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Monday, December 17, 2012

Monday's Poem: Sometimes I'm Sad

Sometimes I'm Sad

When Teddy Bear left,
And I didn't know why,
I cried and I was sad.
We looked in the park,
But Teddy was gone.
Someone took Teddy away.

I told my teacher;
I told my friend;
I told my grandpa, too.
They gave me big hugs,
But sometimes I cried,
And sometimes I was sad.

  I like to remember
My Teddy Bear.
Remembering helps me smile.
But sometimes I'm sad,
And sometimes I cry.
I loved my Teddy Bear.

                                            Anne Knowles

Monday, December 10, 2012

Monday's Poem: Writing a Poem

Writing a Poem

One way to do it
is to drop like rain
and splash down
all over
everything.

                              Anne Knowles

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Monday's Poem: The Ruth Namer

The Ruth Namer
                           (for Ruth, of course)

Into the city
the Ruth Namer came.
He set up a booth
and started to name.

All of the people
were pleased with the truth:
Remembering is easy
when all are named Ruth.

The store is now Ruth
and the church and the school.
The trees are all Ruth
and all of the tools.

Recess is Ruth
and history and math.
Walking is Ruth
and so is the path.

Ruth calls up Ruth
to go to the Ruth
while sweet, little Ruth
plays with Ruth, Ruth, and Ruth.

Into the Ruth
The Ruth Ruther came.
He set up a Ruth
and started to name.

Ruths of the Ruths
were pleased with the Ruth:
Ruth is now easy
When Ruths are named Ruth.
                                     
                                                      Anne Knowles

Monday, November 26, 2012

Monday's Poem: A Second Birthday

A Second Birthday

Today is my birthday.
Today I am two.
My favorite toy
Is a Choo Choo!

I have a big cake.
Today I am two.
A chocolate cake
Fun to Chew Chew!

Today is my birthday.
Today I am two.
Mommy and Daddy
I love You You!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Monday's Poem: Evening Walk



Yellow Bushes

I take a walk with Grandma
In the desert early evening,
And yellow bushes glow
As daylight starts to go.

Sometimes I think the sun
Leaves pieces of itself--
Like memories--to show
How day can stay some more.
                                                    Anne Knowles

Monday, November 5, 2012

Monday's Poem: Half Moon and Half Moon


Half Moon and Half Moon

When I was walking up the path,
I looked up in the sky.
Half the moon was sitting there
Like half an eaten pie.

Where did half moon's half self go?
It's someplace I can't see.
Is it dark?  Is it cold?
Does it get scared--
LIKE ME?

I wonder if the stars reach down
To sprinkle it with light.
I hope they do and they are friends,
So dark moon feels all right.
                                              Anne Knowles

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Monday's Poem: Nature

Nature

Green grass is the best chair of all;
Two rows of trees make the best hall;
And the sky is the only kind of ceiling
For those who have the nature-feeling.
             
                                                    Anne Knowles

Monday, October 22, 2012

Monday's Poem: Dandelion

 Dandelion

Round head
Full of seeds,
A puff is all
The seeds will need.

Then out they fly,
Like dreams that dare,
And dandy cubs
Fill up the air.

                           Anne Knowles


Monday, October 8, 2012

Monday's Poem: Isaac's Poem



Isaac's Poem

I'm inside of a dream.
Do you know who I am?
Am I Joshua?
Am I Isaac?
We're on the same team.

I'm inside of a dream.
Do you know who I am?
Am I Hannah?
Am I Lexi?
We're on the same team.

I'm inside of a dream.
Do you know who I am?
Am I Callum?
Am I Elwood?
We're on the same team.

I'm inside of a dream.
Do you know who I am?
Am I Orion?
Am I Owen?
We're on the same team.

I'm inside of a dream.
Do you know who I am?
Am I Ruth?
Am I Charlie?
We're on the same team.

If you look at my eyes,
And you look at my smile,
 I might be someone you know;
If you cook macaroni
Covered with cheese,
I'll be me again, head to toe.
                                      Anne Knowles
                                                       Photo by Rachel Pearsons

Monday, October 1, 2012

Monday's Poem: Elephants' Underwear

Elephants' Underwear

Elephants' underwear
Has to be big
'Cause elephants' fannies
Are bigger than pigs'
Fannies
And Pigs'
Fannies
Are Big.
                                Anne Knowles

Monday, September 17, 2012

Monday's Poem: My Tree Home


My Tree Home

At the bottom of a tree
By the side of a lake
Is a path to my home
In the tree.

A sun beam opens windows; 
A moon beam says good-night
In my cozy little home
In the tree.

Roots stretch down as curtains;
Pebbles are my chairs;
And worms are always whispering
In the tree.

The stories that they tell me
I've never heard before.
Oh, how I love my home
In the tree.
                              Anne Knowles

                                                   Photography by Keith Snell


Monday, September 3, 2012

Monday's Poem: Carrot

Carrot

If I were a carrot
How green would be my crop
How hard to pull a comb through
My green and leafy top.
                                   Anne Knowles

Monday, August 27, 2012

Monday's Poem: My Star

My Star

I like to see the stars
fall down.

I like to find one
on the ground.

I tape it in my room,
you see,

So all night long
it shines on me.

And when I sleep
beneath its light,

My wishes wake
and paint the night.
                         Anne Knowles

Monday, August 20, 2012

Monday's Poem: My Growth

My Growth

Wish I knew
How I grew,
How each gland
Made me expand,
Why my top
Is where it stopped,
And not more than me
And not less than me.
                                    Anne Knowles

Friday, August 17, 2012

DAVE THE POTTER: Love This Book

A couple years ago I grabbed about ten picture books off the "New Books" shelf at the library.  One of them was Dave the Potter, written by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier.  For those of you with kids and/or grandkids, it's a "gotta-read-it" book.  It's a journey into the human spirit, both a beautiful and an important book for our little ones.  I heard Bryan Collier speak at the SCBWI conference in LA recently.  He cherishes humanity, his young audience, and his craft.  He brought me to tears.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Monday's Poem: Wonder Wander

Wonder Wander

The space in the air
Above each star
Is quiet
And full of thinking.

Far, far, far,
Out and all around,
Stars
Wonder through me.

Deep, deep, deep
In my still darkness,
A far star
Wanders and whispers.
                            Anne Knowles

Monday, July 30, 2012

Monday's Poem: The Dog

Photo by Keith Snell


The Dog
(After William Carlos Williams)

As the dog
dove over
the edge of

the patio
wall his legs
stretched out

determined
then his head
flew round

into the world
of the flying
frisbee
                    
                           Anne Knowles

Monday, July 23, 2012

Monday's Poem: Crickets

Crickets

The quiet dusk was gently starting stars
And we were unaware of spring and our content,
When old, familiar, winter-silent crickets
Chirped a burst of spring-content surprise.

Peter swung young Ralphie to his back
And I swung Sara up to mine and we--
With all our laughing--skipped outside
And stirred the dirt and danced to all the noise.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Monday's Poem: Quite So Sad

Quite So Sad

I wish I wasn't
quite so sad.
I'd talk about
The day I had.

No one cares
about my test
or how I spelled
the word conkuest.

It's boring, too,
To hear me say
I skinned my knee.
It hurt all day.

Dad scolded me
and we had liver.
The cake got burnt.
I got a sliver.

I'd talk about
the day I had
if it wasn't
quite so sad.
                             Anne Knowles

Monday, July 9, 2012

Monday's Poem: Cottonwood Seeds

Cottonwood Seeds

What did you see
in the park today?
Cottonwood seeds
all flying away.

I'd like them to stay
and whirl me a shirt.
The one that I'm wearing
is covered in dirt.
                                  Anne Knowles

Saturday, July 7, 2012

My Friend, the Starfinder

Another wonderful picture book by George Ella Lyon is My Friend, the Starfinder.  George Ella is a poet, and her feeling for words makes this book a delight to read.  The illustrator is Stephen Gammell.  He's a Caldecott Medal winner, and the pictures in this book and in Come a Tide pull you right into each story.  I love studying them because they wrap George Ella's story in layers and layers of beauty and meaning.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Come a Tide

One of my favorite picture books is Come a Tide, written by George Ella Lyon and illustrated by Stephen Gammell.  It's a fun book to read with natural, easy rhythm.  Most of all, it is an important book for children to hear and later to read themselves.  It tells a story of how a family and a community overcome a disaster with perseverance, strong family ties, and community involvement.  In this book, people care for neighbors.  And, Come a Tide has one of my favorite lines in children's literature.  If you read the book, see if you can pick out what that line is.

George Ella was a friend from college days in Kentucky.  We both took a poetry course from Howard Nemerov.  I can see George Ella in class now.  She always sat next to the man who would become her husband and she was always writing.  Since then, she has published poetry, many picture books, and young adult novels.  Her heart and her heritage come through in her writing.   

Monday, July 2, 2012

MONDAY'S POEM: Chicken or Egg

Chicken or Egg

If I were an egg
I'd rather hatch
than be eaten
in a batch
of scrambled friends.
What scrambled ends!
I don't want to beg
to keep time a-tickin'
but if I were an egg
I'd rather be a chicken.
                             Anne Knowles

Monday, June 25, 2012

MONDAY'S POEM: Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis

 This little green leaf,
a peaceful place,
disappears
on a caterpillar's plate.
Chomp away
you wormy guy.
Grow some wings
and see the sky,
then light on leaves
uneaten.
                             Anne Knowles

Monday, June 18, 2012

MONDAY'S POEM: Tall Clover, Short Clover

Tall Clover, Short Clover 

Tall clover,
Short clover,
Bees buzzing
High and low.

Tall clover,
Short clover,
Someone's
Come to mow.

Bees fly.
Bye bye.
Clover
Has to go.

Short clover
Mower missed,
But clover
Has to grow.

Tall clover,
Short clover
Bees buzzing
High and low.

Monday, June 11, 2012

MONDAY'S POEM: BUG ON ITS BACK

Bug On Its Back

Dropped a penny,
bent to pick it up,
saw a bug on its back
pushing legs
against yielding air.
In the end it's always simple:
flipped the bug,
left the penny.
                    Anne Knowles

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Kid Tea

I came across a wonderful picture book.  Kid Tea is written by Elizabeth Ficocelli and illustrated by Glin Dibley.  It's got great rhythm and and energy.  And I love the way it teaches colors.  It's the kind of book that is fun, fun, fun to read out loud.

Monday, June 4, 2012

MONDAY'S POEM: Word Was Spring

 Word Was Spring

Word was spring was coming in.
Word was it would come strong-hooved,
Pounding down snow until snow ran full in water;
Brushing flanks against bark until until leaves came out
To see what the rushing and brushing was all about.
Words was spring was coming in,
Breathing hard to breathe out warm breezes.
Word was spring would come strong this time,
Would stop to rear on strong legs;
Would stop to see if new birds knew flying,
Then gallop on with faster hooves,
Lest snow come and catch the hooves at play.
                                                Anne Knowles

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Robert Louis Stevenson

I love children's poetry.  I've been reading Stevenson's A  Child's Garden of Verses again.  Three poems that I read today are wonderful for toddlers.  When my grandson first noticed his shadow, I took the chance to say the first verse of "The Shadow" to him.  "The Swing" is for trips to the park.  And when toddlers and pre-schoolers question why they have to go to bed when it's still light out, "Bed in Summer" is perfect.  I'm usually pretty good at remembering first verses.  I'll go back to the poems I want to memorize to the end.

When I first started teaching high school English, I was surprised at how excited students were to read and learn poetry.  I had expected a collective boredom based on a rather general sense in society that poetry isn't read anymore.  During my entire teaching career, I found that students memorized poetry easily and enjoyed reading and discussing it.

Once time in the book room  to check out novels, I asked my ninth graders to quiet down.  "You can talk," I said, "but soft."  The students chimed in, "...what light through yonder window breaks."  We'd memorized parts of Romeo and Juliet earlier in the year, and the students had already made Shakespeare's words a part of who they were.  Reading and quoting poetry to very young children has the same effect, even if they can't yet verbalize what they've learned.  It's a great gift to give them.

Monday, May 28, 2012

MONDAY'S POEM: LEXI'S PUDDLE



Lexi's Puddle

Wet Puddle,
Here I am.
I have elbows,
And here they are.
Do you feel me here?
I can feel you.
You make me wonder.
I look inside you
And find all your stories.
                                 Anne Knowles

              Photo by Canedy Knowles
 

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Querying an Agent

I'm getting ready to query an agent for my middle grade novel The Knocklepockles and the Great Move.  I've been working on it for seven years.  I met the agent at the recent SCBWI-LA Writers' Day Conference in Pasadena.  Great conference by the way!  Despite the many years I've worked on the book, the hardest part of the process was writing a one page synopsis.  It took me a month and I agonized about it.  It's done except for some feedback.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Reading to Babies






My grandson is 17 months old and he loves to read.  His parents read to him from the beginning.  When he was four months old, I started babysitting every week for 2 1/2 days.  After our daily morning walks, we always had reading time.  We sat in front of the bookcase on the floor where my grandson is sitting in the picture above.  Because he couldn't sit up at the time, I put him on my lap and we looked at books.

As a retired language teacher (English and English Language Development), I know that babies need to hear written language.  Because written and spoken language are different, reading to a baby is the best way to help him or her learn the English they will need in elementary school, middle school, high school, and college.  When I taught writing to high school students, the most daunting task (aside from getting kids to do their homework) was to help students learn how to write differently from how they talk.  Even for native English speakers, it was like learning a new language.

Reading to babies helps them in many ways.  It helps develop imagination.  It helps babies make a connection between books and real world.  It helps them learn to focus.  And, of course, it helps them learn the sound and the grammar of the English needed for school.


Best of all reasons to read:  IT'S FUN!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Nursery Rhymes and Poetry

My mother read nursery rhymes to my brothers and sisters and me out of a blue and gray book.  Those nursery rhymes are my earliest memories of literature.  Even at a very early age I had favorites:  "Bye Baby Bunting" and "Mary Mary Quite Contrary."  Some of them baffled me:  I didn't understand the sarcasm in A Diller A Dollar.  As for Peter putting his wife in a pumpkin shell--it seemed slimy to me.

Nursery rhymes are a wonderful way to introduce babies to rhythm, humor, imagination, and language.  Most of us have a number of them memorized already, so it's easy to pass them on to the infants in our care as we rock them.  When my grandson was old enough to start looking at nursery rhymes in a book, I emphasized the rhythm.  Sometimes I clapped along.  He's a very active toddler, so I read them as fast as he wants to turn the page.

I've also used poetry with my grandson to help him connect the beauty of the words with the real world.  When he was five months old, I noticed he was captivated by the effect of wind in the leaves, so I recited Christina Rossetti's "Who Has Seen the Wind" to him.  He's a year older now and I've recited that poem to him each time I noticed his fascination with the wind.  One time, when he'd first started walking, he gave me a smile, then walked over to a bush.  He shook a branch and, like the wind, he made the leaves dance.  Two weeks ago, we were outside in a strong breeze.  He looked up into  leaves and laughed.  When he looked back at me, I recited "Who Has Seen the Wind."  For the first time, I knew he was listening to the words.  His eyes never left mine.  He already recognized the poem as belonging to his joy in nature.

There are a number of poems that are easy to memorize.  The books I'd recommend are Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses, Caroline Kennedy's book A Family of Poems, and A.A. Milne's When We Were Very Young.  I find collections of children's poetry in antique stores and used book stores.  If a book is under five dollars, I snatch it up.

Finally, I believe it's important to have a "with-it-ness" with a very young child.  We're all busy, but being open to and aware of what a child is experiencing for the first time in life can help us call up those wonderful nursery rhymes and poems that might enrich the child's life.
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