105 Ways to Give a Book

Poetry Friday: Haiku and Someday

I was on the computer rather late last night, and these thoughts popped into my head in sequence and almost in perfect haiku form. With a bit of tweaking I had the following MotherReader original:
Thunderstorm at night
Welcomed rain on crisp, brown lawns
Crap! The pool towels!
So today we’ll be heading to the pool only if our towels dry from the drenching they received last night. Not a bad plan, overall, because it gives me time to tell you about a book of poems by Eileen Spinelli.

SomedayIn Someday, the free-verse poems alternate between the little girl’s dreams and her realities. While she imagines riding a dolphin and learning the secrets of the sea, instead she is feeding her fish, and thinking that goldfish may not have secrets. (The first part reminded me of my own near-dolphin experience of last week. I got chills.) The poems reflect every child’s need to dream big and let their imagination run wild. This poem was my favorite because I love the image and idea of painting on the seashore.
Someday
I am going to be
a great artist.
I will wear a blue smock.
I will carry my paints
to the beach
to paint the sea.
A very rich person
will offer to buy my painting
for two million dollars.
But I will smile.
And I will say: “I’m sorry,
this painting is not for sale.
It is a gift for my art teacher.”
Someday...
The other reason I am fond of this particular poem is for the nod to the underappreciated art teachers everywhere — many of whom are heading back to school this week to inspire kids and teens, and could probably use a Someday image to hold onto.

I do have to say that with regard to the art of the book itself, I was not crazy about the whole bucktooth thing the girl’s got goin’ on. There were times when it wasn’t used, and other times when it wasn’t distracting, but I really didn’t like it on the cover. Even the American Girl books don’t replicate the bucktooth thing from the famously bucktoothed dolls. Otherwise, the illustrations captured the scenes well with a gentle, dreamy touch. Also, I liked that the book could be used as a beginning reader as well as a read-aloud for a preschooler. A strong girl, poetry, imagination, big dreams — this little book has got it all. Enjoy with your own dreamer.

Poetry Friday’s host is Kelly Fineman, and she already has a fair number of links up. Maybe everyone is trying to get their posts up and then head out of town before summer is over. Waaaah!

1 comment:

Sara said...

I award you "Best Use of the Word Crap in a Haiku." Savor it. ;)

And did you see that one of Mary Lee's students over at A Year of Reading grew up to be an art teacher???