Inspired By Poetry

In this a month of poetry
We celebrate many an honoree
....

OK. I was planning to write this whole post in verse, but it turns out I'm not that talented. Poetry is hard, y'all! Though certainly inspirational. We've all opened books to find chapter headings that quote the lines of poets both well known and obscure. There's also a few gems in which poetic threads run throughout, thematically tying novels together. I've put up a display in the Young Adult Room with a few fabulous teen books and the poems that shape and inspire them. One of my faves is Lips Touch by Laini Taylor. This National Book Award honoree features three short stories, one of which was inspired by Christina Rossetti's amazing "Goblin Market," in which two sisters are tempted by goblin men selling irresistibly delicious fruit that will cause the consumer to waste away. Why? Who knows. Goblins are like that. Here's an excerpt of the poem:

Evening by evening

Among the brookside rushes,

Laura bow’d her head to hear,

Lizzie veil’d her blushes:

Crouching close together

In the cooling weather,

With clasping arms and cautioning lips,

With tingling cheeks and finger tips.

“Lie close,” Laura said,

Pricking up her golden head:

“We must not look at goblin men,

We must not buy their fruits:

Who knows upon what soil they fed

Their hungry thirsty roots?”

“Come buy,” call the goblins

Hobbling down the glen.

Isn't that saucy?

This is Just to Say...

This is Just to Say

Here is a book of poetry
each poem mean and nasty
using the perpsective of nursery rhyme characters
mostly

it might make you feel poorly about poetry
then again it might be right up your alley
so as a librarian
I recommend this book

Forgive me
I don't usually like writing that tends toward meanness
but it's so funny
and it's inspired by the famous poet William Carlos Williams
so how can you argue with that?

2016 BCCCA Award Winner Announced

The 2016 Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award Winner has been announced!  This year's winner is Charlie Bumpers vs. the Teacher of the Year by Bill Harley!  Congratulations Bill!

To see a list of the 2016-17 BCCCA nominees, visit:
https://ola.memberclicks.net/bccca-nominees

If you are in 1st-3rd grade, you can participate in our Kids Book Club where we will discuss books from the 2016-17 BCCCA nominee list.  Sign-ups begin in August 2016!

Annual Courtyard Planting Day April 15, 2016

School's out on Friday April 15th!  So stop by the library 2-3 p.m. to help beautify the library's courtyard!  Every year, this annual living floral display cheers patrons of all ages during the spring and summer months.

Each child who plants an annual in a courtyard planter will get to write their name on a marker stick and place it into the soil to mark the spot to remember where they planed their plant.  Then they can come back later in the season and see how much their plant has grown!

After planting a flower, kids can plant bush bean and dwarf sunflower seeds to take home and watch grow.  They'll also be able to make small garden art using special craft foil.

Weekend Story Times!

Finally, a story time for working families! For those who cannot make it to story time during the weekdays, we are excited to announce that we will be holding a special series of story times for all ages on Saturdays at 10:30 in the Puett Room. Bring the whole family to enjoy:

• Things That Go (April 16)
• Friendship (April 23)
• Dia de Los Ninos/Dia de los Libros (April 30)
• Comic Book Day (May 7)

Beauty & The Beast Invitation

Dragon Theater Princesses present:

Beauty and the Beast

Come Journey with us to discover one of the most beautiful stories ever told. Join Belle and the Beast as they tell their tale. Belle is a young woman who knows not to judge a book by its cover and with that falls in love unexpectantly with the Beast. Together they open each others eyes to understanding, patience and standing up for the one you love.

Prince and Princessy attire is optional.

WHEN: Tuesday April 12, 2016, 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Burgess Community Room

WHO: All princess and princesses

NOTE: Cinderella & Prince Charming who were originally scheduled for this date have had to cancel.  Beauty & The Beast will be taking their place.

National Poetry Monty: Fresh Poetry Picks

Check out these fresh new poetry books during National Poetry month!

When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons
by Julie Fogliano

Starting and ending with a bird "poking / a tiny hole / through the edge of winter" on the vernal equinox, readers can feel the taste, sights, sounds and smells of the four seasons through experiences of a small girl interacting with nature.

Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmer's Market 
by Irene Latham

Cucumber submarines, blueberry fireworks, potatoes as "Crooked as / a "come here" / finger.",  and mouse-sized okra swords. A bountiful farmers market feast awaits readers.

Amazing Places: Poems 
Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Travel to some amazing American landmarks and meet some talented American poets all without leaving your favorite reading spot. You may come away with an idea for a new family vacation destination or a new favorite writer!

A Great Big Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young 
by Michael Rosen

Nonsense words, silly sounds, and bouncy rhymes that beg to be read aloud and danced to, are what makes this new poetry book for the preschool set so fun.

What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? 
by Judith Viorst

Daily joys, annoyances, hopes, and fears are brought to life through witty poems and the humorous illustrations of Lee White. My favorite, "Places I'd Like If..." explores the places a kid would like to visit if it weren't for all the scary stuff that can happen.  "How soft and rainy woodland feels, /  If bears did not eat kids for meals, /  I'd like forests."

Synchronicity

I just read three books in a row that all just so happened to have main characters in them to whom running was an important part of who they were. And they were all so great that I just had to share them.

First up: Maybe a Fox, by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee. Jules' sister Sylvie's burning wish is to "run faster so that..." but when she disappears, Jules never learns what would complete that sentence. At the same time that Sylvie disappears, a fox is born and she seems to have some connection to Jules' family. After already losing their mother, now Jules and their father are grieving the loss of Sylvie. Will Jules ever learn why Sylvie wanted to run faster? What is the connection between the fox kit and Jules?






Next: Far from Fair, by Elana K. Arnold. Odette Zyskowski runs a mile so fast, the school track coach tries to recruit her for the team. But it's too bad she won't be able to be on the team, because she'll be on a different kind of coach with her family. Her parents have sold their house and replaced it with a set of wheels; they'll be doing "road school" from now on. And on top of leaving the house, friends and school she has known her entire life, she also has to deal with the threat of her parents divorcing and the fact that her beloved grandmother is very ill.



And last but not least: All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, by Leslie Connor. One of Perry's favorite things to do is sprint down the hall and jump into his mom's arms for the swing-around. And with his new cross trainers, he is fast! The only thing unusual about this is that the hall happens to be in Block C of a prison. Perry was born and raised in a minimum security prison and the "rezzes" are like family to him. When an ambitious DA gets wind of Perry's situation, his mom's probation hearing is postponed and Perry is placed in foster care with none other than the ambitious DA himself, who also happens to be the step dad of his best friend in school. A school assignment leads Perry to want to tell the inmates' stories, including his mom's, but her story just doesn't quite add up. What really landed her in prison? Will they be able to continue their lives together on the outside as they both have dreamed?

I highly recommend all three of these books for upper elementary to middle school kids.

Happy 100th Birthday Beverly Cleary!

Beloved children’s book author Beverly Cleary was born on April 12^th, 1916, in McMinnville and raised in Portland. As a librarian, Cleary learned that elementary school children were looking for and struggling to find books about kids like themselves. In 1950, Cleary published her first book, Henry Huggins, which is about a boy, his dog, and his friends who live in the Hollywood neighborhood in Portland.

Since then, Beverly Cleary has published over 40 children’s books, most of which are still in print and relevant to kids today. She has won many literary awards, including the John Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw and Newbery Honors for Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father. Her most recent book, Ramona’s World, was published in 1999. Beverly Cleary now lives in California so she can be near her family.

OPB is celebrating with an Oregon Art Beat special “Discovering Beverly Cleary”—the first-ever documentary about the author. It includes a rare, new interview with Beverly Cleary herself! Watch the special on Thursday, April 7th at 8:00  p.m. on OPB TV or online at: www.opb.org/beverlycleary.

Want to celebrate Beverly Cleary all month?  Check out this blog post from the Oregon Library Association Children's Services Division.  While it primarily is targeted towards libraries, it does contain a lot of ideas that will serve as story extensions.

There's also D.E.A.R. Day (Drop Everything and Read), which happens every year on April 12th.  So be sure to drop EVERYTHING and read that day!

Happy 100th Birthday Beverly Cleary!  We love you and we love your books!

April is National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month.  This year it is celebrating its 20th anniversary!  National Poetry Month has evolved into the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets celebrating poetry's vital place in our culture.  I will be the first to admit that I got really bored with poetry when I was in school...all that breaking down of lines and figuring out meaning...it just didn't capture my interest.  But as an adult, I have learned to enjoy children's poetry books as they are colorful and so much more easier to read and understand!

Here's a list of children's poetry books that I have been published within the past couple of years that I have enjoyed.  I hope you and your child will be charmed by their beauty too!

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night 
by Joyce Sidman
A collection of poems that celebrates the wonder, mystery, and danger of the night and describes the many things that hide in the dark.  This beautifully illustrated book won a 2011 Newbery Honor.







Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings
by Douglas Florian
Here's a fun illustrated collection of poems and collages about dinosaurs.  And of course its perfect for dinosaur fans.  They'll really devour this one!

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems
Selected by Paul B. Janeczko
A selection of short American poems dealing with the four seasons and the different weather events and animal patterns that can occur within each.  Also, I'm a big fan of Melissa Sweet's artwork too.

Flutter and Hum: Animal Poems = Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales 
by Julie Paschkis
All sorts of animals flutter and hum, dance and stretch, and slither and leap their way through this joyful collection of poems in English and Spanish. Julie Paschkis's words and art sing in both languages, bringing out the beauty and playfulness of the animal world.





Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse 
by Marilyn Singer
Here's a collection of short poems called "reversos" which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.  So you can read it forwards and backwards and still read the same poem!  This is such a fun and creative way to read poetry!

Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle Your Tongue 
by Jon Agee
Have you ever gotten tripped up trying to say a silly succession of similar syllables? Try out these hilarious tongue twisters for yourself for lots of silly fun!






Santa Clauses: Short Poems from the North Pole 
by Bob Raczka
25 haiku give readers a fresh, humorous perspective on Santa's December preparations. And rich illustrations pull readers into every wintry scene.  Read now, or save to read later during the winter holidays.

Stardines Swim High Across the Sky And Other Poems 
by Jack Prelutsky
Here's a collection of 16 humorous poems about imaginary strange creatures such as the stardine, slobster, and magpipe.  Plus, the illustrations really make those make-believe critters seem awfully real too!

Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold 
by Joyce Sidman
When winter comes, how will the animals brave the long and cold season of the north?  Read poems of the Tundra Swan, the Big Brown Moose, and the Beaver, among other animals.  There's also poems about snowflakes and ice.  Each poem is accompanied by facts and background matter related to the subject at hand.  I just love the linoleum block art illustrations in this book.

World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of by Patrick J. Lewis
Here's a collection of wild and wacky holidays that should be worth celebrating such as: Dragon Appreciation Day, Frog Jumping Day, Ohio Sheep Day, Worm Day, and National Sloth Day.  Don't let these days go by without a small celebration of your own!  Plus, this book is perfect for transitional readers to read on their very own thanks to the large font size and easier vocabulary.