POCKET (Monday Poem)

by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers



Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.

The little poem will sing to you
the little picture bring to you
a dozen dreams to dance to you
at night when you're in bed.

So--
Keep a picture in your pocket
and a poem in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed


from The Family Read-Aloud Holiday Treasury selected by Alice Low, illustrated by Marc Brown, 1991, Little Brown

A Harvest of Haunting Books (FAMILY magazine reviews)

During the Halloween season, when our culture symbolically steers us through both legitimate and imagined fears, we and our children prize stories that can help us laugh at our bugaboos and give us courage to face them.  This small collection of titles builds up bravery, and strengthens nerves, giving us the grit and guts to face a dread that makes us flinch in dismay.  Take two (or more) and stride forward in the morning!   

The Boo! Book by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer

illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli 

Atheneum, $17.99, Ages 4-8

            Although not many people know this, begins the story, “there are almost as many book ghosts as there are house ghosts.”  Book ghosts meddle with stories, turn them upside down, and scramble words. 

            What follows are descriptions of how to know if a book is haunted, what to do if you discover you’re reading a haunted book, when NOT to read a book that’s haunted, and what to do if you’re trapped in a haunted book.  Cast in blues -- to stage the more fanciful moments -- and greens for more realistic bedroom scenes, this story features many delight-filled imaginings.

            To accompany author Lachenmeyer’s sometimes spooky, and often reassuring text, artist Ceccoli creates appealing light blue, round-faced ghosts who ‘swim’ through a book’s pages. She uses a mix of techniques -- plasticine, digital photography, acrylics on paper and Photoshop – to take young readers through a collection of dream-like sequences: like a snowy night sky sprinkled with stardust, or a bubbling underwater world containing strange undersea creatures.             

            Lachenmeyer’s occasionally cryptic language is cheerfully hair-raising; the fantasy is buoyant and gleeful.   Also, the concluding caution; that a ghost becomes bored when a haunted book is left “unread for too long,” is a ready reminder that from time to time we all enjoy a haunting.

 

Boo to You! by Lois Ehlert  

Simon & Schuster, $7.99, Ages 3-7

            The mice and their friends are in a frenzy of preparation for a harvest party.  And while they don’t mind an occasional squirrel or raccoon, they have a plan for getting rid of “the creep” they “didn’t invite.”   As they create and decorate, night falls.  They put on masks, arranging to scare the cat who’s coming to crash their bash.

            Award winning author/illustrator Ehlert delights the youngest set and their adults with her hallmark collage illustrations to partner her energetic, rhythmic, rhyming text.  A variety of papers in earthy autumn colors, combine with photos of edible ingredients, plus twine and string to bewitch young readers.

            Gather fall materials and supplies to accompany this brief but peppy picture book, as young listeners will likely be eager to craft their own montage.   

 

Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books 

by Susan L. Roth and Karen Leggett Abouraya

illustrated by Susan L. Roth

Dial, $16.99, Ages 6-9

            Although within the walls of the beautiful and famous Bibliotheca Alexandrina there has always been safety to read, think and whisper about freedom, people “were not free to speak or vote as they wished” outside in their daily lives. When Egypt’s young people began marching for freedom in January 2011, first in Cairo, and later of Alexandria, demanding the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, who had been Egypt’s president for thirty years, there were fears that protesters might be angry enough to hurt each other or their library.

            Separated from the shore of the Mediterranean Sea by only a wide highway, the spectacularly beautiful Alexandria Library symbolically represents the sun of knowledge shining on the world.  It was during eighteen days of protest, when marchers joined hands with Dr. Ismail Serageldin, the library director, to protect the glass building from harm, that the Egyptian people demonstrated not only their determination to create a better world by helping spread democratic ideals, they also safeguarded the space where stories are held and books are valued, participating in a ring of protection that brought people together.

            Using her “international palette of papers,” illustrator Roth’s distinctive collage style emphasizes the crowds, the clasped hands, the circles of power, the emblematic Egyptian flag, and even the granite blocks carved with letters or signs from five hundred different alphabets.  The vitality of the “will of the people” to prevent vandals from destroying and ransacking the house of treasures the library represents, is evidenced not only in the seamlessly combined spirited text and vigorous illustrations, but also confirmed by back matter which includes photos from actual events, pages of information about both the ancient and modern library, several paragraphs about the revolution itself, a few words in flowing Arabic script from protest signs (with pronunciations, and English translations), and drawn together with an important concluding author’s note.  

RAGS (Monday Poem)

by Judith Thurman



The night wind
rips a cloud sheet
into rags,

then rubs, rubs
the October moon
until it shines
like a brass doorknob.



from The Sky is Full of Song selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Dirk Zimmer, 1983, Harper & Row