Picture Poetry Book - Days to Celebrate by Lee Bennett Hopkins

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