Libraries and bicycles...

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"My two favourite things in life 

are libraries and bicycles. 

They both move people forward 

without wasting anything." 

~ Peter Golkin

Visit a library (maybe even on a bike!) and move yourself forward.... :)

To Meet Mr. Lincoln

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To Meet Mr. Lincoln

If I lived at the time
That Mr. Lincoln did,
And I met Mr. Lincoln
With his stovepipe lid

And his coalblack cape
And his thundercloud beard,
And worn and sad-eyed
He appeared:

"Don't worry, Mr. Lincoln,"
I'd reach up and pat his hand,
"We've got a fine President
For this land;

And the Union will be saved,
And the slaves will go free;
And you will live forever
In our nation's memory."

~ Eve Merriam

Wishing you all a Happy Presidents' Day!

Valentine

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Valentine

I got a valentine from Timmy
Jimmy
Tillie
Billie
Nicky
Micky
Ricky
Dicky
Laura
Nora
Cora
Flora
Donnie
Ronnie
Lonnie
Connie
Eva even sent me two
But I didn't get none from you.

~ Shel Silverstein

Silverstein's narrator of this poem sounds so disappointed. Hope your day will be the opposite of disappointing! Happy Valentine's Day!

The world beyond your door...

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“Read for fun, 

read for information,

 read in order to 

understand yourself 

and other people 

with quite different ideas. 

Learn about 
the world beyond your door. 

Learn to be compassionate 

and grow in wisdom. 

Books can help us in all these ways.” 

~ Katherine Paterson

I couldn't say it better myself. I read for all of these reasons... and I hope that you do, too! :)

I Love You More Than Applesauce

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I Love You More Than Applesauce

I love you more than applesauce,
Than peaches and a plum,
Than chocolate hearts,
And cherry tarts,
And berry bubble-gum.

I love you more than lemonade,
And seven-layer cake,
Than lollipops,
And candy drops,
And thick vanilla shake.

I love you more than marzipan,
Than marmalade on toast;
For I love pies
Of any size,
But I love you the most.

~ Jack Prelutsky

This is a fun poem that makes me smile. (And drool!) :) 

I thought it was appropriate one to share this week, since it's almost Valentine's Day....

No place like home...

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An excerpt:

     Aunt Em had just come out of the house to water the cabbages when she looked up and saw Dorothy running toward her.

     "My darling child!" she cried, folding the little girl in her arms and covering her face with kisses. "Where in the world did you come from?"

     "From the land of Oz," said Dorothy gravely. "And here is Toto, too. And oh, Aunt Em! I'm so glad to be at home again!"

~ from The Wizard of Oz,

written by L. Frank Baum

You may have noticed that I haven't been posting every day in the last week or so. Things around our house have been very, very busy. Our high school theatre and music departments are currently putting on a production of the musical The Wizard of Oz (three shows down, three more to go!) and our family has been involved with that. My husband helped build the set, my daughter and I painted many, many of the set pieces, I've created several of the props, plus my husband and I have helped with decorations in the hallway, a special meet-the-cast event, and much more. AND my son Ben is in the show, as a Munchkin and citizen of the Emerald City. 

Needless to say, we haven't been home much! I feel like Dorothy, so glad to be here at home today, getting a bit of a break before the next show. While I'm here, I thought I'd post this excerpt from one of my favorite books. I have always been a HUGE fan of The Wizard of Oz -- the book, the play (I was in it many years ago, as a 6th grader, and played a Munchkin, just like Ben!), the musical, and especially the movie. While I can appreciate Baum's words above, and I almost always prefer books to their movies, in this case I like the final line of the movie better: "And, oh, Auntie Em! There's no place like home!"

The characters are suddenly people...

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When asked: What do you like best about being a writer?

“One of the things is 

doing what I like more than 

anything else in the world, 

and being allowed to do it, 

and being paid to do it. 

It’s great. 

And I like setting something 

going and seeing that 

all the characters 

are suddenly people 

who behave like themselves, 

as if they had nothing to do with me at all. 

They come out with remarks 

that I never would have 

thought of myself personally. 

It’s a very odd feeling. 

I like that very much.” 

~ Diana Wynne Jones, 

in The Wand in the Word: 

Conversations with Writers of Fantasy

I've had that experience before, writing along and then all of a sudden a character becomes its own person, saying things and doing things that I never expected. Jones is right -- it's a very odd feeling. It's also very cool! :)

Is It True?

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Is It True?

The groundhog plays a little game.
(Woodchuck is his other name.)

If he finds no shadow here,
Spring is very, very near.

But if he sees his shadow small,
Winter isn't done at all,

And back into his hole he'll creep 
For six more weeks of winter sleep.

~ Margaret Hillert

Happy Groundhog Day! Will the groundhog see his shadow today -- or not? Here at our house, we're not ready for spring yet. We haven't had much of a winter so far this year....

Winter white trees...

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An excerpt:

Have you seen snow trees?
Winter, bright, white trees?
Turned-to-ice-at-night trees,
sparkling-in-the-light trees.
I can hear the SNAP
of the winter white trees!

~ from Have You Seen Trees?,

written by Joanne Oppenheim

I love the images and the rhymes in this excerpt! 

A big snowstorm is predicted to hit much of the midwest this week. But here in the Chicago area the forecast is calling for rain, much to my family's dismay. I'm posting this photo and excerpt in the hopes that those predictions will be wrong and that we'll seeing some winter bright white trees around here soon....

Singing to you...

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"There is 
something about poems 
that is like loving children: 
They keep returning home 
and singing to you all your life."

 ~ Felice Hoffman,

 in The Place My Words are Looking For

I love it when poems sing to me. Do you? :)