A POEM ON THE WRONG TRACK (Monday Poem)

by Louis Phillips

One day last winter,
A train caught cold.
It's a true story,
Or so I'm told.

For one entire month
It stood in the rain,
Coughing and sneezing,
An achoo, an achoo, an achoo choo train.



from Kids Pick the Funniest Poems: Poems That Make Kids Laugh selected by Bruce Lansky, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, 1991, Simon & Schuster

SUN AND I (Monday Poem)

by Deborah Chandra


Sun washes down
The morning sky,
And hangs it up
To drip,
Then dry its
Golden light
That
        dribbles
                     down
Into puddles
On the ground.
I splatter-splash
Those puddles bright,
And drenched
From head to toe
In light,
I drag out shadows
One by one,
To dip
And wash them
In the sun.



from Balloons and Other Poems by Deborah Chandra, illustrated by Leslie Bowman, 1990, Farrar Straus Giroux

Books for Making May-time Magical (FAMILY magazine reviews)

During the month of May thoughts often turn toward the beauties of springtime weather and the gorgeous flowering of trees and other plants.  The books in this small collection can help to direct attention to the earth and its creatures.  They are among many terrific books for young children available in the public library.  Any librarian or bookseller will gladly help you find one of these titles or other titles to enjoy with your child.

When you choose books to share, also set aside a special time each day to read with your child.  One possibility to consider is the evening: it can become an important part of a bedtime routine. 

Try any of the suggestions below to help make your reading ritual happy:

·      Begin by talking about the pictures with your child. Show the cover and the title page. The title and pictures can give hints about the book.

·      Ask your child to turn the pages. Point out what you see. Ask your child what she sees. 

·      Run your finger along the words as you read the story. This shows your child how words are read (left to right in English). It also helps him follow along.  Children can begin to realize that words we say can be written, and can be read.

·      Make the story interesting for you and your child. Change your voice for each character in the story. Or act out a part that makes you want to move your body. Your child LOVES dramatic play.  She will likely want to join you in this reading playtime.

·      Ask questions about the story:  What happened? What is this?

·      Invite your child to ask questions about the story.  An interesting conversation does not require answers.

·      Offer your child a chance to tell the story.  Very young children can retell a story in their own words.  

Rain Play 

by Cynthia Cotton

Illustrations by Javaka Steptoe  

Henry Holt, $16.95 (hardcover) 

Interest Level:  Pre-Kindergaren – Grade 2 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Edison Branch)

             Showing children romping in a park, this picture book begins just before a storm.  The colorful paint and cut-paper collage illustrations are playful.  They fit the text, adding movement, and causing details to stand out.  The rhythmic, rhyming words make this book a great choice for young children. 

There Was A Tree 

by Rachel Isadora 

Penguin, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 1 

(This book is available to purchase from Books and Books online)

            Author and illustrator Rachel Isadora sets her dazzling version of a well-known folk song (also called “The Green Grass Grew All Around”) on an African plain.  There, a handsome thorn tree is home and food for many animals, insects and birds. 

            Bright oil paintings with cut-paper collages show many animals, the pretty starling’s nest, and the splash of the setting sun.  Even the edging that looks like fabric is beautiful. 

            Superb for young children is the use of rebus icons to replace repeated words in the story. Especially on the page where the baby bird hatches from the egg.

            Readers do NOT need to know the music for this book to be fun.  However, music with words is on the final page, across from the rebus key.

Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace 

by Jen Cullerton Johnson

Illustrations by Sonia Lynn Sadler 

Lee and Low, $18.95 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Grades 1-4 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Little River, Model City, North Central, North Dade Regional)           

            This clear, easy to read biography about Wangari Maathai uses bright African colors to show important parts of the Nobel Prize winner’s life.  As the oldest girl in her family, she grew up close to the earth, caring for the garden.  But she wanted more.  

Education gave her a path to a career as a scientist.  She worked to empower women. Her efforts to plant trees in her home country of Kenya sparked community participation. She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977.

Vibrant oil paintings with detailed outlining in white show both destruction and restoration of the land.  A note at the end explains more about her later environmental work around the world.

Here Come the Humpbacks! 

by April Pulley Sayre

Illustrations by Jamie Hogan  

Charlesbridge, $7.95 (paperback) 

Interest Level: Grades 1-3  (This book is available to purchase from Books and Books online)

            A splendid nonfiction picture book, this story involves readers and listeners with humpback whales. It shows where they swim, what they look like, how big they are and how they breathe.  A baby whale and mother travel to find food. They swim with another whale that helps protect them from boats, orcas, and other dangers like trash and fishing nets.

            Charcoal pencils and pastels in blues, greens and purples create the water-world of whale life. Large print on the left side of the pages tells the whales’ story, while smaller print adds factual depth. A note at the end gives adult readers more details.

 

Little Black Crow 

by Chris Raschka  

Atheneum, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level:  Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Miami Lakes Branch, North Central Branch, North Shore Branch)

            Award-winner Chris Raschka creates paintings full of feeling in this unusual picture book.  He uses simple ink lines, large watercolor brush strokes, and matches them with wondering words. This book opens up imagination in young listeners and readers.  They will be caught up in the curious questions a young child asks of the crow.

Here are a few more wonderful titles to choose from!

Lucky Ducklings 

by Eva Moore

Illustrations by Nancy Carpenter

Orchard Books, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to purchase from Books and Books online)

I Wish I Had . . .   

by Giovanna Zoboli

Illustrations by Simona Mulazzani  

Eerdman’s, $16 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to purchase from Books and Books online)

Miss Maple’s Seeds 

by Eliza Wheeler 

Penguin, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level:  Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to purchase from Books and Books online)

·      Encourage your child in his efforts.

MAMA'S SONG (Monday Poem)

by Deborah Chandra


Mama hums a sea-song with her eyes,
A deep blue rising sea-song,
    moving as her eyes move,
    weaving foam across my fac.

White gulls whirl overhead,
The sun washes back and forth,
     and I am rocking . . .
          rocking . . .
               like a boat
          in the waves
               of her song.



from Balloons and Other Poems by Deborah Chandra, illustrated by Leslie Bowman, 1990, Farrar Straus Giroux

MAY NIGHT (Monday Poem)

by Sara Teasdale


The spring is fresh and fearless
     And every leaf is new,
The world is brimmed with moonlight,
     The lilac brimmed with dew.

Here in the moving shadows
     I catch my breath and sing--
My heart is fresh and fearless
     And over-brimmed with spring.



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

THE MERRY-GO-ROUND HORSE (Monday Poem)

by Lee Bennett Hopkins


The merry-go-round
       horse has a tear in its eye
left by the spring rain.




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

Books for Early Readers (FAMILY magazine reviews)

These books for busy parents are perfect for beginning readers! They feature easy language, short chapters, large print and sometimes pictures linked to the story.  All are under 130 pages, with interesting characters and surprising stories to keep a child’s attention. 

Here are several ideas to keep in mind as you choose a book to read with your child: 

1)    Pick a book you already like, or one you think your child will enjoy.

2)    Read it first, yourself – this gives you a chance to understand the flow of the sentences and how the story is set up.  It’s also a good way to find any words you think your child might have trouble with and show those words in advance, to make your child’s reading successful.

3)    Decide:

a)    Are you going to read to your child?

b)    Will you ask your child to read to you?

c)    For variety, maybe you’ll want to take turns reading a page or a chapter with your child. 

This last choice gives your child a break from reading. It also adds the pleasure of listening.  Part of the delight in a good story is the sound of the language – this is especially true for your child when YOU are the reader!

Remember:

·      Choose a time when you and the child are not too tired or hungry.

·      Find a comfortable place to make it easy to pay close attention.

·      Snuggle, so you both look forward to this time together.

·      Have fun!

Mrs. Noodlekugel 

by Daniel Pinkwater

illustrated by Adam Stower 

Candlewick, $14.99 (hardcover)

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 4 

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online)

            This weird and wacky tale begins as an ordinary story of a brother and sister.  Nick and Maxine just moved into a tall city apartment building.  However, a magical turn happens when the curious children visit a cute little house behind the building. 

Even though their parents warn against it, they find a pleasant old lady and a talking cat.  Also, four farsighted (not blind) mice help with baking and shaping gingermice cookies.

The author’s trademark playful style makes it an odd and funny book. With black and white pictures to match the large print, it’s also easy to read.

Sadie and Ratz 

by Sonya Hartnett, 

illustrated by Ann James.  

 Candlewick, $14.99 (hardcover)

Interest Level: Grades 2-4 

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online)

Hannah has named her hands Sadie and Ratz.  Although they are NOT animals, they act like wild beasts -- especially around four-year-old Baby Boy. 

Then, something strange happens in Hannah’s house.  Tricky Baby Boy names Sadie and Ratz for drawing on the wall with black marker.  Later, when he skins his knee, he tells Grandma, “Sadie and Ratz pushed me.”  

Hannah decides Sadie and Ratz “must go on vacation.”  But, when a special clock gets broken. AND it stopped at 2 p.m.  AND Baby Boy blames Sadie and Ratz.  Mom and Dad realize it can’t be -- Hannah “had been at school.”

This early chapter book is a skillful blend of peppy text and lively charcoal drawings that express feelings on faces and in actions.  It’s also a clever story about the power of imagination, and how big sisters and baby brothers change each other.

Pinch and Dash and the Terrible Couch 

by Michael J. Daley, 

illustrated by Thomas E. Yezerski  

Charlesbridge, $5.95 (paperback) 

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3  

 (This series is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Homestead Branch)

            Pinch’s Aunt Hasty’s is living in a new tiny apartment.  So, movers (Push and Shove) deliver her couch to Pinch’s place.  Now Pinch’s room is too crowded -- he can’t enjoy his cozy chair.

Also, Pinch is NOT happy because his curtains have “pleasing pinches of orange.”  But as Dash, Pinch’s friend says, the couch is covered in fabric with “daring dashes of red.”           

Pen and ink and watercolor paintings match the conversation in the text.  The pictures add humor in this short six-chapter adventure. 

As the two friends try moving the furniture to fit, they get tired, thirsty and hot.  When Dash falls asleep on the couch, Pinch opens the window to cool off, giving him an idea that leads to a happy ending.

Sassy: The Birthday Storm

by Sharon M. Draper. 

Scholastic, $4.99 (paperback) 

Interest Level: Grades 2-4   

(This series is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Homestead Branch, Lemon City Branch, Little River Branch, North Dade Regional)

            Nine-year-old Sassy, with her Sparkle Sack, is back! This new adventure begins with her family’s trip to Florida.  But, a tropical storm threatens to spoil Granny’s birthday party. 

            On an early morning beach walk, Sassy and Granny find an endangered sea turtle’s nest. The eggs are buried close to the ocean’s edge. Maybe the storm will wash them away! 

Poppy calls a friend who is a sea turtle expert.  Before the hurricane, Michael and the entire family move 87 eggs to a safer spot. 

            The “stuff” Sassy pulls from her sparkle sack helps with the sea turtle eggs.  And even changes the ruined birthday party.  This family story isn’t just about safety and being together – it’s also about the “power and beauty of nature.”

          

Try these books for more great stories!

Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up 

by Melissa Thomson

illustrated by Frank Morrison  

Dial, $5.99 (paperback) 

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This series is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Homestead Branch, Lemon City Branch, Little River Branch, North Dade Regional)

Magical Monty 

by Johanna Hurwitz

illustrated by Anik McGrory.  

 Candlewick, $15.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online)

How Oliver Olson Changed the World 

by Claudia Mills, illustrated by Heather Maione  

Square Fish, $5.99 (paperback) 

Interest Level: Grades 2-4 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, North Dade Regional)

Marty Maguire 

by Kate Messner

illustrated by Brian Floca   

Scholastic, $5.99 (paperback) 

Interest Level: Grades 1-3 

(This series is available to purchase from Books & Books online)