A Stone Sat Still -- Perfect Picture Book Friday

I have been watching the birds in my backyard a lot. In the spring, we have many bird species that only stop by the feeders for a short time before moving on to their nesting grounds. There are also birds who stop coming to the feeder in spring as they are migrating to their nesting ground. I have been paying attention to the birds for several years. I noticed that the red-winged black birds come back in early spring. I used to think of them as summer birds because they would and still do sit on tall grasses in the summer sun and heat and trill all day. After paying attention, I realized that they are very early harbinger of spring. The robins come back a little later, and for a short time, flock into yards and open spaces as large groups looking for tasty meals. I suspect they love the rainy days and the worms coming up from the deep soil. And then the dark-eyed juncos who spend the winter foraging for seed under the bird feeders hang out until all chances of snowstorms are over. I begin to pay close attention to the juncos in March and hope each morning that they will be gone. For me they are a sign that the weather is really changing for the better. I love the juncos in the winter. Their little black and white bodies bop around under the feeders remind me that it may be cold out, but I am as resilient as a little bird so I can go outside too. In the spring, I am ready for warmth and the blooming of flowers and trees. 

Today I chose A Stone Sat Still because it is a poem to nature. A poem to paying attention and noticing things that seem simple and uninteresting, but are actually complex and exciting.

Title: A Stone Sat Still

Author/Illustrator: Brendan Wenzel

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2019

Opening Page:

A stone sat still

with the water, grass and dirt

and it was as it was

where it was in the world.

Why I believe you will love this book:

• It is lyrical and has a lovely repetition. 
• This story is filled with discussion opportunities and doors to learning more about nature topics. 
• The illustrations are made with cut paper, colored pencil, oil pastels, marker and the computer. They are soft and bright, wild and gentle.
• It is a story about using your senses and thinking about size. You can hear the crack of the shell, feel the warmth of the day, and understand that perception of size depends on what is is around. 

I am not doing this book justice. It is best enjoyed by just enjoying it. It is a book to sit with and ponder. It is the kind of book that catches your heart and holds on as a reminder of how special our world is.

Resources and Activities:

Here is a link to the book being read.

Brendan talks about the story behind this story. 

An interview with Brendan Wenzel.

Brendan's Website.

• Spend time in the woods, in your yard, on a nature trail, by a river, lake stream, ocean, or at your window and just sit and watch. What do you see? Make a list, draw pictures.
• What senses are you using as you watch? What senses are the animals, birds, insects using as they interact in the world? 
• Write a poem about what you discover.
• If a rock could talk, what do you think it would say about it's life experience?

• Make a collage animal. 
• Here's a link to loads of collage ideas.
• Use found objects for you art. 
• Play with watercolors and use the pieces to cut up and make a new piece of art.
• Participate in Citizen Science projects. I have been adding my bird data to Ebird. I also participate in the Frog Calling Survey and will be doing a training on a pollinator project. I love it because I get to be in nature and hopefully help the wildlife by keeping track of the things I see.
• Recently I started a little photography project that I call, "Nine things I Noticed."  I take lots of pictures with my phone when I walk my dog. I pull together nine of the cool things I love and put them together in the Instagram Layout App.  Here are two that I have created. 
  

Well, nature and my dog are calling. Off to see what we notice today.

Support your Local Indie Bookstore when you purchase a book.

Check out Susanna Hill's Perfect Picture Book Friday Blog post each week to learn about more cool books to read with your kids and add to your collection.

We Are Water Protectors -- Perfect Picture Book Friday

It is Earth Month and April 22nd is Earth Day, the 50th anniversary. Every Day is Earth Day. This is our planet and we need to care for it each and every day. We Are Water Protectors is brand new and it is a poem and prayer for our earth and the water that gives us life.

Title: We Are Water Protectors
Author: Carole Lindstrom
Illustrator: Michaela Goade
Publisher: Roaring Book Press, 2020

For Ages: 4 and Up

Themes: Earth, Water, Native Peoples, Protests

Opening lines: 
Water is the first medicine, Nokomis told me.
We come from water.
It nourished us inside our mother's body.
As it nourishes us here on Mother Earth.
Water is sacred.

Why I LOVE this book and think you will too:

Somehow throughout my life, I have been introduced to many Native People's and learned a little bit about their cultures. Their stories have given me a love of the earth and an appreciation of the people and their connection to the world.

This book is a beautiful connection to the stories, the people, and our need to connect with mother earth. It is a call to arms to protect our planet and the water that gives us life.

It is a prayer for the earth.

Michaela's illustrations are like a dream. They show the beauty and the horror in contrast to each other as poetically as the words written by Carole.

This book makes me want:  To read it over and over again. To linger on each image. To glide my fingers across the colors and the water. To hold it close to my heart to remind me of what is truly important in life. To push me to stand up and fight for what is right.

I hope it does the same for you and your children.

Listen to Carole Lindstrom Read the book

Activities and Resources:

Check out Carole's website.

https://www.michaelagoade.com/about

Go outside, dig in the dirt, play with water. Plants seeds, a tree, and flowers.

Play with watercolor paints.

Learn more about the complaints and concerns regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline

More on the Pipeline

Learn about the Native American cultures where you live.

Take Action.
Pick up garbage left behind.
Attend a rally.
Make signs.
Write to your government officials.
Change one little thing like giving up straws and balloons.

OK, I am off to listen to Matthew Winners Podcast interview with Carole and Michaela. You can too.

Looking for more great books to read with your kids. Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Perfect Picture Book Friday Blog Post.

Don't Panic and Always Carry a Towel (and cleaning wipes)

One of my favorite books is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. There are two important things you need to know about Intergalactic travel. Don't Panic and Always Carry a Towel. So grab your towel, don't panic about no school, being stuck at home with family. Instead, find ways to stay busy, have fun, and even learn something while we self-quarantine and let this pandemic fizzle out.

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My friend and critique partner, Shae Pepper is a teacher at Outschool.  Shae teaches history, literature, and photography for 10 -14 year olds in ways that make learning exciting. Shae, her husband, and their little dog Truffles are traveling the 50 states over 5 years. Her classes offer glimpses into her travel experiences, they bring history to life, and a offer fun photo experiences you can do at home. Plus, you will likely meet Truffles.

Here's the link to learn more about Shae. 

The cool thing about Outschool is that there are classes for all ages, and they are temporarily offering them free as a way to make it through these strange times.

*************

Author and illustrator Ben Clanton is offering a couple virtual meet-ups. If you are a Narwhal and Jellyfish fan, don't miss out. I love his books It Came in the Mail and Rot The Cutest in the World.

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Author Dev Petty has some fun stuff for kids to do. She wrote the I Don't Want to Be A Frog series, Claymates, and her newest is The Bear Must Go On.

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The physical Museums may be closed, but you can still visit many of them virtually.

***********

STEAM and Poetry get mixed up at Heidi Roemer and Kimberly Hutmacher's STEAM Powered Poetry website.


Have you discovered other cool ways that the community is dealing with this life disruption? Share them in the comments and I will make more posts. Share this post with your friends. You are welcome to follow my blog by adding your email at the top right.

Thanku: Perfect Picture Friday

Title: Thanku: Poems of Gratitude
Illustrated by: Marlena Myles
Edited by: Miranda Paul
Publisher: Millbrook Press, 2019

Opening Poem, First stanza:

Giving Thanks
by Joseph Bruchac
In Memory of Chief Jake Swamp

Thanksgiving is more
than just one day,
so a Mohawk elder
said to me.

It feels fitting to begin 2020 with a book of poems about gratitude and thanks. I have spent a lot of time reviewing the last year and planning for the year ahead. Part of that project included acknowledging everyone I am grateful The list is long and it includes, family, friends, mentors, animals, and nature.

If you listen to Matthew Winner's podcast (Matthew is a person who I am grateful to have met this past summer), you will hear the poets say whether they pronounce the name of the book Than-ku or Thank You. From the first time I saw this book, I pronounced it Thank You, but as Matthew said, It is like Thanks and Haiku. Any way you say it the book is filled with beautiful poems of gratitude and and illustrations that add even more life to each poem created by Marlena Myles.

Miranda Paul is another person for whom I am grateful. She is the editor of this book. She is one of the first authors I met when I began my writing journey three years ago.

I am grateful for each poet, for the illustrator, for the editors, art directors, and publisher of this book.

As you read the poems  you will see and read that each is written in a different style of poetry. On the page of the poem, there is a small note on which style of poetry was used. At the back of the book, the poetic forms and literary devices are explained.

The poets are from many cultures. There are short bios about each at the back of the book.

I love this book, because it is beautiful in words and illustrations. It is like holding the world in your hands as you read. It is a book to read slowly. Savor each poem. Let it sink in. Enjoy the illustrations. Open it to any page and read what is there. Come back again and again.

Activities

• Check out the back matter in the book to learn more.
• Try writing your own poems in the various styles.
• Make a list of all the things you are thankful for.
• Send thank you notes.
• Make thank you notes and deliver them in person.
• Share kindness. 
• The Kindness Rocks Project is cool.
• When I was shopping before the holidays, I went to Aldi where you have to put a quarter in the slot to use a shopping cart. I rarely need a cart, but this day I had a pretty big list and no quarter. A woman offered me the cart and said, I always pay it forward, take the cart. I like to pay-it-forward as well. When I was done shopping, I passed the cart on to another person getting ready to shop. I imagine that everyone who arrived as that cart was being put away, was greeted by a kind person paying it forward. 
• At the Farm and Fleet, I was at a loss for stocking gifts for my husband. I asked a person for some ideas of gadgets to go with a couple tools that he had. The man took me down the aisle and told me about several fun options. In our busy days, it's easy for someone to say here's where those accessories are and then walk away, but he went above and beyond so I could make choices quickly and easily as well as have a fun conversation.
• Yarn Bombing? 
• So many possibilities, so little time.
• Learn the truth about the First Thanksgiving. See links under resources for excellent articles and lessons.
• Celebrate diversity in your neighborhood, your community, your city, your school, and your home.
• Buy this book and give it to someone who has been kind to you. Buy this book for yourself and read it over and over

Links to Resources from the book:
https://americanindian.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf/education/thanksgiving_poster.pdf

https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360

https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2015/11/dear-teachers-open-letter-about-images.html

https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2015/11/dear-teachers-open-letter-about-images.html

You can listen to many of the authors talk about their poems at Matthew Winner's Children's Book Podcast

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/

One of my first experiences with Native peoples, was with Chief Oshkosh in Door County. Attending Powwows, hearing the music, the stories, and watching the dances by the light of the bonfire are a part of me forever. Those nights are a big part of who I am today.

I hope you will take any opportunity that arises to learn more about the Native American culture and let it mix in with you and your soul. Take time to learn about all cultures and all people. Love them for who they are. Give thanks for how their life experiences expand your life and make you a more loving and peaceful person.

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's blog to find more Perfect Picture Book Friday posts. By the way, I am so grateful to Susanna for hosting her blog with #PPBF, Would You Read It Wednesday, Debut Tuesday, and her fun writing contests.

Wild Fibonacci-- Perfect Picture Book Friday

Happy Fibonacci Day!

11/23 is Fibonacci Day! A great day to celebrate the Fibonacci sequence and spiral. Pull out your cornucopia and get it ready for Thanksgiving.

My pick for this week is:

Title: Wild Fibonacci: Nature's Secret Code Revealed

Author: Joy N. Hulme

Illustrator: Carol Schwartz 

Publisher: Tricycle Press, 2005

For ages 6 and up

Wild Fibonacci opens with front matter explaining the Fibonacci sequence and the spiral. It also offers ways to discover the sequence through exploration in nature.

Themes: Fibonacci, Mathematics, poetry, Nature, STEM

Opening Page:

In the Fibonacci sequence 

each new number comes

from adding up the two before

and figuring the sum.

This number set is used to plot

a graceful curving line

that's often found in nature

as part of its design. 

The book continues showing the sequence through counting wild animals and each animal depicted shows the curve of the spiral on a part of the animal's body.

Why I like this book:

The sequence and the spiral are fascinating and appear in so many places. Introducing children to this concept will open the door to them seeing the word in new and exciting ways.

This book mainly focuses on the Fibonacci sequence, but uses animals and obvious body parts that fit the curve of the Fibonacci spiral.

The art work is engaging and realistic.

Activities and Resources:

Learn more about Leonardo Fibonacci.

• Lean about Fibonacci's hypothetical rabbit question and see how this sequence became popularized.
• Take a walk and search for objects, and animals that have spiral features. 
• Start a journal of your discoveries adding drawings and/text to help you understand what you have found.
• Use the spiral as a compositional style.
• Learn more to understand more.
• Write a Fibonacci Poem

Here's one I wrote:

Nautilus Shell

Once
live.
Chambered
Nautilus
thread-like siphuncle                       (sigh-funk-el)
jet propulsing, moving backward
through the ocean. Rising, lowering, traveling the sea.
Hungry octopus spies a meal.
Soft delicious treat.
Empty shell
rides waves
to
shore.

Sarah Tobias (C) 2019

Definition of siphuncle.

Give Me Back My Bones -- Perfect Picture Book Fridays!

Title: Give Me Back My Bones!
Author: Kim Norman
Illustrator: Bob Kolar
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2019

Themes: Bone Structure, Pirates, Poetry, Halloween, Skeletons

First Lines:
A stormy Night has passed here
and toppled every mast here.
The ocean, flowing fast here,
has scattered all my bones!

Why I love this book:

• A fun way to teach a child the names of the bones in our bodies.
• A Pirate story!
• Poetry
• Kim uses Anadiplosis (not a dinosaur) but the repetition of the last word in each of the lines of poetry. 
• In the first three lines of each page/poem, her meter matches and ends of the lines use the same word. Then as she is showing us which bone the skeleton is seeking, the meter and last word change. The first three lines skip along at a fast fun beat. The fourth line is shorter yet takes longer to say making the name of the bone sticky and memorable.
• Beautiful under water illustrations.
• I am always curious to figure out how illustrations are made. It was a challenge for this book. I was pretty sure it was digital art, but that was a guess and I wanted to be sure. I found a sentence on a Pinterest post that says his work is created with Adobe Illustrator. Bob Kolar has a way of making the images cartoony yet realistic. 

I guess what I mean by that is there is a playfulness to the illustrations and yet, you can tell there was research and an understanding of the subject. The fish are recognizable as real fish you could see in the ocean. The bones are simplified, yet you know what they are.

I love the way he uses texture to create depth and dimensionality.

The color scheme with the dark background and bright foreground is engaging.

Activities and Resources:

Don't wait until Talk Like A Pirate Day to share this book. It would be fun now around Halloween. If you are talking about the human body and want to teach the names of the skeletal bones, share the book. Share it in a poetry unit to teach the meter and anadiplosis style of poetry.

Make a skeleton:
This one is 3 dimensional
This one is more Halloweenie
One more with lots to cut out.

Pick up a guide to ocean fish and see if you can identify the fish and other creatures in the illustrations.

Check Out Bob Kolar's Website. You can follow him on Instagram too.
Check out Kim's Website. You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Be sure to check out more #PPBF posts at Susanna Hill's Blog. So many wonderful books. So little time.

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Peekity Boo Plus Two

Books for Babies and Toddlers! Celebrating the beginnings of independence. These books would make lovely gifts for newborns and first birthdays.

Title: Peekity Boo What You Can Do!
Author: Heidi Bee Roemer
Illustrated By: Mike Wohnoutka
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books Henry Holt and Company, 2019

First three pages: Peekity Boo! Look what baby can do . . . There's a shirt to slip off. Socks to kick off. Splishity splash! Here's a Baby's bath.

Themes: Bedtime, independence

Heidi creates wonderful poetry for young children. This story is an illustrated bedtime poem perfect for any toddler getting ready for bed.

The repetition of end words is a wonderful way to help a child build their language skills. It won't take may times of reading this book and toddler will be saying it along with you.

Why I love this book:
First I must admit that I had the privilege of taking a poetry writing class from Heidi. I may not have caught this book if not for that as I tend to read an look for books for an older age group.

This is a wonderful book for toddlers who are starting do do things on their own. It encourages them to try it themselves while at the same time, it is about family and the whole bedtime experience.

This book would make a wonderful gift for a child's first or second birthday.


Activities:

Turn getting ready for bed into a fun activity encouraging your toddler to do each activity in the story.

Play with the lovely Onomatopoeia words, Peekity Boo, Splishity Splash. Make up more words that sound like the activity you are doing.

Play Bath Games.

Title: Hooray for Babies!
Author: Susan Meyers
Illustrated by: Sue Cornelison
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2019

Themes: Babies, activities, self-understanding

Gently rhyming, these babies discover the world in many different scenarios from looking in the mirror, to visiting the beach, playing in a pool, and taking a nap.

Opening Line: I'm glad that I'm a baby. I love my baby face.

Why I Like this Book: 
This is a cute book for babies (6 months +). It's a full size picture book with a board book feel. Heavy paper for easier page turns. Toddlers will see all kinds of babies in this story as they experience the day. The babies are realistically painted, reminiscent of the old Gerber Baby Food campaigns with added diversity.

Title: Baby Day
Authors: Jane Godwin & Davina Bell
Pictures by: Freya Blackwood
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2018

Themes:  birthday, babies, activities and emotions

First lines: Today is baby's birthday. There's going to be a party. Happy baby! Here come baby's friends. Hello!

Description and Why I like this book:

This is a cute day in the life of a baby book set on a first birthday when lots of other babies come for the party. The sparse descriptive language with the illustrations, show all the emotions and activities that can happen during a birthday party. This is great for language building and associating words with emotions and activities.

I read in the CIP notes that the "illustrations are rendered in line work and watercolor on paper, with digitally composited oil paint lino-block prints." Freya's sketchy style creates movement throughout the story. It's like she was the outsider watching the birthday party and capturing all the little moments, good and bad.

Finally, if you want to find more cool picture books check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes.

Activities: 
Eat ice cream.
Play with baby.
Spend time at the park.

Perfect Picture Book Friday . . . On Sunday. Three for the Price of One

Well, the days got busy and here we are on Sunday. Any day is a good day to read a picture book; even better is to read three picture books. The first two books, I  learned about from other #PPBF bloggers, the last I found at my local public library. They are all beautiful in their own way.

Title: The Boy Who Grew A Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng

Written by: Sophia Gholz

Illustrated by: Kayla Harren

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press, 2019

Opening: "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is now. -- proverb 

In India, on a large river, among farms and families hard at work, there lived a boy who loved trees. Trees meant shade, food, and shelter for many.

Themes: trees, biography, ecology 

Why I love this book: 

🌞 Trees, ecology, protecting the earth.

🌞 Such beautiful  illustrations. 

🌞 This is a beautifully written biography of an unknown person who made a big difference  for his community.  While it's a story about a young man in India planting trees, it goes beyond that, Jadav Payeng's efforts, helped to protect his people from flooding, provided wood for building, and provided habitats and shelters for wildlife. It is a story that shows not only a person willing to work hard to protect and improve the land, it's a story about how everything is connected.

Activities:

🌳 Plant a tree.

🌍 Work in the garden.

🌳 Learn more about the author and illustrator. 

🌍 Learn about India and Jadav Peyeng's home

Title: You are Never Alone

Written by: Elin Kelsey

Illustrated by: Soyeon Kim

Publisher: Owlkids Books, 2019

Themes: ecosystems, Interconnections, earth

Opening Lines: Every moment this beautiful planet showers you with gifts. Clouds rain fresh water to quench your thirst. Your lungs swell with oxygen plants create. 

Why I love this book:

While this book is not technically non-fiction, it is based in non-fiction sharing many ways that we are all connected with each other and the earth. It is an earth hug. Soyeon Kim's illustrations feel like they come from the past of the Little Golden Book era of Mary Blair. The tiny people with the the grand world and micro worlds of the story are made up of all shapes and colors. They appear almost as fairies, and yet they are children connecting to the world, seeing and experiencing it up close. 

So beautiful.  Perfect for bedtime or after lunch and recess. A book to feel good about the earth and spark discussion.

Activities:

🌞 Spend time outside. Take a close up look at the world around you.

🌞 Learn more about all of the connections shared in this book.

🌞 Do something kind for someone you have never met.

🌞 Learn more about the author and illustrator. 

Title: Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

Written by: Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth

Illustrated by: Ekua Holmes

Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2017

Coretta Scott King Award

Themes: Poetry, Poets

Opening: Part 1: Got Style? Poets love to make up their own rules about writing; that's what makes it so much fun. Sometime e.e.cummings and Nikki Giovanni use ellipses (...) to separate ideas and lowercase letters at the beginning of sentences. Langston Hughes, who loved jazz, was a master of repetition, rhythm, rhyming couplets, and quatrains. The poems in this section pay tribute to the poets being celebrated adopting their styles and rhythms.

How to Write a Poem

Celebrating Naomi Shihab Nye

Hush.

Grab a pencil

some paper and spunk.

Let loose your heart -- 

raise your voice.

. . . .

-- Kwame Alexander

Why I love this book:

The poems celebrating each poet are beautiful.  They introduce you to the writers through the eyes of the authors with poems written in each poet's style. 

At the end of the book there is a section with a short biography of each of the poets featured. It is a nice starting place to learn more about the poets.

This beautiful book of poetry celebrating poets, opens your eyes to the wonders of poetry, the beauty of the world as seen through poet eyes, and truly celebrates many poets from many cultures and time periods in history. 

Ekua Holmes' mixed-media collage art illustrations add even more life and color to each poem and poet.

Activities:
✏ Write some poetry.
✏ Read books by each of the poets featured.

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes. 

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Hidden City

I woke up this morning and couldn't understand why I had Perfect Picture Book Friday blog posts in my email feed. It's only Thursday and I have a whole day to finish writing my #PPBF post. Then it hit, it really is Friday. Good thing I had the post planned out and didn't have to totally scramble. 

Title: Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife
Author: Sarah Grace Tuttle
Illustrated by: Amy Schimler-Safford
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2018

Themes: Poetry, nature, mixed media art

Opening Poem:

Nesting
In the night
under the table
a mother mouse
scurries back and forth. She
rips paper
carries
rips paper
carries
rips paper
carries
forgotten paper away
to build her nest.

Why I love this book: 
Observational poetry is such a lovely way to capture little details that you notice on any given day.

Each poem focuses the mind and the eye on one element of nature. It creates curiosity to want to see it for ourselves.

There are no rhymes in sight. Not that rhyming is bad, I just enjoy poems without rhymes too.

Amy Schimler-Safford's art is beautiful, colorful, and full of the life and wonder of urban wildlife.

Activities:

• Go outside and play.
• Write an observational poem about something you see in nature.
• Connect with a local community garden and get your hands dirty.
• Make art. Use scraps of paper and garden dirt as your art media.
• Check out Sarah Grace Tuttle's website
• Check out Amy Schimler-Safford's website
• Check out Jilanne Hoffman's blog post about When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree  Pick that book up at the library while you are out. It's a great companion to Hidden City.
• Another book of nature poetry to pick up with this selection is Boom! Bellow! Bleat! Animal Poems for Two of More Voices written by Georgia Heard and illustrated by Aaron DeWitt. This one is great for reading together and making lots of noise.

Yesterday, (yes the real Thursday) I sat on my front stoop with my little dachshund at y side and painted the fairy house in my garden.

I spotted a daisy fairy. I wonder if a poem is in there too?

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes. And you can check out her weekly #PPBF post along with links to many more wonderful posts here. 

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Cricket in the Thicket

Tomorrow is my birthday. I wanted to find just the right book that I would want to read on my birthday. One might think I would choose a book about birthdays, or a book about Memorial Day, but if you have gotten to know me through my posts, you already realize that the book I would choose would be about nature or art or both. I have three books waiting in these categories and it was hard to to pick which one to share this week. All three were discovered during the Marvelous Midwest SCBWI Conference. When I walked through the conference book store, this book caught my eye and I was smitten with the cover.

Title: Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs
Author: Carol Murray
Illustrated by: Melissa Sweet
Publisher: Christy Octavia Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2017

First Line:  Cricket in the thicket, cricket.

A poem from the book: 
Grasshopper Green
Grasshopper green is a munching machine,
he is built with precision and flair.

His hind legs are long and exceedingly strong,
like two springs as he zings through the air.

Four wings let him fly, let him zip through the sky,
he has jaws that are perfect for crunching.

With ears near his knees and five eyes, sure to please,
he spends most of his time simply munching.

A Very Short Description: This is a book of rhyming poems about a variety of insects.

Why I love this book: 
💚Poems about insects.
💚 Each poem is fun and observational.
💚I fell in love with the cover and then again with every illustration.
💚 I don't like all insects and there are a few in this book that I still don't like, but I enjoy knowing just a little more about each. Just because I don't like them, doesn't mean I should ignore them and not understand them. So kudos to Carol for writing about tics and mites.
💚Each page includes a poem and a fact about the insect. At the back of the book, each insect is listed with additional facts shared.
💚 This book is a Kansas State Library Notable book for 2018.
💚I had the opportunity to test a few poems out with some second graders yesterday during time in the garden. Each poem elicited discussion and sharing of previous knowledge. These second graders had monarch caterpillars in their classrooms last fall (9 months ago) to learn about the monarch caterpillar life cycle. They were sharing things they remember about the experience. Two of my favorites:  Some said, "J". It took a moment to connect the dots, but they were remembering when the caterpillar had finished eating and was getting ready to shed its skin and reveal its chrysalis. They also remembered that the newly hatched caterpillar turns around and eats its egg and may even eat its instar each time it sheds its skin. Being able to introduce insects to children through real life experience, poetry and art, helps to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of these living creatures.

Activities:
Wander around your yard, park, or neighborhood and see what bugs you can find. Then do some first hand research by asking questions and seeing if you can discover the answers. You may want to carry a nature journal to make drawing and take notes about your discoveries. I notice, I wonder, and it reminds me of.

Here are a few more questions to keep you going:
What is the big doing?
How many wings does it have?
Does it make a sound?
Did you hear it before you saw it?
What does it look like?
Where are its ears?
How close can you get?

Did you research leave you with more questions than answers? Learn more about each of the insects by checking out books from your local library.

Play Insect Bingo

Use the observations from your insect discoveries to write poems.
Information on writing rhyming couplets

Learn about the illustrator Melissa Sweet

Make your own Mixed Media Collage: A few links:
Beginner's Guide
From Meri Cherry
Mixed Media Flower Craft

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes.

And now for something completely different. Since it's my birthday blog post, I share with you a recipe for fudge that my mother passed down to me. I made it a couple of weeks ago as frosting for my sister's birthday cupcakes. Yum! and easy to make. Think of it as nectar for humans.

Baked Fudge
1 LB. Confectioner Sugar
1/2 Cup (1 stick) Butter
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1/4 Cup Milk (I used Cashew Milk)
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional)
1 TBS. Vanilla

Combine sugar, butter, cocoa & milk in an ovenproof bowl
Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees
Add nuts and vanilla
Beat until it stats to thicken. Pour into an 11" x 7" x 2" pan or frost cooled cake or cupcakes. Let cool and enjoy.

Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Lost Words

April is Earth Month and National Poetry Month. Two things that go together as well as peanut butter and chocolate, tacos on Tuesday, rain and rainbows, worms and soil, flowers and sunshine . . . you get my drift. 

Today's Perfect Picture Book doesn't fit squarely in the picture book category of books. It's 128 pages and the acrostic poems require time and thought to allow their words and meaning to sink in and take hold of your heart and mind.  Yet, it is filled with beautiful illustrations and is a non-fiction poetry picture book.

For me, it conjures up the Wild Flowers of America book that sat on our book shelf as I was growing up (see image at the end of this post). I would browse the pages on rainy days, make drawings of the flowers with my crayons and paper, and even occasionally use it as the reference tool it was designed to be. So while neither are traditional picture books, they are books that take you into nature and without being pushed or prodded, your own imagination is sparked.

Title: Lost Words: A Spell Book

Author: Robert MacFarlane
Illustrator: Jackie Morris

Publishing Information:  2017 in the UK by Penguin Books Ltd. and 2018 in Canada and US by House of Anasasi Press Inc.

Ages: 0 - 100

Description from Amazon: In 2007, when a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary ― widely used in schools around the world ― was published, a sharp-eyed reader soon noticed that around forty common words concerning nature had been dropped. Apparently they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. The list of these “lost words” included acorn, adder, bluebell, dandelion, fern, heron, kingfisher, newt, otter, and willow. Among the words taking their place were attachment, blog, broadband, bullet-point, cut-and-paste, and voice-mail. The news of these substitutions ― the outdoor and natural being displaced by the indoor and virtual ― became seen by many as a powerful sign of the growing gulf between childhood and the natural world.
Ten years later, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris set out to make a “spell book” that will conjure back twenty of these lost words, and the beings they name, from acorn to wren. By the magic of word and paint, they sought to summon these words again into the voices, stories, and dreams of children and adults alike, and to celebrate the wonder and importance of everyday nature. The Lost Words is that book ― a work that has already cast its extraordinary spell on hundreds of thousands of people and begun a grass-roots movement to re-wild childhood across Britain, Europe, and North America.

Opening Lines: Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. They disappeared so quietly at first almost no one noticed -- fading away like water on the stone.

Why I love this book: I first read about this book in a post from the Children in Nature Network. Sadly, that post slipped my mind until a friend shared an article about the book with me a couple months ago. I immediately ordered it. Each time I open the pages, I turn them with awe and reverence. The title on the cover is gold embossed and the cover illustrations are a small sample of the beauty that is held within the pages.

Each lost word is given three double page spreads. The opening spread for the word is a letter jumble with the letters of the word in a unique color. The second spread includes an acrostic poem on the left and a watercolor illustration of the word on the right. The final spread is a scene depicting the word in its surrounding world.

A book worthy of book cases everywhere. Each word can become an adventure to the outdoors.

The poems are deep and full of mystery and love.

It is a book you can look at and read over and over again.

Activities and Resources:

Activities and and Explorer's Guide from the John Muir Trust

Writing Acrostic Poems

More about Acrostic Poems and using the word at the beginning, middle and end of each line.

Make a flower chain crown

Nature Journaling for Kids

Wet on wet Watercolor Painting

Bird Identification

The book from our family book shelf.

My Acrostic poem from this mornings visit of nine turkeys:

Tom turkey struts his stuff
Under the bird feeders.
Rugged feathers raised, puffed, and shimmering in the morning light.
Kingly posture ignored by the ladies.
Every turkey more interested in breakfast,
Yet Tom persists hopefully.

Finally, if you want to find more cool picture books check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes.

April Photo/Poetry Challenge

Life is full of challenges. Why not take charge of your own?

Spring is here and I am ready to challenge myself to get out and take photographs everyday. I called it a photo challenge, but it is also National Poetry Month, so I will try to write a new haiku or other type of poem each day as well.

You are welcome to join me on this journey and spend time working on your creativity too. Feel free to share your images with me.

There are no special requirements. You can use a "fancy" camera or smart phone, you can edit or not. Post to a social media sight or just save them for yourself. It's your journey, make it what you want.