Early Morning Distracted Reading

Every summer, the Minneapolis newspaper runs a serialized book in the variety section and I look forward to an early morning read with my coffee. I'm taking two online summer courses and have to be logged in every morning from 7:30-noon so I don't always get the chance to read till later. And sometimes, a couple of days pile up on me! Yesterday, I was up extra early so I sat on the deck to catch up on Redemption's Run, the Star Tribune's 2017 serialized story by Jane Fredericksen. 

I was distracted, though, by the beautiful front cover image and article about the allure of picture books on Tuesday's section. Dilemma...what should I read first?! And when I got to Wednesday's section, my eyes were pulled to the adjacent article on a literature course offered at the University of Minnesota studying the writings of Bob Dylan. 

So much reading...so little time!

Tell Your Friends What You Truly Care About

I finally added a background picture to my Facebook page. Well, actually, Katie added a background picture to my Facebook page. Of an albatross. Seems pretty random but it's not. And here's how it happened...

Of course, it all started with a book...

This stack of small books sits on a shelf in our entryway. The thin slate colored book at the bottom is  a volume containing two poems, one by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and one by James Russell Lowell. The Coleridge poem is The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and it is where Kate and John first met an albatross.

This book is tiny and beautiful and over 100 years old. Imagine that! Maybe I shouldn't take it outside. Maybe I shouldn't put a rock on it or lay it on the ground. Maybe I shouldn't open it. What? No! Books are meant to be held and handled and opened and read!

When John was five and Kate seven, I read a bit of this ballad to them each night. We read the old English and we read the side notes and then we talked about what it meant. I took us a few nights to get through it. For those few days, we were immersed in it. Kate and John had never heard of, let alone seen, an albatross. 

Fast forward some 10 years and...this past February, we received a group text, with a photo (above), from my parents who were in Hawaii for the winter. They were hiking in a bird sanctuary and took this photo of an albatross! We thought it was SO cool.

Fast forward again to a morning last week when Kate and I went out for coffee. We sat at a sidewalk table and wrote and read and talked about what we're writing and reading and watching. Katie was telling me about a David Attenborough program she recently watched, Life Story (season 1, episode 1: First Steps), that features a segment on albatrosses. They are fascinating birds whose life cycles mimic human life cycles in many ways. They can live up to 60 years, mate for life, often wait to have chicks until they are 20 years old and then have one every two years or so. (the chicks are funny little puffs of white feathers...look up an image...it'll make you smile!) One type of albatross has the longest wing span of any bird species at 10 feet! I was amazed to learn that albatrosses have lived for millions of years before humans even existed.

There are many superstitions regarding albatross and literature is full of references to the albatross. The most well known is probably Coleridge's poem  The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Sailors' legends source the bird as a carrier of dead sailors' souls and, therefore, an albatross sighting is a good omen (thought to mean that the passing sailor is protecting the current voyage) and the bird's death a curse. So, when a sailor in Coleridge's poem kills an albatross which has been following the ship, his crew mates condemn him to wear the large dead bird around his neck in an unsuccessful attempt to escape the curse.

The blank space on my Facebook page, before we added a photo, had the following instructions: "Tell your friends what you truly care about". So, we added the photo that my parents took (and shared with us) when they saw one of these ancient, mythical creatures, which most of us (at least here in the northern hemisphere) have only encountered through literature.

Is what I truly care about? Family, parents, children, literature, reading together, creatures on our earth, learning, talking and sharing together? Yep. They are all things I truly care about.

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Thank you to Fifth Grade Library Helpers AND their Summer Book Recommendations

Several times last school year, a particular fourth grade student asked me if she could be a library volunteer, to come in before school and help with any tasks that needed to be done.

I have to say this pulled at my heart strings. Not only because, here is a student asking, repeatedly asking, to be allowed to help but also because as an elementary student, I did this exact same thing. I begged our school librarian, Ms. Hewlitt, to allow me to come in and help her with anything. Just to be working in the library. Eventually, I got everyone on board and was allowed to work in the media center during recess once a week.  (I wrote about this experience in another post, Jar of Sunshine.)

Unfortunately, we couldn't get a schedule in place last year to accommodate our fourth grade request. But this school year (the one that just wrapped up) that fourth grade/now fifth grade student approached me the very first week of school with the same request and I was ready for her. I spoke with her teacher and set a day of the week for my helper to come in before school. She soon convinced me to increase her time to two mornings a week and we stuck to that for the entire year. She was remarkably and impressively punctual and reliable and by the end of the year had recruited 4 additional helpers (as well as requests from fourth grade students to be considered for next year).

Our library helpers put up bulletin board decorations, selected books for book displays, pulled books to fill requests, and kept shelves orderly. I saw so much growth in these students throughout the year as they felt more and more comfortable and creative in giving their opinions and suggestions.

As the year came to a close, I asked all five helpers to come on their last regularly scheduled morning for a fun activity and treats. I brought a small basket of treats as well as supplies to personalize these pocket sized composition books. I pre-filled the first page with a thank you note.

As we cut and glued and wrote in our notebooks, we talked about our favorite library projects we'd worked on this past year. Although they'd worked in the library with me all year, this was the first time we'd all sat at a table and chatted while we worked and it was so fun! If I'm able to continue a helper program next year, I'll include more time for this connected collaboration.

I showed and talked about Alison McGhee's book Snap to introduce the notebook project. In the book, the main character, Eddie, makes lists for everything in her life. It helps her feel in control. Any writing can be therapeutic, Writing lists can provide a comforting sense of order. Only one of my helpers had already read the book but thought she had been too young and would like to read it again. We talked about rereading books at different points in our lives and how we can be affected differently because of what we know and what we've experienced.

We decided to make our first list on the second page of each notebook; a list of book recommendations for each other to read over the summer. We passed our notebooks to the left, wrote a recommendation and then passed it on again. I recommended Snap. The recommendations my five fifth grade helpers wrote on my second page are:

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

The Best Worst Thing by Kathleen Lane

Wish by Barbara O'Connor

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai

And guess what? I have never read any of these titles. A few of them (especially the top two), I probably should have read by now but...I haven't. So, I bought and checked out these five titles and, with much gratitude in my heart, am ready for my summer reading!

Reading Circular Stories with Kindergarten

We are nearing the end of my second year leading kindergarten media classes and I'm getting a little nostalgic already! The past couple of weeks, we've been reading and talking about circular stories; stories that end in a way that starts the story all over again.

The pictures above are from Gemma Merino's book, The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water. In the first picture (inside the front flap of book), we see an adult crocodile carrying a basket of crocodile eggs...except one is white. Hmmm...that white egg ends up being the crocodile who didn't like water. And he doesn't like water because he's not a crocodile; he's a dragon! Then the picture at the end of the book is that grown up dragon carrying a basket of white dragon eggs. Except one is blue. And here we go again.

Does it bother you that crocodile eggs should be white, not blue? Well, I can tell you that it does bother kindergarten students. Gotta love critical thinkers!

Our next example of a circular story was David LaRochelle's It's a Tiger! Look at the first picture, top of the righthand page...see the tiger's tail? Throughout the book, the main character tries to get away from this tiger. But every time it seems safe, we can see a bit of that tiger peeking out on the page. In the end, when we realize that the tiger is sleepy, the main character suggests that we read a story to put it to sleep. The story starts just as it did in the beginning of the book only now look at the top of the righthand page...it's a crocodile!

Now, this isn't a book. This is my deck railing but we have a circular story here too. My parents were over a few nights ago and we were sitting outside chatting. My mom had her back to this railing and as I sat talking to her, I noticed this inch worm...well, inching along this post cap. About five minutes later, I noticed another one doing the same thing and I mentioned it aloud. Yeah, you've probably figured this out already. But I hadn't until I saw the third one inching along. Or wait...oh, it was the same one coming around for the third time.

The Brontës (Especially Emily)

We spent this past Memorial weekend at my parents' cabin. The weather was sketchy and we spent moments of sunshine on the dock followed by dashes into the basement during a sudden wind/rain burst to play pool and watch movies. It was a wonderfully long and leisurely weekend.

During one of the cloudy but not quite so wet afternoons, we even tackled a long forsaken cleanup project in the garage. My parents have several elaborate decanters that came from a family friend whose father had collected them. Our family friends kept as many as they wanted, then passed them along for us. My brothers and I drew straws and had turns making our selections. Although I thought the decanters were very unique, I had little interest in actually taking any home with me.

Until I saw these...!

If you ask me who my all time favorite writer is....I will say Emily Brontë. All time favorite book...Wuthering Heights. For longer than I can remember, I have been fascinated with the Brontë family; with Emily, Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell. And I never knew there was a liqueur made in their name. Apparently, neither did Sir James Aykroyd, the current producer of Brontë Liqueur.

After purchasing the parsonage in which the Brontës had lived, Sir James Ackroyd's great grandfather gifted it to the Brontë Society to be used as a museum. So, Sir James was already quite tied into the appeal of the Brontës when he travelled to Paraguay in the 1960's and first saw a bottle of Brontë liqueur which had been left by an earlier traveller. Eventually, he was able to acquire the rights to the name and began his own production of the liqueur.

The decanters I have here are sealed and probably about 40-50 years old. I'd really like to try some but...is that safe? As we made our selections, we did sample a 45 year old whiskey but the proof of that bottle is much higher than this liqueur and I'll bet that makes a difference in its longevity.

Could I buy a new bottle? From here in the states, I'd have to order it online. But, no, I don't think I'll do that. If and when I get to England, I'll stop in a pub and have some there. Will it be easy to find? Not sure. But it will be fun to search!

Even after 200 years since the births of these three sisters, their stories, their books, their poetry, and their appeal is still strong. This past March, PBS Masterpiece aired a special on the Brontës. I watched it in a Boston hotel room (in the midst of an intense college tour trip) but intend to re-watch it now from the comfort of my own couch! If you missed it and would like to check out more information, you can do so here: To Walk Invisable: The Brontë Sisters.

It Smells So Good

If I could have a dollar for every time a student walks into the media center, takes a deep breath and says, "Ah, it smells so good in here"....I'd....well, I'd have a lot of dollars! There's something about stepping through the doors of a media center, or a library, with information everywhere, pictures and and connections and stories and facts and virtual experiences....that makes you have to stop and take a deep breath. You can be transported or be transformed here. And it smells good.

Speaking of smells, and libraries,...when Kate and I were in Boston and New York City over spring break, touring colleges, we found the Demeter Fragrance Library. We had fun sampling the incredible variety of scents...like Moonshine, Cotton Candy, Laundromat, Meadow, Holy Water, and even Kitten Fur. Katie bought Salt Air as a souvenir. I didn't buy one but, honestly, kinda regretted it once we were back at home.

And, now, guess what my two sweet kids ordered me for Mother's Day? Yep, my very own crazy fragrances. Nestled in a beautiful little box were these two shiny bottles selected just for me. Paperback smells soft, papery with a slight hint of vanilla. Tomato smells warm and green, something between the smell of a tomato vine and a freshly picked, freshly sliced tomato. It smells like I'm sitting in a vegetable garden. That may not sound like a scent you want to wear but, really, it is so summery and pleasant. I love it!

Bhäird is the name of our Corner Garden

The perennials in our corner grade are springing to life but we lost one of our large old pines and the arbor is knocked a little off kilter. Over the years, we have called this corner garden the fairy garden, the pine forest, the forest garden, the play garden, or simply the back corner.

Kate used to make up stories about the fairies and gnomes who lived in this garden. Several years ago, to encourage her aspirations of becoming a writer, I said I would pay her for each story that she wrote, typed, and submitted to me. She gave the village that exists in this garden the name Bhäird and I now have this beautiful collection of stories; stories of winter survival, mid-summer festivities, and even wars that have broken out between political factions of the inhabitants (who knew, right?!)!

In the forefront of the above photo is a book we have loved by an author we have adored, Lesley M.M. Blume. Back when our mother/daughter book club met, we read Blume's book The Rising Star of Rusty Nail. We wrote a letter to Ms. Blume and were so excited to receive a beautiful hand-written note back from the author.