Poetry Book: Maine: The Way Life Should Be: A Wicked Good Book of Verse by Robert Pottle

Illustrated by Holly Hardwick
paperback
found at Ellsworth Library

2005, Blue Lobster Press, Eastbrook, Maine

64 pgs.

wonderful "pencil" drawings

Goodreads rating:   3.67 - 3 ratings

My rating:  5/Loved it! 

My comments:  The poetr, Robert Pottle, was born in Eastport and now lives in Eastbrook (or at least he did when this book was published.)

Loved the poems and line drawings.  There's also information on each page.  Many are song to familiar tunes:

    "There's  a Racoon in the Trash Can" (Battle Humn of the Republic)

    "Have You Ever Seen a Puffin?" (The More We Get Together)

    "I'm a Little Lobster " Part I - catching; Part II - cooking; Part III - eating

    "Itsy Bitsy Black Flies" (Itsy Bitsy Spider, of course!)

    "Nine Painted Turtles " (One little, two little, three little ...)

    "Busy Beaver's Song" (I've Been Working on the Railroad)

Loons
 Whether hauntingly howling one night on a lake
or laughing one morning in June,
they’re known for the numerous sounds they can make;
a primitive bird is the loon.
 
The common loon’s plumage is all black and whte,
The newborns are brownish and black.
If you’re lucky you may see a marvelous sight;
a loon with a chick on its back.
 
At diving and swimming, they cannot be beat.
At aquatics, they’re simply the best,
but it takes them an hour of flapping their feet
to get from the short to their nest.

Goodreads:  Funny poems, and songs set to familiar tunes, about Maine's abundant wildlife. Interesting animal facts about all of the animals covered are included.

36. Half a Chance - Cynthia Lord

read by Maria Cabezas - lovely
4 unabridged cds (4.75 hrs.)
2014 Recorded Books
218 pgs.
Middle Grade CRF
Finished 6/1/15
Goodreads rating:  3.97
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary summer in New Hampshire

First line/s:  "Lucy, we're going to love this place!" Dad called to me from the porch of the faded, red-shingled cottage with white trim.  "We can hang a swing right here and watch the sunset over the lake.  And these country roads will be great for biking."

My comments:  I have an affinity for Cynthia Lord and her stories about kids in Maine.  This one takes place on a lake in New Hampshire...the sort of place where I've spent many a summer as a kid.  The setting is described beautifully.  The story deals with dementia, friendship, jealousy, parent-child and grandparent-child relationships, moving, ecology, bird-watching, loons, photography - yup, a lot. I liked it.

Becky's review from Becky's Book Reviews

Goodreads synopsis:  A moving new middle-grade novel from the Newbery Honor author of RULES.
          When Lucy's family moves to an old house on a lake, Lucy tries to see her new home through her camera's lens, as her father has taught her -- he's a famous photographer, away on a shoot. Will her photos ever meet his high standards? When she discovers that he's judging a photo contest, Lucy decides to enter anonymously. She wants to find out if her eye for photography is really special -- or only good enough.
          As she seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know Nate, the boy next door. But slowly the camera reveals what Nate doesn't want to see: his grandmother's memory is slipping away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives . . . including her own.