Poetry Friday: Poetry Pairing

Thank you, Julie at  The Drift Record for hosting Poetry Friday.

Who hasn’t heard of this fabulous new anthology?

My school is currently finishing up reading the nominees for the Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award.

I read the nominee,  Pluto Visits Earth by Steve Metzger, illustrations by Jared Lee last week. One of the students immediately recognized the art work as the guy who illustrates the Black Lagoon series by Mike Thaler.

Then students listened to this great poem from the Poetry Friday Anthology to pair with this book:

Uh, Oh Plutoby Jeannine Atkins

Once Pluto was proud to be called one of nine planets.But astronomers decided he was too small,
too far away from the Sun, made unpredictable orbits.
They tore pictures of poor Pluto off walls
and museum halls showed only eight planets.
Happily, Pluto found new friends, streaking balls
of rocks, dust, and ice called comets.
Orbiting whimsically together, Pluto is greatest of all.

Don’t forget to sign up of a Poetry Postcard.

Happy Friday.
Happy Poetry.

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Poetry Friday: What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms, and Blessings

WHAT THE HEART KNOWS: CHANTS, CHARMS, and BLESSINGS by Joyce Sidman was among the seven poetry finalists for the CYBILS.

This is a slim but powerful volume of poetry which contains four sections: Charms and Chants, Spells and Invocations, Laments and Remembrances, and Praise Songs and Blessings. When have you wished for something, felt a loss, or just enjoyed the blessing of the day?

The one thing I love about Sidman’s work is they way she will take a topic and present a unique twist. Her opening sentence in her note to readers says it all, “We speak to send messages to the world.” Once upon a time, chants, charms, and blessings were used to encourage the crops to grow or to place a spell on someone or something.

Today in a world of one hundred forty characters to express your feelings, I am glad Sidman’s book is in the world when I am in need of a lament or an invocation. Sidman’s book is a fabulous as a mentor text for anyone needing to write such a poem.

Then there are the mixed medium illustrations by Pamela Zagarenski. (I missed out on her calendar this year but next year….) The muted tones, the evocative nature of the illustrations pull the collections together for a stunning book.

Poetry Friday: The Library

This is from the fabulous Poetry Friday Anthology, “The Library” by Sara Holbrook.I use this for a bookmark. It also makes a great painting with I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric Kimmel. It’s the book I love sharing with the kinders. It also pairs well with The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman. Plus it ends with the name of my blog!

On the back of my bookmark I have this, a quick reminder of how to use the poem.

On Monday, September 16, there will be a big announcement regarding the panelists and judges for the CYBILS. Stay tuned.

Poetry Friday is at Teach Mentor Texts.

Happy Poetry.
Happy Friday.

MsMac