Poetry Friday: Red Sings From the Treetops

White, white, white.

After weeks of snow here, that's all I can see.

 But Joyce Sidman owns a different set of eyes.

In the winter dawn,
Pink blooms
powder-soft
over pastel hills.

Pink prickles:
warm fingers
against cold cheeks.

and a few pages later:

Where is Green in winter?
Green darkens, shrinks,
stiffens into needles.
Green waits
in the hearts of trees,
feeling
the earth
turn.

--From Red Sings From the Treetops, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.

Red Sings From the Treetops is the winner of the 2009 Cybils poetry award, given to a poetry book that is both literary and filled with "kid appeal." I was honored to be part of the final round of discussion.

From the Cybils announcement:

Observation, discovery, connection . . . Red Sings From the Treetops embodies everything poetry is meant to be. The vivid words of poet Joyce Sidman -- which are fresh even when writing about the oldest of concepts, color -- and the gloriously hue-soaked pictures of illustrator Pamela Zagarenski combine to create a poetry book that is both thoughtful and exuberant.

Readers can hunt for small details in the sweep of larger images and thrill to a-ha! moments of discovery. They can read the book as one full, circular story or as a series of individual, eye-opening poems. Either way, the beauty of this book will leave them feeling connected to something larger than themselves.

Well-done, Joyce and Pamela.

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Irene Latham.

The 2009 Cybils Poetry Panel

It's Cybils time, book lovers!  Time to recognize those books that combine both "the highest literary merit" and "kid appeal."  You can leave your nominations (one per category) at the Cybils blog, starting Oct. 1.

I'll be nominating my favorites, too, but the best news for me is that for the second time, I'm honored to serve as a second round judge for the Poetry Panel. I love this job, people! I get to discuss five or six or seven extraordinary books of poetry which were chosen by the amazing Round One Panelists below, and I get to have those discussions with the fabulous folks listed there as Judges (Round Two.)  It's intense; it's exhilarating; and last time, it gifted me with an even deeper love of the work of some of our finest YA and children's poets.

Here's the full panel. Now it's up to YOU to nominate the poetry books we should discuss.

THE 2009 CYBILS POETRY PANEL

Our fearless organizer:

Kelly Fineman of Writing and Ruminating.

Panelists (Round 1)

• Bruce Black of Wordswimmer
• Kristy Dempsey of Reverie: Abstract Musings on a Hopeful Life
• Kelly Fineman of Writing and Ruminating
• Tricia Stohr-Hunt of The Miss Rumphius Effect
  
• Sylvia Vardell of Poetry for Children

Judges (Round 2)

• Sara Lewis Holmes of Read*Write*Believe (that's me!)
• Elaine Magliaro of Wild Rose Reader
• Greg Pincus of GottaBook
• Jama Rattigan of Alphabet Soup
• Stacey Shubitz from Two Writing Teachers

Looking for a Few Good Books? The Cybils Shine

You want a stellar book to read? Or you want to give a brilliant book to someone you love? And you don't want to mess around or waste your money? Or hem and haw or dilly dally or any of those other alliterative wishy washy activities? Then print out the list below and get at it, because the Cybils have delivered.

Last year, I had the privilege of serving on the poetry category judging panel. This year, I get to simply enjoy passing on to you the results of the third annual Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards.

Click through to the Cybils site to buy any of these guaranteed good reads. (They also have the full list of finalists in each category. Go!)

The 2008-9 Cybils Winners

Easy Readers



I Love My New Toy
written by Mo Willems
Hyperion

I Love My New Toy is a perfect example of an early reader book. Using simple, repetitive text and charming illustrations, Mo Willems gives the youngest reader a title full of emotion, humor, and action. Children can easily relate to this wonderful story of friendship at its worst and its best.

Nominated by Nan Hoekstra.

Fantasy & Science Fiction

Middle Grade



The Graveyard Book
written by Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins

Transcendent writing and wry bits of humor brought The Graveyard Book to the top of a strong field of contenders. Gaiman pulls off the trifecta of a ripping plot, nuanced characters and sublime prose. He submerges the reader into standard horror subject matter but freshens and modernizes it, never being predictable. The orphaned Nobody Owens, or Bod to his other-worldly friends, is being raised in a cemetery, where he masters a few tricks of the ghostly trade. His guardians have to hope it's enough to protect him from the assassin who killed Bod's family, and who lurks somewhere beyond the graveyard gates. This riff on the Jungle Book balances humor, heart and darkness, creating a winning read.

Young Adult



The Hunger Games
written by Suzanne Collins
Scholastic

The Hunger Games wins for its broad crossover appeal, complicated moral issues, and sociopolitical satire. In a richly imaginative twist on a familiar dystopian landscape, Suzanne Collins creates a deadly game using child combatants to explore the dehumanizing effects of war and violence. Katniss struggles against overwhelming odds while being groomed and polished for what could be her televised fight to the death. At each agonizing choice or fearful alliance, the reader is confronted with the same questions Katniss faces. How far would you go to save yourself? Can you meet violence with violence, yet preserve your humanity?

Nominated by Heather Doss.


Fiction Picture Books



How to Heal a Broken Wing
written and illustrated by Bob Graham
Candlewick Press

This deceptively simple book achieves so much more than telling the story of a boy who notices a wounded bird in a busy city. By alternating single and double-page spreads with clusters of small panels, Graham creates almost a film strip of time passing. The artistic technique lends both intimacy and urgency to the boy and his family’s precarious mission to save the injured pigeon. The text is commendably lean, supporting the strong visual narrative and keeping a lighter touch to the theme. The cartoon-style, watercolor illustrations provide the perfect tone, and the accessible story offers connections for picture book readers of all ages. For all of these reasons, How to Heal a Broken Wing distinguishes itself as the rare picture book that speaks quietly, yet has volumes to say about courage, kindness, and hope.


Graphic Novels

Elementary/Middle Grade



Rapunzel's Revenge
written by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
illustrated by Nathan Hale
Bloomsbury USA

“What made this book stand out to the judges was that it takes a well-known story and does something recognizable, but unique, creating an adventure which readers of both sexes can enjoy. Those readers will get swept up in the rawness of the emotions presented. The art is bright and leaps from the pages, but the images don’t overshadow the story or mask weaknesses in the plot. The story and images carried the weight equally, were well-paced, engaging, and generally solid.”

Nominated by Elizabeth.

Young Adult



Emiko Superstar
written by Mariko Tamaki
illustrated by Steve Rolston
Minx

“This title rises above a traditional outsider/teen angst tale because of its protagonist's interest in her local performance artists, a subject that hasn't been done to death in YA. The story is also novel simply because it's about a teen exploring art and find how it can change you. Ralston’s art is an important aspect of the story, working in tandem with Tamaki’s unique story.”

Nominated by Cecil Castellucci.


Middle-Grade Fiction



The London Eye Mystery
written by Siobhan Dowd
David Fickling Books

Brother and sister, Ted and Kat, take their cousin Salim to see the London Eye, the city's gigantic Ferris wheel. While Ted and Kat watch, Salim gets into one of the glass pods, but thirty minutes later he doesn't get off. So the siblings set out to find their cousin. Complicating the situation, Ted's brain "runs on a different operating system" from other people's, which makes him a lot better at facts and figures than he is at reading people. Narrated in Ted's voice, this is a page-turner that brings London to life and takes readers inside a powerfully rational mind. The London Eye Mystery shows off kids' natural ingenuity and proves that difference can be a strength, as Ted and Kat work to solve the irresistible riddle of their cousin's disappearance.


Non-Fiction MG/YA



The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir
written by Cylin Busby
and John Busby
Bloomsbury USA

This gripping page turner quickly stood out as the favorite of the judging panel. In alternating chapters, Cylin Busby and her father John tell the story of what happened when someone tried to kill John and how it affected their family. Some readers will identify with Cylin's pain and confusion, some will enjoy John's discussion of life as a policeman, and the drama of the man suspected of the attempted murder, as well as his motives for trying to kill John Busby. Many teens will enjoy this joint memoir that gives readers multiple sides of the same story.

Nominated by Jen Robinson.


Non-Fiction Picture Books



Nic Bishop Frogs
written and illustrated by Nic Bishop
Scholastic Nonfiction

Nic Bishop is known for his jaw-dropping nature photography. Open a book cover with his name on it and you'll be greeted with stunning action shots, exquisite attention to detail, and sharp, sharp close-ups that inspire awe. Couple that with Bishop's equally crisp, up-close and personal writing in Nic Bishop Frogs, and you've got an award-winning combination of text and illustration that captures a child-like wonder about a topic that is anything but new. That's quite a feat. Bishop's language is interesting and playful, and his analogies and references are right on, squarely aimed at where kids' heads are at. Simple word choices never talk down, but will allow newish readers to find success easily. The book flows logically, covering life cycle, defense, diet, habitat, and other essentials you'd expect to find in an animal book, but the organization is refreshingly kid-friendly, meandering through the topics as though Bishop and the reader were having a conversation while sitting in a marsh waiting for a frog. It's intimate and personal and accessible---frogs as you've never seen them before. Fascinating process notes are sure to inspire young photographers.

Nominated by Sonja.


Poetry



Honeybee
written by Naomi Shihab Nye
HarperCollins

Honeybee is a hybrid of delicious poetry and lyrical prose poems on wide-ranging themes blending science and observation alongside personal memoir and political challenge. There are ideas buzzing here that young people have probably felt in their gut, but may not have verbalized. Isn't this what poetry is supposed to do?

Nominated by Kelly Fineman


Young Adult Fiction



The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
written by E. Lockhart
Hyperion

It's a setting we know. It's a theme we're familiar with. But with The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart takes common features of teen fiction and turns them into a smart, fun, multi-layered, action-filled, coming-of-age story with a unique treatment and fresh voice. Frankie's feminist-fueled and P.G. Wodehouse-inspired antics at boarding school are hilarious, but also tinged with the sometimes-harsh truths of growing up. A book complex and clever enough that wildly diverse readers will each take, and love, something different out of the narrative.

Nominated by Stacy Dillon

Why I Write Middle Grade Fiction

Two things have been going on:

the revisions for my second middle grade novel, The New Recruit, which must be put to bed by mid-November or so

the slow drafting of an unnamed YA novel

But...then another thing happened. In the midst of the revisions, I suddenly wanted to write another middle grade novel really badly. Not that I want to stop with the YA. But I realized how much I love middle grade. I think it was this definition from the Cybils that did me in:

"The middle grade years are, in my view, the reading years with the most potential to turn a child into a reader for life. It's often the books you read between the ages of 8-12 that you remember long into adulthood as your dearest books of all. These are the years when kids really and truly start to figure themselves out as readers--their likes and dislikes and all the rest in between. It's during this time when children strike out on their own in earnest, reading for themselves and by themselves, all the while creating themselves.

In this Cybils category, we're looking for stories that capture real life in all of its wonderful messiness. So we're not talking magic or superheroes or werewolves or elves. Instead, think adventures and school stories, mysteries and stories about families, and tales that tell kids of life across the globe. Tell us which of the Middle Grade fiction titles published this year you think kids will still be talking about when they're all grown up, and still reading away."

--Kerry Millar, organizer

Nominations are open! Go quickly and nominate your favorite middle grade book!

Or once in any of these nine categories.

Sneak Preview of Book Club

This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness
by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

I'm leading the DC Kidlit Book Club discussion this month, and our selection is the Cybils award winning title This is Just to Say. (I was on the Poetry judging panel.) You can participate virtually in the comments anytime, or if you live near DC, we'd love to have you join us this Sunday. Email Susan at wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com for more information.

Sneak preview of our discussion questions:

1) How did you read this book? I was surprised when my husband read it in a completely different way than I did, but I think that's one of the charms of this title---that it can be read/used in multiple ways.

2) The original "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams is NOT a contrite poem. Did this book make you think about the nature of apology itself, and how hard it is to do, and how it isn't always met with acceptance? How does adding the forgiveness element expand the book's theme? Did this book make you reflect upon current or past stories of forgiveness or apology in your own life?

3) How do Zagarenski's illustrations add to the feel of the book? Did you think the use of text within the illustrations was an effective technique? How did individual illustrations pair with individual poems to bring new insight into each fictional poet's apology or offer of forgiveness?

4) Did you begin reading and then flip to the front to see who really wrote the book? How hard is it to pull off authentic sixth-grade poetic voices? Do you think Sidman succeeded?

5) Not all the poems in the book are free verse, as the original poem obviously is. Does the addition of form poetry strengthen the book?

6) What did you think of the multi-cultural elements of the book? Were they successful?

7) Did reading this book make you want to try your own "This is Just to Say" poem?

UPDATE: Elaine Magliaro, poetry queen and blogger at Wild Rose Reader, has just posted a wonderful resource list for us, including links to her interview with Joyce, and to Joyce Sidman's own Readers' Guide. Thank you so much, Elaine!

Swee-eet

Click here!

Poetry Friday: Mary Oliver

Is Mary Oliver too much of a Mary Sunshine? Some say she is.

I have to agree that her poems, when read one right after the other like "ice cream sodas," can be too rich, but then, I don't like any work read that way. I prefer to unwrap my poetry slowly, and savor it over a period of days, like a jawbreaker. So even though my first book purchase of 2008 was Why I Wake Early, I'm not going to read the whole thing all at once. I might make it last for three months, like Violet Beauregarde's gum.

On the other hand, I'm preparing to read seven books of poetry in one month, as a judge for the Cybils. Look at this fabulous short list! How am I going to handle such a poetry splurge? Many thanks to Kelly Fineman and her nominating team for giving me and my fellow judges such richness in which to indulge.

What about you? How do you like to consume your poetry?

While you're thinking on that, here's a Mary Oliver poem that perfectly sums up why I don't like to rush anything, and especially not poetry.


Mockingbirds

This morning
two mockingbirds
in the green field
were spinning and tossing

the white ribbons
of their songs
into the air.
I had nothing

better to do
than listen.
I mean this
seriously.

The rest is here.

(Mary Oliver, from The Atlantic Monthly)

Poetry Friday is hosted this week by A Year of Reading

The Cybils: Team Poetry

Straight from the Cybils blog, here is the roster for Team Poetry. It's my home team, so I'm going to be LOUD about it: GOOOOOO TEAM! KNOCK 'EM DOWN! ROLL 'EM UP! (Oh, wait...we're the refs. I don't think we're allowed to yell.)

Nominations open on October 1st, so be ready to shout out the names of the books you're rooting for. One nomination per category. (See the Cybils blog for the other categories, more team rosters, the official rulebook, and some play-by-play from previous years.)

TEAM POETRY:

Poetry Category Organizer: Kelly Fineman (Writing and Ruminating)

Nominating Panel:

Kelly Fineman (Writing and Ruminating)
Laura Purdie Salas (Writing the World for Kids)
Elaine Magliaro (Wild Rose Reader)
Wendy Betts (Blog from the Windowsill)
Sylvia Vardell (Poetry for Children)

Judging Panel:

Gregory K. (Gotta Book)
Jone Rush MacCulloch (Check It Out)
Sara Lewis Holmes (Read Write Believe)
Cloudscome (A Wrung Sponge)
Franki Sibberson (A Year of Reading)