Singing in the Car

Needless to say, on our journey north, we had many hours to 'kill' in the car! No worries, because Auntie brought lots of music to pass the time away. Of course we brought our favorite, They Might Be Giants (1,2,3 and Here Comes Science).

We also brought a new favorite- Pete Seeger's CD- Stories and Songs For Little Children. My nephew "studied" PS in his school. He is one of their 'heroes'. He made a little Banjo and loves to 'strum i' and sing Skip to My Lou. So we definitely took that with us.

We also took a new cd in french, Un Tresor Dans Mon Jardin. A series of beautiful songs and poems all in French. Big Girl Jas and my nephew enjoyed this cd immensely. Even though BGJ doesn't speak French, she appreciates the sounds and languages from everywhere. She too is bilingual, English and Spanish. Since the two kids are both bilingual they had a lot of discussion about languages and translating. BGJ picked out her favorite song on the album- Comptine pour endormir un enfants.

We can't leave home with Father Goose and Dan Zane. So we brought - Catch the Train and It's a Bam Bam Diddly. There is Haitian Creole, Zulu and Spanish! BGJ enjoyed singing and translating that one - Mariposa Ole!- for everyone.

Don't forget your music in the car!

Read Poetry By Children

Georgia Heard, a poet I have mentioned in the blog before, features children as poets in her book, For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry. Georgia is both a poet who writes to teach teachers, to teach adults (Writing Towards Home) and to teach children. Her new book, A Place for Wonder: Reading and Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades byGeorgia Heard and Jen McDonough, is sure to be a wonderful one, not just for teachers but for families too.

A wonderful way to celebrate poetry month is to read poems by other children. Some of our favorite poets have published books that feature children as the poets! Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets, edited and compiled by Naomi Shihab Nye, is a beautiful poetry book with magnificent illustrations.

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As you look for poetry books to celebrate this month- consider a book that celebrates children first! Children are natural poets! Happy Poetry Month to You!

Host a Literary Party: Poetry Open Mic

It's poetry month. Why not celebrate by hosting a literary party! What kind of literary party? Why not host an "Open Mic Night" at your house. Get a microphone (it could be from one of those toy karaoke machines) and gather up all your favorite poems. Invite your family and friends to your house. Ask them to bring their favorite poems. They may even want to bring one that they have written.

Invite the children and the adults, one by one, to get up on the microphone and read. Celebrate by snapping fingers. Have some paper and pens available, in case you and your friends are inspired to write. Provide some snacks and refreshments while you listen and are moved by the words you hear.

You may even decide to video tape it so that you cans end it to friends and family and everyone is able to watch and re-watch the special evening at home.

Celebrate poetry, celebrate the spoken and written word. Happy Poetry Month to You!

Poetry Smiles to You. Happy Poetry Month

Happy Poetry Month. Paul is one of my favorite poets! I love the books he writes for children.

This book, The Place My Words Are Working For, is a lovely book that talks about poets and features a couple of each of their poems. Naomi Shihab Nye and Myra Cohen Livingston, are two of my favorites featured! Read this book with kids and talk about their lives as poets and writers. Kids can reflect on their writing lives too!

This poetry book was recommended by Paul on his website. It looks beautiful.

Read Paul's website!

Find the poets that inspire your Literary Family! Read them, find out about the poets' lives, and write a little together! Enjoy poetry month! Discover a new poem, discover a new poet.

Celebrate Every Family

Books help to shape how you see yourself and others in the world. To many of us, reading books about kids and people from diverse backgrounds is important. We both want to create positive self images and to understand and grow positive images of others. Reading about families that look and sound like yours, help you to see yourself in the world. Reading about families that are different then your own, helps you to understand others in your communities!

My friends, in California, who adopted twin three year olds and who have a beautiful 2 year old girl, asked me about the library I am creating for my nephew. They wanted to know mostly about his books that celebrate a diversity of ethnicities and families. They wanted some good titles of books that feature kids of color.

My sister and I have tried to find books that not only celebrate diversity within a family- but that also celebrates diversity of what "makes up" a family!

For my nephew’s library I have collected a few books that help to highlight these things about our family values. I got him, Families by Susan Kuklin. This book is a series of photo essays of kids and their families at home. The kids are from diverse backgrounds and blended families.

Another favorite of my nephew is the book, Black is Brown is Tan, a poetry book by Arnold Adoff. Arnold is poet extraordinaire. He is married to Virginia Hamilton, another famous YA novelist. This poem is a celebration of their family. My nephew can listen to this book 3 times in a row! He has loved it ever since he was little.

We also have, What a Family by Rachel Isadora. My nephew likes to read this book and then we open up our photo albums of our family. We read them side by side and talk about everyone in our family.

More More More Said the Baby, by Vera B Williams, is another favorite of my nephew. He runs the house as if he is little guy and little pumpkin! He references the book often in his play and loves to be chased!

My nephew, ever since he was a baby, has loved loved Shades of Black! It is not a story, rather a list and beautiful set of photos of kids. He loves listening to the lyrical language and reading about kids! This was one of the first books he memorized!

Who’s Toes Are Those and Who’s Knees Are These, were two books he read repeatedly in daycare. We decided he needed them at home too! Brown Angels is one of my favorite poems, (made into a picture book), by Walter Dean Meyers.

Two of my nephew’s favorite picture books, that feature illustrations of kids of color are Looking For a Moose and Subway Anatasia Suen. When our friends had their baby, we got my nephew and their son, I'm Your Peanut Butter Big Brother, by Selina Alko.

Look for books that reflect your family’s heritage, family structure and values! Look for books that introduce your kids to other backgrounds, family structures and values! Open your lives to celebrating families of all kinds and you will open the world to your kids!

A List of More Books to Look Up and Add to Your Library!

Happy Poetry Month!

Sharon Creech: Dogs and Cats

Love That Dog

Hate That Cat

Two novels, written in verse, with poetry embedded, about kids enjoying the writing process. Moving stories.

Happy Poetry Month.

I Love Kadir Nelson

Kadir Nelson

Kadir Nelson is, hands down, my favorite children book illustrator. In fact, the illustrations alone persuade me to open a text and read the print inside! I love the way he captures the details of people, truly bringing out their distinct beauty. My nephew has Please Baby Please and Please Puppy Please! Two wonderful picture books by Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee for babies and toddlers. Please Baby Please was Auntie ME’s niece’s first book that she could ‘read’ on her own. The kids in those books are so captivating.

I bought, He's Got the Whole World In His Hands for my god son on his first communion! When I was younger it was one of my favorite songs to sing! That little boy in the book I swear is the spitting image of my god son. We all had so much fun singing and reading and admiring the pictures in that book together!

AB and I over the years enjoyed: Thunder Rose, Hewitt Anderson’s Great Big Life, Dancing in the Wings and Brothers of the Knight! All wonderful picture books with great authors like Jerdine Nolen and Debbie Allen. Yes, Debbie Allen from the original movie and tv show, Fame.

He also illustrates for biographies such as, Mama Miti (another biography about Wangari Maathai), Testing the Ice (The story of Jackie Robinson), and Coretta Scott (Ntozake Shange's poem of civil rights leader).

His work is vast and filled with variety. His images help to tell the story and enjoy the content that we are learning. If you don’t own or haven’t read and fallen in love with one of his picture books- go immediately to your local bookstore, library or search online! His art is absolutely to die for and inspires us to enjoy the details of life!

Show Your Love to Others

Make your own valentine's day cards. Send a quote from a favorite Children's Book to your friends- of any age! Make Valentine Day cards to your friends and families with your little and big ones! Ask them to pick out moments in books that show love!

Happy Valentine's Day. Happy Reading Day. I hope this day is filled and fills you with love.

"We're safe," said Stellaluna. Then she sighed. "I wish you could see in the dark, too."

"We wish you could land on your feet," Flitter replied. Pip and Flap nodded.

They perched in silence for a long time.

"How can we be so different and feel so much alike?" mused Flitter.

"And how can we feel so different and so much alike?" wondered Pip.

"I think this is quite a mystery," Flap chirped.

"I agree," said Stellauna. "But we're friends, And that's a fact."

Stellaluna By Janell Cannon

Give a Poem and Say, "I Love You"

I love reading poetry! I love sharing poems with kids- all year long. I love giving the gift a poem. Yes just one, wrapped with a beautiful ribbon. One year I gave AB a poem that I had written for her birthday. She hanged it on her bulletin board above her desk. Just imagine snuggling up with your little person and reading, Honey I Love, By Eloise Greenfield. What a delicious moment to share! For my brother's wedding a read a poem, by Maya Angelou. I gave him and his wife that poem, in a frame. Mentor Mommy S and her family send cards once a year in December or January. They always include an inspirational quote instead of a holiday greeting. It feels so poetic- celebrating important words! Baby C's Nanas send a card with a poem. I remember one year they sent a Mary Oliver poem to everyone. What a gift!

I also love to read an anthology. Some many wonderful books with beautiful themes for kids. Maybe you want a theme about the Earth. I just got for my little fellow, The Tree That Built Time. It comes with CD so he can both read the book and listen to the poetry. It is truly a beautiful collection. You may want to just read an anthology by one author like Georgia Heard's amazing book, Creatures of Earth, Sea and Sky. What a love and reverence for nature these poems hold. Her poems will fill you with love! You may want an anthology that includes poems, songs, raps, and celebrates the spoken word- Hip Hop Speaks To Children is a beautiful one to share with those you love (it also includes a CD inside)

Make this a poetic year! Give a gift to your love ones and make it a poem. Celebrate the written word. Celebrate the spoken word. Celebrate poetry all year long!

Other great poets and poems for kids of different ages:
Angela Johnson: The Other Side
Janet Wong: A Suitcase of Seaweed, Night Garden
Naomi Shihab Nye: Honeybee, Salting the Ocean, 19 Varieties of A Gazelle, And an edited volume from poets from around the globe: This Same Sky
Nikki Giovanni: Spin a Soft Black Song, The Sun is So Quiet
Georgia Heard: This Place I know: Poems of Comfort, Songs of Myself
Eloise Greenfield:Nathaniel Talking, In the Land of Words, Friendly Four

Reading The Caribbean

AB is a Haitian, Puerto Rican, American, Middle Schooler. Together we have searched and collected books that would reflect some of her cultural heritage. We have been collecting and reading books, since she was a baby. Here are a few we have found since the 4th grade, that are from the Caribbean. They are books for tweens and teens.

Julia Alvarez

The Secret Footprint- A beautiful picture book

Before We Were Free- A chapter book

Lynn Joseph

Coconut Kind of day- A wonderful book of poems

The Color of My Words- A chapter book

Edwidge Danticat

Behind the Mountains

Nicholasa Mohr

The song of el coquí and other tales of Puerto Rico- Picture Book

Magic Shell- Chapter Book

Bronx Remembered: A Novella and Stories- Chapter Book

Books Make Great Party Favors

Last year for A's 4th birthday, he decided (his little 4 year old self) that he would have each of his friends bring a new book (unwrapped), one of their favorites, to his party. A and his sister, M, each brought a book themselves. Mom and Dad had two extras just in case someone forgot. As the guests arrived, M and A displayed the books at the front table, near the entrance. It was quite a beautiful display. At the end of the party A announced, "Now everyone can go to the book table and pick the book you want to take home!" How sweet, right? A book swap as a party favor. You can bet some kids took home the book they brought! There was a duplicate of a book- which came in handy for the two who wanted the same book. There was an "unexpected sibling" who joined the party, who also got the pleasure of taking home a book. Not candy, not a plastic toy that you will soon throw away. Both A and M walked away from the party satisfied- giving a book to friends and receiving a new one to treasure and to remember the great birthday book swap.

The Twins (set #1) celebrated their first birthday with a beautiful poetry book, Here's a Little Poem, by Jane Yolen, as their party favor. How appropriate since their birthday falls in April- National Poetry Month. Each family that came to the party, walked away with the beautiful book wrapped in a graceful gold ribbon. What a nice way to remember and enjoy your friendship and birthday! Now when my nephew and I read the book at home, we have some favorite poems we always like to read together, but we also always talk about the Twins.

Baby Kate's mom and dad got married 2 years ago. After their wedding they were planning to move to the Philippines for a year. The two of them decided to get married and have a small dinner party with close friends and family at a little Filipino owned restaurant in Soho, Cendrillon. Many people give little mementos to their friends and families so that they will always remember their special day and new partnership. At the end of the evening, they gave each couple/person a copy of the chef's newest cookbook, Memories of Philippine Kitchens. Creative, thoughtful, and delicious!

Books make great party favors! They definitely leave your friends with a strong reminder of your event and the special relationship that you share! Why not share this with the kids and loved ones in your family.

Please post your thoughts and comments. If you think of using books as a party favor for one of your events- let us all know! Post it here! That way we can really - spread the word!

Happy gift giving!

Who Are We?

Dear Member of your own Literary Family,

We are friends and relatives of children at every age! We probably have a love of both the spoken and written word. As we shower the children in our lives with love, who can help but drop pieces of literature, songs, and passion about the world into the hearts and minds of those around us.

Think about who makes up your Literary Family- your own children, nephews/nieces, grandchildren, students, babies and kids of your closet friends? You have the power to help this young person develop into a wise, wordy, intellectual from such a young age. Teach them through different literary genres how to love the world, love themselves and build loving relationships with others!

Weekly, I will try to give you different ways to connect to these kids to help build your own literary family! A family that loves to learn, loves to read, and loves to be with eachother!

Sending you literary joy!