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.
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
Traveling east, white
surprise spring snow shower, don’t
leave, stay; coat flowers
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?
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.
Oh, I’ve had my share of embarrassing mistakes. Now if I only had the courage to remember them and transform them into stories…
Thanks, Doreen and Tara!
via STORYSTORM 2018 Final Day: Doreen Cronin Makes Embarrassing Mistakes (and you can, too!)
Collecting those ideas is just like gathering eggs. You have to watch where you’re walking, keep your eyes peeled, and collect those golden orbs of inspiration and place them in a sturdy basket to incubate for hatching up a great story.
Thanks, Jane and Tara!
via STORYSTORM 2018 Day 29: Jane Yolen Cultivates the Wild Idea
Way to prime the pump! Thanks, Stacy and Tara!
This post is full of wonderful tips for staying the course in writing picture books for kids. AND Vivian shares suggestions on where to collect new ideas for future projects!
Thanks, Vivian and Tara!
via STORYSTORM 2018 Day 25: Vivian Kirkfield Kicks Back and Kicks Butt
Love, Laughter, and Life 