This is a good time to introduce new poetry books. Take a look at these offerings and come by to check out these and other books to help you celebrate poetry in your home or classroom. Award winning poet Joyce Sidman gives these reasons for reading poetry:
1. Capture the moment.
2. Choosing joy.
3. Easing the heart.
4. Everything is connected
To read more about her rational follow this link:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/newsletters/newsletterbucketextrahelping2/893901-477/why_i_write_poetry_a.html.csp

Never Forgotten, illustrated by the incomparable team of Leo and Diane Dillon, this story is spoken by the Griot (African storyteller) whose words have the rhythm of drum beats. In lyrical verse, it tells of Dinga the blacksmith whose wife dies leaving him to raise their son Musafa. Elements of folklore weave through the story as Earth Mother, Fire Woman, Water Maiden and Wind Spirit nourish and seek to protect the boy when he is kidnapped by slave traders. The spirits follow Musafa across the Middle Passage to find him enslaved and working as a blacksmith like his father before him. This message returns to Dinga who celebrates "With the Mother Elements by his side, Celebrating the son who was taken, But never forgotten."  The Griot reminds us that Musafa was one of millions.  Patricia McKissack gives voice to the taken and the left behind.

Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts About Peace explores the meaning of peace."Can peace creep up on us, seep into our souls, or do we have to search it out, coax it, give it space?" Anna Hines explores the subject of peace at home, in the world and within one's self. Each evocative poem is illustrated with handmade story quilts.

In Amazing Faces, Lee Bennett Hopkins has collected a multicultural array of people who reveal the universal emotions we all share.  Whether happiness, sadness, excitement or pride, these feelings express the experiences that make us human and let us make connections to others. "A young soldier returns home-----keeping miles of memories sealed within     One heartbreaking boyish grin."

Haiku at its most fun.  Throughout the seasons, boys frolic and play. In winter “Two splotches of white / on a black tree trunk. I aim / my next pitch—strike three!” 
Bob Raczka captures moments in nature complemented by Peter Reynold's delightful cartoons in which each seasons is depicted in a single hue.

Dear Hotdog by Mordicai Gerstein celebrates ordinary things from toes to toothbrushes. Three children spend their day; they play, eat, and enjoy everyday things. Illustrated by the author, these are poems in which young readers will see themselves.  "Leaves" tells us, "In spring, yellow-green and tiny, you pop out and dress big trees in baby clothes."

Step Gently Out--this title is good advice for being mindful of the beauty in the smallest creature. The stunning close-up photography of Rick Lieder reveals the lattice of a damselfly wing or lets you share the dew sparkling web with a spider.  Helen Frost leads you on this journey of discovery with her words, "In song and dance and stillness, they share the world with you."
Watch her world below.

I Lay My Stitches Down by Cynthia Grady is a moving tribute to the African American spirit. She says this in the introductory page, "Quiltmaking and poetry share similarities in craft.  In one, color and shape are organized into an overall pattern; in the other, sound and structure create the pattern, Each poem...is named for a traditional quilt block and reflects a metaphorical patchwork of circumstances encountered by enslaved people in America."

Check out one of these biographies published in 2011 to celebrate women's history month.

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming
This biography alternates between chapters describing Amelia's life and vignettes describing the desperate search for the famous aviator after she went missing while trying to circumnavigate the globe.  Ample pictures, maps, and images of other primary source documents help immerse the reader in the action, bringing a decades old mystery to life.  

Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, illustrated by Raúl Colón
This book follows the life of Alicia Alonso with beautiful watercolor illustrations and free verse poems.  Alicia was born in Cuba, then went to New York to study ballet.  She continued to dance there despite partial blindness and eventually returned to Cuba to open her own dance company.  She still directs a dance school in Cuba today.  

Basketball Belles: How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women's Hoops on the Map by Sue Macy, illustrated by Matt Collins

This picture book tells the story of the first women's college basketball match.  It's a bit of local history with the match being between Berkeley and Stanford.  They had to play with special modified rules to make the game more lady-like and in front of an audience of all women.  Despite these restrictions the game was anything but demure.  For more information of the history of women's basketball visit http://wbhof.com/

Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto by Susan Goldman Rubin, Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
This picture book for older children tells the story of Irena Sendler, a woman who worked with the Polish resistance movement and smuggled hundreds of Jewish children into safety during World War II, keeping records of their true identities safely buried under an apple tree so she could reunite children with their families after the war.  Beautiful oil paintings accompany this inspiring story of courage.  

Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America by Susan Fillion
The Cone sisters became ardent fans and collectors of avant-garde artists before they became well-known.  Working without professional advice and trusting their own instincts, they collected Cézanne, Gauguin, and Picasso and amassed one of the best collections of Matisse in the world.  These two sisters traveled the world collecting works of art and making friends with the artists as well as helping to support them.  This book traces their remarkable lives and the world of early twentieth century art.  

Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg
Queen of the Falls tells the story of Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.  A 62 year old retired charm school teacher, she thought of going over the falls as a stunt to earn her fortune for her retirement.  She drew up special plans for a barrel, oversaw its construction, hired a manager, and took the plunge.  Allsburg's characteristic illustrations (Jumanji, The Polar Express) accompany this story that is no less fantastic than his usual stories  because it is true.

Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala - Sa, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist Adapted by Gina Capaldi & Q.L. Pearce, illustrations by Gina Capaldi
Gertrude Simmons, known as Zitkala-Sa (Red Bird) wrote several autobiographical stories throughout her life.  Capaldi & Pearce used this as the base of their story, adapting the language to make it easier for children to understand and adding in extra biographical details.  Primary source documents are also worked into the illustrations by combining collage with acrylic paintings. Red Bird sings out as an accomplished musician, author, and activist for her people in the pages of this picture book biography.

Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, A Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History by Sue Stauffacher, Illustrated by Sarah McMenemy
Tillie came to America with a needle and found a dream.  Soon she was riding in bicycle races with a new outfit she made herself to accommodate riding.  She beat records and made a sensation with poets writing odes to her and journalists begging for interviews.  Many thought it was improper for women to race, and Tillie lost a lot of friends but she raced on, energizing those fighting for women's rights.  This charming picture book tells her tale.  

The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life With the Chimps by Jeanette Winter
This picture book tells the story of Jane Goodall's life with simple prose and fun, colorful pictures in acrylic paint and pen.  The story starts with an incident when Jane was a child and patiently watched a chicken for hours to see how they lay eggs, while everyone searched for her thinking she was lost.  Passion and patience are described as she goes to work for Lois Leaky , makes new discoveries about chimpanzees, and ends with her current work advocating for chimpanzees and wildlife.  

50 enthralling and effective writing lessons age 5 to 12 including one by our own former reading teacher Meg Adler on "Creating a Guide to Modern Girlhood."  The entry on Magic Realism suggests "What if sneezes brought good luck? What if you wrote about it?"  Picture book writer Jon Scieszka imparts how he gets his ideas. Science teachers don't miss the link to Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame singing the Periodic Table in chapter 37.
Don't Forget to Write by 826 National, editor Jennifer Traig.

This little jewel of a book will interest naturalists and teachers of poetry alike. Animal poems arranged by habitat delight the eye and ear. The second half of the book explores the different poetic forms used for each animal. For example the hawk entry uses a form called a triolet because "it combines rhymes and repeated lines in a pattern that nicely matches the movement of a circling hawk."
Nest, Nook & Cranny poems by Susan Blackaby

How to Tell a Folktale by Carol Alexander is an amazing "how-to" for writing different types of folk tales including tall tales, trickster tales, pourquoi tales and more.  This a very practical book with step by step instruction and wonderful examples covering such elements as dialogue and dialect, setting, plot, theme, and creative responses.
If your curriculum covers writing  fables, myths or legends, let me know.  I will be ordering those titles in this useful series.

Oh those pesky homophones!  Do you know there are college students who misuse these three words?  They should have read They're There in Their Boat by Mary Salzmann.

These three titles by Ann Heinrichs demystify the mechanics of grammar and its usage in a lively and humorous manner.

With Halloween around the corner I find myself drawn to books on witches.  Here are a few new books on the subject that I've read and enjoyed recently:

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (YA F Okorafor)
"Akata Witch!" Sunny was used to the taunt, but that didn't make it sting any less. As an albino who spent the first nine years of her life in America, Sunny was used to not fitting in with her Nigerian classmates, but she had no idea how different she was until she saw the end of the world in a candle's flame and discovered  that she really did have magical powers.  In Nigeria, those with magical abilities are called Leopard People and at first Sunny doesn't know what to make of their world.  Among Leopard People what sets you apart is what gives you strength and because Sunny is so different she is also very powerful.  At first her abilities and the new world they show her are thrilling, but before long she realizes that with her powers come a price and for every benefit the Leopard People have to offer there is a hidden danger.

I loved the world of magic that Okorafor creates in this novel where money is earned through knowledge and the librarian is one of the most powerful witches in town.  Imaginative touches such as a wasp artist that stings you if you do not praise its work enough surprised and delighted me. 

Reckless by Cornelia Funke (YA F Funke)
Of the two Reckless brothers, Jacob was always the one who lived up to the family name.  Ever since he discovered the world behind the mirror he's made Reckless into his job description as he travels the fairy-tale world hunting for treasures.  A comb that turns you into a crow will fetch a high price, if you can escape the witch that  it belongs to and live to collect your reward.  Will never knew about the world his brother disappeared to, until one day when Will discovers his secret and follows him in, only to fall victim to a fairy's curse that is slowly turning him to stone.  Now the clock is ticking and Jacob will have to use everything he's learned in his travels if he wants to save Will.  He never imagined that his own brother's life would end up being the most dangerous treasure he's ever sought.

I have always been a fan of new twists on classic fairy tales and this dark fairy tale world is a perfect setting to loose yourself in on Halloween. 

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer (133.4 SC)
In the winter of 1692 two girls began to twitch and choke and twist their bodies into odd configurations on the floor as snow piled high outside their home.  Their parents tried every remedy, but the symptoms prevailed.  When a doctor was finally called to examine them his diagnosis was that the girls were bewitched.  The original cause of the girls’ symptoms remains unknown to this day.  What is known is that the girls’ strange behavior set off a case of witch-hunt fever that would turn neighbors against each other and result in the loss of innocent lives and ruin many others.    The Salem Witch Trials are an iconic chapter of American history and its name has been evoked in modern times to point out our folly when suspicions cause us to turn against each other.  But what really happened in Salem in 1692?  Will we ever be able to learn the lessons this dark period of history has to teach us, or will we be forever doomed to repeat it?

This serves as a sobering reminder of what happened to some of the men and women who were accused of being witches. Shanzer takes the facts and presents them clearly and concisely.  The woodcut illustrations in black, white, and red are superb and depict the grizzly, imaginative scenes described well.

Only a Witch Can Fly by Alison McGhee (E MCG)
A girl comes home from trick-or-treating on Halloween and decides, she will fly.  After a couple of failed attempts she finally takes off into the sky. 

This picture book, written in the form of a sestina, address the reader directly to involve them in this charming flight of the imagination.  The linoleum block illustrations and limited color palate add a distinctive look to the story and complement the sparse text perfectly.

Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.
John Dewey

“Written by a master storyteller, World Without Fish (by Mark Kurlansky) connects all the dots—biology, economics, evolution, politics, climate, history, culture, food, and nutrition—in a way that kids can really understand. It describes how the fish we most commonly eat, including tuna, salmon, cod, and swordfish, could disappear within 50 years, and the domino effect it would have—oceans teeming with jellyfish and turning pinkish orange from algal blooms; seabirds disappearing, then reptiles, then mammals. It describes the back-and-forth dynamic of fishermen and scientists. It covers the effects of industrialized fishing, and how bottom-dragging nets are turning the ocean floor into a desert.
 The answer? Support sustainable fishing. World Without Fish tells kids exactly what they can do: Find out where those fish sticks come from. Tell your parents what’s good to buy, and what’s not. Ask the waiter if the fish on the menu is line-caught And follow simple rules: Use less plastic, and never eat endangered fish like bluefin tuna.
Interwoven with the book is a full-color graphic novel. Each beautifully illustrated chapter opener links to form a larger fictional story that complements the text. Hand in hand, they create a Silent Spring for a new generation.”
From the product description

What if there Were No Bees? A Book about the Grassland Ecosystem by Suzanne Slade
Find out what the difference the loss of one animal species could make as you follow  the food chain reaction.

The Curse of Akkad/ Climate Upheavals that Rocked Human History by Peter Christie “Grade 6 Up—In a refreshing look at climate change, Christie discusses the ways in which environmental conditions have shaped human history. The chapters, each discussing a different aspect of climate change, are arranged in loose chronological order. Every section opens with a fictionalized account featuring either an imagined or a real historical figure. The author then explains how climate change caused the events to occur.” From School Library Journal

All the water in the world is all the water in the world by George Ella Lyon
“We are all connected by water, and this message is beautifully, lyrically delivered from poet-musician-author George Ella Lyon. Where does water come from? Where does water go? Find out in this exploration of oceans and waterways that highlights an important reality: Our water supply is limited, and it is up to us to protect it.”
From the product description

Children will never view rain in the same way after reading this book. -- The Green Teacher

“A Full Moon Is Rising [by Marilyn Singer] has an unusual concept: it celebrates the full moon with children all around the world. This gives the poet an opportunity to write about the full moon and also about different cultures. Be sure to look at the endpapers, which show a map of the world with the countries spotlighted in the book indicated by different bright colors. The countries are Australia, Canada, China/Hong Kong, Colombia, Curaçao (or rather, the ocean next to it), India, Israel, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, Turkey, and the U.S. Plus a spot in space!”  Review by Amazon reviewer K. Coombs