It's Monday - More Great Books in January

Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to discover books you'll love!  Thanks to Jen, Kellee, and Ricki who share so much with us by taking time to support this meme!


 In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, to work to continue to realize his dream, here are two recent important books:
        I read Citizen by Claudia Rankine and discussed it with my book club this past week.

    I want to be sure you know about this brief and wonderful story in verse which I reviewed for Poetry Friday here.

Here's what I've been reading, new and older, all terrific!

first #MustReadIn2018 

           Just as many have written, Tumble & Blue is a delightful story. All based on a mysterious legend including families near the Okefenokee Swamp. This one includes a red moon rising and a golden gator who will grant good luck to the brave soul who faces him. Unfortunately, two different families are represented and the end result is disaster but not for all. Some are blessed, some cursed!                                                  Eventually, it's up to two young people, Tumble & Blue, who must solve the questions that fate has handed down to their families from many years past. They have good intentions, and become friends with ups and downs, too, yet there are moments when I wanted to applaud and moments I wanted to send them strength. They are brave, make mistakes, and perhaps will become good examples to kids who read this adventure.

           A young boy loves the sparkle and shine his older sister gets to wear, in clothing, in nail polish, and in a bracelet from a grandmother. She doesn’t like it, thinks boys should not wear such things. They’re only for girls! As the story goes, the family is supportive and finally, the sister is too when she sticks up for her brother who wears a shimmery skirt on a library trip and gets teased. It may be an opening to talk about differences and choices. The story is rather matter-of-fact and is improved by the sweet illustrations.

Celebrating This Day

    Celebrating with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build.  and linking with others who share their celebrations, too. I am grateful to Ruth for helping us celebrate together!  

  It has been a weekend full of busy, and I'm late to share celebrations, finally found a minute to read Ruth's post about true love, and laughed. I do clean my house and keep things fairly straight, promise. My car is a different case. I don't clean it very often, and in the past in my haste to get to work, I would often eat an apple on the way. I appreciate apples a lot, and do believe "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". 

    On one of my shelves sits a dried apple core, found by my husband and wrapped up as a gift years ago. He often would clean out my car for me because he knew how much I disliked doing it. This time, under a seat, as he explained, he found a quite dried core. He often gave me funny gifts, and this is one special one I've kept. True love, as Ruth wrote so eloquently, is to be celebrated every time we can. 

     It is those small things given freely that make our lives worth traveling.

     

#SOL16 - 11/31 - And Poetry Friday - Spring?

SOLC #11/31 - 

      I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community for Day Eleven of Thirty-One of the Slice of Life Challenge in March.  Thank you Stacey, Tara, Anna, Betsy, Dana, Kathleen, Beth, and Deb.  
 
        And today it's time to gather for Poetry Friday. Visit our lovely host today, Irene Latham, at her blog Live Your Poem. Inspiring words fill the pages of those who join in. Like Slices of Life, but poetry adds a different flavor to the 'story'. This week Irene has celebrated a new book out this week, Fresh Delicious - Poems From The Farmer's Market, and shares still another new one about gathering poetry.

         Many of you know I've started working at a used book store, purely volunteer, as are all who work at this special store. I do love doing this, and have tried very hard NOT to bring home a book every week. But there are times that I just cannot leave a book lonely on the shelf. Look what I found today! I started reading it, and know it's going to be pure pleasure. 

28/31 Wandering Through The Alphabet

 
       It's Poetry Friday at A Year of Reading, with witty poet Mary Lee Hahn. Thanks for hosting, Mary Lee! And it's the 28th of 31 Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers.  Thanks to Tara, Stacey, Anna, Beth, Betsy and Dana for carrying the community through this amazing month! 

                   And it's the Friday of my spring break-high time!
      In the past, I've written a few Abecendarian poems, poems that use each alphabet letter as a guide for each line or stanza. There is more about these here. Numerous ABC books do more than just follow the alphabet. There is wordplay within the letters themselves, and that fascinates me.  I'm been playing around with the letters, too, and have a poem to share.

CELEBRATE!

http://www.ruthayreswrites.com
tweet at #celebratelu

          Link up at RuthAyresWrites.com to share your celebrations, tiny ones and large ones, those in between-all deserve a mention and applause!

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!    Barbara Hoffman