A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More
Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
2005 Greenwillow Books
out of print, available used
112 pgs.
Goodreads rating: 3.97 - 39 ratints
My rating: 4
Endpapers: Bright yellow
My comments: Another anthology of poetry for kids by super-poetry-guy Lee Bennett Hopkins. This one includes a calendar for each month of the year before a handful of pages that represent that month, including birthdays and historical dtes with their information. An eclectic group of poems, I found MANY that I truly enjoyed. (See below
Goodreads: In Days to Celebrate Lee Bennett Hopkins has collected an astounding array of information to show us that each day of the year gives us a reason to celebrate. For every month he has compiled a calendar of birthdays, holidays, historic events, inventions, world records, thrilling firsts, and more.
And for every month he has selected surprising poems in honor of some of the people and events commemorated in the calendar. There are poems about the seasons and holidays, of course, but there are also poems about a "Flying-Man" (for February 4, Charles Lindbergh's birthday), birds (for April 26, John James Audubon's birthday), windshield wipers (patented November 10), and earmuffs (patented December 21).
Beloved poets, such as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Christina Rossetti, are joined by new voices in sixty poems that take us on a remarkable journey through a year -- and through the years. Stephen Alcorn's illustrations, based on the style of art found in old almanacs, are airy, whimsical, and thought provoking. They perfectly match the breadth and depth of this volume.
Brilliantly conceived and elegantly illustrated, Days to Celebrate is a book that pays tribute to the people, events, and poetry that make up our past and will inspire our future.
Groundhog
People shoo me
from their lawn,
scold me,
chase me,
want me gone,
treat me like some kind of
pest,
a most unwelcome
garden guest.
Then one day,
for mysterious reasons,
they crown me ---
ME!---
King of Seasons.
Will spring come soon?
Will winter flee?
The world awaits
my royal decree.
Maria Fleming
Weather
Whether the weather be
fine,
Or whether the weather be
not,
Whether the weather be
cold,
Or whether the weather be
hot,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever he weather
Whether we like it or not.
Anonymous
Prayer for the Lunar New
Year
This is the day
you grow another year
wiser.
This is the day
you forget what you know
to be impossible.
The moon loves to play a
game.
Play.
Sweep your grudges out,
scatter them to nothing.
Scrub your wishes pure,
wash your heart clear.
Open your windows wide,
let the new year begin.
Janet S. Wong
]
Labor Day
First Monday in September
that’s when
we remember
to honor workers who toil
long.
Their efforts make our
country strong.
We give a gift they all
like best;
We give them all a day of
rest!
Marci Ridlon
Freedom!
Harriet Tubman
Auburn, New York, 1861
Before I rode “The Railroad,”
I didn’t understand.
I thought that tracks were
tunneled
underneath the land.
The Underground Railroad
runs out of sight.
The last stop is freedom
if you ride it right.
Good peope gave me food
and hid me all the way,
until I reached Pennsylvania
at sunrise one day.
I stared at these black
hands
To make sure I was me.
I felt like I was in
heaven.
At last I was free!
I worked as a cook,
saved my money
and then . . .
I went down South
again and . . .again
to lead others to the stations:
women, children, men.
Yes, I worked and I saved
and I kept going back.
I never lost a passenger
or ran my train off the track.
Folks began to call me
Moses.
The though tickled me.
Moses! There was a conductor
who set God’s children free.
Bobbi Katz
Earth, What Will You Give Me?
Earth what will you give
me
In summer,
In summer,
Earth, what will you give
me
In summer
Serene?
I’ll give you my fields
Made of lilies,
Of lilies,
I’ll give you my fields
Made of lilies
And green.
And what will you give me
In autumn,
In autumn,
And what will you give me
In autumn
So bold?
I’ll give you my leaves
Made of maple,
Of maple,
I’ll give you my leaves
Made of maple
And gold.
And what will you give me
In winter,
In winter,
And what will you give me
In winter
So light?
I’ll give you my stars
Made of crystal,
Of crystal,
I’ll give you my stars
Made of crystal
And white.
And what will you give me
In springtime,
In springtime,
And what will you give me
In springtime
So new?
I’ll give you my nests
Made of grasses,
Of grasses,
I’ll give you my nests
Made of grasses
And blue.
Beverly McLoughland
Treasure Words
Words are magic ---
quiet, loud.
Steady, strong
slow, proud.
Whisper, shout ---
let them out ---
hold words close,
toss afar,
see them sparkle ---
each a star.
Thread words on
a silver chain,
let words touch you
warm as rain.
written, read, said, heard
---
delight in, sip on,
treasure
words.
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Pencils
On my desk
In a small brown vase,
A bouquet of tall yellow
flowers
Smelling of cedar.
Beverly McLoughland
