Scone
maple icing treat
warm from oven, coffee too
yearning for a taste
Welcome to Hump Day Haiku!
Everybody loves Hump Day – Wednesday! Otherwise known as half the week is gone, we’re over the hump, and we’re so close to the weekend we can taste it.
If you enjoy Haiku, join in by sharing a Happy Hump Day Haiku.
Reading.
Forgetting to respond.
Thinking I responded. But didn’t.
Getting interrupted mid-text and wandering off.
Comprehending (or not) texting shortcuts and abbreviations.
Misunderstandings.
Autocorrect.
Hitting send too early.
Emojis that don’t mean what you think they mean.
Fat fingers.
Replying to the wrong person.
Once said, always said. Leaving a virtual paper trail.
Screenshots.
Cyber vs face-to-face relationships
In light of these snafus:
Read twice. Send once.
To me. Just do it. READ twice. Send once.
Nature’s Lullaby Fills the Night
By Dee Leone
Illustrated by Bali Engel
(Sterling Children’s Books, 2018)
I won a copy of Nature’s Lullaby Fills the Night from KIDLIT411. Thanks, Sylvia and Elaine!
Nature’s Lullaby Fills the Night is the perfect bedtime – or anytime – read aloud! Peaceful rhyme tells the story of nature getting ready to go to sleep. Animals, plants, and other beauties prepare and nestle in for a good nights’ sleep. The illustrations, set in gorgeous deep blues and purples highlighted by nighttime light, perfectly match the winding down of the day.
I’ve totally enjoyed reading Nature’s Lullaby Fills the Night. Now, on to share it with the littles in my life. Thanks for the beautiful book, Dee and Bali!
KID KANDY:
Nighttime Painting
Materials: watercolor paints, brushes, water, crayons, heavy paper
1. Read Nature’s Lullaby Fills the Night. Notice the colors used in the illustrations. What’s your favorite page (animal, plant, setting)?
2. Use crayons to draw a nature picture. Include the moon and stars.
3. Paint over the drawing with darker colors like purple, blue, and black.
Ta-da! You have your own nighttime illustration!
Did you know that:
So go ahead, enjoy those dried-up markers, clay tiles, rocks, branches, and benches. I love watching my grands explore, create, make a mess, and explore. Me? Not a care in the world since it all washes off.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
By Dusti Bowling
(Sterling Children’s Books, 2017)
I won a copy of Dusti Bowling’s chapter book Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus from Literary Rambles.
What first attracted me to this book was the title. I could just imagine what type of events a cactus would stoically attend, though I knew the book was not about those fascinating plants.
What attracted me next were the characters and the setting. Having grown up in Arizona, I looked forward to reading a book set in the starkly dry and hot desert. The book has a captivating cast of diverse characters. I loved reading of friends Aven (born without arms) and Conner (spits at people when he eats) and how they manage their disabilities. The strength and courage of Aven compelled me to cheer for her and will inspire others who struggle with any type of disability. Family issues, a mystery discovered in an old out building, and facing ones’ own fears come together in a nicely written page-turner.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus is a great read for any young (or old) person. Compassion, understanding, and acceptance of diversity will develop as readers live alongside Aven and Conner. I found that Bowlings’ book gave me the viewpoint of someone living with challenges and how they faced daily life and difficult situations. Readers will see that they can do anything if they put their mind to it!
Well done and great read!
The Girl with the Red Balloon
Written by Katherine Locke
(Albert Whitman & Company, 2017)
Last fall, I won a copy of The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke from Natalie Aguirre’s Literary Rambles.
I immediately read The Girl with the Red Balloon. Who can not read a book with a tag that says The wall keeps us in. Magic gets us out.?
The tale is told of Ellie, a girl who visits the Berlin Wall Memorial during a school field trip. Ellie has family ties to World War II and Germany, as her grandfather miraculously escaped from a death camp. As Ellie considers the impact of that horrible time period, she notices a red balloon. Innocently, she grabs the string and is immediately deposited in East Berlin in 1988, where she is found by Kai, a member of an underground society. Ellie, Kai, and several others must work to figure out how and why Ellie was transported back in time when the purpose of the red balloons was to take death camp members over the wall and away from a certain terrible fate.
Much history is shared in the telling of this story. I loved the mixture of magical realism, history, teen relationships, family heritage, and mystery. Danger, high stakes, death, and good versus evil all blend together in this great story. Ellie is stuck in the past and must find a way to return to her own time. But this is complicated by magical developments and a budding romance.
Locke tells the story from different viewpoints, but the switch off is easy to follow as every chapter is clearly labeled with the point of view character. I had to focus a bit to understand the historical connections, but the book is well written and engaging.
The Girl with the Red Balloon is a great read for anyone who enjoys history hooked together with a bit of magic.
P.S. Look what comes out this fall!
How many of you read for pleasure? (“Me, me!” she shouts while waving her hand crazily in the air.)
A paper book? An e-reader story? A tale that lets you escape to a new land, new people, new problems? (Yes, please!)
Oh, the books we can read! Too many books, not enough time, right?
Consider this poem I wrote for a course:
This pleasure,
While reading,
Gives me a poetic mind.
Gobbled, devoured,
Digested words and tale.
Spit out to be
Read again.
Again.
And again.
Dissected, applied to life,
Reassembled with
New understanding.
Reading for pleasure;
A necessity as is
Air, water, food.
I pick up again
The feast of words
To consume the story
Each book tells.
Tell me, tell me please!
What book are you reading right now? What’s your favorite book? What chores have you neglected to read just. one. more. page? (…dishes, laundry, vacuuming, dusting)
I’d love to hear the tale of the words that let you escape.
By Angie Quantrell
Refugees.
I realize this is a hot, politically heavy topic. But I want to skip the controversy and go straight to a response.
Humans. Babies, toddlers, children, teens, adults. Moms, dads, children, grandpas, grammas, aunts, uncles, friends. In other words, people.
An article I wrote about making space for relationships (with refugees and other community members) is in the March issue of Missions Mosaic. You can also read the article online here.
(Search for the article title, “Make It Personal: Build Relationships with Refugees.”)
I’ve been researching the refugee crisis for various writing contracts. And while I am in no way an expert, even I can see that refugees need our help. We can’t all travel to refugee camps and help on site. But we can keep our eyes open and alert to seeing refugees (internationals) in our communities.
What to do then? Gently, kindly extend a hand of friendship. No bulls in a China shop approach. But with a humble heart, coming from a sincere desire to help – reach out. Offer assistance. Open the door. Smile. Let your children play together. Help at the grocery store or post office. Take time to explain something confusing. At the least, make eye contact and say hello. Every little effort is worth the awkwardness and uncertainty we might experience. Think of it as making new friends. There. That helps, doesn’t it?
We can do it. I can do it. Join me?
Frankenbunny
Written by Jill Esbaum
Illustrated by Alice Brereton
(Sterling Children’s Books, 2017)
Sibling rivalry, picking on the youngest, evil plans, plans thwarted, scary premise – Jill Esbaum delivers them all in Frankenbunny. Wonderful characters, setting, and interactions. The illustrations perfectly add to and tell the story.
I won a copy of Frankenbunny from Jill Esbaum and Picture Book Builders. I couldn’t be more excited!
The power of suggestion. It really packs a punch, doesn’t it? When big brothers tell Spencer about Frankenbunny, he doesn’t believe them. At first. But after many conversations, Spencer becomes convinced that monsters are real.
Or are they?
You will have to read Frankenbunny to find out the truth of the matter.
KID KANDY
Make Your Own Frankenbunny
Supplies: paper scraps, scissors, glue sticks, markers, construction paper
1. On construction paper, draw the scariest Frankenbunny you can!
2. Add clothes, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, fingertips – everything – by cutting up paper scraps and gluing them on.
3. Finish up with markers.
Show off your Frankenbunny! I bet it scares everyone!
P.S. I’d love to see your Frankenbunny! Ask a parent to help you post a picture of your artwork in the comments. Wow! I can’t wait!
Three car seats. Three preschoolers. Three strong-minded individuals. Three precious grands. Three songs.
Over and over. In equal quantities, or else. Even the 1 year-old can tell when it’s time for HER song.
Auto repeat would make life much easier in the car as we commute to preschool, the store, the post office, the library. But no. The Nana Bus has only the old-fashioned CD player. One CD at a time.
Nana has become a master at switching.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, complete with unsynchronized clapping. (Pentatonix)
Bananaphone. With hand motions. (Raffi)
Baby Beluga, formerly known as Baby Beguda and Baby Deguba. (Raffi)
Switch on, clap on, sing on. Repeat.
