Holiday Greetings

Wishing Everyone a Happy Holiday Season!

See you next year!

Poetry Friday

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Jama's Alphabet Soup.

 

For Poetry Friday --  "The world's greatest poems" written by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Keith Graves.

 

This is not what you think -- there's no pedantic analysis, best of the 20th (or any other) century's verses or top ten poets anthology here. 

Lewis has done the delightfully unexpected by offering readers twenty-five poems inspired by The Guinness Book of World Records.  What could be a better antidote for the verse-phobic reader than works based on the wonderfully whacky, strange or amazing records for which Guinness is famous.  The Kookiest Hat leads off a collection that includes The Most Cobras Kissed Consecutively, and concludes with The Highest Air On A Skateboard.  Lewis thoughtfully includes the details from the Guinness account along with the verses. 

Is "Rush Hour" a problem for your commute?  Consider this --

Graphic

Traffic

Crawling

Stalling

Fender

Bender

Bumper

Thumper.

Temper,

Temper!

Thus begins Lewis' poem "The Longest Traffic Jam" (FYI 1093 miles long, Lyon toward Paris, France, February 16, 1980).

Graves' artwork takes a playful cue from Lewis' words while also reflecting a sense of the Guinness details behind the verse. 

With a record book in hand, students might even be persuaded to write their own poetry. 

Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today at Wrapped in Foil.

For Nonfiction Monday - - "The kids' guide to paper airplanes "  by Christopher L. Harbo.

The holiday season is filled with advertising for digital and electronic games and toys, but sometimes fun can be found in the simplest of items -- paper!

Harbo provides easy-to-follow fold-by-fold directions and clear illustrations for the creation of a variety of craft from the simple to the complex.  He  also provides tips on how to achieve maximum air time.  Budding aeronautical engineers will find plenty to keep their hands busy and their minds engaged.

Poetry Friday

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Read, Write, Howl.

 

For Poetry Friday: Laugh-eteria: poems and drawings by DouglasFlorian.

Just for Fun!

Florian shares over a hundred humor-filled verses in a variety of forms and on a variety of subjects.  Here's a poem that sums up both the spirit and intent.

Good Humor

The poems in this book

Are meant to humorous.

If they are not,

Please laugh just to humor us.

Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today at AnastasiaSuen's Booktalking.

For Nonfiction Monday - - "The guy who invented home video games : RalphBaer and his awesome invention" by Edwin Brit Wyckoff.

 

Today's post is for all the students and teachers who are looking fresh topics for those classic biography reports.  How about inventor Ralph Baer -- the man who created the first home video console.  In recognition of his pioneering work in the creation and development of video games, Baer was given a National Medal of Technology by Former President George W. Bush in 2006.

Wyckoff includes archival photographs and concludes the biography with some background information, timeline and suggestions for additional reading.