Poetry Friday - Knowing Others

       Jama Rattigan at Jama's Alphabet Soup hosts Poetry Friday today. with yummy cider and apple cider donuts plus a poem that makes one yearn for autumn and write poems! Thanks, Jama!

      Thinking of this particular autumn into winter, the need to pay attention to others and their "inside" from the "outside" as well as I can. Many needs have emerged during these weeks and months of the pandemic. I believe my need to be especially perceptive of others who may be hiding their feelings. I've resurrected an old poem I wrote when I was then thinking of my middle school students who are often reluctant to tell what's really going on. It fits everyone, don't you think?

             I'm hosting next week for #PoetryFriday, no matter what, we'll do some Halloween celebrating! Please, VOTE! 

             What Can You Know?

 

Inside, at 60 beats a minute, 

my heart stays resting,

accumulating layers

of life on the outside.

These layers, like tree rings,

remain hidden inside,

show only a peek to the outside

of the sometimes sweet

and occasionally bitter

when we add a pinch of salt

and then a lot of sugar.

Now inside, my heart is racing

but you might not know

until I tell you, on the outside.

                                 Linda Baie ©

photo credit: adam_moralee age rings via photopin (license)

Monday Reading - Sharing Great Books

Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who post their favorites. 

       If you are interested, I'm writing a poem a day for poetry month, posting a second post on the days that I share reviews. It's nearly the end!

              


               Thanks to Candlewick Press for the following three wonderful books!

            In addition to Paul B. Janeczko's love of poetry and teaching poetry, he also was highly interested in the secrets of World War II. Earlier, he published 'Top Secret' about codes and ciphers and more recently, 'Double Cross', deception techniques in war. This time, the focus lies on the Twenty-Third Special Troops whose complex and challenging goal was to create camouflage in various areas, sound and sight. Sadly, Janeczko passed away earlier this year, and I am grateful for everything he has written for his readers. Thanks to Candlewick Press for this Advanced Copy, full of details and a celebration of the innovative work done by these smart soldiers. They were sworn to secrecy for fifty years and only recently has the story become de-classified and able to be told. Extensive source notes are given at the back. This will be a terrific book for those interested in the details of this secret war against the Nazis. 

       A boy from New York and a girl from Mexico City are sad as they tell of the things they will miss when they move to the new city their parents have told them about. The girl to New York City, the boy to Mexico City - trading places! In the same brief text (it will be a surprise when reading aloud) the special things and places emerge. One example is: "But what if there is nowhere for me to play in my new city?" shows the boy ice-skating at Central Park and the girl riding her bicycle at Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest). Watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil set the stage for more, and begin to show the similarities of the new homes for each. There is also a page for noisy traffic and one for homelessness. 

        The backmatter gives information on both the landmarks the children visit—such as Lincoln Center, Palacio de Bellas Artes, and the Museo Nacional de Antropología—and the cultures and issues that surround them. It would be fun also to see a more contemporary book similar to this between city and rural living.

         When it's a wordless picture book, it's time to choose just how much to tell and how much to keep secret. I was fooled by this deception more than once as to my imagined "inside" and/or "outside". The illustrations dare the reader to do just that: What is inside? What is outside? Anne-Margot Ramstein and Mattias Aregui have created an amazing book!