Black Friday Poetry: Gift Tag

I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with your favorite people. I did! What are your favorite holiday memories? Your favorite gifts? Janet Wong and I have published our third book in our collection of digital poetry anthologies, a book of holiday poetry for kids—out this week for your holiday shopping consideration. It’s called Gift Tag and it’s an anthology of 28 poems for young people about gifts and giving.

Jane Yolen writes about pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving; Douglas Florian about playing with dreidels; Lee Bennett Hopkins about the true meaning of Christmas; J. Patrick Lewis about Mew Year’s Day. Have you ever wondered what a spider thinks at Christmas? Have you ever given a gift that later made you wonder, “What were we thinking?” Do you remember your first bike, your first baseball glove, your first bottle of perfume? As with our second book in the PoetryTagTime series, P*TAG, photos provide writing prompts for these and two dozen other poems that will bring back warm gingered memories of your own family celebrations.


Gift Tag features poems by a who’s who of poets: Jeannine Atkins, Jen Bryant, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Margarita Engle, Douglas Florian, Helen Frost, Joan Bransfield Graham, Lorie Ann Grover, Avis Harley, David L. Harrison, Sara Holbrook, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Bobbi Katz, Julie Larios, J. Patrick Lewis, Pat Mora, Ann Whitford Paul, Laura Purdie Salas, Michael Salinger, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Charles Waters, April Halprin Wayland, Carole Boston Weatherford, Robert Weinstock, Steven Withrow, Allan Wolf, Janet Wong and Jane Yolen. Isn’t that an amazing line up of voices?

We gave our poets three rules:
1) choose a photo from our Gift Tag photo blog,

2) write about what popped into your mind when you saw the photo; and

3) keep your poem short—10 lines (max), and no more than 25 characters (with spaces) per line.

Our goal: to have each poem appear whole on a Kindle screen. We call this form the Kindleku. Douglas Florian suggested that a better name would be the Kindlekuku. We admit that it was a bit cuckoo to set a limit of 250 characters per poem—but we think you’ll like the results!

Here’s just one example to whet your appetite. David Harrison chose the photo of the baseball and glove. He writes:

I pitched baseball as a boy. Getting a new ball for Christmas was the perfect gift. I could smell the new leather, feel the power and speed stitched inside, dream of striking out batters. I couldn’t wait for spring.

And here’s his beautiful poem:

The Gift of Spring
by David L. Harrison

My fingers trace seams,
feeling how I’ll throw
the curve of my dreams,
holding it just so.

Outside is dark and cold,
Snow lies deep and white,
but in my hand I hold
spring, Christmas night.

One of the unique things about Poetry Tag Time anthologies is that there are connections or “tags” between poems that reveal how one poem can lead to another and another and another. In this Gift Tag collection, we identified a key word or phrase in the poems that connected one poem to the next. You’ll find that chain of connections and poems on our photo blog here. And of course readers might find entirely different ways to share and connect these wonderful poems.

For more info about this and our other digital poetry anthologies (including PoetryTagTime for children and P*TAG for teens), visit PoetryTagTime.com. We like to imagine kids reading these e-books on Mom's cell phone while standing in line at the store or poring over the images and poems on Dad's iPad or sharing a favorite line of a poem on the class Kindle. They can own this book in minutes and read it on a laptop with the free Kindle app. Amazing!

Next? Janet and I are exploring developing a poetry app for iPads and iPhones! Stay tuned… meanwhile, I’m wishing you all a happy, healthy, holiday season of hope.

Be sure to join the Poetry Friday gathering at Heidi Mordhorst's Juicy Little Universe blog. See you there!

Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2011. All rights reserved.

More Irish poetry for kids

I had the opportunity to spend a wonderful week in Ireland traveling with my family in December-January. What beautiful country, what friendly people, if I may generalize. There are ancient ruins in nearly every backyard and 40 shades of green on the Dingle peninsula alone! I was also reminded of the rich literary tradition in Ireland (Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Jonathan Swift, Edmund Spenser, Thomas Moore, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Padraic Colum, Samuel Beckett, W.H. Auden, to name a few).

One of my favorite books of poetry from abroad is a collection of contemporary Irish poetry for young people, Something Beginning with P edited by Seamus Cashman and I’ve blogged about it before (March, 2007). It’s a gorgeous anthology—for both its 100+ original Irish poems and for its sumptuous, iconoclastic art. A gift of this book of poetry was sent to every Irish primary school in Ireland, courtesy of RTÉ Radio in Ireland. Isn’t that way cool? Imagine!

So, I was on the lookout for more poetry for kids on this trip. Unfortunately, my time was so short and bookstore hours were so limited during this holiday time, that my options were limited. However, I was pleased to score a small book of Irish poetry in a shop on that famous Dingle peninsula (my favorite spot!). It’s A Child’s Book of Irish Rhymes compiled by Alice Taylor and published in Dublin in 1996 (Gill & Macmillan). [I have since found it published by Barefoot Books in the U.S. as A Child's Treasury of Irish Rhymes.]

Many of the poems are simple story rhymes for the young by Irish poets, but a few were by “Anonymous,” so I thought I would share one of those. Perhaps you’re familiar with it, but it was new to me. It’s a wonderful way for kids to explain away the whatever goes wrong. In my German household, we always blamed the “heinzelmaenchen”—elves or goblins. Here, it is “Mr. Nobody” who is responsible!

I know a funny little man,
As quiet as a mouse
Who does the mischief that is done
In everybody’s house.
Though no one ever sees his face,
Yet we can all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr. Nobody.

‘Tis he who always tears our books,
Who leaves the door ajar,
Who pulls the buttons from our shirts,
And scatters pins afar.
That squeaking door will always squeak
For—this is plain to see—
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr. Nobody.

‘Tis he who brings in all the mud
That gathers in the hall.
‘Tis he who lets the front door slam,
And scribbles on the wall.
When we can’t find the scissors,
Or have lost the back door key,
The one to blame in every case
Is Mr. Nobody.

We know he cracked the window
And broke the china plate,
We know he left the kitchen floor
In such a dreadful state.
We know his faults and failings,
His sins are plain to see,
And so we always put the blame
On Mr. Nobody.

Anonymous

Taylor, Alice (Comp.). 1996. A Child’s Book of Irish Rhymes. Dublin, Ireland: Gill & Macmillan, p.22-23.

Isn’t this a great poem to read aloud? The second time around, when you get to the last line, pause before saying, “Mr. Nobody” and see if the kids will jump in and say his name. I predict they will! The poem would also be fun for kids to act out while you read it aloud, pantomiming the actions suggested in the poem—while wearing a blank paper plate mask with only two cut out eyes—as Mr. Nobody. Or perhaps they’ll want to draw each scene —graphic novel style —or sketch an image of what they think Mr. Nobody would look like. 


There are many terrific contemporary Irish poets writing for kids today (in English and Irish). Here are just a few listed below. And what better month to check them out than March?

Seamus Heaney, Thomas Kinsella, Máighréad Medbh * Paula Meehan * Brendan Kennelly * Michael Longley * Rita Ann Higgins * Matthew Sweeney * Biddy Jenkinson * Desmond O'Grady * Richard Murphy * Nuala ní Dhomhnaill * Celia de Fréine * Cathal Ó Searcaigh * Frank McGuinness * Julie O'Callaghan * Tom McIntyre * Paul Muldoon * Dermot Bolger * Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin * Frank Ormsby * Siobhán Campbell * Dennis O'Driscoll * John Montague * Moya Cannon * Peter Fallon * Mary O'Malley * Micheal O'Siadhail * John F Deane

Happy St. Patrick’s Day (coming on March 17)!


Danika is hosting the Poetry Friday gathering today at the TeachingBooks blog. See you there!

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2010. All rights reserved.

Image credit: O’Brien Press

Do Rabbits Have Christmas?

I’m happy to report that poet Aileen Fisher is having a comeback! A selection of 15 of her poems originally published in 8 different poetry books from as long ago as 1946, have been gathered in this lovely picture book collection, Do Rabbits Have Christmas, with a forward by Karla Kuskin. The delicate illustrations by nature artist Sarah Fox-Davies are the perfect accompaniment, placed just so for each poem, whether as a small cameo image or a double-page spread. Her careful, naturalistic renderings of the animals, in particular, keep the images from veering into preciousness. And Fisher’s language is ever fresh and crisp, providing glimpses of moments with an intimate first person voice in lines that rhyme effortlessly. The subject is unabashedly Christmas, full of anticipation, wonder, speculation, and delight, with a focus on the weather, the woods, and small animals-- the mouse, the kitten, the chickadee, the rabbit. Whether your view includes a snowy landscape or not (it's 73 degrees here in Texas today!), the poetry evokes a thoughtful quietness and sparkly spirit that is irresistible. Here’s just a taste.

Before Christmas
by Aileen Fisher

We sing, and plan,
and watch the date,
and write some cards…
and wait and wait.

We look for presents
at the store
and make some, too…
and wait some more.

We wrap our gifts
and tie them straight,
and frost some cookies
on a plate,
and buy a tree
to decorate,
but most of all
we wait… and wait.

From Fisher, Aileen. 2007. Do Rabbits Have Christmas? Illustrated by Sarah Fox-Davies. Henry Holt.

Pair this book with Valerie Worth’s out of print gem, if you can find it, At Christmastime (HarperCollins, 1992) illustrated by Antonio Frasconi.

And for more on award winning poet Aileen Fisher, check out my previous Sept. 9, 2006 posting, in honor of her birthday.

Join the rest of the Poetry Friday gathering at AmoXcalli.

Picture credit: www.overstock.com

Thanks poems

Thanksgiving is coming up soon, so I looked around for some appropriate poems for the occasion. I gathered a collection of titles for a quick list and two poems that represent two distinct perspectives on being thankful. Enjoy!

All in a Word
by Aileen Fisher

T for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn’s frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles’ croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that abounds.
That spells THANKS-- for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.

Fisher, Aileen. “All in a Word.” in Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Side by Side Poems to Read Together. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988. (Thank you for your poetry collections, Lee!)

and

Our Daily Bread
by Janet Wong

Nine p.m. we close the store,
wash the counter, mop the floor.

Ten p.m. we finally eat.
Father pulls a milk crate seat

to the table and we pray.
Thank you for this crazy day.

Wong, Janet. A Suitcase of Seaweed, and Other Poems. New York: Margaret K. McElderry, 1996. (Thank you for your poetry, Janet!)

More poetry about giving thanks and Thanksgiving:
Bruchac, Joseph. 1996. The Circle of Thanks. Mahwah, NJ: BridgeWater Books.
Carlstrom, Nancy White. 2002. Thanksgiving Day at Our House: Thanksgiving Poems for the Very Young. New York: Aladdin.
Grimes, Nikki. 2006. Thanks a Million. New York: Amistad.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2005. Days to Celebrate: A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More. New York: Greenwillow.
Livingston, Myra Cohn, comp. 1985. Thanksgiving Poems. New York: Holiday House.
Prelutsky, Jack. 1982. It’s Thanksgiving. New York: Greenwillow.
Rosen, Michael, J., ed. 1996. Food Fight: Poets Join the Fight Against Hunger with Poems about Their Favorite Foods. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.
Swamp, Chief Jake. 1995. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message. New York: Lee & Low Books.
Wing, Natasha. 2001. The Night Before Thanksgiving. New York: Grosset and Dunlap.
Young, Ed. 1997. Voices of the Heart. New York: Scholastic.

Picture credit: www.lakejunaluska.com