"Yesterday" for Poetry Friday

 Katie at The Logonauts hosts Poetry Friday today. Come visit Katie and all the other poetry sharing!

          The summer's heat has pushed me back to remembering other times, a grandmother canning, me helping snap the beans, and a grandfather helping: grace in my life.

Yesterday

My grandfather brought a block of ice

from the ice house,

put it in a granite tub,

placed a fan just so.

He managed breeze-cooling AC in the kitchen

as my grandmother canned the beans.

Summer love-note.

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

Inspiring Stories of Two Lives

  
              Thanks to Alyson Beecher's Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge at Kidlit Frenzy, everyone shares wonderful non-fiction picture books. We learn much from authors who write about special topics.

              How do we learn about people who have accomplished extraordinary things? Is it about raw talent, then persistence in achieving goals? Is it that they will not quit when they have a clear vision of what they want? I'm not sure, but the following two books tell of two who have achieved greatness in spite of obstacles, and have not stopped even after first successes. It is terrific to have authors researching and writing stories of past "heroes", and the illustrators who illuminate the words so beautifully.

           Matt Tavares tells that at five, Jean François Graveled (The Great Blondin) gave his first public performance on a tightrope. He then went on to join a circus troupe, but never felt satisfied, was always looking for something that had never been done before. His troupe visited Niagara Falls, and there began his challenge. First he needed to obtain permission to cross from the U.S. to Canada, and with some helpful farmers on both ends, got it. With guide ropes holding the three-inch-wide rope steady, he crossed the 1100 feet to the other side. In the middle, crowds held their breath as he sat down in the middle, did a few amazing tricks, then lowered twine down to a waiting ship. They attached a bottle which he raised up, held it high in a toast, then finished the crossing. Amazed, relieved, cheering, Blondin again surprised them all. He crossed back to the U.S., a second crossing! He did this for several years, adding more tricks each performance. The book includes a four page pull-out spread showing Blondin in numerous dangerous poses, like driving a wheelbarrow, and walking on stilts! Tavares' illustrations fill the pages with excitement, including the crowd's reactions along with The Great Blondin's coolness as he walked. There is added information in an author's note with a bibliography.   

A Slice of "Impossible"

          I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community today. It's always a pleasure to read what everyone writes about their lives.

          After a five year voyage, the Juno space probe has just arrived, is now successful in going into orbit around Jupiter, our solar system's biggest planet. Amazing to ponder. Five years ago, a group of experts thought it possible that this "machine" would make the trip. They designed, using all the technical information at hand, and sent it off. 

       A site named The Heart of Innovation published 50 quotes on possibilities--FIFTY!  Some are shared below. Click on the site when you can to read other good quotes.

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Lewis Carroll

"The Wright brother flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility." - Charles Kettering

"In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd." - Miguel de Cervantes

"The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do." - Henry Moore

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         I've been thinking about this since I heard Juno was close, about those things we do in our "slices of life" that we may originally have thought as impossible. Yet, because we're curious, or motivated, even desperate, we DO. And, as a "now former" teacher and a grandmother, I wonder about messages sent about doing impossible things to students, my children and grandchildren. Have I done enough "showing" instead of "telling"?

It's Monday - Reading

           Every Monday, it's a pleasure to link up with a group that reviews books they want to share with others. Come discover some new books!

          Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who link up.   

Tweet #IMWAYR

          Don't forget this book at this time of year, and other times, too! Here is my review on Goodreads from a few years ago:  It's a terrific book by Janet S. Wong and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. I taught a short story group about looking through the lens of immigrants' eyes this past spring, and would have loved to have added this to the stories I read with the students. It is a wonderful story of the conflict people (children) have trying to please those in the new country, while keeping their birth country close to their hearts. More than one child thinks his or her parents have got it wrong in most things, whether from another culture or not, but Janet's story shows there is another layer when one's parents are from another culture. It's a wonderful book to encourage discussions about differences. 

                Lily started her life as Tim, Dunkin hates his given name, Norbert, but they still go to school, just started 8^th grade. How brave are those kids who are scared and know they don’t “fit”,  but keep going, despite the teasing, despite wishing they could be themselves, and without the constant worry to belong. All teachers need to read this book, to see that some kids keep dark secrets and continue to tell even their parents that everything is okay. But it isn’t okay, and sometimes it takes a crisis to discover what’s under all that bravado.  Donna Gephart has managed to tell a story full of anxiety and then of love all at the same time. We hear from Lily and Dunkin alternately, and see the parents’ worry and concern. We see kids who stand up for their friends, and those who can’t quite be brave enough. And we see one example of how bullying happens, passed down from a father. I wish I was still in the classroom, suspect that this is a book for all to read, those who see themselves in it, and those who need to understand what a classmate might be experiencing. From the text: “Sometimes our hearts see things our eyes can’t.”

Celebrating Good Times

          Celebrating with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build.  and connecting with others who share their celebrations, too. It's fun to see the week through these eyes, finding what is wonderful each day.  

         My son, daughter-in-law are here this weekend, but spending the day with friends today so I have time to write. The good to celebrate this week including fun, family, a surprise book and lovely flowers blooming in my garden. I'm writing every day, and enjoying that, too. I hope you're having a great holiday weekend however you spend this particular time. 

Found at the bookstore, a surprise story of a mouse
and her survival from the poet Wendell Berry, whose
poetry I love, but didn't know about this lovely story.

Imogene and I went to our museum of nature and science
to experience the robot exhibition. Below shows her
built robot. She is guiding it by keeping her hand close.
I was amazed that she figured it out, needing certain parts,
like a battery and a transformer, she used the pictures
given to construct it. This and other hands-on parts were
amazing. She and I even played tic tac toe with a robot!