tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16588591495724932562024-03-12T22:27:21.432-04:00In Linda's LibraryA lot keeps happening in Linda's Library. This is the place to read about books Linda likes. (A few she dislikes may sneak in, too.) Find out about other doings, too, like author visits, contests, and other special events.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.comBlogger225125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-71163873349071032502015-11-14T15:10:00.000-05:002015-11-14T15:10:28.349-05:00Some of My Recent Favorites<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My last few posts are all about what the students are liking. Here is a list of books that I have recently enjoyed.<br />
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<b>PICTURE BOOKS</b><br />
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<b><i>I Yam a Donkey! </i>by Cece Bell</b> uses humor aplenty to show how confusing good grammar can be and how unimportant it is if you are about to be eaten. As soon as someone is ready for the humor (maybe the middle of first grade) this book will be a winner. Adults will get things that the younger set does not, but that is what makes it possible for adults to read the same book over and over.<br />
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<b><i>Steve, Raised by Wolves</i> by Jared Chapman</b> reassures that no matter how hard a student's first day of school may seem it probably won't be worse than the first day of school for a boy raised by wolves. It has the good moral of remembering to "Just be yourself" and lots of humor. Grades 1-4 will get a chuckle out of this one.<br />
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<b><i>Wolfie the Bunny</i> by Ame Dyckman</b> is a joy to read to groups of children, most of whom go back to read it again and again by themselves. It addresses the pressing question of what might happen if a family of bunnies were to adopt a baby wolf. I have read to first grade up to fifth grade and it has gotten the same positive reactions from all of them.<br />
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<b><i>Take Away the A - An Alphabeast of a Book</i> by Michael Escoffier</b> is a great start to word play. It illustrates that a word can change by removing just one letter. I predict many writing projects will be inspired by this book for grades 2 and up.<br />
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<b><i>Toys Meet Snow</i> by Emily Jenkins</b> is lovely, sweet story on its own and good introduction to the chapter books about the toys (<i>Toys Go Out</i> and others). The picture book is aimed at grades preK to 2 and the chapter books are for grades 2-5.<br />
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<b><i>Alphabet School</i> by Stephen Johnson</b> finds the letters of the alphabet in things found in a school. There is something about this concept that fascinates me. I see anyone from kindergarten to retirement enjoying this beautifully illustrated book.<br />
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<b><i>Lucy and Lenny</i> by Phillip Stead, Illustrated by Erin Stead</b> charmed me with the perfect fit of the illustrations to the story of a boy getting settled in a new home. What is not to love about guardians made from pillows and blankets? Don't forget that the Steads live right here in Ann Arbor which makes them almost like family. This perfect for grades K-3.<br />
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<b>CHAPTER BOOKS</b><br />
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<b><i>Crenshaw</i> by Katherine Applegate</b> is a gentle story about the tough subject of homelessness that includes a caring family and an imaginary friend in the form of a giant cat. It is great for grades 4-6.<br />
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<b><i>Circus Mirandus</i> by Cassie Beasley</b> is a perfectly strange story of a magic (or is it imaginary) circus that can change lives if only one believes. Readers in grades 4-7 should get drawn into this unusual tale.<br />
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<b><i>The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place</i> by Julie Berry</b> is a little bit of many familiar old-fashioned stories and whole lot of originality. It tells of girls in a small boarding school with a very Victorian feel who are suddenly faced with what to do when their head mistress dies suddenly at dinner. They decide to pretend that all is normal as the humor and the adventures spiral out of their control. Middle school is the perfect audience for this book.<br />
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<b><i>George</i> by Alex Gino</b> has gotten a lot of talk this year as the first book for grades 4-7 to openly deal with transgender issues. It is well written and written in a way that will not make students uncomfortable and will add understanding.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Anyone But Ivy Pocket</i><b> by Caleb Krisp</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i> is a mystery with a great sense of humor. Grades 4-7 will laugh along with the confusion a well-meaning young girl creates around her.<br />
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<b><i>Kung Pow Chicken--Bok! Bok! Boom</i> by Cyndi Marko</b> is part of a series about a young chicken who is a superhero that has students in grades 1-3 laughing and asking for more.<br />
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<b><i>Fuzzy Mud </i>by Louis Sachar </b>uses what first appears to be a normal school conflict story to talk about environmental threats. I would suggest it for grades 4-7.<br />
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<b><i>The Odin Inheritance</i> by Victoria L. Scott. </b>Yes, Emerson's own Victoria Scott has written a powerful, well-researched Steampunk adventure that does not stay on our library shelves. It features strong, interesting characters, plot twists, and some good humor. None of this surprises anyone who knows Victoria. Her book is aimed at middle school and high school students and will be enjoyed by adults as well.<br />
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<b>NON-FICTION</b><br />
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<b><i>A Nest is Noisy</i> by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long </b> is the newest by this author/illustrator duo that makes nature into a work of visual and poetic art. There is plenty of information about nests and all the creatures that build nests here, but what readers grades 2 and up will remember is the beauty that is depicted here.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">I Am Lucille Ball </i><b>(And others in this I Am...Series) by Brad Meltzer</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>is a picture book biography that will appeal to young readers (Grades K-3) who like plenty of illustrations and careful touches of humor while learning about the childhoods of famous people.<br />
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<b>GRAPHIC WORKS</b><br />
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<b><i>Written and Drawn by Henrietta</i> by Lineirs</b> comes to us from a cartoonist who is well-known in Brazil. The story is simply a girl drawing pictures and forming a story and monsters. The pictures change from appearing to be the art of the little girl to the most sophisticated art of an artist. I think it is for everyone, but I suppose it is aimed at grades K-3.<br />
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<b><i>Lumberjanes, Volume 1--Beware the Kitten Holy</i> by Noelle Stevens and Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke Allen</b> is a graphic story of girls at camp and facing strange occurrences that has a clear, strong, and often funny feminists bent. Grades 5 and up will enjoy this one.<br />
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<b>A FEW ADULT BOOKS</b><br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating</i><b> by Elizabeth Tova Bailey</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>is part memoir and part a natural science of snail life. When Bailey was forced by illness to spend an extended period of time in bed with little or no movement, a friend brings her a snail that she watches for hours on end. The snail, like this book, is calming and reassuring.<br />
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<b><i>Between the World and Me</i> by Ta-Nehisi Coates</b> is a must read for anyone who cares about racial issues in this country. It is beautifully written as a letter from a father to his son on surviving as an African American in the world today. The message to all people is angry yet calming, sad yet hopeful, cautious yet urgent. Everyone will find something worthy of pondering and discussing.<br />
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<b><i>Bitter Greens</i> by Kate Forsyth </b>is a change from what I usually read and I enjoyed the break. This lengthy novel offers a peak into court life at Versailles with the Sun King along with a re-imagining of the tale of Rapunzel. <br />
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<b><i>Being Mortal : Medicine and What Matters in The End</i> by Atul Gawande</b> made me think about what is truly important in life and how to help myself and others find the time to let it end. That might sound depressing but this book is actually very uplifting. I recommend it if you have aging parents or are thinking about your own aging. It will make you feel better about your ability to deal what may seem like insurmountable issues. If you want a graphic memoir to complement this, especially when dealing with parents, consider reading <b>Roz Chast's <i>Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? : A Memoir.</i></b><br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">The Summer Book</i><b> by Tove Jansson</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i> is by a beloved children's book author but here looks at the relationship of a grandmother and grandchild as they spend a summer together on an island that they have visited for years. The beautiful writing evokes a sense of place and an appreciation of nature. It is worth owning so you can reread it to savor every word.<br />
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<b><i>The Lifeboat</i> by Charlotte Rogan</b> takes place in the middle of the Atlantic ocean in a lifeboat in 1914. The boat is overcrowded and everyone is worried about surviving as the chances of being rescued become more and more remote. The end finds one of the women who did survived on trial for murdering others so that she might survive. <br />
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Happy reading!<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-71627483017947085602015-11-14T13:16:00.000-05:002015-11-14T13:40:43.225-05:00Third Grade Chimes in with Their Choics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Third grade always seems to me to be a huge jump for students. Over the summer, while out of my sight, they grow in many different ways. They are taller and their faces change. Most importantly, so many of them come into a strong sense of where they are going and what they are thinking. This makes their reading habits change. Some need the security of well loved series from years past and others start test the waters with new genres. Even the way I collected this list reflects how differently they attack problems. Some of them wanted to meet as a group to select titles together while others wanted to head off to write their own lists. The list below is a mix of all of those lists and reflects the individuality of students at this period in their lives.<br />
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<b>Picture Books</b><br />
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Yes, third graders appreciate good picture books and are eager to suggest them for their peers and for younger readers as well. This list is short only because they got so excited by listings of chapter books.</div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><i>Berenstain Bears </i>(Series) by Stan and Jan Berenstain</b></li>
<li><b><i>I'm Not Bobby!</i> by Jules Feiffer</b></li>
<li><b><i>Library Lion</i> by Michelle Knudsen</b></li>
</ul>
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<b>Chapter Books</b><br />
You will notice a wide range of interests and reading challenges here.<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><i>Sherlock, Lupin and Me </i>(Series) by Irene Alder</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Dragon Princess </i>(Series) by E. D. Baker </b>This has a fifth grade reading level but readers who do not struggle with the reading will do fine with the stories. Many students listed this series or individual titles from it.</li>
<li><b><i>Ivy and Bean </i>(Series) by Annie Barrows </b>These are very popular with this age and perfect for exploring friendships.</li>
<li><b><i>Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing </i>(and the rest of the Fudge series) by Judy Blume</b></li>
<li><b>The Pain and the Great One (Series) by Judy Blume</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Enchanted Wood, The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree </i>or others by Enid Blyton</b></li>
<li><b><i>Bad Kitty </i>(Series) by Nick Bruel</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Sisters Grimm </i>(Series) by Michael Buckley</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Chocolate Touch</i> by Patrick Skene Catling</b></li>
<li><b><i>Summerland</i> by Michael Chabon</b> </li>
<li><b>Any books by Matt Christopher</b> These books are about almost every major sport.</li>
<li><b><i>Ramona and Beezus</i> (and others in the Ramona Series) by Beverly Clearly</b></li>
<li><b><i>Land of Stories </i>(Series) by Chris Colfer</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Hunger Games </i> by Suzanne Collins</b> It will not surprise you that I, and most of the adults I talk to, think that this is better suited for readers in late middle school or older. There is a great deal of violence and fearful settings. Many third graders can read all the words and understand most of what is happening but the deeper philosophy of the book will be missed by younger readers so they will get only the adventure and violence. I would so much rather they wait until the discussion of good and evil will be more meaningful.</li>
<li><i style="font-weight: bold;">Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, </i>and <b><i>The </i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;">BFG </i><b> by Roald Dahl</b></li>
<li><b><i>My Father's Dragon </i>(Series) by Ruth Stiles Gannett</b></li>
<li><b><i>Baseball Card Adventures </i>(Series) by Dan Gutman</b></li>
<li><b><i>My Weird School </i>(Series) by Dan Gutman</b></li>
<li><b><i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</i> by Jeff Kinney</b></li>
<li><b><i>Katie Kazoo </i>(Series) by Nancy E. Krulik</b></li>
<li><b><i>Tales of Narnia (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe)</i> by C. S. Lewis </b>This got more than one listing. It is a favorite of many and a little too much for some, but only because of its length and thoughtfulness.</li>
<li><b><i>Rush Revere </i>(Series) by Rush Limbaugh</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Babysitter's Club </i>(Series) by Ann M. Martin</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Candy Makers </i>by Wendy Mass</b></li>
<li><b><i>Akimbo </i>(Series) by Alexander McCall Smith</b></li>
<li><b><i>Judy Moody</i> (Series) by Megan McDonald</b></li>
<li><b><i>Stink</i> (Series) by Megan McDonald </b>These are a little easier to read than the Judy Moody books and tell of the antics of her little brother.</li>
<li><b><i>Olive Moon </i>(Series) by Sue Mongredien</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Magic Tree House </i>(Series) by Mary Pope Osborne</b></li>
<li><b><i>Wonder</i> by R. J. Palicio</b></li>
<li><b><i>Amelia Bedelia</i> by Peggy Parish </b>These are often found in the beginning reader section.</li>
<li><b><i>Timmy Failure</i> by Stephan Pastis</b></li>
<li><b><i>Big Nate</i> by Lincoln Peirce</b> Big Nate appears in both chapter book and graphic formats. The kids love both formats so this is a good way to transition from reading just graphic novels to reading chapter books with familiar characters.</li>
<li><b><i>Clementine </i>(Series) by Sara Pennypacker</b></li>
<li><i style="font-weight: bold;">American Chillers</i> and <b><i>Michigan Chillers </i>(Series) by Johnathan Rand</b></li>
<li><b><i>Percy Jackson </i>(Series) by Rick Riordan</b> These will gain meaning as the reader gets older and learns more about mythologies of the world. However, they also work the other way around by getting readers to find out more about mythology.</li>
<li><b>All of the <i> Harry Potter</i> stories by J. K. Rowling </b>I personally would suggest students wait to read all of the series until they are a bit older as Harry matures through the series and so do his interests and concerns. Kids can read them but the later books get rather dark for many third and fourth graders.</li>
<li><b><i>A - Z Mysteries</i> by Rob Roy</b></li>
<li><b><i>Encyclopedia Brown </i>(Series) by Donald Sobol</b></li>
<li><b><i>A Series of Unfortunate Events </i>by Lemony Snicket</b></li>
<li><b style="font-style: italic;">Beware : R. L. Stine Picks His Favorite Scary Stories</b><i> </i><b>by R. L. Stine</b></li>
<li><b><i>Goosebumps </i>(Series) by R. L. Stine</b></li>
<li><b><i>Wings of Fire </i>(Series) by Tui Sutherland</b></li>
<li><b><i>I Survived</i> (Series) by Lauren Tarshis</b></li>
<li><b><i>Dragonbreath</i> by Ursula Vernon</b> These clever books are part graphic format and part prose. They lure kids in and are read and reread many times over.</li>
<li><b><i>Charlotte's Web</i> by E. B. White</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Book Thief</i> by Markus Zusak</b> Because this is a story of the horrors of the Holocaust it is generally considered, and I think rightfully so, for high school students and older. It is a very moving story but I am surprised to find it on a third grade list, especially one that includes Judy Moody and the Magic Tree House.</li>
</ul>
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<b>Non-Fiction</b></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><i>Childhood of Famous Americans </i>by Various Authors</b> This is a large series of biographies. They are usually paperback and have a mostly blue cover with red and white lettering.</li>
<li><b><i>Magnificent Sam : The Amazing Adventures of Sam Houston </i>by Laurie Cockerell</b> Biographies are very popular with third grade readers.</li>
<li><b><i>Weird But True </i>(Series) published by National Geographic</b></li>
<li><b><i>Where the Sidewalk Ends</i> by Shel Silverstein</b></li>
</ul>
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<b>Comic Books and Graphic Novels</b></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><i>Fox Trot </i>by Bill Amend</b></li>
<li><b><i>Garfield </i>(Series) by Jim Davis</b></li>
<li><b><i>Tin Tin</i> by Herge</b></li>
<li><b><i>Amulet </i> (Series) by Kazu Kibuishi</b></li>
<li><b><i>The Croc Ate My Homework</i> by Stephan Pastis</b></li>
<li><b><i>Big Nate</i> by Lincoln Peirce</b></li>
<li><b><i>Sidekicks</i> by Dan Santat</b></li>
<li><b><i>Smile</i> by Raina Telgemeier</b> The only problem with reading <i>Smile </i>at this age is that the other Telegemeier books are really written for somewhat older readers.</li>
<li><b><i>Cardboard</i>by Doug TenNapel</b> I found this a big scary but I don't see our readers being upset by it.</li>
<li><b><i>Calvin and Hobbes </i> by Bill Watterson</b></li>
</ul>
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<b>Subject Areas</b></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Any book illustrated by Garth Williams </b>(Some of these inlcude <i>The Cricket in Times Square, </i>The Little House books,<i> Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, Bedtime for Frances, </i>and many more.)</li>
<li><b>Basketball</b></li>
<li><b>Dogs and Puppies</b></li>
<li><b>Dragon Ball </b></li>
<li><b>Dragon Drawing </b></li>
<li><b>Fantasy</b></li>
<li><b>How To </b></li>
<li><b>How To Annoy Little Brothers and Sisters</b></li>
<li><b>Lego</b></li>
<li><b>Mine Craft</b></li>
<li><b>Mystery</b></li>
<li><b>Origami</b></li>
<li><b>Short Stories</b></li>
</ul>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-18427987344446809662015-11-09T21:00:00.006-05:002015-11-14T13:46:58.604-05:00Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades Suggest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There is nothing like asking our youngest students to list their favorite books to make me glad to be a librarian. Even a five year old has strong opinions and finds lots to love about books. They got very excited as they discussed their favorites and thought of new ones. Here, by grade, are their lists. I will keep adding to them for the rest of the week as I meet with the remaining classes. You can be sure that I will be enjoy the collection process as much as they are enjoying sharing with me.<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>KINDERGARTEN</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Picture Books</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>One Day, Two Dragons</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Lynne Bertrand</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Man Who Painted the Blue Horse</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Eric Carle</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Ella</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Mallory Kasdan</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elephant and Piggie Books (any of them)--Mo Willems</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Subject areas of interest</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Frozen--Elsa and Anna</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rapunzel</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sleeping Beauty</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mythical Creatures</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Penguins</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star Wars and Darth Vader</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minecraft</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brave</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deep Sea Life</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dragons</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>FIRST GRADE</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Geronimo Stilton</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Picture Books</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 1.38;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Virginia Lee Burton</span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed... </i>(various ends to the title)--Lucille Colandro (and other authors)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Day the Crayons Quit</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Drew Daywalt</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Wolfie the Bunny</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Amy Dyckman</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Chicken Big</i>--Keith Graves</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Waiting</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Kevin Henkes</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>No! That’s Wrong</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Zhaohua Ji</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Pinkalicious</i>--Victoria Kann</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Ferdinand the Bull</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Munro Leaf</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Please, Baby, Pleas</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">e--Spike Lee</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Aliens Are Coming</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Megan McCarthy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Book With No Pictures</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--B. J. Novak</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Curious George</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--H. A. Rey and Margret Rey</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Kevin Sherry</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Chester</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Melanie Watt</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>City Dog, Country Frog</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Mo Willems</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Elephant and Piggie</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (any of them)--Mo Willems</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Leonardo the Terrible Monste</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">r--Mo Willems</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Pigeon books</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (any of them)--Mo Willems</span><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Easy Readers</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Jane O’Connor</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chapter Books</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Captain Underpants</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Dav Pilkey</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Subject areas of interest</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cats</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dogs</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dragons</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fairies</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fairy Tales</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Japan</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Legos</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 24.5333px;">
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mermaids</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minecraft</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robots</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Snakes</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Frozen--Elsa and Anna</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mayflower</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>SECOND GRADE</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Picture Books</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Zombie in Love</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Kelly DiPucchio</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Otis (and others in this series)--Loren Long</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Berenstain Bears--Stan and Jan Berenstain</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chapter Books</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The One and Only Ivan</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Katherine Applegate</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Matilda</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Roald Dahl</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series)</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Jeff Kinney</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Demigod Files</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Rick Riordan</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--J. K. Rowling</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Septimus Heap</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Angie Sage</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A-Z Mysteries</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Rob Roy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Guardians of Ga’Hoole--Kathryn Lasky</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never Girls--Various authors</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Puppy Place--Ellen Miles</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rainbow Magic (Rainbow Fairies)--Daisy Meadows</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comic Books/ Graphic Novels</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Calvin and Hobbes--Bill Watterson</span></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-45714762102902822832015-11-09T20:54:00.000-05:002015-11-14T13:17:50.917-05:00What My Students Suggest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As we prepare for our annual Book Fair it seemed like a good idea to get the students talking about the books that they enjoy reading. The list generated by fourth and fifth grade students is well worth sharing with the world because they have thought of many titles that would not have been on my radar. They had some fascinating discussions as they formed their lists as well as finding new ways to use the on-line catalog to get suggestions for what else they might want to suggest. <br />
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The list is long. Some of the entries have brief summaries because the group had time to write them while other groups did not have time for more than title and author. All of the summaries and the grade/age level suggestions are from the students. I might have said slightly different things or given somewhat different age level parameters, but I won't argue with any of them. Asterisks at the end of an entry denotes that more than one person suggested the same title. Quotation marks set off the summaries and comments of the students. Sometimes more than one student made a comment.<br />
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Enjoy what my students are reading. You may get some good ideas for your book shopping and personal reading.<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CHAPTER BOOKS</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prairie Evers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Ellen Airgood </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A girl who lives on a farm ages 9-11</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whittington</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Alan Armstrong</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> gr. 4-7</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Night Gardener</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Jonathan Auxier</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Night Gardener</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a book that follows two Irish siblings to a haunted mansion in England.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ivy & Bean</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Annie Barrows</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "They go on different adventures."</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ellie McDoodle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (series) by Ruth McNally Barshaw </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “I read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ellie McDoodle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when I was in fourth grade and I really like it so I recommend this book for third grade through fourth and maybe even second grade.” “Follow Ellie through her wacky adventures” Gr 3-5 * *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Almost Home </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Joan Bauer</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tumtum and Nutmeg</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Emily Bearn</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Little Witch</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Anna E. Bennet </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A girl who wants to go to school.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blubber</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Judy Blume</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 5 and up</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s Not the End of the World</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Judy Blume</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 4-6</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Judy Blume </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A girl moves to a new school and her brother gets really sick.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Name of This Book Is Secret</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Pseudonymous Bosch</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bad Kitty </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Nick Brue</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">l *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">School for Good and Evil</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Soman Chainani </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Two girls are chosen to learn how to be fairy tale characters gr. 4-6</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Secret Zoo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Bryan Chick</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 3-6</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ramona Forever</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Beverly Cleary</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The School Story </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Andrew Clement</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Eleanor Coerr</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Land of Stories</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Chris Colfer</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Land of Stories</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is about two kids, Alex and Conner Bailey, who find out that their father was actually part magical. When twins open a portal to a new world, they have to get home and fast.” “Alex and Conner are lost in the fairy tale land.” ages 8-11. * * *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">George’s Marvelous Medicine </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Roald Dahl</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">George’s Marvelous Medicine </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is about a boy who is left home with his cranky grandma." ages 7-10.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fort</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Cynthia deFelice </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "Two kids build a fort in the woods.: Grades 3-6</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flora & Ulysses</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Kate DiCamillo</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tale of Despereaux </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Kate DiCamillo</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Grades 2 and up</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kenny and the Dragon </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Tony DiTerlizzi</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wondla </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Tony DiTerlizzi *</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hardy Boys </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by F. W. Dixon</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> mystery, grades 3-7</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Out of My Mind </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Sharon Draper </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "When a young girl goes to school with a disability that keeps her from walking and talking, how can she show that she is smart?"</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Twenty-One Balloons</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by William Pene duBois</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A man who has crashed in a hot air balloon tells his interesting story to San Francisco." "About a man from San Francisco who flies in a hot air balloon over the Pacific but it takes a deadly turn." *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Familiars</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, gr. 3-6, Fantasy *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ranger’s Apprentice</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (and the rest of the series) by John Flanagan</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “A person who got recruited to be a ranger and gets put on missions.” “Will the ranger goes on an adventure in a thinly disguised England.” ages 10-15 *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Sid Fleischman</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remarkable </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Lizzie K. Foley</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Girl Who Could Fly </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Victoria Forester</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dragonborn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Toby Forward</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gold Medal Summer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Donna Freitas</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inkheart</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Cornelia Funke</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coraline</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Neil Gaiman </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "How many mothers can a girl have?"</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Side of the Mountain</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Jean Craighead George</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Belly Up </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Stuart Gibbs *</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spy School </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Stuart Gibbs</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 2-5</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Angel Tree </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Daphne Benedis-Grab </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Grades 4 and up “Because my grandfather just read it and said it was good and I am starting it and like it a lot so far.”</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Chris Grabenstein *</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Fault in Our Stars</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by John Green</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Honus and Me : A Baseball Card Adventure</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Dan Gutman</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Weird School</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (series) by Dan Gutman</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "It is about a fourth grader who hates school."</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by George Hagen </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A boy who likes riddles goes on an adventure with ravens." "A boy finds a raven and tries to find his dad." Ages 8-12 Grades three to adult. Another group suggest grades 4-6 **</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hoot; Chomp; Scat; </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flush</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Carl Hiassen </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* Mystery</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alex Rider </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(and the rest of the series) by Anthony Horowitz</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fish in a Tree</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Lynda Hunt </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A girl who has dyslexia has trouble in school." Grades 5-8 *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Warriors Series by Erin Hunter</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ”About a house cat who joins the clans and moves up in rank to become leader. But leadership isn’t all it seems to be.” “There are four cat clans and they fight each other and ravage enemies.” Ages 8-15, Grades 3-7 *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Popularity Papers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Amy Ignatow</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Constable & Toop</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Gareth P. Jones *</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Guardian Series by William Joyce and Laura Geriner</b></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cracker!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Cynthia Kadohata </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cracker!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is about a dog who goes to Vietnam. In the process, Cracker is pulled away from her beloved Willie."</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kira-Kira</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Cynthia Kadohata </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "Moving to a new town is hard enough but when Katie’s sister gets sick...can Katie still show people what Kira-Kira really means?"</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nancy Drew </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Carolyn Keene</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Winter Horses</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Philip Kerr gr. 5-12</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emily Windsnap </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Liz Kessler</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A girl realizes that she is a mermaid." Ages 9-11</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Year Without Autumn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Liz Kessler "</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Girl named Jenni and her BFF Autumn are on vacation. When Jenni finds a way to see into the future, everything changes."</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diary of a Wimpy Kid </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Jeff Kinney </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A boy who writes about himself. Very funny." grades 2-8</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Schooled </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Gordon Korman *</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inside Out & Back Again</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Thanhha Lai </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Grades 5-12</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Savvy</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Ingrid Law</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A large family has a power called savvy. This is a book of their journey to get their savvy." Grades 4-6 *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Winter Pony</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Iain Lawrence</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Grades 5-12</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dog Lost</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Ingrid Lee</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ella Enchanted</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Gail Carson Levine </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "In this book you get taken on an adventure to be freed from a curse of obedience." Grades 3-6 *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ever</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Gail Carson Levine</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two Princesses of Barmarre</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Gail Carson Levine,</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 4-7</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wild Wings</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Gill Lewis</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bliss</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Katheryn Littlewood</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Giver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(quartet) by Lois Lowry</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Will Mabbit </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "Mable Jones performs THE DEED and doing so opens a portal to a world run by pirates."</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kung Pow Chicken </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Cyndi Marko </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ages 5-8 *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Candymakers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Wendy Mass</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A Candy contest where kids make their own candy." Ages 9-11.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gabriella the Snow Fairy </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rainbow Fairies series by Daisy Meadows</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Grades 2-3</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unwanteds </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Lisa McMann</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">School</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Kate McMullen </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "It is about a school that has weird people."</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fablehaven </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Brandon Mull</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fantasy grades 4+ ***</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spirit Animals</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Brandon Mull</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Shiloh Season by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 3-5</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Charlie Bone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (series) by Jenny Nimmo</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Flame of Olympus </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Pegasus series, book 1) by Kate O’Hearn </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Gr. 3-5</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magic Treehouse : The Blizzard of the Blue Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (and the rest of the series) by Mary Pope Osborne</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Grades 1-4 **</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wonder</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by R. J. Palacio "</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A heart warming story with a disabled kid and his friends. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wonder </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is about a boy with a deformed face going into his first year of school." * ages 9-12.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Interitance </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series that begins with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eragon) </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Christopher Paolini</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A classic tale of dragons and adventure." Ages 10-30</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Timmy Failure</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Stephan Pastis</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I Funny</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by James Patterson</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A handicapped kid who’s going for gold."</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Middle School : The Worst Year of My Life</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by James Patterson</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mouse With the Question Mark Tail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Richard Peck</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mostly Ture Adventures of Homer P. Figg</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Rodman Philbrick</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "About a boy in the Civil War whose brother is illegally drafted into the war and how Homer follows them."</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Adventures of Captain Underpants : The First Epic Novel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Dav Pilkey</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ms. Rapscott’s Girls</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Elise Primavera</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>American Chillers and Michigan Chillers by Johnathan Ran</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>d</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Grades 2-4, with some good discussion of how scary they may be to younger readers--not as scary as Goosebumps was the final decision.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The True Meaning of Smekday, Smek For President</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Adam Rex *</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kane Chronicles </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (series) by Rick Riordan "</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This series is about two twins who learn Egyptian magic in hopes of saving their dad." Ages 7+ (I asked the kids not to mention the Riordan books or the fabulous ones by J. K. Rowling, but some just could not restrain themselves. If I had encouraged them to include these titles they would have had multiple mentions.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Potter</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (all of them) by J. K. Rowling </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grades 4-8 with a caveat that these get darker as they go along so it may be better to start later rather than too soon.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Holes </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Louis Sachar </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “ I read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Holes</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in fourth grade and I really like it because there was a lot of reversal in it. I recommend this book for fourth grade to sixth grade.” </span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (and others in the series)--Brandon Sanderson</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Geronimo Stilton </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Scholastic Books or by Geronimo Stilton</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Endangered</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Elliot Schrefer</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 4-6</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Counting By 7’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Holly Goldberg Sloan</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series of Unfortunate Events</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Lemony Snicket </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "The Baudelair’s life was perfect until a mysterious fire burns down their house." Grades 3-6 *</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When You Reach Me </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Rebecca Stead Grades 3-5</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goosebumps Series, including </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NIght of the Living Dummy </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Blob that Ate Everything</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--by R. L. Stine </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grades 3-5 (with much debate over how scared younger readers might be</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wings of Fire </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Tui T. Sutherland * * *</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moon Rising</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Tui T. Sutherland </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “Moon is the first dragon in hundreds of years to read minds. Can she keep her secret or will her schoolmates find out?” Action, adventure, fantasy, Grades 3-6 </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I Survived...Series by Lauren Tarshis </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grades 3-7 Some thought these reality based stories might be frightening to some younger students.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Hobbit</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by J. R. R. Tolkein</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives series by Michele Torrey </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Grades 2-5</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Draongbreath </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Usula Vernon</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 2-4, fantasy, mystery</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Boxcar Children </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Gertrude Chandler Warner *</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Breaking Stalin’s Nose</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Eugene Yelchin </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "It is about a boy from Russia whose life is ruined when his father is arrested by the Communist Party."</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>NON-FICTION</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who Was Elvis Presley? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(and the many other Who Was books) by various authors *</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weird But True</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by National Geographic A ton of cool facts.</span></b></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Adventures of Marco Polo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Russell Freedman</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Avengers: The Ultimate Guide to the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Betty Scott</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Dictionary</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--”for people who love to keep learning” Grades 2 and up</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>PICTURE BOOKS</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I Had a Favorite Dress</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Boni Ashburn</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "A girl has a favorite dress and it is too short so she sews it." grades K-1</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Splat the Cat </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Rob Scotton</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joseph Had a LIttle Overcoat </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Simms Taback </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chester </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Melanie Watt</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "It is about a cat who is making a problem." Grades Kindergarten-4</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elephant and Piggie</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Today I Will Fly</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Mo Willems </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Really, all the Elephant and Piggie books which at least one group says are good for Pre-school to age 100.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Pigeon Books (i. e. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Pigeon Needs a Bath</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) by Mo Willems </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These, too, were declared to be enjoyed by all ages.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>GRAPHIC NOVELS</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tintin : The Blue Lotus</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Herge</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Babymouse </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “I recommend the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Babymouse</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> series. It lets you into a young, sassy, funny mouse’s life. You follow Babymouse as she goes on funny, exciting journeys. This books is best for ages 8-11, a very wide age range. Please try this series out.” *</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amulet </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Series) by Kazu Kibushi </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ages 8-12 Graphic *</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Croc Ate My Homework</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Stephan Pastis </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> gr. 3-6</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pearls Before Swine</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Stephan T. Pastis</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Big Nate </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(series) by Lincoln Pierce</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grades 3+</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peanuts: The Art of Charles Schulz</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Charles Schulz</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jellaby</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Kean Soo </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Ages 7-14 Graphic</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smile</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Raina Telgemeier</span></b></div>
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I will add to this list throughout the rest of this week as I meet one more time with these classes. Come back and check again to see more great suggestions<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-83710246882901728992015-06-27T18:31:00.001-04:002015-06-27T18:31:28.432-04:00These Just Read!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the two weeks since we ended the school year, I have had some time to explore some new or almost new books that I have been wanting to read. Here are a few of the best ones I just read.<br />
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<b><i>The Terrible Two </i>by Matt Barnett and Jory John </b>(grades 3-5) could be a typical new-kid-at-school story but when then new kid prides himself as being a master prankster, the tale takes on new challenges. The resident prankster at the school pranks the new guy until they become a team. Having a rather clueless principal with a son who is the class bully provides the opportunity for some creative tricks. Lots of cartoon like illustrations add to the flavor of the story.<br />
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<b><i>Circus Mirandus </i> by Cassie Beasley </b>(Grades 4-8) engaged me from page one. Micah Tuttle's grandfather, who has raised him since his parents died in an accident, is dying. Soon Micah will be sent to live with his very crabby great-aunt. Only the magical circus that has filled grandfather's stories seems like a possible way to save everything Micah knows and loves. The Circus Mirandus is only seen by those who believe in its magic. It can fulfill wishes and prolong the joys of childhood. But will the magic be able to save Micah's grandfather?<br />
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<b><i>The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place </i> by Julie Berry </b>(Grades 6-9) is a Victorian novel in grand style. The seven young ladies at a private boarding school in Ely, England, have been sent to this drab old home to learn to be proper young ladies and get rid of their unnecessary ideas about learning science or meeting unsuitable young men. The widow who runs the school is less than generous so, when she and her good-for-nothing brother die suddenly at dinner one evening, the girls decide to bury them in the backyard and tell no one. The humorous trials and tribulations of keeping their school mistress's disappearance a secret are quite stressful for all of them. Each girl has a distinctive personality which is often noted her name, a technique which adds to the humor. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. <br />
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<b><i>The Last Wild</i> by Piers Torday </b>(Grades 5-7) offers a strong story of what could happen if all the wild animals were killed. Big business is the clear villain with many people working hard to keep humans from veering from the path they have been assigned. Kesler Jaynes begins his story in what is called a hospital for troubled children but seems more like a prison. He has lost the power of speech to humans but realizes that he can communicate with the cockroach her befriends in his cell. The General, as the cockroach is soon titled, connects Kesler with other creatures and orchestrates a break-out from the hospital with the warden in hot pursuit. The animals say Kesler is all part of their collective dream and he is the one who must save the last wild creatures on earth. I need to read the sequel as this is more of a hopeful ending than a happy one.<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-92157374070505775172015-06-27T17:36:00.001-04:002015-06-27T17:36:56.422-04:00Interesting Series.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Summer is a time for relaxed reading. For many people, especially younger readers, that means getting immersed in a series. The advantage of a good series is that the reader is able to follow the adventures of familiar characters through multiple books. Some series must be read in order as they build on past events (think of Harry Potter) and others have the same characters but are separate stories with little or no reference to events that happened in previous entries (think Nancy Drew).<br />
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There are those who will say that readers of series get in a rut and I suppose that can be true in some instances. Please consider that reading through a series, even one that may seem somewhat cookie-cutter, helps the young reader feel secure with reading. I remember one of my daughters reading a very popular and large series for what seemed like forever. I tried reading along with her and got through maybe two books before deciding I had had enough. When it seemed my daughter was never going to quit reading these books, she came to me, held up number two zillion and seven or so in the series, and said, "You probably didn't notice this, but all of the books in this series tell pretty much the same story. I am going to find something different to read." Most children come to this conclusion at some point. My daughter amazes me with the breadth of her reading tastes now that she is an adult. Your child will do the same.<br />
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Here are some series, some are trilogies and others are longer, that I have enjoyed discovering (though, in all honesty, I rarely read more than one or two in a series). I am arranging them in three groups--emergent readers, middle grades, and middle school. As always, there is overlap. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Emergent Readers (Readers ready for chapter books, about grades 1-3)</span></b><br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Anna Hibiscus </i>and <b><i>The No. 1 Train Spotter</i> by Atinuke</b> are two series for readers who are looking for stories about kids in their natural environment with the added pleasure of visiting another culture. The reader will find that kids everywhere worry about similar things, enjoy laughing, and love adventures and their families. These books are set in Africa (I wish they would name a specific country to help readers be more aware of the diversity in the continent.) which means that there are enough new ideas and adventures to add some extra interest.<br />
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<b><i>The Chicken Squad</i> by Doreen Cronin</b> offers a different view of how much childhood can be alike, if you count young chickens with the language and other human traits as childewn. The chicks all have their own traits, many of which are clearly irritating to those around them. There is a little bit of mystery involved. These books lead easily to the slightly more challenging reading offered in Cronin's <i style="font-weight: bold;">A. J. Tully Mystery</i> series which offers a curmudgeonly dog who helps chickens solve mysteries. The Tully Mystery is <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Trouble With Chickens.</i> What is not to love when books have dogs, chickens, mystery, and humor.<br />
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<b>Kate DiCamillo</b> has three series that are perfect for those ready for a book with lots of illustrations, plenty of humor, and very unusual characters. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Bink & Gollie</i> are two unique girls who find adventure in simply getting along together. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Mercy Watson</i> is a very spoiled pig who lives with two humans who see her every act as heroic, even when Mercy is usually a part of the problem. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Leroy Ninker</i> wants to be a cowboy but knows little about where that career path may lead.<br />
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<b><i>McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm </i>by Sid Fleischmann</b> is a book that still makes me laugh out loud and I can almost remember the list of his children and say them in one long breath. The large McBroom family is looking for a new home when they meet the very unfriendly Heck Jones who offers them a space near him. Heck thinks the land is useless but McBroom soon discovers that it is amazingly rich soil that can grow nearly anything in the blink of an eye. The family's adventures are inventive tall tales. <br />
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<b><i>My Father's Dragon</i> by Ruth Stiles Gannett</b> is a classic for good reason. This trilogy has loving stories of a boy and his very friendly dragon. Their friendship and their adventures continue to touch readers and capture their interest just as they did when I was a child.<br />
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<b><i>Horrible Harry</i> by Suzy Kline</b> fills a gap in literature for students this age. Most people can list books about girls and their friendships (<i style="font-weight: bold;">Ramona Quimby, Clementine </i>and<i style="font-weight: bold;"> Ivy & Bean</i> are three popular examples) but few are about boys. Harry in this series of slender books is full of fun and energy. His escapades are believable. Another popular series of an energetic boy is <b><i>Horrid Henry </i> by Francesca Simon. </b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Middle Grades (Confident readers in approximately grades 3-5)</span></b><br />
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<b><i>Sherlock, Lupin & Me</i> by Irene Adler</b> imagines a group of young detectives that includes a young Sherlock Holmes, the son of a French circus worker, and an American girl living in Paris. They meet while the girl, who is also the narrator, is vacationing in a French seaside town. Soon they are drawn together to understand how and why a body has come ashore. They do some very adroit sleuthing to discover the truth before the police do. Others in the series find them on the trail of new mysteries.<br />
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<b><i>Origami Yoda </i>by Tom Angleberger</b> is set in an interesting sixth grade class. One of the boys in the class claims that his Yoda finger puppet can predict the future. Other boys try to decide if Dwight's puppet has actual powers. It does not at first seem possible that this could grow into a series, but it has, and quite successfully, too. Each book features another Star Wars character and includes instructions for making an appropriate paper model. To say these books are quirky would be an understatement.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">The Frog Princess</i><b> by E. D. Baker</b><i> </i>is the adventures of a princess who reluctantly (but with hope in heart) kisses a frog and is turned into a frog. Enjoy other fairy tale style stories in other books by E. D. Baker.<br />
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<b>Blue Balliett's </b> art related mysteries come with a twist as there are often clues in the illustrations and math games to solve to help find the culprits. As such, they require some higher level thinking which is perfect for those readers who find smug pleasure in working a little harder to find the answers. The titles include <i style="font-weight: bold;">Chasing Vermeer, The Calder Game, </i>and <b><i>The Wright Game.</i></b><br />
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Don't forget the classic series by <b>L. Frank Baum, <i>The Wizard of Oz.</i></b><br />
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<b><i>The Penderwicks </i> by Jeanne Birdsall</b> feel like old classics in their telling but they are actually a series that is less than ten years old. The family in the story goes to a summer place to help them recover from the death of the mother. Their the girls meet an interesting boy. Yes, it reminds me of <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Secret Garden</i>. That does not stop girls in the 21st century from enjoying these tender tales.<br />
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<b><i>Tuesdays in the Castle</i> by Jessica Day George </b>will make it to Friday early in 2016. Each entry involves a royal family living in a castle with magical powers. (For example, every Tuesday the castle grows new rooms and rearranges the old ones. Something that Princess Celie easily takes in stride.) These fantasy are written with a light touch that makes them especially appealing but that does not mean they don't include some tense adventures.<br />
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<b><i>My Side of The Mountain</i> by Jean Craighead George</b> is about as far from fairy tale castles as one can get. This much loved series begins with a boy moving alone to the Catskill Mountains and trying to survive all alone. The stories include much information on survival but make it clear that this is not a life that can be romanticized.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Emily Windsnap</i> <b>by Liz Kessler</b><i> </i>imagines a girl who discovers during her first school swim lesson the real reason why her mother has never let her taking swimming lessons. Emily's father was a merman and Emily grows a mermaid's tale upon entering the pool. This leads to many adventures in the sea as well as a journey to discover the other side of her family. Also by Kessler is a series called <i style="font-weight: bold;">Philippa Fisher </i>who is a girl who wants to summon a fairy and meets a girl at school who claims to be a fairy godmother.<br />
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<b><i>Bliss </i>by Katherine Littlewood</b> takes place in a family bakery that makes pastries with magic in the mix. When the parents have to go away, Rose Bliss and her siblings try to keep the bakery going but they make many errors with the recipes with some interesting results.<br />
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<b><i>The Doll People</i> by Ann M. Martin</b> is a much loved because it is easy to love stories of dolls who have a life. In this series, a 100 year old family of porcelain dolls is offended when some plastic dolls arrive in the playroom knowing very little about proper etiquette.<br />
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<b><i>Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King series) </i>by Jenny Nimmo</b> is great for readers who are not quite ready for the intensity of some of the Harry Potter stories. Charlie is surprised to learn that he has magical powers and is being sent to a school for young magicians. Yes, it is a now familiar beginning, but the twists and turns that follow are all Charlie's.<br />
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<b><i>Spaceheadz </i>by Jon Scieszka </b>is a ridiculous story about extraterrestrials who are assigned to be buddies with the new kid in the class. The kids from space learned all of their English from television advertising so they have some very astonishing ideas, but they are convinced that they need to convince millions of young people to become Space Heads or the universe is in big trouble.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Middle School/Upper Elementary (grades 5 and up)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<b><i>The Misadventures of Maud March</i> by Audrey Couloumbis</b> is a rip-roaring story of two recently orphaned girls in the Old West who decide to run off together rather than be sent to live with strangers. The younger girl loves dime store book of brave cowboys so she imagines her older sister Maud is fighting off outlaws at every turn while in actual fact their adventures are getting them the reputation of being gun-toting criminals.<br />
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<b><i>Wildwood</i> by Colin Meloy</b> is a fantasy that takes place in woods at the edge of Portland, Oregon. Included are woodland animals in fierce combat and serious negotiations with other critters and a girl who just wants to save her little brother. I found these detailed novels to be engrossing and entertaining.<br />
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<b><i>Life As We Knew It </i>by Susan Beth Pfeffer </b>is the title of the first book in this series which imagines what happens to teens when the moon is knocked out of orbit and the world seems to be coming to an end. Each book is told in a different voice with powerfully moving effect.<br />
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<b><i>The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place</i> by Maryrose Wood</b> is a spoof of a variety of classic books and genres. Sweet and innocent fifteen year old Penelope Lumley is a recent graduate from an academy for "Poor Bright Females" is hired to work in a secluded manor to care for three feral children who have recently become a part of the family. Her first task is train them to be "civilized" enough to attend the Christmas ball. <br />
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<b><i>The Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic Series) </i>by Patricia C. Wrede</b> is an inventive combination of semi-historical fiction and fantasy. Eff must accept that as the thirteenth child born in her family she is branded as bad luck while everyone considers her twin brother good luck since he is the seventh son of a seventh son. When the family moves to the Western frontier where magic battles are a way of life, Eff must use her own magical powers to best effect.<br />
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Of course, there are many more series available, but these will give you a good start if series are to your liking.<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-72966716375781688522014-11-04T21:44:00.000-05:002014-11-04T21:44:38.548-05:00Some New Favorites<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Just in time for the school's annual book fair, I am offering you a list of some books I have read recently that I am eager to share with others.<br />
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<strong>Picture Books</strong><br />
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<strong><em>What If...?</em> by Anthony Browne </strong>(grades preK-2) is by one of my favorite author/illustrators. Browne's illustrations are full of interesting details that require careful perusal to find all they contain. In this book a young boy worries about what he will find when heads to an unfamiliar home and what may be his first ever party without his parents. This is a great way to deal with this all to common worry in a humorous and reassuring manner.<br />
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<strong><em>Shoe Dog</em> by Megan McDonald</strong> (grades K-3) has great illustrations that show all the energy of a puppy...in this case a puppy who loves to chew on shoes.<br />
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<strong><em>Those Darn Squirrels</em> by Adam Rubin </strong>(grades K-3) and all the other titles by this goofy author are filled with humor that very much appeals to kids of a certain age. The illustrations are as wacky as the stories.<br />
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<strong><em>Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads</em> by Bob Shea </strong>(grades k-4) made me laugh out loud when I read it in the bookstore. A kid rides a tortoise into a town in the Old West. The town is desperate to end the crime spree of the Terrible Toad gang. The kid admits that he can't shoot a gun, twirl a rope, or stay up past seven, but that doesn't stop him from using his knowledge of dinosaurs to trick those hardened, but not to bright, criminals. It is much better than I can possibly describe.<br />
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<strong><em>Alexander, Who's Trying His Best to Be the Best Boy Ever</em> by Judith Viorst</strong> (grades K-3) brings back the same Alexander who had a terrible, no good, very bad day. In this book he decides that maybe doing naughty but very tempting things like eating an entire box of donuts is ultimately not worth having to pay the consequences so he decides to be the best boy ever. This is a lot harder on him (and those around him) than he imagined.<br />
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<strong>Emergent Readers--Grades 1-3</strong><br />
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<strong><em>Fly Guy</em> by Tedd Arnold </strong>is always a winner. There are many books in this series about a boy and his pet fly and each one offers simple text, an interesting plot, and lots of humor.<br />
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<strong><em>Anna Hibiscus </em></strong>and <strong><em>The Number 1 Car Spotter</em></strong> <strong>by Atinuke</strong> offer a look at life in Africa through the eyes of a girl (Anna) and a boy (#1 Car Spotter) in stories that will appeal and relate well to any young reader.<em><strong> </strong></em><br />
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<strong><em>Leroy Ninker Saddles Up</em> by Kate DiCamillo</strong> brings a new cowboy hero to the world. Leroy is a genuinely nice guy but a little confused at times. He is neighbors with the owners of Mercy Watson who is the star of her own series by the much loved Kate DiCamillo.<br />
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<strong><em>The Elephant and Piggie Series</em> by Mo Willems</strong> I know I have suggested these in other posts, but they really are great stories filled with humor and empathy. The speech bubble format makes them perfect for reading together.<br />
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<strong>Middle Grades--Grades 3-6</strong><br />
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<strong><em>Gabriel Finney and the Raven's Riddle</em> by George Hagen</strong> is a marvelous fantasy adventure that has a young boy joining forces with an orphaned raven to save the boy's father (and the world) from evil ravens and the humans who have joined forces with them. I especially like all of the riddles and puns that make good ravens laugh.<br />
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<strong><em>Unlikely Friendships for Kids</em> by Jennifer S. Holland </strong>is a series of non-fiction that simplifies the series that Holland originally published for older students and adults. Each of these small books contains several stories about surprising friendships between animals species. The stories, all true, include photos of the animals together. Kids love the stories and the information about these varied species.<br />
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<strong><em>Nuts to You!</em> by Lynne Rae Perkins</strong> is an environmental tale told through the ideas of a squirrel. The squirrels admit that they are easily distracted and love games but that does not stop them from banding together to escape chainsaws that are destroying their homes. The humans do have a heart and peanut butter sandwiches.<br />
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<strong><em>Loot</em> by Jude Watson</strong> is a rare book because it makes the reader appreciate and like some big time jewel thieves. There is some humor and lots of excitement as a boy and his long-lost sister try to understand the clues left by their father and find a cursed jewel.<br />
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<strong>Middle School--Grades 5-8</strong><br />
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<strong><em>The Night Gardener</em> by Jonathan Auxier</strong> is a delightfully creepy tale of orphaned children in Victorian England, a house that is clearly possessed, and the family that lives in the house. The children who come to the house must face the horror and save the family from the spell of the night gardener.<br />
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<strong><em>The Lions of Little Rock</em> by Kristin Levine</strong> gives a view of the integration of Little Rock High School that I had never seen before. The story takes place the year after the first integration and the city has decided to close the high schools rather than continue integration. The protagonist, a girl in junior high, is confused about all of this but mostly focusing on finding a friend who accepts her with her real and perceived problems. That friend is a new girl who is soon accused of being passing as white. It is not an easy story, but one that is well written and offers new insights.<br />
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<strong><em>The Paper Cowboy</em> by Kristen Levine</strong> takes the reader back to the McCarthy Era as a young boy tries to deal with family problems while carrying the weight of worrying about who might be a Communist. The boy is very real and wants to be a cowboy like his those he hears about on the radio, but he also is something of a bully. The many problems all collide as he learns some realities of life.<br />
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<strong><em>Far, Far Away</em> by Tom McNeal </strong>begins as a sweet modern fairy tale about a kindly baker and the children who visit him. Then things go horribly, terrifyingly, surprisingly wrong. This is not for the faint of heart.<br />
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<strong>Graphic Works</strong><br />
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<strong><em>Laika</em> by Nick Abadzis</strong> (grades 4 and up) tells the true story of the first animal in space, the cosmonaut dog named Laika. It deals with the politics of the time and reflects current feelings about animal rights.<br />
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<strong><em>El Deafo</em> by Cece Bell</strong> (grades 4 and up) is Bell's story of becoming profoundly deaf at age four and learning to cope and make friends with a huge hearing aid box that is the only way she can hear. The characters are all portrayed as rabbits with large ears, but the story is truly a memoir. It is never easy to fit in with differences, but Cece finds that her ugly and embarrassing hear aids also give her some superpowers.<br />
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<strong><em>Gaijin: An American Prisoner of War</em> by Matt Faulkner</strong> (grades 5 and up) is inspired by a story from the author's family. A teen aged boy with an American mother and a Japanese father is living in San Francisco when Pearl Harbor is bombed. His father is visiting ill relatives in Japan at the time and can not return home. The boy is sent to an internment camp. His mother chooses to go with him. Not only does the story deal with the harsh reality of the camps but also how difficult it can be to fit in as a mixed-race child.<br />
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<strong><em>Sisters</em> by Raina Telgemeier </strong>(grades 5 and up). Telgemeier ,who first got a huge following with another memoir (<strong><em>Smile</em></strong>) remembers a family trip and the ebb and flow of relationships with her sister. She has a remarkable talent for capturing family dynamics.<br />
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<strong>A few titles for adults</strong><br />
<strong><em>The President's Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity </em>by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy</strong><br />
<strong><em>My Notorious Life</em> by Kate Manning</strong><br />
<strong><em>The Bone Clocks</em> by David Mitchell</strong><br />
<strong><em>A Tale for the Time Being</em> by Ruth Ozeki</strong><br />
<strong><em>The Golem and the Jinni</em> by Helene Wacker</strong><br />
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As always, I am eager to hear what others are reading and enjoying.<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-9726739254168989352014-06-28T12:24:00.001-04:002014-06-28T12:24:47.595-04:00More for Middle Grades<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This week I put together a personalized list for a girl going into sixth grade. She is an eclectic reader so I collected titles from previous lists and added a few more. Not one to let a list got to waste, I am adding those additions, with some modification, here so you can look at them as well. Some have appeared in times past, but I don't think any have been shared recently. If you see them repeated, you know that I must have truly enjoyed reading them.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Time Cat </i>by Lloyd Alexander</b> is a great story of time travel and
history as seen through the treatment of cats in different time periods from
ancient <st1:country-region><st1:place>Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to the American Revolution. A boy wishes out loud that he could have nine lives
like his cat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cat replies that he
does not have nine lives but can travel to nine time periods and thus there
travels begin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gilda Joyce</i> detective series by Jennifer Allison</b> features a
daring clever girl who solves light mysteries while struggling with the kinds
of issues that face middle school girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like the travel, the humor, and the insight
into the lives of girls. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Naked Mole Rat Letters</i> by Mary Amato</b> features a young girl
who is worrying that her father, with whom she lives, is going to get married
while also worrying that he never will remarry. She finds odd letters coming to
her father from a scientist who studies naked mole rats and tries to
decide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scientist turns out to be a
woman who is also a love interest for the father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a clever and pleasant novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, I find naked mole rats to be
fascinating creatures.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fever, 1793</i> by Laurie Halse Anderson</b> is historical fiction at
its finest as it looks at the life of a girl living in <st1:city><st1:place>Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:city>
when the yellow fever epidemic comes to town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She must decide whether to save herself by leaving the city she has
always called home or stay and care for others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a great favorite both boys and girls in the middle grades, many
of whom go on to read the non-fiction book about the same time called, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An
American Plague:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The True and Terrifying
Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by Jim Murphy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></b>This is also a good starting point before going on to the more
difficult topics and mature writing found in other titles by Laurie Halse Anderson.</div>
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There are several good books by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Joan Bauer</b> that many middle grade readers will enjoy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These include <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Peeled</i></b> which is about a
budding journalist in a high school that cares deeply about the apple orchards
of the community when it comes to electing a queen of the Apple Festival but,
with the rest of the area, do not see the threats from growth and development
that are threatening the apple orchards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another good title is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sticks</i></b> which is about a young boy
who wants to be a pool champion and the interesting friends who help me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> This is a great book for those kids with a mathematical bent as there are diagrams of the math involved in making a good shot on the pool table. It is also good for those who care nothing about math but like quirky characters and interesting story lines. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Almost Home</i></b> is about a mother and
daughter who set up a friendly, homey restaurant in their new home town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Return of the Twelves</i> by Pauline Clarke</b> was introduced to
me when my children were young and we all were entranced by the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In modern <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>
a family moves into a house on the moors near where the Bronte family once
lived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While exploring their attic they
discover a box filled with small, tin soldiers, just like those that the Brontes
had described in great detail as toys come to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Suddenly, these soldiers are seen moving and talking to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the children gain the confidence of the
soldiers, they learn that these little men want to get to the Bronte museum and
they want to march there by themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Can the children help the twelve soldiers without being discovered by
adults?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a great fantasy with
literary underpinnings.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Getting Near to Baby</i> by Audrey Couloumbis</b> does the seemingly
impossible by taking a very sad situation of two girls who are sent to stay
with a childless aunt when their younger sister dies and their mother is
overcome by the grief and mixing that with the humorous observations of the
girls as they confront their confused aunt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The girls climb on the rooftop to get near to baby and then talk about
what is happening around them. It is a rare book
that can make me laugh and cry in the same chapter, sometimes on the same page,
but this is such a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Toby Alone</i> by Timothee de Fombelle</b> has one of the least
interesting covers I have ever seen and that drives me crazy because this
environmental fantasy is well worth reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Toby is a small boy whose entire universe is in a tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an entire society there but things
are going very wrong as greedy people come in and destroy homes, perhaps even
the tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Toby must go in search for his
father far beyond the area that they call home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Along the way he learns about the disaster that seems to be about to
befall the entire tree civilization. Readers will be happy to learn that there is a sequel.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Out of My Mind</i> by Sharon Draper</b> is an honest and moving look at
the life of a girl with severe physical disabilities which not only confine her
to a wheel chair but also wrack her body with spasms and leave her unable to
speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result she has always gone
to special education classrooms and no one realizes how brilliant she is until one
caregiver realizes that she can communicate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With help, an artificial speech machine is acquired and the young girl
begins competing in Quiz Bowl type events against other schools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What happens next is exciting and heart wrenching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tuesdays in the Castle</i> by Jessica George</b> begins a series about
a royal family living in an enchanted castle that communicates with each of the
children in special ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing it
does is sprout new rooms and hallways that send a message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is very useful when the king and queen
are kidnapped and only the royal children can save them with the help of the
castle.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pandora Gets...</i>series by Carolyn Hennessy</b> is a clever look at
mythology and the story of Pandora.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pandora and her friends behave like modern teen-agers as Pandora learns
about each of the miseries found in her famous box, be it greed or envy or
something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are light and fun
and very popular with girls this age. These same girls will enjoy the <strong><em>Goddess Girls </em>series by Joan Holub.</strong></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inside Out and Back Again</i> by Thanha Lai</b> is written in verse
form which just adds to its beauty, though it does intimidate some
readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give it a little time, though,
and you will be drawn into this story of a young Vietnamese girl who is
airlifted out of <st1:place>Saigon</st1:place> and then ends up living in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. She writes of the adjustment period,
her memories of home, her struggles to fit in, and much more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of it is humorous but most is
poignant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Habibi</i> by Naomi Shihab Nye</b> rings true to me as it tells of a
girl who visits her father's family home in <st1:city><st1:place>Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The girl herself was raised in mid-America
and feels she has been ripped from everything familiar when she is taken half
way around the world and must learn about this new home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having taken my girls to <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to meet their grandparents, though never living there, I can relate to much of
the confusion, love, and worry that abound in this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had the pleasure of meeting Nye when she
visited our school several years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To have met such a friendly, fascinating, caring woman which makes the book even more special to me.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bigger Than a Breadbox</i> by Laurel Snyder</b> tells of a girl who goes
with her mother to live with the grandmother in another city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The grandmother gives her a breadbox that has magic in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whenever the girl
wishes for something, that appears in the breadbox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Not knowing of the magic, she wishes first for </span>a pigeon since she misses the
pigeons of <st1:city><st1:place>Baltimore</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes several more wishes before she realizes that there is magic. Then she
starts wishes for things that she hopes will make her fit in with the girls at her new
school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Complications arise and many
ethical questions have to be answered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
This is a great book for discussion, making it perfect for adult/child book clubs or parent/child sharing.</span></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-3502190654069859502014-06-17T17:04:00.001-04:002015-11-14T13:18:25.276-05:00Middle School Reading<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is much talk about Young Adult literature and much out that is great. It is a bit of a problem to find YA works that do not have more sex and/or violence than some parents want to have shared with their middle school students. If you are trying to avoid those books that are really directed at high school it does not mean that there are no great books out there for eager and adventurous readers. Here are a few suggestions. Some also appeared on my fourth and fifth grade list. They won't be as much of a stretch for middle school readers as they are for those younger readers, but I would hate for them to be missed.<br />
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Little White
Duck: A Childhood in </span></b></em><st1:country-region><st1:place><em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">China</span></b></em></st1:place></st1:country-region><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Na Luc and Andres Vera Martinez</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is a graphic novel that is a lovely look into life in Mao's </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: "arial";">China</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "arial";">. Some of the memories are happy and some
reveal the harsh realities of life at that time. It would be
good to pair with <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">The House That Baba
Built: An Artist's Childhood in China</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Ed Young</span></strong> which is a highly
illustrated memoir by this popular artist and author. Another in the same
vein is <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Drawing From Memory</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Allen Say</span></strong>, though he grew
up in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: "arial";">Japan rather than China.</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Addie On the Inside</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by James Howe</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is a companion to the set, not really a series, that began with <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Misfits,</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></strong>a book about four middle school kids
who do not fit in for various reasons. They unite to make the school more
accepting of differences. That book was followed by a book about one
character, Joe, in <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Totally Joe.</span></b></em>
This book takes another view point for looking at what happens with the
original misfits, this time through the eyes of a girl who could be popular but
does not want to neglect her friends with their quirks. The subjects
covered in these books include LGBT issues, inter-racial dating, socio-economic
issues, intelligence and the perceived lack of it, and other issues that are
very real in middle school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Endangered</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Eliot Schrefer</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is a heart-pounding rescue story that takes place in
the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: "arial";">Congo</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "arial";">. Sophie is 14 when she returns to the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: "arial";">Congo</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "arial";"> where she was born and where she visits her mother
every summer since her parents divorced and her American father moved back to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: "arial";">Miami</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "arial";">. Even before she gets to the house and labs
where her Congolese mother works with bonobo apes, Sophie has done
something her mother has repeatedly told her not to do--purchased a baby bonobo to
try to save it from a shady looking man on the street. Her mother
agrees to let Sophie raise the baby as long as she is totally responsible for
it. When war breaks out in Congo while the mother is visiting a rescue
center away from home, Sophie takes her bonobo and flees the fighting, struggling
to keep both of them alive while searching for her mother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Take What You Can
Carry</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Kevin C. Pyle</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is another graphic work that will challenge any reader. It tells two parallel stories, one of life in a Japanese
internment camp and one of a boy who shoplifts from a Japanese man. It is a little difficult to follow at times, but
the story is powerful. The juxtaposition of the two stories in which the
term "take what you can carry" has very different meanings supports thought and discussion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Better Nate Than Ever
</span></b></em><span style="font-family: "arial";">and <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Five, Six , Seven, Nate</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Tim Federle</span></strong> struck my funny
bone with their first view of New York City through the eyes of a 13 year
old boy from rural Pennsylvania who has travelled alone to try to
audition for a Broadway musical production of E. T. His awe struck me as
very realistic, as are the descriptions of the audition experience and, in the
second book, trying to fit in with other, more experienced actors. The
first book hints of Nate's interest in boys and the second book includes an
innocent romance with one of the other actors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Cavendish
Home for Boys and Girls</span></i></strong><em><span style="font-family: "arial";">
</span></em><strong><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">by Claire LeGrand</span></i></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is carried best by its quirky characters who are
working to rescue kids who are being kidnapped for retraining whenever they
express an interest in thinking for themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Miss Peregrine's Home
for Peculiar Children </span></b></em><span style="font-family: "arial";">and <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Hollow City</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Ransom Riggs</span></strong> come
immediately to mind when quirky characters are mentioned. These are odd
stories of a boy facing evil and trying to track down a home that his
grandfather visited during World War II. The home takes in peculiar
children who expect to live forever as they are. I was fascinated by the
origins of the characters in the mind of the author who collected old, odd
photos and postcards and then created the people in his book based on these
mystical, magical, unusual photos. This story is creepy and intriguing.
It is written for older readers than the others so far on this list, but will appeal to readers who appreciate stories that are a little bit
bizarre.</span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Zero Tolerance</span></b></em><span style="font-family: "arial";"> <strong><span style="font-family: "arial";">by Claudia
Mills</span></strong> has an interesting premise that is very much in the news these days. A student leader in a middle
school inadvertently takes her mother's lunch to school one day and discovers
that her mother had packed a knife to cut her apple. Knives are forbidden
at school as a part of the zero tolerance policy. The girl immediately takes
the knife to the cafeteria supervisor who rushes her to the principal who
has no other choice than expulsion. The question is whether anything can be that black and
white and how should school policies be determined. I am happy that kids
are being asked to think about these things. The story goes down hill
when parents and lawyers get too involved and cloudy issues further.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Escape From Mr.
Lemoncello's Library </span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";">by
Chris Grabenstein</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> reminded me
of <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Westing Game</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Ellen Raskin</span></strong> since they both
involve solving mysteries and riddles. Mr. Lemoncello offers a more
literary bent with myriad references to popular books and library
organization. The premise is that a group of kids get to enter a new library
ahead of everyone else and may win big prizes IF they can solve all the puzzles
first and not get kicked out for any reason. </span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Last Dragonslayer
</span></b></em><span style="font-family: "arial";">and <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Song of the Quarkbeast</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Jasper Fforde</span></strong> begin a promised
fantasy trilogy that features 15 year old Jennifer Strange who runs a magic
store until she called to help save magic on earth. She must seek someone
to slay dragons or perhaps do it herself. Jennifer is a spunky heroine
and she deals with a vast variety of quirky, interesting, odd characters both
human and magical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">What we Found in the
Sofa and How It Saved the World</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Henry Clark</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is good
fluff reading if kids are feeling the need to relax a bit. A couple
of kids find a strange sofa by the side of the road and it draws them into wild
adventures in a mysterious old house. The sofa, they soon discover, is a
sentient being that survives on dust bunnies. Inside the house they meet
a strange man who convinces them that using the sofa and items found between
the cushions they can save their city and the world from evil that is tricking
people into flash mobs and regulating a growing coal seam fire that is
devouring their town. While it is fluffy, it also has some parts that require some thoughtful consideration.</span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Thing About Luck</span></b></em><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is the latest book by <strong><span style="font-family: "arial";">Cynthia Kadohata.</span></strong> It tells
about Japanese migrant workers in mid-America who work on the combines,
specifically grandparents and two children who have worked for the same company
for years. It defines a difficult life as well as the inter-generational
relationships. Has <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Kira-Kira </span></b></em>or
<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Weedflower</span></b></em> by this same
author. They are other stories about be Japanese immigrants in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: "arial";">U.S.</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "arial";"> and struggling to fit in. <em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Kira-Kira</span></b></em> is the most well
known and has won numerous awards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: "arial";"><strong>Counting By 7s</strong></span></em><span style="font-family: "arial";"><strong> by Holly Sloan </strong>explores how people cope and adapt in difficult times. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">Willow Chase has always been identified as highly gifted, but when she starts
a new school she is promptly accused of cheating because she does the
standardized testing so quickly and gets a perfect score. The school
sends her to a school counselor who does not seem to care much about
anything. Also seeing the counselor is a Vietnamese refugee boy who is
brought by his sister Mai. The two girls gradually get to know each other so
that when </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: "arial";">Willow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "arial";">'s parents are killed in a car accident, she attempts
to live with the Mai and her family.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> This synopsis just skims the surface of all this book discusses. </span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Rithmatist</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Brandon Sanderson </span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";">kept me on the edge of my seat from the first
heart-pounding rithmatic duel to the last. Rithmatism is a kind of magic
that uses intricate drawings and clever strategies to fight battles between
good and evil. One has to be able to prove as a young person that he or
she has the power to be a rithmatist and Joel, the protagonist of this story,
did not pass the test. In a private school that he is only allowed
to attend because his late father was a well-respected chalk maker (a vital
force for this magic) and his mother works cleaning and cooking, Joel sneaks
into the rithmatic classes to learn strategy that he can never perform.
It remains one of the most exciting books I have read in many years. This
first book ends with a "to be continued" so there is something
waiting for us to read. Sanderson has written many other fantasy and
adventure books. Our library also has the series that begins with <strong><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">Alcatraz Vs. the Evil Librarians</span></i></strong><em><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></em>which I originally read for its title
but found to be a great, light-hearted fantasy series and made me a Sanderson
fan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">How to Catch a Bogle </span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";">by Catherine Jinks</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is set in Victorian England in the less savory parts
of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: "arial";">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "arial";">. Ten year old Birdie is apprenticed to a
bogler who traps and destroys odd, evil creatures who live in houses in the
area. Birdie is a strong girl with courage, skill, and heart. This
has a real feel of the time and place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Constable and Toop</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Gareth Jones</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> transfixed and haunted me. I loved this
detailed story of a young boy who is the son of a coffin maker and can talk to
ghosts. He, and the reader, learn about ghost culture and rules, which,
not surprisingly, can be a bit macabre. Included in this story is a creepy
uncle who may be Jack the Ripper, quirky ghosts and living beings who delight
in the world of Victorian England.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">How I Discovered
Poetry</span></b></em><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> by Marilyn
Wilson</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"> is a memoir written in
sonnet-length poems. They follow ten years of the author's life, ages
4-14, during the 1950s and 1960s. Her family is African-American and her
father is in the military so they move a great deal and experience the world of
Jim Crow as well as a life in which they are almost treated as equals.
The poems don't dwell on civil rights, but they are always on her mind. I
think Hannah would especially like this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-7297111004481364522014-06-15T17:54:00.001-04:002014-06-15T17:55:41.807-04:00Great for grades 4 and 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here is a list that combines ones that I have shared with a couple of families of girls headed for fourth grade. They are both good readers who will be able to tackle these, though their interests vary. This is an ages when likes are clearly developing but summer is a good time to encourage exploration, too. Parents and children need to remember that summer is a great time to get lost in a book. Reading for pleasure helps develop a real love of books that will last a lifetime. That is my hope for the people who use this list--that they find a book that will change how they view their world or at least inspire them to keep looking for those special books.<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Beverly Cleary books </b>like
those about Ramona Quimby and her friends are classics of children's
literature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ramona may have been the
first of the now popular genre of realistic fiction about young, strong girls.
They are certainly some of the best books in this genre to this day. Readers are also encouraged to explore some of her other books that include new characters and adventures.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Edward Eager</b> was
my favorite author when I was young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
of them are great tales of simple magic that takes four siblings on adventures
that carry them far from any possibility of boredom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My favorite is still <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Half Magic</i></b>, but you can't
go wrong with any of Eager's book.</div>
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<strong><em>The Moffats</em> by Eleanor Estes</strong> is another series of books that I loved as at this age. I was so taken by the adventures of this family who seemed familiar despite the fact that they lived in a different time and place than I did than I fantasized about meeting them and joining their adventures.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">McBroom's Wonderful One Acre Farm</i> by Sid Fleischman</b> is very
short but is filled to the brim with interesting characters and clever plots
twists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The McBroom family goes in
search of a new farm and ends up buying a farm that is small but so filled with
rich soil that plants grow in matter of hours, causing many interesting events
and much jealousy from the cranky neighbor who sold the farm to them.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">By the Grace of Todd</i> by Louise Galveston</b> drew me in with its
interesting cover and intriguing title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The premise is satisfying to anyone who has neglected to clean their
bedroom (or had children who were less than stellar about picking up dirty
socks.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Todd is engaged in issues at
school when he realizes that his dirty sock has grown a tiny civilization of
its own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon he is dealing with their
worship of him as well as school bullies and science fair projects.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Year of Billy Miller</i> by Kevin Henkes</b> is simply the story of
the daily life of a young boy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is
not heart racing peaks and valleys of activity but it is a charming story that
will ring true with many readers.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chomp</i> by Carl Hiassen</b> is a book I know I have mentioned on my
blog before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is one of the many
adventure/humor/nature stories that Hiassen has set in <st1:state><st1:place>Florida</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This just happens to be my favorite because
the characters are so quirky while also seeming very real.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mr. and Mrs. Bunny--Detectives Extraordinaire</i> by Mrs. Bunny and
Polly Horvath</b> has more than detective bunnies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also has a girl who has lost her, for lack
of a better term, "hippie" parents who have been kidnapped by
foxes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Madeleine learns she can
speak to animals, she enlists the help of novice detectives who are well-intentioned
but not always efficient.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Everything on a Waffle</i> by Polly Horvath</b> has a bit more
substance to it than the one above about bunnies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks at the ponderings of a little girl
in <st1:state><st1:place>British Columbia</st1:place></st1:state> whose parents
have been lost at sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is some
humor to soften the story as she grows through grief and loss to self-reliance
and self-discovery.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unhooking the Moon</i> by Gregory Hughes</b> is an oddly compelling
tale of two children, 12 year old Bob and his ten year old sister Mille, who
set off alone to find their uncle in <st1:city><st1:place>New York City</st1:place></st1:city>
after their widowed father dies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bob and
Millie are quirky, strong, and determined young people who support each other
while challenging their roles in the relationship. This story requires a reader who can handle some uncomfortable situations.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Catch a Bogle</i> by Catherine Jinks</b> takes the reader to a
smoggy, dark, Victorian England reminiscent of scenes in the movie "Oliver" to meet a ten year old girl named Birdie who is
apprenticed to a bogler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her mentor is a
curmudgeonly but caring older man who makes his living trapping and destroying
evil creatures called bogles who often live in houses throughout <st1:city><st1:place>London</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Birdie is a strong character with courage,
skill, and heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found this book to
be fascinating and great fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ben and Me</i> by Robert Lawson</b> was another of my favorite books in
about great four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a novel that
makes the audacious and often hilarious claim that Ben Franklin got all of his
best ideas from a friendly mouse, the narrator of this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I learned more American history from
this book, include a thirst to learn more, than I did from any history class
until college.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bliss</i> by Kathryn Littlewood </b>starts a trilogy about a bakery
where magic is cooked up along with fine pastries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Readers in my library have been eating up this fantasy
adventure with a sweet tooth.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Snicker of Magic</i> by Natalie Lloyd</b> will appeal to word lovers
of all ages as well as to those who love stories about kids in slightly unique,
but very relatable settings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To regain
the magic, a town must solve an old legend and mend some broken hearts. The
protagonist is a word collector who reminds me why I love words so much.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Willoughbys</i> by Lois Lowry </b>will appeal to people who have
read a variety of genres already, especially tales that follow classic formats
of orphan children and/or not so nice adults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a great parody of all those stories as the children of a family
decide that maybe they would be happier if they were like the orphans in so
many of the stories they love just as their parents wonder if life might be easier
without children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That almost sounds morbid but
it is actually hilariously funny.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wanderville</i> by<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wendy McClure
</b>has a deceptively sweet cover showing three kids playing in a field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is actually a story based on the lives of
children sent West from <st1:city><st1:place>New York City</st1:place></st1:city>
on the Orphan Train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The three happy
looking children on the cover must first escape from people who are eager put
them into enforced servitude on a ranch that gathers as many child workers as
they can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After their escape, these three work
to begin a community deep in the woods that will be the focus of promised
sequels.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sugar</i> by Jewell Parker Rhodes</b> is a beautifully written story of
a ten year old girl on a <st1:state><st1:place>Mississippi</st1:place></st1:state>
plantation in the years just after emancipation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Chinese workers are brought in to join
the former slaves in working the sugar cane, everyone is fearful of the
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Curiosity leads young Sugar, an
orphan, to get to know these new people and find there commonalities.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ninth Ward</i> by Jewell Parker Rhodes</b> is another fine example of
the quality of the writing <st1:place>Rhodes</st1:place> puts into her novels
for upper elementary age readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
novel about surviving Hurricane Katrina will give everyone new understanding of
the storm and of human relations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Secret Box</i> by Whitaker Ringwald</b> starts with young Jax going
on a quest to find out about a mysterious box that arrives on her birthday from
a woman named Juniper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The box comes as
a birthday gift but Jax's mother immediately tries to make it disappear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jax reclaims it and drags her cousins along
on what becomes a harrowing trip that may become a matter of life and
death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like that Jax is one brave,
spunky girl nearly as much as I like the tension-easing humor that is sprinkled
throughout this tale.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dragon Breath </i>by Ursula Vernon</b> appeals to those readers who
want humor, fantasy, and real-life problems plus lots of graphics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This series about a dragon who is trying to
fit in as the only dragon at a school for reptiles alternates prose and graphic
content.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are great, light summer
reads.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
NON-FICTION</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How I Discovered Poetry</i> by Marilyn Wilson </b>is a memoir in a
collection of poetry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not an
ordinary life that <st1:city><st1:place>Wilson</st1:place></st1:city> led.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is an African-American who grew up in the
1950s and 60s, mostly on military bases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These sonnet length poems offer a unique look at the times through the author's unique window on her world. They are moving and charming and tell a story that could not have been as well told in any other format. </div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mrs. Harkness and the Panda</i> by Alicia Potter</b> may have the
appearance of a picture book at times, but it is actually a fact-filled tale of
the woman who traveled to China to fulfill the dream her husband died trying to fulfill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mrs. Harkness travels up the <st1:place>Yangtze River</st1:place> to get
a baby panda which she tends<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>through
some rather harrowing adventures while bringing it safely back to the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
is an adult book on the same topic, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lady and the Panda:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The True Adventures of the First American
Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal </i>by Vicki Croke, </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that parents might want to read as kids
are reading this.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unlikely Loves:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>43 Heartwarming
True Stories From the Animal Kingdom</i> by Jennifer S. Holland</b> offers a
lovely selection of short essays for upper elementary through adult readers
about surprising friendships that cross animals species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All are accompanied by full color photographs
of the unusual pairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a new
series for younger readers that features just a few of these stories in
simplified form. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">National
Geographic's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weird But True</i></b>
series is appealing to all ages with bright illustrations and photographs to go
with little known facts about just about everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are generally one fact per page, making
them great for travel and bathroom reading as well as for quizzing parents and
siblings.<o:p></o:p></div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-50033907990270364842014-06-15T14:49:00.001-04:002014-06-15T14:49:25.994-04:00Summer Reading for Second Grade<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It is summer break and parents have been asking for suggestions for their students. Here are some suggestions that I sent specifically to a young girl going into second grade. There is a fairly wide range of reading difficulty included in this list so you can find something that fits needs from emergent readers to those who feel comfortable with a bigger reading challenge. I have included fiction (with a separate section for series books) as well as non-fiction. <br />
<br />
The goal of the summer should be to have fun with reading. I can not plead enough that you not worry so much about what is being read or even if reading takes place every day as you are about finding something that brings joy. No one will being reading the classics without a firm foundation and that the secure knowledge that there is pleasure in reading. Leave books around where they are easy to pick up and read. Read to children and then stop at the exciting part so they have to finish by themselves. Just read to your kids, whether they read alone or not. In addition to inspiring your budding reader, you also get a special time with a very wonderful child.<br />
<br />
Let your kids see you read for pleasure. If mom and dad (I have read a lot of literature that suggests that dad has the greatest influence on encouraging kids to read) read for the sheer joy of it and kids see them doing it, those kids are going to sense that reading is a good idea. If parents are too busy to read, it doesn't take long for children to get the message that there are more important and more enjoyable things to do than read.<br />
<br />
Finally, encourage kids to play outside. The fresh air and creativity will stimulate areas of their brains that often get neglected and any mental stimulation will make reading (and most of the rest of life) easier and more enjoyable.<br />
<br />
Here is the list aimed primarily at readers ages 6 to 8.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The #1 Train Spotter </i></b>and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anna Hibiscus</i> by Atinuke</b> are very
popular with people just beginning to read chapter books by them self. They
both have sequels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Train Spotter
books have a detective bent to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anna Hibiscus is a little easier to read and is the story of a young
girl living in <st1:place>Africa</st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her mother is not from <st1:place>Africa</st1:place> which offers
opportunities to discuss cultural differences in a pleasant, familial setting.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ivy and Bean </i>by Ann Barrows</b> has grown into a good sized series
about two little girls who were reluctant to become friends but soon find that
they have much in common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are nice
kids with a generous dose of mischievousness in their lives. Their adventures will
seem very familiar to most girls aged 6 to 10.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rabbit and Robot:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Sleepover</i>
by Cece Bell </b>will be an easy read as it is a first chapter book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a cute story about a rabbit and a robot
who can't seem to find the perfect thing to do on a sleepover because they have
very different personalities and interests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course they eventually find the perfect way to enjoy each other's
company. I found this book to be very enjoyable with some good surprises from the usual friends-getting-along story.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Pain and The Great One</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by
Judy Blume</b> are great for a first introduction to the humor and real feel of
childhood interests for readers not quite ready for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A brother and sister give humor to the
complications of deciding who is bothering whom.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bad Kitty</i> by Nick Bruel </b>is a series that includes both picture
books and easy, highly-illustrated chapter books about, you guessed it, a bad
kitty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily the kitty is also pretty
lovable and has fun adventures.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Beverly Cleary books </b>like
those about Ramona Quimby and her friends are classics of children's
literature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ramona may have been the
first of the now popular genre of realistic fiction about young, strong girls.
They are certainly some of the best books in this genre to this day. Ramona and Beezus and their friends have become a part of our literary culture so I think every child deserves to have exposure to them.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Amber Brown</i> by Paula Danzinger</b> is featured in a growing
series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She fits nicely into the
realistic fiction about lower elementary age girls. Amber's parents divorce in this series which may make them especially relevant for some families.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bink and Gollie</i> by Kate DiCamillo </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>now have more than one book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These quirky friends like each other despite
their differences and they have a good time together going on simple, enjoyable
adventures.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kenny and the Dragon</i> by Tony DeTerlizzi</b> is a lovely fantasy of
a boy who meets a dragon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much to his
surprise (he has heard stories about dragons all his life), the dragon is not
mean and scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is going to convince
everyone that this dragon is not going to destroy their homes?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Edward Eager</b> was
my favorite author when I was young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They may be still a read-aloud for many who are entering second grade, but
what a great read aloud these books are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of them are great tales of simple magic that takes four siblings on
adventures that carry them far from any possibility of boredom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My favorite is still <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Half Magic</i></b>, but you can't
go wrong with any of Eager's book.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<st1:street><st1:address><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">21 Fairmont Avenue</i></b></st1:address></st1:street><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> by Tomi DePaola</b> is the first in a
collection of stories based on DePaola's life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If his picture books about his childhood are popular, these are perfect
for a second grader who is ready for a little more information and interesting
stories, all accompanied with DePaola's familiar art.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My Father's Dragon</i> by Ruth Stiles Gannett</b> is another children's
classic that appeals to children of today as much as it did when it was first
published in 1948.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This first of the
trilogy is the story of a boy saving a baby dragon who is being used by a bunch
of wild animals as a ferry.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Clara Lee and the Apple Blossom Dream</i> by Jenny Han</b> brings a
multi-cultural twist to the story of a little girl who wants to be her small
town's Little Miss Apple Pie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can a
Korean girl win this coveted title while still honoring her own culture?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sadie and Ratz</i> by Sonya Harnett</b> tells of a little girl whose
hands keep getting her in trouble, especially around her little brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She names those hands Sadie and Ratz so they
can take the blame when things go wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is an early chapter book and a great way to start the summer
reading. Just thinking of this book makes me smile. Parents will enjoy it as much or more than the young reader.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Year of Billy Miller</i> by Kevin Henkes</b> is simply the story of
the daily life of a young boy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is
not heart racing peaks and valleys of activity but it is a charming story that
would make a good read aloud for those who are just beginning to read chapter books. More accomplished readers will enjoy it by themselves.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Toys Go Out</i> by Emily Jenkins </b>appeals to the child in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love stories where toys come alive and the
toys in this story are interesting things like a stingray, a buffalo, and a
ball known as Plastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The format of
being a collection of stories is also a good introduction to the joys of short
stories and they are easy to read in a single setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are more books in this series awaiting
your eager reader.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lady Lollipop</i></b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">George Speaks</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by Dick King-Smith</b> are two of his easier to read books. Lollipop is
a pig that is presented to a very spoiled princess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pig and her dedicated swineherd help
teach the princess some social graces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>George, in the other book, is a new born baby brother who swears his
older sister to silence when he reveals that he can already talk and make some interesting comments about the world around him and the oddities of adults.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ling and Ting:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not Exactly the
Same </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by Grace Lin </b>tells of
identical twins who prove that they are not identical in all ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are charming little girls so it is no
surprise that there are more books about them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The books are easier reads and good for readers who are not sure they
really want to tackle a more difficult book.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ruby Lu:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brave and True</i> by
Lenore Look</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>is different from
other young girl stories because Ruby is Chinese-American who goes to Chinese school and deals with other cultural issues. She is also a very typical young girl who deals with school, friendships, and other issues that will be familiar to everyone.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle </i>by Betty MacDonald</b> has long held a
reputation for being a great read-aloud as well as a book that kids love to
read and re-read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mrs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Piggle-Wiggle is a sweet, grandmotherly woman
who has a cure for common childhood ailments like bossiness or not be able to
share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is enough fun in these
stories that they never seem preachy. Each chapter tells its own story about children who are cured of their ailments in a pleasant and funny manner.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Akimbo and the Elephants</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by
Alexander McCall-Smith</b> is just one of the books in this series about
Akimbo, the son of a game warden in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Akimbo wants to help his father which leads
to some harrowing adventures as he battles to save animals. Yes, this is the
same McCall-Smith who writes The Ladies Number One Detective Agency and other
books for adults.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tales for Very Picky Eaters</i> by Josh Schneider</b> is a beginning
chapter book that details a father's attempts to get his son to try new foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each new food option is more ridiculous than
the one that came before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I promise that
parents will hear about the amazing ideas that are presented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a very early chapter book. If you have a picky eater in your family, this is an especially great read.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SOME SERIES THAT
APPEAL TO THIS AGE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A-Z Mysteries </i></b>and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Calendar Mysteries </i>by Rob Roy</b> are
good, short mysteries for newly independent readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is enough mystery to keep the reader
guessing while being short enough that they do not require a huge time
commitment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you can guess by the
series titles, there are several books available.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andrew Lost </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>J. C. Greenberg</b> is a series with a
concept that will appeal to many readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Andrew creates a machine that accidentally shrinks him and his friend
Judy down to an almost microscopic size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each, beginning with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On the Dog,</i></b> takes them on a new
adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The great part is the
quantity of interesting scientific facts that are worked into the simple text
and black and white illustrations. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bailey School Kids </i>by Debbie Dadey</b> find all kinds of
creatures from aliens to witches behaving in amazing ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are great fun.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cam Janson </i>by David Adler</b> is a young girl detective with a
knack for solving mysteries. There are two levels of these books so an emergent reader can begin with the easier ones and then move easily into those for a more advanced reader.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flat Stanley</i> by Jeff Brown</b> has grown to be a series so kids can
keep following this the adventure of this happy young lad who was accidentally
flattened until he is the thickness of a piece of paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What child doesn't want to imagine be a kite
or getting mailed to visit relatives?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My America</i> by Mary Pope Osborne</b> is a series of historical
fiction written in diary format.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
form appeals to many readers. Some readers are less than trilled to read diaries, so don't push if that is the case. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oliver Moon</i> by Sue Mongredian</b> tells the adventures of a young
wizard in training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The books are funny
and exciting and quick reads for the budding wizard in your family.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ready, Freddy</i> by Abby Klein </b>is about a typical boy doing
typical boy things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are full of
humor and some adventure.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mercy Watson</i> by Kate DiCamillo</b> is a pig who is quite spoiled by
her human family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She may spend most of
her time eating but that seems to help her be in the right place at the right
time to solve problems, often problems she created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bright colored illustrations and large font make these chapter books that emergent readers can enjoy with little help from adults.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Geronimo Stilton </i>by "Geronimo Stilton"</b> appeals to
many readers in no small part because of the bright illustrations and the fun
that is had with text fonts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are
also funny and filled with adventures.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NON-FICTION<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Who Was.../Who Is...</i> biographies by various authors </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>offer just the right amount of information and
readable life story to keep kids coming back for more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are now 100 of these and I could keep
most of them in circulation most of the time. The kids I work with started with familiar people and were soon reading about people that were totally new to them just because they discovered a love of biographies. Many of these readers then moved on to other biographies.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Usbourne Beginners </b>offer
a wide range of non-fiction topics with lots of bright photos and
illustrations, solid information, and interesting side-bars/ They are perfect
for someone just discovering the many joys of reading for information.</div>
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Poetry may also be a good choice for reading that seems easy
but is filled with meaning and challenges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everyone loves <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shel Silverstein </b>and<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Jack Prelutsky</b>, but don't miss others
who are less well known like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Douglas
Florian, J. Patrick Lewis, </b>and science related poetry of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Joyce Sidman.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Explore the poetry section for more good
reads.</div>
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Other non-fiction areas that are great for developing an
interest in reading include, but are clearly not limited to, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">cookbooks, crafting books, </b>and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">folk and fairy tales.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Finally, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">National
Geographic's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weird But True</i></b>
series is appealing to all ages with bright illustrations and photographs to go
with little known facts about just about everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are generally one fact per page, making
them great for travel and bathroom reading as well as for quizzing parents and
siblings.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-72744646742966033082014-04-15T16:00:00.001-04:002014-04-15T16:00:14.675-04:00Architecture for Everyone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There are so many young people with the dream of building exciting buildings. Whether it is a tent made out of blankets, a building created with toilet paper rolls, Legos and building blocks taken to towering heights, or some other magnificent structure, there are myriad reasons to encourage such activities whenever possible. <br />
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I was inspired to think about this and post this today when I found this interesting lists of <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/mackenziekruvant/childrens-books-for-architects">15 Adorable Children's Books Featuring Architecture.</a>. It is a great list, but I can't resist adding just a few more books that I like.<br />
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<b><i>Everyday Structures from A to Z</i> by Bobbie Kalman</b> is an alphabet of interesting ways of looking at structures, constructions, shapes, and styles. I am not always thrilled with the questions that the author chooses to ask, but they are good jumping off points for discussions between you and your child or the reader can skip through them to find ones that are interesting. This book could be enjoyed by Kindergarten and first graders with some parental help and by those up about grade five as a starting point for learning more about structures.<br />
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As suggested in the on-line list above, the books of <b>David Macaulay</b> are amazing insider views of great constructions from <i><b>Castles</b></i> and <i><b>Pyramids</b></i> to <i><b>Cathedrals</b></i> and <i><b>Mosques</b></i>. He has a newer series for younger readers, but the beloved ones are what will capture middle grade students to adults with their detail and wealth of information. If you find his book called <b><i>Built to Last</i></b>, you will get <i><b>Castle, Cathedral, </b></i>and <i><b>Mosque</b></i> all in one volume.<br />
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If you want an exciting story of the brave folks who actual build the skyscrapers, offer your middle grade to middle school aspiring architect <b><i>Skywalkers: Mohawk Ironworkers Build the City</i> by David Weitzman </b>looks at the long connection between the Mohawk people and construction by first looking at the construction of the longhouses that were built in what is now upstate New York perhaps as long as 4,000 years ago. Most of the book, however, concerns how the Mohawk people have been involved with so much modern construction, risking their lives as they create the iron structures that take skyscrapers reaching for the clouds.<br />
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Picture-book-reading builders will enjoy <i><b>Monkey with a Toolbelt</b></i> <b>by Chris Monroe</b> as they marvel at the real and pun-created tools in his belt and the creative ways he puts them to use to help friends and escape danger. This is an imagination sparking joy for kindergarten and up.<br />
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For space age style creations, spark imagination with <b><i>Marveltown </i>by Bruce McCall.</b> Marveltown is a city created by inventors and filled with things like a Skyway held up by invisible ion rays and opportunities to go rocket-jumping by moonlight or fishing from a mile-high tower. No wonder all the kids who live there are inspired to make their own inventions like a rocket chair, a machine to eat homework, or a rug especially created to trip school bullies. When things go very wrong in this placid town, it is the inventions of the kids that help to save the day. This picture book will appeal to kindergarten and up.<br />
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<b><i>Henry Builds a Cabin </i>by D. B. Johnson </b>goes back in time with a story inspired by the life and writings of Henry David Thoreau. The Henry in the book is a bear who is shown designing his house and then building it from chopping and shaping the logs to notching beams and fitting them into place. His neighbors think the house is too small, but Henry knows where he wants his priorities and for him the great outdoors serve as most of his rooms so his house doesn't need to be very big. This picture book will appeal to grades two and up as well as to anyone who as an interest in Thoreau.<br />
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Don't stop here. Check out craft books which will inspire creations. Cookbooks, too, are often about building edible creations that are more than a couple of layers with icing. (<b><i>The Secret Life of Food</i> by Clare Crespo</b> is one cookbook that comes quickly to mind in this category.) In fact, true inspiration can be found almost anywhere. Read a little then gather supplies and start building. Have fun.<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-2354960134122258612014-04-06T13:22:00.001-04:002014-04-06T13:22:06.148-04:00Just Duckie!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you travel down the nearest major street to my home, you will pass houses with a man-made small lake (pond) behind them. In front of one of the houses on the other side of the street is a sign that says "Duck Crossing". That sign was the inspiration for the stories and activities shared in kindergarten and first grade this week. (I am happy to report that every time ducks are crossing to the house that feeds them, the traffic on the street always stops. Only once have I heard as much as a car horn.) <br />
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The Ks and first grade did the obvious like singing "Six Little Ducks That I Once Knew" and reciting "Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play". They colored ducks that we could then attach to a craft stick for simple puppet. You should have seen the ducks. They were beautiful and creative. One boy spent a long time carefully coloring concentric circles in bright colors and then rays of other colors to complete his duck. He named it "Radiated Duck."<br />
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It amazed me how many picture books we had about ducks--so many that I could not possible share them all.<br />
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The natural first choice for duck stories is the classic, Caldecott Award winning, <strong><em>Make Way for Ducklings</em> by Robert McCloskey.</strong> It was first published in 1941 and is still a lovely and much loved story. I did not get to know Boston until my daughter moved there for graduate school, but I immediately recognized the Public Gardens from the many times I saw it when I read this book over and over. The cars and the police uniforms may have changed but the swan boats are still there. Of course, now there is also the row of duck statues for Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Oack, Pack, Quack, and Mrs. Mallard. If you are going to Boston, be sure to read (or re-read) this story so you can fully enjoy seeing the Charles River and other sights of the city.<br />
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Bringing memories of the illustrations of <em>Make Way for Ducklings</em> to a new story is just part of the charm of <strong><em>Lucky Ducklings </em>by Eva Moore.</strong> It gives a happy ending to the story we hear all too often of ducklings that fall through the grate on the city drainage system. Thanks to clear thinking humans the ducks are saved after their fall and reunited with their mother who insists that she has to lead them across the street...this time with help.<br />
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<strong><em>Outfoxed </em>by Mike Twohy</strong> has great illustrations and a story that is guaranteed to get laughs from kids and adults. Fox raids the hen house at great peril to himself only to find that he has actually gotten a duck when his heart was set on a chicken dinner. He is willing to settle until the duck announces with a wag of its tail and a slobbering lick to fox's face that he is actually a dog. For the rest of that evening the duck does all kinds of dog like things--from lots of jumping and licking to barking and looking adorable. That night he even sleeps with fox. Alas, in the morning, fox decides that the darling duck/dog needs to go back to the far because a fox does not keep a pet. Duck/dog cries pitifully but fox throws him over the farm fence, anyway. Has fox made a mistake? The twist at the end will answer that question.<br />
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<strong>Patricia Polacco</strong> writes so many well known books that sometimes others are overlooked. One of those is <strong><em>John Philip Duck</em></strong> which tells the story of the little boy that brings his pet duck to work at the<br />
Peabody Hotel in Memphis and that duck grows up to be one of the ducks that daily ride the elevator down to the main lobby swim in the fountain, under the guidance of the Duck Master, a job first given to the young boy who started the tradition. The story has just the right balance of tension and charm along with its historical accuracies.<br />
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<strong><em>Duck to the Rescue</em></strong> continues the series by <strong>John Himmelman</strong>, however, unlike cows, pigs, and chickens, duck does not seem to be able to get anything quite right. Sheep has the perfect solution. This is a series loved by the kids as they love to chant, "Duck (or whoever the animal of the book is) to the Rescue!" every third page and then see what happens next.<br />
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<strong><em>Guji, Guji</em> by Chih-Yuan Chen</strong> can be a very deep story if you want to make it that. It is all about making choices about who you are and who your family is. Of course, the kids just want to see what this crocodile hatched into a duck family does after meeting his bad crocodile cousins. He is one smart crocoduck. The illustrations are especially quirky and charming.<br />
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There are myriad other duck stories. Look for titles by <strong>Jez Alborough, Doreen Cronin, Jackie Urbanovic</strong> and more. Let me know what makes you feel just duckie.<br />
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Note Emerson students: Lucky Duckies will be back at Emerson after break. See if you can win a little duck by checking out a book that is checked out Lucky Duckie.<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-88915625192912939232013-08-11T14:36:00.001-04:002013-08-11T14:36:57.836-04:00NPR's 100 Must Reads for Kids<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You may have recently heard or seen the list that NPR has created of the <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/08/05/207315023/the-ultimate-backseat-bookshelf-100-must-reads-for-kids-9-14?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20130811&utm_source=mostemailed">100 Must-Reads for Kids 9-14.</a> (It was one of their most shared stories last week--many of them coming to me from friends and other sources.) I have read it several times now and want to say that I think it is a great list and then add the caveat that so many others noted in the comments. Nine to fourteen is a huge age range and some of these books are clearly at the top of this range while others skim the lower reaches. Look on a library catalog (such as Emerson School's catalog which can be found in the library section which is under of <a href="http://www.emerson-school.org/index.php">the school website</a>) or even Amazon or the like. (Amazon is great for information gathering but whenever it is possible I will argue for shopping at your local bookstore because bookstores are worth saving.)<br />
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That said, there is one choice of best books that I feel needs a comment. Please, if you are going to read <strong>The Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, </strong> be sure to balance those stories with <strong><em>The Birchbark House</em> by Louise Erdrich</strong> along with the others in the trilogy. (You will find <em>The Birchbark House</em> on the NPR list, too.) Erdrich's children's books are often compared to Wilder's books as they describe daily life for an Ojibwas family in about the same time and place. They add balance to the often stereotypical and negative images of Native Americans that Wilder includes in her books. I understand that Wilder was writing in a certain time and of her childhood memories. There is much to be said for these books that are classics for good reason. However, I cringe at the thought of young people still harboring these biases in today's world. (Full disclosure here--I never have particularly enjoyed the Little House books, not even as a young girl growing up in the foothills of Montana. Or perhaps I was a young girl growing up in the middle of nowhere. Almost everyone I have ever discussed these books with has had a very different impression, even women who grew up in the rural West.)<br />
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I want to applaud a few of the titles from this list that I think are outstanding and often overlooked.<br />
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<strong><em>A Long Way From Chicago</em> by Richard Peck</strong> is something of a hard sell in my library but if you want a good chuckle combined with historical insight and a heartwarming family, it would be hard to find a better book than this one. I would suggest grades four and up as the best audience to enjoy one of the quirkiest grandmothers in children's literature.<br />
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<strong><em>Esperanza Rising</em> by Pam Munoz Ryan</strong> offers up both cultural and socio-economic differences in a touching story that will be enjoyed by grades 4-7 or so.<br />
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<strong><em>The One and Only Ivan</em> by Katherine Applegate</strong> won this year's Newbery award. I was skeptical about it when I read the descriptions and probably would have been a little put off by the description given on this list, but I promise you that it is much better than any description I have seen and is very worthy of the award. Grades 4-7 are good for this one.<br />
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<strong><em>Mr. Popper's Penguins</em> by Richard and Florence Atwater</strong> is a classic for a reason. Don't think that seeing the movie means you have any idea of how wonderful this book is. Anyone of any age will enjoy this book.<br />
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<strong><em>The Cricket in Times Square</em> by George Selden</strong> falls into the classic category, too, and is a story that has passed the test of time for good reason. Be sure to find a copy that gives ample recognition to the wonderful illustrations by Garth Williams (whose work you will also find in other classics such as <em>Charlotte's Web</em> and <em>Little House on the Prairie)</em>.<br />
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<strong><em>Half Magic</em> by Edward Eager</strong> was one of my favorite books as a child and started me on the grand adventure of reading fantasy. Read all of the books in the series. These are great for reading aloud at any age and many second graders can tackle them alone.<br />
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<strong><em>The Borrowers</em> by Mary Norton</strong> left me incapable of ever looking at little things ribbons, toys, nuts, and such without wondering how a tiny person would put it to use. I am going to say their readership begins at about grade three. (As [almost] always, they are better than the movie or the Disney books of the same title.)<br />
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<strong><em>The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963</em> by Christopher Paul Curtis</strong> should be required reading for everyone--no I would never really require everyone to read any given book, but that is how highly I regard this novel of family, the realities of racial relations, and a big slice of American history. There are some harsh scenes of racial conflict but there are also some amazing scenes of family love and humor, all of which are appropriate for grades four and up.<br />
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<strong><em>One Crazy Summer</em> by Rita Williams Garcia</strong> also has themes of family and racial tensions and a good dose of humor though it is very different from that of the Watsons. I think people, especially girls, will enjoy this most beginning in grade five.<br />
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<strong><em>The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles </em>by Julie Edwards</strong> is a book that kids come across years after it was read to them in first or second grade to tell me that it was the best book they ever heard and then they read it again and confirm that they still love it. Yes, Julie Edwards is better known as the Julie Andrews who sang her way into the hearts of millions as Mary Poppins and Maria Von Trapp.<br />
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<strong><em>Where the Mountain Meets the Moon</em> by Grace Lin</strong> is simply beautiful. Don't miss it if you are in grade three or above.<br />
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<strong><em>Inside Out and Back Again</em> by Thanhha Lai</strong> is so much more than poetry. It is a beautiful story of a girl finding her way without losing her roots. I suggest it for grades five and up.<br />
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<em><strong>The House of the Scorpion</strong> </em><strong>by Nancy Farmer</strong> is for middle school and up as it is a harsh, almost too real-sounding dystopian novel that may be the best of this genre that I have ever read. A sequel is set to come out in September of this year. Nancy Farmer has many other books that should not be missed. T<strong><em>he Warm Place</em></strong> is for slightly younger readers, grade three or four and up, but the rest are really aimed at older readers.<br />
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<strong><em>The 21 Balloons</em> by William Pene DuBois</strong> is another classic that seems dated at times but is a rollicking good story that will win readers in grades three and up in a vary short time. I have fond memories of reading it with my children and having take many breaks to laugh or to think about some of the wild ideas that make this story so unique.<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-69935102350649117422013-07-31T21:13:00.000-04:002013-07-31T21:13:02.864-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL READERS</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Middle School students may be closer to the same reading levels than they were in first or second grade, but their maturity and interests vary greatly. This list is one that should be regarded as having the potential to please everyone but it is almost certain that not every title will be appropriate or appealing to everyone. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Where the Streets Had a Name</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Randa Abdel Fattah</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is told through the eyes of a young Palestinian girl who must travel through Israeli territory to help her grandmother. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Douglas Adams </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and its many sequels has become a classic of science-fiction and humor.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Watership Down</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Richard Adams</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> resonated with me when I read it because it is far more than just a story of rabbits who need to find a new home.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Sherman Alexie</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> faces many of the problems of every young man with the added conflict of having to live in two worlds--that of the reservation which is home to his family and his heritage and that of the white high school that recruits him to play basketball. The cartoon drawings in the book help to add humor and understanding to a difficult life. Warning: The story is very frank about what young men deal with as they mature, including sexual issues. Sherman Alexie gets mixed reviews from people who care about Native American stories and may be offensive to some people on that level. That said, it is an interesting story that will move and motivate many readers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">City of the Beast</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Isabel Allende </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (and two others in the series) follows a young boy as he joins his grandmother on an expedition in the Amazon. There is a good mix of magic and reality in this book by a highly respect Latin American author.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Before We Were Free</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Julia Alvarez</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is based on the author's experiences growing up in the Dominican Republic under the harsh dictatorship of the time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chains;, Fever, 1793;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Speak </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Laurie Halse Anderson</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> perhaps seem at first glance to have little in common besides having the same author. The other tie that quickly becomes evident is the outstanding storytelling. The first two of these are historical--the first about free African Americans living in the American Colonies at the time of the Revolution and the second is about the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. Both will hold interest to the last page. A parent of a daughter told me a few years ago that she wished her daughter and every 8th grade girl would read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Speak</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> before entering high school. It tells of a young girl who goes to a party in that summer between 8th and 9th grade where something so terrible happens that she quits talking. Her story is slowly, often painfully, revealed in a manner that warns girls of what could happen in a seemingly innocent setting--both in what happens to the main character and in how easily her friends are able and willing to mistreat her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wonder Show</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Hannah Barnaby</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is also about a girl who is mistreated, but this time the setting is much less common. She leaves an orphanage to join a circus wonder show. Needless to say there are many odd characters. This book is tough to read at times with its stories of child abuse. It is also moving and an interesting window into circus life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My Life With the Lincolns</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Gayle Brandeis</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> offers some lighter reading as a girl living in Chicago in the 1960s grow to believe that her family is the reincarnation of the family of Abe Lincoln (her father's initials are A.B.E. for one thing) and decides she has to protect her father from Lincoln's fate. Her father is very involved with the Civil Rights movement and she gets dragged along to much of the activity, too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ask Me No Questions</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Marina Budhos</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is the story of a Muslim girl whose family is illegally in the United States and how they work to be legal and safe and accepted.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Playground</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by 50 Cents</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> surprised me as I usually don't have high expectations for children's books written by celebrities. This novel by a rapper is well written and poignant as it talks of a young boy trying to fit in with the crowd while struggling to understand his parents.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Elijah of Buxton</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Christopher Paul Curtis</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is my favorite of all of Curtis' books. It is also written for older readers than the popular</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Watston's Go to Birmingham--1963</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bud, Not Buddy. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This book takes us to Canada and the first town specifically built for escaped slaves from the United States. Elijah is the first child to be born there so he does not understand slavery until he travels to Detroit and sees the reality of it. As with every Curtis book, the story has plenty of humor along with strong historical information.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Toby Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Timothee de Fombelle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> will be an easy reader for many middle school students but this interesting adventure of a small boy for whom a tree is the totality of his universe carries a big environmental impact that will be enjoyed and pondered long after the last page.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The London Eye Mystery</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Siobhan Dowd</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> weaves a mystery around a missing cousin who comes to visit. Only the boy dealing with life on the autism spectrum has the kind of thinking skills to find a solution.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Out of My Mind</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Sharon Draper</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> will change the way you look at people with severe disabilities. It is all too easy and common to think of someone who can not speak or control their muscles as somehow mentally inferior. The narrator of this story knows that first hand because she has dealt with cerebral palsy her entire life. A text to speech machine lets her prove how much she knows and can do but may not be enough to help her make friends.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The House of the Scorpion</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Nancy Farmer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> takes dystopian novels to a high level. Set in a land between Mexico and the United States that is run by a cruel dictator who expects that cloning will keep him alive with harvested organs, this is the story of one of the clones. It is powerful storytelling.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Better Nate Than Ever</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Tim Federle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> made me laugh out loud. Middle Schooler Nate travels alone from rural Pennsylvania to New York City to live his dream of auditioning for a Broadway show. His small town reactions to the big city are perfect as are the descriptions of stage parents.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Big Splash</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sidekicks</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Jack D. Ferraiolo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> are lighthearted looks at almost typical life. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Big Splash </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is what the students in one middle school calls a practice of carefully directing water balloons at classmates to help make clear their standing in the social pecking order. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sidekicks </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> reveals some of the difficulties of being an adolescent super hero, from the perils of wearing tights to developing a crush on your arch-enemy who somehow turns out to be a girl.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dead End in Norvelt</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Jack Gantos</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is based on the author's childhood in the actual town of Norvelt, a city with an interesting history of its own. The story is filled with interesting characters, typical pre-teen angst, and some surprises. It won the Newbery Award.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Princess Bride</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by William Goldman</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> did not cross my path until I was an adult but its humor and adventure is perfect for middle school readers, too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Mark Haddon was written for adults but soon became popular with young adult readers. The narrator experiences life through the view of a high functioning autistic teen who uses math to explain much of what he sees and hears. This situation can make life confusing and difficult but it also helps him solve a mystery.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Project Sweet Life</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Brent Hartinger</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> features a group of boys willing to work hard to avoid having to work over one of the last sweet summers of high school. Humor builds as every project they devise to keep them out of the workforce leads to new problems.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Saint of Dragons</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Jason Hightman uses a rather familiar plot of a boy discovering his magical powers to take the reader on a high adventure with dragons and prophecy and unexpected developments. There is a sequel, too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Josh Leib</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is maybe best explained by noting that the its author is a producer of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and worked for the Simpsons TV show. It is non-stop sarcastic humor about a friendless boy who is willing to go to any lengths to buy votes in a school election. Luckily, he has been financially wheeling and dealing long enough and well enough to have plenty of money to spend.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Gods of Manhattan</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Scott Mobus </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> creates an alternative world in New York City that includes famous figures who have played a part in the history of the city. It has high adventure while introducing myriad characters, historical and fictional.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Un Lun Dun</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by China Mieville</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> takes the reader to alternative version of famous cities of the world. Un Lun Dun is almost like London but not really.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Monster</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Walter Dean Myer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is not for the faint of heart. It is the powerful story of a young African American boy who is about to go on trial for robbery and murder. He keeps going over the crime, both in a movie he is directing in his mind and in his journal, and can not be confident that he is innocent or was unintentionally somehow responsible. This is a very powerful look at jails, the court system, and life in a tough neighborhood.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A Step From Heaven</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by An Na</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is deceptively brief and easy to read. The story is not easy, however, as it tells of a girl moving from Korea with her dysfunctional family and trying to adapt to life in the United States.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This Dark Endeavor</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Half Brother</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Kenneth Oppel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> show the talent and diversity of this author who visited Emerson a few years ago. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This Dark Endeavor </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is the author's imagining of what happened to the Frankenstein brothers before the more famous story. It is has mystery, love, magic, and events that make it a true work of horror. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Half Brother </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> has horror of another kind--the horror a boy feels first when is life is torn apart when the family "adopts" a chimpanzee to be his little brother for research purposes and again when they take that brother away.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life As We Know It; The Dead and the Gone;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This World We Live In</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Susan Beth Pfeffer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> imagine a world thrown into chaos when the moon is knocked out of its orbit. The first book tells the story through the eyes of a teen girl in rural Pennsylvania. The second takes us to New York City and the event as it affects a young man, and the third is both of their stories. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Ransom Riggs</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> uses old photographs that the author discovered in antique shops and at flea markets to create the characters who inhabit this peculiar home and haunt the boy who sets out to discover how they are a part of his grandfather's life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Between Shades of Gray</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Ruta Sepetys</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is a powerful story of a Lithuanian family who is exiled to Siberia by Stalin. I recently convinced one of my adult book clubs to read this. They enjoyed the experience.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Scrawl</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Mark Shulman</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is written as a journal required in a high school detention setting. I confess that I am partial to journals and letters and such, so maybe not everyone will find it as interesting, moving, and enjoyable as I did.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Schwa Was Here</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> My Neal Shusterman</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was my first introduction to this author who remembers the ups and downs of social situations in middle and high school much the same way I do. I liked the idea of someone being so bland that he was invisible and then others putting that talent to good use.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Runaway</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Running Dream</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Wendelin Van Draanen </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">are both about girls running. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Runaway</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is the journal of a girl who runs away from home and tells of her experiences living on the streets and struggling just to get a meal and a place to sleep. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Running Dream </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">tells the story of a girl who was a champion runner until a tragic accident takes her legs. She must learn to be strong for herself and so she can help others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Thirteenth Child</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Patricia C. Wrede</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> melds the history of the Westward Expansion with magic in intriguing ways that will probably lead the reader directly to the sequel.</span></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-44653053671472272022013-02-23T13:18:00.001-05:002013-02-23T13:18:51.506-05:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
GRAPHIC WORKS<br />
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Recently a co-worker and I were supposed to present a discussion of using graphic novels and non-fiction to teach diversity and justice. Unfortunately, our presentation was cancelled due to lack of participants in the workshop, but I am not about to let my annotated bibliography go to waste so I will present it here.<br />
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My people are a bit put off by graphic works, viewing them as too simplistic or silly. Perhaps people are remembering the many hours that they spent illicitly reading comic books by Marvel and the like under the blankets after being told to go to sleep. Such memories are generally too pleasant to have possibly been good for a growing mind. Recent research seems to be pointing to the opposite being true. There are strong suggestions that reading a work in graphic format actually increases the ability to remember it. I don't know if this is true, but I do know that graphic works open up worlds to kids that they might otherwise never enter. Many of the students who use my library gravitate to the graphic works as a jumping off point to reading more traditional formats.<br />
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Don't write off these works until you have had a chance to read them and, perhaps, witnessed a young person reading them. Graphic works have a lot to offer. Start with some from this list and then go on to read more. They are addictive. (P.S. They are not just for kids anymore either. More and more adult level graphic works are being published, especially memoires.)<br />
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FICTION<br />
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<strong><em>Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword </em>and <em>Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite</em> by Barry Deutsch—</strong>Grades 4-7 This book will capture readers so completely with trolls and magic and adventure that they will not realize how much they are learning about and appreciating Orthodox Judaism and its customs. Mirka wants to fight trolls and dabble in magic but she does not want to forget the meaningful traditions of her faith. This is a good way to look at communities that we may not understand while discussing religion, self-identity, and women’s rights.<br />
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<strong><em>Sticky Burr: Adventures in Burrwood Forest</em> by John Lechner</strong> –Grades 1-4 This carries an overt<br />
anti-bullying message along with a story of crazy adventure and some facts (and plenty of imagined<br />
information) about burrs. Toss in a generous dose of humor and kids will find that this book sticks to<br />
them like a burr to wild dog.<br />
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<strong><em>Take What You Can Carry</em> by Kevin C. Pyle</strong>—Grades 7 and up In 1978, Kyle, a troubled teen, can only take what he can carry when he shoplifts from a convenience store. In 1941, Ken and 110,00 other Japanese Americans sent to internment camps were instructed to only take what they can carry. These two stories are told side by side unit as it gradually becomes evident that Kyle is stealing from Ken. This novel offers both history and compassion.<br />
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<strong><em>Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow</em> by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso</strong>—Grades 5 and up It is not easy to separate fact from fiction in this story of a young man who hopes to follow Satchel Paige into the Negro League. Emmet, the narrator, tries out against Paige in 1929 but suffers an injury that keeps him back home as a sharecropper but always following baseball and his heroes. There are short updates of his life and world affairs until on September 2, 1944, when Satchel Paige and the All-Stars play against the local all-white team of the Tuckwilla All-Stars. With all the excitement of a good baseball game, readers learn about Jim Crow, standing up for your rights, and pride in one’s actions in this powerful story.<br />
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<strong><em>The Arrival</em> by Shaun Tan</strong>—Grades 7 and up My co-worker and top-notch 7th grade teacher, Beth Nazario, uses this wordless book to teach writing along with helping students experience what it means to be an immigrant. The students write about what they are reading and imagine themselves being one of the un-named immigrants depicted inside the front cover. After much discussion and introspection, the students each experience an imaginary interview with a customs officer who does not speak English. Older students or adults who are fluent in another language interviews the student with typical questions. The experience is often quite powerful. Even without this in-depth study, this is a powerful book.<br />
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<strong><em>Lost and Found</em> by Shaun Tan</strong>—All Ages It takes a more sophisticated reading and guidance to get all of the nuances of the short graphic stories in this collection which will be enjoyed by all ages for their quirky humor. For discussing the reception to immigrants (“the immigrant problem”) my choice would be to read and discuss “The Rabbits” (words by John Marsden). It resonates especially if you have seen the documentary movie “Rabbit Proof Fence” which also comes from Australia.<br />
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<strong><em>Drama</em> by Raina Telgemeier</strong>—Grades 6-9 This novel won a Stonewall Honor Book Award in January 2013 for its balanced portrayal of gays in a middle school setting. The story follows members of a drama department in their budget strapped production of a musical. The protagonist, Callie, is the set designer who dreams big both for the production and for finally finding a meaningful relationship. Will one of the two cute boys be the answer to her dreams? She deals with declarations of sexual orientation in a way that seems very realistic and appropriate.<br />
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WORLD FOLKLORE<br />
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<strong><em>Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection</em> edited by Matt Dembicki</strong>—Grades 5 and up Dembicki sent requests throughout North America to find Native American storytellers willing to tell their traditional stories and let noted graphic artists illustrate them. The tellers selected the illustrator who they thought would best fit their story. Everyone loves a good trickster tale, making this book an especially good introduction to Native American folklore. Whether you are selecting based on the graphics, the moral, the humor, or the adventure, you are sure to find several here that will be appealing.<br />
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<strong><em>The Shark King</em> by R. Kikuo Johnson</strong>—Grades 1-5 First and foremost, this is an intriguing telling of the Hawaiian tale of Nanaue. It is also simple enough for emergent readers while engaging enough to keep older readers interested until the final page. Nanaue is the son of a mortal woman and the shark king. His father disappears before his birth, leaving a cape and instructions that his son will need it. Parental separation is one topic dealt with in the book, but more intense is its discussion of bullying and survival.<br />
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<strong><em>The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea</em> by Anne Sibley O’Brien</strong>—Grades 3-6 Folktales from Korea are not in abundance so you will want to give this award winning graphic novel a try for many reasons. First of all it tells a story little known in this part of the world. Add to that the<br />
comparison to the European Robin Hood and then top it off with the colorful illustrations and you have an enjoyable way to dig deeper into the culture of Korea.<br />
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NON-FICTION<br />
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<strong><em>Little White Duck: A Childhood in China</em> by Na Liu and Andres Vera Martinez</strong>—Grades 4-7 China in the 1970s was in flux so being a child in that time and place could not have been easy. The eight short stories in this collection are based on the author’s life and give a unique glimpse into life in China before and after the death of Chairman Mao. The text and illustrations provide a glimpse not only into the life of the author, but also the history of China and the wealth and beauty of traditional Chinese teachings.<br />
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<strong><em>Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love</em> by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack, Jr. Illustrated by Randy DuBurke</strong>—Grades 4 and up This biography uses the writings of Nat Love to follow his life from his 1854 birth into slavery through his life as the most famous African-American cowboy in the Old West. He knew such luminaries as Bat Masterson and Billy the Kid, was well known for his skills in roping, shooting, and roping, and was a real character of the time. Love published his autobiography in 1907; his words are mixed with a little bit of creative fiction to make a compelling read.<br />
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<strong><em>Around the World</em> by Matt Phelan</strong>—Grades 4 – 8 Phelan is an award winning graphic novelist and historical fiction writer who has turned to the true tales three daring adventurers of the nineteenth<br />
century who circumnavigated the globe in ways never seen before. Former miner Thomas Stevens rode his bicycle around the world in 1884 when bikes still had that amazing big wheel in the front; reporter Nellie Bly only needed 80 days in 1889 for her trip; and retired sea captain quietly set sail in a small sloop in 1895 and became the first person to sail around the world alone. This stories encourage bravery, creativity, endurance, and the power of both sexes to do the impossible.<br />
<br />
<strong><em>Smile </em>by Raina Telgemeier</strong>—Grades 5 and up Here is a memoir that will resonate with tweens and<br />
teens. When Raina was about to start Middle School, she fell and damaged her two front teeth. To fix<br />
this dental nightmare required that she experience surgery, implants, and most embarrassingly for a<br />
girl trying to fit in with the cool kids, headgear and false teeth. Use this book to begin discussions about disability, bullying, or just trying to fit in when you are obviously very different looking.<br />
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</div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-54580583602667446922013-02-23T12:44:00.000-05:002013-02-23T13:20:00.883-05:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
POETRY--LONG OVERDUE<br />
<br />
These poems were written by 7th grade Language Arts students in the past couple of years. I have changed names to initials, but otherwise they are as they were written. If I do say so myself, some are quite good. Many thanks to the students who were willing to share their work with me.<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve lived, I’ve laughed, I’ve loved</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve seen the gifts from above</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve been around the globe</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve seen the terrors from below</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve been to the highest mountain peaks</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve collected all I’ll ever seek</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have nothing but I’ve got all</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">from great heights I doth fall</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to a fiery H*** with which I came</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I now do forsake my name</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I do give up humanity</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and turn my back on the world I see</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">only one thought comes to mind</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">when I leave god rest my kind</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">o soccer soccer soccer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">oh how i doth love thee</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">when i am old and feeble</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to the young shall i teach thee</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By JH<br />
<hr />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Ocean</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How can I find a way to breathe,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Why can’t I find a place of peace?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Salt water seas and salty breeze,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Surely that’s the life for me?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fish are swimming in the shallows,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hungry birds are mourning shadows.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Where am I, this salty place?<br class="kix-line-break" />The sea is where I’m at to date.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By TS<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">River</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The waves are lapping</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">at the rocks,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and their shimmering</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">waters are churning</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">pools, churned by </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the huge hands</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">of a god.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
By TS<br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Internet</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The internet is a heaven</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a home away from home</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the many wonderful things it does</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">like do research and write papers</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The internet is a heaven.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
By MB<br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ROTFL and I went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I started to die and ROTFL cried and I asked what was the matter.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ROTFL said, “I died.” I screamed “You lie!”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and I kicked ROTFL in the nose. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By HJ<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Layla</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So cute and so small</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Smelled sweet like the trees</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I used to cradle her</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">‘Til she got the fleas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By HJ<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Dreams</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dreams hate the dark</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark hates the light</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Light hates to fight</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fight breaks the night</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Night brings morn</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Morn brings day</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Day brings worn</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worn needs sleep</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sleep for dreams.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
By HJ<br />
<hr />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Fire</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The fire burns,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it crackles and pops,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">sparks fly,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and embers flash.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It toasts the treats,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">before they meet,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the chocolate filling,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and Graham cracker sandwich.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The fire burns on,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">without pause it continues,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to light up the camp site,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">as it soothes everything around it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The fire is at its Zenith,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">for soon it will go south and die,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but the kindle will stay,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">as its memory will live on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By AD<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Ball</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ball bounces,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">some of it rubs off,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it waits for the racket to trounce it,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">as if it’s companion had coughed,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it spirals into the twine.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But once again,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">like a newborn animal,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the yellow-green sphere begins its journey,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">over the white tape,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and between the two menacing sets of strings.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The match will soon end,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the ball will sit,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the players will leave,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but the ball will wait,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to bounce again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By AD<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Pillow</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The pillow lies soft, warm, and nice,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">lavender and goose feather scent,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">made for the head of those it calms,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">sending them into a deep trance,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">its powers send you into a sleep,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">like none other ever before,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">waiting for tomorrow's morning,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is the pillow. </span><br />
<br />
By AD<br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">BAM! I hear the thunder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SLAM! I see the lightening</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">brighten up the night.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I run up to my bedroom</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">cowering in fright.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I crawl under the bedsheets</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">as I hear the thunder beats,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">knowing if I go to sleep,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the storm will pass on.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I wake up in the morning,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and everything is drenched.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My backyard is all wet,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but I bet that today’s weather</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">will be better yet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
By AH<br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Shakespearean Sonnet #1:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">9/11,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The planes that flew across the USA,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">through the brilliant sunshine of that morning</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">were hijacked to America’s dismay,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">crushed our country’s heart without a warning.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They hit the towers with a horrid force,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">trapping people inside by the fires,<br class="kix-line-break" />people screamed as the planes met their planned course,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">towers turned to devastating pyres.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The towers gave after many hours,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">billowing smoke as they fell to the ground.<br class="kix-line-break" />People were crushed under the two towers,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">unless they jumped or fell without a sound.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The towers did finally surrender,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">billowing smoke as they crashed to the ground.<br class="kix-line-break" />To the fall so many lives were rendered</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">unless they jumped or fell without a sound.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The memory of that horrific day,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A spot in history of darkest gray.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
By NF<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Shakespearean Sonnet #2:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Ocean</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ocean, unforgiving are its tides.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Its creatures behave in ways much the same.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ocean with its rules they all abide,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the ocean we know will never be tame.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ships that travel ‘cross its surface waves,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">get battered and may sink beneath its depths.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ocean has become a place with graves,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">because of so many sailors’ missteps.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ocean can also be beautiful,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a sunset above its bluest surface.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The fish swimming about as usual,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">all things existing with a known purpose.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ocean is so unpredictable,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">when it’s beautiful it’s forgivable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
By NF<br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I love my hockey stick</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It loves me back</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It follows me everywhere I go</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It sleeps on a rack.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I love my hockey stick</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s oranage, not red.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And every evening,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It tucks me into bed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By SK<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Death</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dust to dust</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Death, so final</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Where do I go after the fall?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Seems like yesterday I was </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Running, jumping and climbing.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No more.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There is no turning back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I can see the light.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My body is still.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Today is my day to explore.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am at peace.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By SK<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Volcanoes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gurgling and gleaming</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The glowing lava slips down the mountain.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The gigantic volcano erupts</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Going, going, gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
By SK<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am a test.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I hear their moans and groans,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As the teacher announces their arrival.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most hate me, very few like me,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But I don’t care.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I hate all of them, too.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They don’t know any of my answers.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most of them hit me,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As they tap their pencil.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thwap!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thwap!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thwap!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While they wait for the school</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bell to ring.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But if you study,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And treat me well,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t you fear. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ll make sure</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The next time I see you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ll have a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">BIG</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RED</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By AP<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Earth</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Swish! goes the wind.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Splash! goes the water.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sizzle! goes the fire.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">These are the sounds</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">that make the Earth go round.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
By AP<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Dandelion Seeds</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A Dandelion seed is a fish in the air </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Not knowing its destination</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but that it’s going to get there</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It floats through the wind</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">tumbling and tossing</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">wishes clinging on.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
By AS<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Puck</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Smack! The puck hits the ice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Players push and fight</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">for possession.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vroom! As it drives down the ice</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">toward the defensive side.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Whoosh! As it flies over the goalie’s shoulder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">stick side.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">into</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">net.</span><br />
<br />
By AS<br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There once was a man named Tesla</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Invented so many things.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">From neon lights, to coils</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He even tested wings.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Edison was a very stubborn man</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He wouldn’t give up DC.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most of his inventions were a sham,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Including “his” electricity.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh tree</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh green tree</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You are like a giant</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So tall and fat</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With your busy leaves</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You make me feel so </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Small.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You may be tall</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But you are very slow</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Inching your way to the sky.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>By YW<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tissue after tissue</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Slime running by</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Is this really my issue</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Or just another lie?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I feel the goo</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Of green and yellow.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I know it’s true,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For it feels like jello.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By YW</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" />The Fire</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Glowing orange</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Burning hot</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Warming the room</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Night after night.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I come inside and feel the heat.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The cold winter day has me quite beat.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The heater is roaring like a bear.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My mother is sitting in a chair.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And I just crash on the couch.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ZZZZZZZ...ZZZZZ...ZZZZZZ</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By RK</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As the light comes on, we prepare to jump.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As the light comes on, we know we may die.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We line up to go, and hear a loud bump.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re hit! These enemy fighters are sly.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The first trooper steps up to make the plunge.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s my turn to go and my nerves are shot.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I sum up my courage and make the lunge.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh how I wish I was back in my cot.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am falling toward the enemy lines,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">as the transport explodes right above me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m lucky enough to avoid the mines.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One man does not, but I’m better off than he.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We suffered some deaths, but life must go on.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Now we will turn it over to recon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By CR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Seashell</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am a seashell</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">washed up on the beach.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All around, noises are loud.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As the tide washes ever closer,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I know I am almost home.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I feel the water close around, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and no longer feel the sand.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As I am washed away, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I know I’m home to stay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By CR</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Seasons</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The first to come is thy of sweet and soft.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Which birds do sing and smile to the sun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Now shines so bright and through the clouds it wafts.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And in the end the rain has past and done.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The second is of days so hot you’ll shy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And in the meadows little children play.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And when it’s over you are sure to cry.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Because it’s almost time for school’s first day.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The third that comes is when leaves fall off trees.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And children dress in scary clothes at night.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And school resumes and things begin to freeze.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And the cold will surely give you a fright.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And lastly that falls is the snow filled nights.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And then the new year will take to its flight.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By IR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Arial Black"; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Bumble bee</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bumble bee oh bumble bee,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You are a mini sun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With black stripes.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That are your tights.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And fur of a bear that stuns.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh bumble bee oh bumble bee</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Please oh please</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t sting me!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By IR</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I run in an open valley.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One lush and green.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I run across the river.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The sky is now serene.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I look into the water.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So deep, so blue.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But the reflection I see is not me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By IR</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Mistakes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Forever made.<br class="kix-line-break" />Hard to fix.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Many are not on purpose,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Some are lies.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Some made to cover</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">embarrassing moments.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Never being able</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to figure it out.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Making them,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">watching them</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">being made.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Never know</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">what to do</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">when it ruins</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">something special.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By GN</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Violin</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Violion</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A beautiful instrument</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">with music so beautiful</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">like a bird singing its song.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Carved wood,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">pretty as calligraphy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Many play it, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">some just listen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By GN</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The earth is teeming with unending life,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With bugs and other revolting creatures,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But sometimes we are constantly in strife,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But Earth has many other great features.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The modern days are different than the past,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The prehistoric humans were a sight,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But now we are advancing very fast,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Faster than the quick and fast speed of light.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The oceans cover the Earth vast and blue,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t drink the water because it has salt.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And deep in the bedrock there lies a clue,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As to why LA has a line of fault.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The heart is our home, the Earth is our guide,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Once it was full of carbon monoxide.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By PK</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Housefly</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There is a buzzing in the house,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">LIke a sleeping person on helium.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though that housefly is a jerk,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He is still better than my spouse.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By PK</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Shakespearean Sonnet</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">April</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">April dear April, oh please do come soon,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I need sweet roses and buds on the trees,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I need pure raindrops so clear and so blue,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I want cool winds, and a soft calm breeze.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">April showers shall bring on May flowers,<br class="kix-line-break" />I’ve seen them in April all in their bloom,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I know May has rain, comes for some hours,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I need tulips, nature’s perfect perfume.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh my dear April your cloudy blue skies,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The smell of the spring it comes in your wake,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Please don’t come back just to tell me goodbye,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh April, if you leave, my heart, will break.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh April don’t go, it means much to me,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">April my dear, you must simply agree.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By LR</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Where Poetry Hides</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I met him that night,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When I walked through the dark, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mist it hung with shadows everywhere in sight,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I saw him,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the mater,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the master of dreams.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Where does poetry hide?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He asked,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">From where does it come?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I said I would search,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the land in my mind,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and I walked around my thoughts,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">all through the night. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On roads and rivers,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">meandering my mind,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I found it you see,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">where poetry hides,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">inside the creativity of you and me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By LR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Dream</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A gushing waterfall and a bubbly spring,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a place where nature loves to sing.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Enormous domed rocks that are ringed by trees,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A sunsplashed meadow cooled by the breeze.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The evening brings forth a colorful display,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The bright orange sky gives way to red rays.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I run in the meadow through a sea of flowers,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I know I must leave in just a few hours.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And suddenly there is nothing blue blue,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I start to fall there is nothing I can do.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I land in the rough and gritty sand,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And as I stand up I know I’m on land,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There is quite a sight a bright blue sea,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Inside that there is a colorful coral reef,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Parrots I see those colorful birds,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They mimic many tunes that I know I have heard,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Something quite soft is pressed to my face,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh but wait where, where was that place?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">remember, remember, try to think,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I know i Have lost it as soon as I blink,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am now awake and I have lost it,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s gone for good--lickety split.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By LR</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Dare Me to Write a Sonnet (Because I Will)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fourteen lines end with a rhyming couplet</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Words all neatly lined up in one stanza</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Every second line to rhyme you must get</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Trying not to sound too much like Yoda.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fifth line now and new endings introduced</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Into the rhyme scheme for the next two lines</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">More complex poems and harder to deduce</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">cummings would have thought them too strict confines</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Four more lines until the rhyming end now</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ten fingers tapping out the syllables</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When I first started only thought was, “How?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">End now nearing fits words into labels</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dare me write a decent Shakespeare sonnet?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For you I will and put a bow on it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By DC</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dear Math</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s not your fault.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve always worked better with words than numbers anyway.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s not that I have anything against you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You’re dead useful, I’ll give you that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s just, when you follow me home, it bugs me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wanting to draw, wanting to write,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wanting to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">create</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And then there’s you</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m like an unwilling babysitter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You’ll get me into trouble if I leave you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s not your fault, it’s ust your nature</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It isn’t my fault if I want to ignore you sometimes?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You’re just so stuffy and tedious</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All rules, and unlike grammar, you learn them to follow them</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s not your fault, Math</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve just got enough problems of my own.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By DC</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Rain</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water dripping off nowhere cliff</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water falling</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Then ceasing</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water drenching pavement</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Dribbles off</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water, freezing to the bone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Proves skin isn’t waterproff</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water distorting window glass</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Like a moving sea through air</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water comes and goes in beats</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Music</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water, then, is music</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> And all the air-fishes ptiches their colors context</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All the Earth’s an ear</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> And wet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By DC</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You came to life one day</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You took my breath away</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The sun came out</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I started to pout</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s nothing left to say!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By KK</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Blue</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" />You are the color of the sky</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You are the color of sadness</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You make people high</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And then they create madness</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By KK</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One day, one day</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I will go</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">out, out</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">into the snow</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">walking, walking</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to and fro.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hello, hello</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to the new world</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">where I can travel</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">wherever I please.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Travel, travel</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">without even a wheeze.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Goodbye, goodbye</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to the old world.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Goodbye, goodbye</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to the old life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By HB</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Snow</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I like to go into the snow</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it is so very fun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I like to run and run around</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and bound and bound and bound.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I like to be in the winter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it is so very fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By HB</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Is how Shakespeare began that famous poem.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I really do not have much more to say,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But I guess I will have to write some more.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Poetry is not my favorite thing,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And sometimes it just seems like a huge bore.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It makes my head hurt with a real bad sting,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So bad I may just walk right out the door.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am sitting and writing this long thing</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So I can get the max number of points</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And in my head there is a droning ring</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Also a sudden aching in my joints</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I don’t think that there is much more to do</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So now I will present this poem to you!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By CF</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Guitar Pick</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh guitar pick</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You’re so tolerant.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As I pick you against the strings,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You never complain.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Even when I get mad</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and throw you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You never hurt me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Unless I step on you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By CF</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sir Issac Newton</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Was a tootin’</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">An apple fell on his head,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So he invented gravity instead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By AF</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Snow to Spring</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Snow,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it covers the Earth like a blanket.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Flowers,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">come through and pierce it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sun,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">hotter than the desert,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">comes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and steals our blanket.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Now,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the snow is gone.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Then,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">spring has sprung!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By AF</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Season of Life (Shakespearean Sonnet)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There is no month like the month known as May.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When butterflies come out and start to fly,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And People start to enjoy sunny days.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When warmth comes forth, and snow is doomed to die.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The summer begins with a dimmed down buzz.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tis the season for barbeques run wild,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and bumble bees begin to get their fuzz.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No more must conditions be so dire.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Because people must start to go outside,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and by their mothers’ rules they must abide.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water travels through a river,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">turn the handle, and it comes hither</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">drink its wetness, so refreshing.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">quench my thirst, as I drink it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Use the extra to feed the leaves</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">of the oak tree in my pantry.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By JU</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There once was a cube named Rubik</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It has a shape that was cubic.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It was from Dayan</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Speed cube in my hand</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This was a good Rubik’s cube to pick.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By HH</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I walk on this world</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">without a care</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">of anything around me</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No matter who calls</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I don’t hear the voice</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">no cries, no demands, no pleas.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I only cared about me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Everyone is like this,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">filled with sorrow and regrets.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We must have faith and happiness </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and believe in ourselves</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to set us free.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It is free to choose.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The world isn’t perfect,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but you can help it be.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By HH</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Who knows what lies there?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I can’t see in that blue square.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What could it be?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What could be in that dark sea?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A monster green?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A hairy fiend?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The world may never know,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The dark may never show.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By HH</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Fender Stratocaster</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Strum it, smash it</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">From classic rock, to heavy metal</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Turn it up</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kick the pedal</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Max volume</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Min reverb</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Works for every tune.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Razzles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Razzles are delicious</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They are candy that turns </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">gum</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Razzles come in six flavors</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and are generally fun!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By AH</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh dog,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you play,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and run,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and jump.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If I give you a treat</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you might do a stunt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By JA</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Clouds</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Clouds are like cotton candy</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">because they are so sweet and dandy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They float in the breeze</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and look like anything you please:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a flower</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a bug </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a tower</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a shrub.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Endless possibilities.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By JA</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Doofus the Hen</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Doofus is a big fat hen.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He lives in a old fox den.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He doesn’t like the stench:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It makes his teeth clench.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">His life was pretty boring.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It mostly consisted of snoring.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But once, he strangely awoke</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to find himself a bicycle spoke!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By KM</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mortifying Cascade of Red-hots</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It was your average day at the coal mine</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When a bunch of bats flew straight out.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Something bad must’ve happened!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Someone heard a shout...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Run! Run! Run!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Like a crazy wren!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What’s that big red wave?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Just hurry towards the glen!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wait, are those red-hots?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">OMG! They are!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I should get myself some!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Whoops, I stepped in tar!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Help! I’m stuck in this pit!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m practically a fossil!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Red-hots are attacking!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This disaster is colossal...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh Noes! It’s here!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m nearly gonna drown!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wait a second, what?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This was planned by you clowns?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This was all a prank? How could you!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m quitting this job, I don’t get a good pay.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wait, you say I get to keep all the red-hots?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fine, I’ll stay...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By KM</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Life is like...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life is like a hot bath,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It feels nice while you’re in it, but the longer you stay in, the more wrinkled you get.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life is like a cherry soda,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Once you get to the good stuff, the fizz is gone.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life is like a turkey,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No matter how you cut it, it’s still a turkey.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life is like wine & cheese,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The older it gets, the better it is.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life is like bread,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Until you do something with it, it just loafs about. (I c wut u did thar...)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life is what you make of it,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So do the best you can.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By KM</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Plastic Insanity</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Higgledy piggledy,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Plastic insanity,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Two million tons of it,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Please no profanity.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Luckily, all of it’s</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Biodegradable,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So it will rot away,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Green” is achievable!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By KM</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Leaves/Trees</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Beginning with autumn, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The leaves turn gold, orange, and red.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They lazily drift to the ground,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No hurry for the winter.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They lay in piles under the tree,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With the branches bare.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I wonder how they do when old.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Winter comes round,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and all the leaves are </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">under the snow and rotting,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Helping the ground for next year.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, after the sun</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">decides to stay a while longer,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">leaves grow back,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">new, green, and fresh,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">help the tree regain its strength.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, the air gets hotter,</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">summer rolls in.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The trees take in</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">sun from longest days,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">shade for us,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">sun for them,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">this is the way</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">so far</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By AT</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Random Poem</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dear clothing,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Thanks.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By AT</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Lake Michigan</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On my beaches, people make</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">sand castles, pits, and sandy cake.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On my beaches, children play</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">morning to evening, day by day.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On my beaches, some collect</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">specific stones, I suspect.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On my beaches, people forget,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">just how much everyday they fret.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On my beaches, as quiet as a mouse,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">some wish to own a house.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On my beaches, time slows down,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and people soon have to leave my town,</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am Lake Michigan,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">tourists I get. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But I’ll always be here.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t you forget!</span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
By AT<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Annoying Seller (Shakespearean Sonnets)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When I was walking I saw a seller</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He came forward with items so many</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He asked me how I was, I said steller</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He inquir’d if I could spare a penny.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I said, “I don’t have a need for your goods.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But he persisted to try and sell them.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I turned to leave him and go to the woods.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But he stopped me and pulle out a large gem.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He said I could buy it if I wanted,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I really was starting to hate this guy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I was really starting to be haunted.<br class="kix-line-break" />i was beginning to wish that’d die.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He kept on persisting to buy his gem.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So I drew my sword and beheaded him.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By TH</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Parents</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Was may act so helter-skelter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But they still will give us shelter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They will always love us most</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To them we offer this toast:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We admire them like a hero</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They don’t treat us like a zero</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They’re the ones we care for so</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We should thank them, to and fro.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sometimes we may yell and fight.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Words can really, really bite</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But in the end we always say</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m sorry that I was that way.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" />We know that they’re here for us.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They will always cheer for us.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We all love them such a bunch.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They sometimes even make us lunch.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So in this poem we will say,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I hope you’ll always be this way.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Think of all the things you’ve taught.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We love you an awful lot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By TH</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Shakespearean Sonnet</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There once was a little boy, down the land.<br class="kix-line-break" />He always playéd outside all day long.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But on Tuesday, his fun was ruin’d by rain.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So the little boy chose to sing a song.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Everyone heard and came to sing as well.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There were so many people and they got stuck</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">in the house, mom would get mad so don’t tell.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They were there for days, until the mail truck</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">came. They were overjoyed to be let out.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The mailman walk’d up and opened the door.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They fell upon him and all scream’d and shou</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">with gladness. But then it started to pour.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" />The years lasting rain overfilled the bay. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The boy will play again outside someday.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By PS</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Butterfly</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I am like love, I go where I please,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and please where I go.” said an</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">unknown.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I am like happiness, the more you chase me,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the more I will elude you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but if you turn your attention to other </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">things, I will come sit softly on your</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">shoulder.” said another unknown.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To the caterpillar, I am the end of the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">world, but at the same time, I am</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the start to a new beginning.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am the chance to start over,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To put your past behind you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and think about your future.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am a butterfly.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When you see me now, think of these</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">words, then try to be happy,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">just like a bird.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t worry about your past now,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">think about today, this moment,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">what you want to do, and how.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Think like a butterfly.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By PS</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">F-I-R-E-F-L-I-E-S</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> SE</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> E</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> RIF</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> E</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> LIF</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> E</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By PS</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Poem</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am not much of a poet,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’d much rather be dancing</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and everyone knows it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This poem needs enhancing,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but I don’t know how to make it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So I’ll just fake it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By LW</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Woman and The Computer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Talking with no emotion</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She is a computer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Never moving the muscles in her face</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Never showing how she really feels</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By LW</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My car tells me when I should brake</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and which steering corrections to make.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A warning will shoot</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">from the seat to my glute,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">as the car gives my butt a firm shake.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By JD</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lightening</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bright as the sun</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If not brighter.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fast as a cheetah</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If not faster.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By JD</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There once was a young girl named Sue.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Who hated getting the flu.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She ate an apple a day,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So her doctor would say,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“You don’t have the flu, young Sue.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By EM</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am a light,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">big and bright.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I live everywhere,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">from homes to streets</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">giving light to everyone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">anywhere.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is my job around the world</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to make it bright.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">forever.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By EM</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The sky is a place,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">peaceful and blue,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the clouds full of grace</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">with the sun and the moon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By EM</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh poems, lovely poems</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You each have your own rhythm.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You exist in couplets and tercets,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Some of you are written in sonnets.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Apostrophe and Simile</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Are both very interesting to me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The power of metaphors</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Make things seem like you have never thought before.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Personification, repetition, conversation and alliteration</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Have all different positions.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It expresses feelings they may be illogical, magical...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Did you guess what it is? It’s lyrical.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Onomatopoeia and assonance</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Have kind of the same importance.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Stanzas, form and lines</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Are not the same voices.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Quatrain</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Quatrain</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Quatrain</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s a Quatrain.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I hope you enjoyed this poem</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And understand its lesson.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I am a pumpkin.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I grew in a wonderful garden.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I made an excellent friend.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He is an eggplant.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The seasons have passed,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A little too fast.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But the time has come</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For me to become...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A delicious soup.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By MC</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">through the forest where the cattails are.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">20-30 wild screaming turkeys</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">breaking cattails</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">screeching</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">screeching</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">screeching</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">they flew off in the dull light</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">snowflakes were trickling down</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the day was cold</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the cattails crunching the turkeys screaming</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">still I wonder why they are there?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">where will they go?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">why were they spooked?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it was cold</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but I seemed to forget</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">they just kept coming</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">flying so high</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">higher than I’ve ever seen them fly</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it was stunning</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and then</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">abruptly</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">suddenly</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">they were gone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">gone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">gone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By NL</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Baseball Baseball is so fun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I always hate when its done.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Baseball Baseball is not for everyone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">cause the price of fun</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Can hurt.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By NL</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">O Sweet Sweet Summer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">how you whisk us away from school.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Away from all responsibility</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Away from any real dedications</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nothing needed to be done</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Everyone is having fun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nothing to do</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">EXCEPT</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Having FUN.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By NL</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Inspiration is key</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To make this be easy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So someone can be done,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And not do another poem.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ocean can be calm and friendly.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It can be like a water park.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It could be very forgiving,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But the ocean is a raging bull, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">very unpredictable.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You better watch your back,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It could be charging at you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My teacher told us to do poems,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And to make it worse, it was two.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I didn’t know how long it would take</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Or how hard it would be</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For me to just do two.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">However, after a while I almost figured it out.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And it was harder than I thought.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And now that I have one,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I know that I will do another,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No doubt!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By AP</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Shakespearean Sonnet</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There once was an old dog who loved to play.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He always ran to fetch the purple ball.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But he hated to play in the late day,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When Christopher’s shadow was very tall.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Christopher was his favorite person,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Christopher always gave him yummy treats.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When he is with Christopher, he has fun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Christopher’s treats were made out of buckwheat,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And they never had meat inside of them,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For Joe, the dog, does not like meat inside,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But loves to include a dandelion stem</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In it though. Joe is kind and will abide.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Christopher loves Joey all the way through,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And of course Joey loves Christopher, too!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By KR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Barumba Snogalog</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There once was a dog named Barumba Snogalog,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Who was agog to jog through the fog.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He stepped in a bog, and slipped on a frog,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and stumbled home worried he’d be flogged. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">His master was kind, and wrapped him in a tog,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Then he handed him a bristlecone log.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">His favorite to gnaw,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but like a typical dog,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">he chewed on his master’s new clog.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is the story of Barumba Snagalog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By KR</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">A Flower</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alone, sitting still until the wind blows,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a package of pollen that glows.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hitching a ride on currents of air,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">flying off like a bird,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a cloud in the air.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dusting a meadow filled with flowers,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">later they will grow.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sun and rain will bring new colors,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a rainbow will appear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By KR</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There once was a feller from Mars,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Who sat down and looked at the stars</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And with one dirty shoe</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He stood up and threw</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And got ran over by a few space cars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By DS</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh my golly!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What could that be?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Is that</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A bat?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dear bat please</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t eat me!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At least let me say good-bye,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For I am just a little fly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By DS</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">W</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">WR</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">WRI</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">WRIT</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">WRITI</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">WRITIN</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">WRITING</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By IY</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">School.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’d rather go to the pool.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Or have some mule,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While playing pool.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While playing pool like a mule.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At the pool...?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By IY</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Acting</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">curtain call</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">having a ball</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s why I love acting</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">stage fright</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">opening night</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s why I love acting</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">read through</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">blocking too</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s why I love acting</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">take one</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">so fun</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s why I love acting</span><br />
<br />
By SZ<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 7pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Watch Me Fly</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 7pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Watch Me Fly</span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">i’m not yours anymore</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">i’m free</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">just me</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by myself</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">i’m just me</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">not under your dominion</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">not yours</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">mine</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">just me</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Watch Me Fly</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By SZ</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">People pushing me</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> I can’t do anything about it</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">People pouncing on</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> my last bits of hope</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">People preying on</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> rays of light and love</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By SZ</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One teacher</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> leans</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> over</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> to</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> another</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and yells over the music,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Does it have to be so loud?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And isn’t everyone supposed</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to be</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">having fun?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No one’s smiling.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The other replies,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“It has to be loud enough</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to cover up</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the sound of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">hearts breaking.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They glance over</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> that</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> girl</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">standing there,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">alone,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">no friends clumped around her</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">dancing with</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> no</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> one</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">suddenly</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a boy sees her from across the room.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although he could have chosen</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">anyone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> he</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> chose</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> her.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He begins the dangerous journey</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">from his crowd of admirers</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to that girl</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">standing</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">there</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> alone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She looks up from the ground</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and sees him</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">sauntering over to</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">her</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">she is </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">speechless.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Why would anyone choose me</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">over them?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She thinks in a panic.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He walks up and says</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">those five words</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">those measly five that can</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">give</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> a</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> girl</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> hope.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Will you dance with me?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By SZ</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Crack an egg</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Stir the butter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Break the yolk</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Make it flutter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Stoke the heat</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hear it sizzle</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Shake the salt</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Just the drizzle</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Flip it over</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Just like that</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Press it down</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Squeeze it flat</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pop the toast</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Spread the jam</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Say the words--</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Breakfast’s in!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By CW</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Violin</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A violin sings in the most beautiful voice of the world</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Each note dances out into the room</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With each sound it makes it is sure to turn a person out of gloom</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The sound prances everywhere bringing everyone joy</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It was born to let living things enjoy</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To let everyone grin</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That is the dancing violin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By SZ</span><br />
<hr />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Shakespearean Sonnet</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh Poetry thou are a piece of art</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thou is the Mona Lisa of writing</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you are what is needed to be smart</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">people who have none of you are fighting.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You can be hard or you can be easy</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you can be smooth or you can be choppy</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you are so easy you are even brezy</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you can be neat or you can be sloppy.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh poetry you can have Odes of Odes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you are of the most silent of the arts</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you can be about anything even toads</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">you even helped some make the red sea parts.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Now I must say goodbye to you my friend</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ad unfortunately this poem must end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By CB</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Burgessku</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">once</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was a</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">cat that ate</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a mouse computer.<br class="kix-line-break" />He said that it tasted like chicken pie.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He said that it filled him up, yum yumity yum.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By CB</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have always wondered,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What is so special about poetry?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sure you can get away with funky grammar,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But it brings us back to why.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Why does poetry taunt me?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What makes it special?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Why am I allowed to put RanDom</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Capital letters in the middle of words</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Or even make up new words like xughn and plarghf?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And What does it mean to have a</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Poetic licence?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I mean I didn’t even take a test</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Or get a card.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And don’t get me started on the odes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I mean seriously ode this ode that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What the heck does ode even mean?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Poetry is just writing to me,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Big diff?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Like I would actually get away with that</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In an essay.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Blakf.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By CB</span></div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-33527429797191945742012-04-08T18:22:00.005-04:002012-04-22T17:45:37.214-04:00A Year Abroad<p>Recently I learned that one of the families at my school is planning to take a year off and travel the world, following a parent whose job requires such global travel. They requested some books that might help them get a feel of the countries that they are visiting.<br />It has not been easy for me to narrow down my list. At the same time, I am sure that I am missing some great books.<br />For this list, I have left out two big sections. One is the many books that exist that offer facts about a country. Of course, any traveller will seek out these books and they abound. I would suggest finding such books before arriving at the destination and then looking for something published locally to complete the view. It may prove very interesting to see differences in perceptions of what is important to convey about a country and its culture.<br />Another good way to get to know a country is to look for folk tales from the culture. There is a reason that Melvil Dewey put folk tails in the social studies area of his organizational system. Such books abound, making it difficult to make specific suggestions. Take a look at any good library or bookstore for more ideas than you ever imagined could exist. Again, I would also look at my destination for books that might provide new perspectives.<br />In fact, finding local books is a good idea for all categories of books. My travels have taught me, however, that it is not an easy task when one is staying for a short time. One needs to get to know where to look. The bookstores aimed at tourists will be likely to have copies of books that originate in the United States or England and that you may well have read in your own backyard.<br />With all that said, here are some ideas for reading about some of the countries of the world. My comments about each title are brief so that at least a few people will struggle to the end of this very long post.<br /><strong>Books about multiple destinations<br /><em>How I Learned Geography </em>by Uri Shulevitz</strong> is a picture book based on the author's memories of growing up and gazing at maps to help understand family history.<br /><strong><em>If the World Were a Village</em> by David J. Smith</strong> is a book for all ages as it looks at the numbers of people of different languages, religions, economic status and more by imagining a village of 100 persons that would represent the statistics in an easier to grasp format.<br /><em><strong>My School in the Rain Forest: How Children Attend School Around the World</strong></em> and <strong><em>My Librarian Is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World</em> by Margriet Ruurs</strong> offer lots of photographs and information about schools and libraries in unique settings.<br /><strong><em>You and Me Together: Moms , Dads, and Kids Around the World</em></strong> and <strong><em>A Little Peace</em></strong> <strong>by Barbara Kerley</strong> tell about life and love and peace with beautiful photographs from around the world.<br /><strong><em>Little Treasures: Endearments From Around the World</em> by Jacqueline K. Ogburn</strong> is simply a charmingly illustrated list of what parents call their children in different corners of the world.<br /><strong><em>Around the World: Three Remarkable Journeys</em> by Matt. Phelan </strong>presents the stories of three noteworthy world travellers--Thomas Stevens who was the first to ride a bicycle around the world, Joshua Slocum who sailed alone in 1884, and the famous Nellie Bly--in graphic format that will be best appreciated by students in grades five and up.<br />To see how folk tales change while staying the same try <strong><em>Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella </em>by Paul Fleischman.</strong><br /><strong>AFRICA<br />Ethiopia/Eritrea<br /><em>Refugee Boy</em> by Zephaniah Benjamin</strong> focuses on the fighting in this region by looking at a boy trying to survive as a refugee in England. This is a difficult topic for mature middle school students and older<br /><strong><em>Escape Under the Forever Sky</em></strong> <strong>by Eve Yohalem</strong> is another book that looks at the live of young people in a troubled country, this time through the eyes of the ambassador's daughter.<br /><strong>Kenya<br /><em>Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa</em> by Jeannette Winter</strong> and <strong><em>Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai</em> by Clare A. Nivola </strong>both look at the life of the Nobel Peace Prize winner who encouraged the women of Kenya to begin planting trees. Both are presented in a picture book format that will be appreciated by all ages.<br /><strong><em>14 Cows for America</em> by Carmen Agra Deedy</strong> is the true story of a Kenya man who convinces his village to send a cow to the United States after September 11, 2001. It is another picture book for all ages.<br /><strong><em>Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savannah</em> by Joseph Leasolai Lekeuton</strong> is a memoir for grades five and up that tells of one young man's life in modern day Kenya.<br /><strong><em>Hippos in the Night</em> by Christina Allen</strong> will appeal to students in fourth grade up who want to read about wild animal adventures.<br /><strong><em>Forest of the Pygmies</em> by Isabel Allende</strong> is part of a series of adventures that Allende has written taking the protagonist to interesting and remote parts of the world. This is the second in the series. The first, <strong><em>City of the Beast,</em></strong> is set in the Amazon basin. The books will appeal to grades 5 to 8.<br /><em><strong>Akimbo and the Elephants</strong></em> (and others in the series)<strong> by Alexander McCall-Smith</strong> may not technically take place in Kenya but it is the National Parks of the African savanna that is location for these simple (grades 2-4) novels about a boy helping his father solve mysteries and save animals.<br /><strong>South Africa<br /><em>Zulu Dog</em> by Anton Ferreira</strong> (grades 5-8) and <strong><em>Journey to Jo’burg</em> by Beverly Naidoo</strong> (grades 3-6) look at relationships between the races in South Africa.<br /><em></em><strong><em>My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me</em> by Maya Angelou</strong> is a bright, happy picture book with photos about a child living happily in South Africa.<br /><strong>Sudan<br /><em>A Long walk to Water</em> by Linda Sue Park </strong>is a beautiful little book that tells the story of the Lost Boys and the horrors that one in particular suffered as he made his way to the United States and couples it with the story of how this young man today builds provides wells and clean water to villages in Sudan today. This will be appreciated by upper elementary students.<br /><strong>Zimbabwe<br /><em>A Girl Named Disaster</em> by Nancy Farmer</strong> is filled with adventure and mystical realism as it tells the story of a young girl who runs away via the river to escape marriage to a much older man. It is beautifully written and will be enjoyed students in grades five and up.<br /><strong><em>Gugu’s House</em> by Catherine Stock</strong> is a lovely picture book that offers a glimpse into life in a small village as seen through the eyes of a granddaughter.<br /><strong>ASIA<br />Afghanistan<br /><em>Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan</em> by Tony O’Brien and Mike Sullivan </strong>is a non-fiction book that records the voices of young people surviving the fighting in their homeland. I suggest it for students in grades five and up.<br /><strong><em>Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan</em> by Jeanette Winter</strong> is a picture book format non-fiction look at a young woman who is sent to a school for young women under the strict Taliban rule.<br /><strong><em>Three Cups of Tea</em> by Greg Mortenson (Young Reader’s edition) </strong>There is little new to say about this true story of one man's work to bring schools to remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, except that many people feel this young reader's edition for grades five and up is a more enjoyable read than the adult version. There is also a picture book edition <strong><em>Look to the Wind</em></strong> which has lovely illustrations but loses much because of the simplification for the youngest audiences.<br /><strong><em>The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey, </em></strong>and<strong><em> Mud City</em> by Deboarh Ellis</strong> are a trilogy of books that are well loved by girls in the middle grades the looks at the very difficult life of women in Afghanistan and Pakistan.<br /><strong>Burma<br /><em>Elephant Run</em> by Roland Smith</strong> is set during World War II when young Nick is sent from London to an elephant camp in Burma, in hopes that life will be safer there. However, the Japanese soon invade and Nick's father is taken prisoner. It has all the action and excitement that young boys in the middle grades enjoy.<br /><strong>China<br /><em>Where the Mountain Meets the Moon</em> by Grace Lin </strong>is a magical story of a young girl's trip to find the Old Man of the Moon and help change her family's fortunes. Dragons, mythical creatures of all sorts, and an array of intriguing characters people this beautifully illustrated, Newbery Honor book for everyone who is comfortable reading mid-length chapter books.<br /><strong><em>The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China</em> by Ed Young</strong> is an interesting memoir by a beloved storyteller and artist. It looks at good times and bad for Young's once wealthy family. All ages will enjoy the illustrations but it takes a mature reader to understand all the nuances of the story. Take a look at Young's <strong><em>Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem about China</em></strong> for another look at the country he so clearly loves.<br /><strong><em>Tai Chi Morning</em> by Niki Grimes</strong> is a memoir of time spent in China with writing as lyrical as you would expect from this much acclaimed poet. The word pictures of China will appeal to those in grades six and up.<br /><strong><em>Liu and the Bird: A Journey in Chinese Calligraphy</em> by Catherine Louis</strong> is one of many book available that look at how Chinese characters look like the things they represent. The picture book format makes it accessible to young and old.<br /><strong>India<br /><em>Monsoon Afternoon</em></strong> by Kashmira Seth and <strong><em>Monsoon</em> by Uma Krishnaswami</strong> are both picture books that give a feel of how much the arrival of the monsoon is appreciated after a long, hot, dry spell.<br /><strong><em>The Conch Bearer</em> by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni</strong> is a mystical, magical tale that also captures the feel of life in India before the protagonist sets off to conquer dragons. Also consider the sequels,<strong><em> Mirror of Fire and Dreaming </em></strong>and <strong><em>Shadowland </em></strong>for students in grades four and up who like fantasy and adventure.<br /><strong><em>Going to School in India</em> by Lisa Heydlauff</strong> uses vignettes to tell about school children across India. Students in grades four and up will find interesting nuggets of information and lots of eye-catching pictures here.<br /><strong>Japan<br />Allan Say</strong> has a wide array of picture books such as <strong><em>Kamishibai Man, Grandfather's Journey, </em></strong>and <strong><em>Tree of Cranes</em></strong> that offer insight into life in Japan and as a Japanese immigrant to the United States. Now he offers older readers a beautifully illustrated memoir of growing up in Japan and finding his talent for art and a mentor to guide him in the memoir <strong><em>Drawing from Memory.</em></strong><br /><strong><em>Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog</em> by Pamela S. Turner</strong> (a picture book for grades one to three) and <strong><em>Hachiko Waits</em> by Leslea Newman </strong>(a short chapter book for grades three to six) both tell the story of a faithful dog who waited for years at the train station for his master who has died to return. Eventually a statue that still stands was erected in Hachiko's memory.<br /><strong><em>How My Parents Learned to Eat</em></strong> <strong>by Ina R. Freidman</strong> and <strong><em>The Way We Do It in Japan</em> by Geneva Cobb Iijima</strong> are two picture books that will appeal to those in third grade or younger. Both talk about life in Japan in a simple and enjoyable way. The first is a story of the author's parents who meet in Japan when her father, an American soldier, is stationed there after the war. The second is a compilation of information presented in a light and cheery manner, rather than a plot driven story.<br /><strong>Korea<br /><em>New Clothes for New Year’s Day </em>by Hyun-Joo Bae</strong> uses few words and beautiful illustrations to describe the clothing and activities of a typical New Year's day for a little girl in Korea.<br /><strong><em>The Year of Impossible Good-Byes</em></strong> and <strong><em>Echoes of the White Giraffe </em>by Sook Nyul</strong> <strong>Choi</strong> are two novels about Sookan, a young Korea girl who flees the cruelties of the Japanese who occupy her homeland in 1945 and then the family's difficulties settling in as refugees in South Korea. These are intense, first person tales that will be appreciated by readers in grades five to eight.<br /><strong><em>When My Name was Keoko</em> by Linda Sue Park</strong> is another tale of Korea under Japanese occupation. It is based on the experiences of the author's family and told in the voices of a sister and brother. This is a book for students in grades five to eight.<br /><strong>Mongolia<br /><em>The Unforgotten Coat</em></strong> <strong>by Frank Cottrell Boyce</strong> is a surprisingly moving book which also has plenty of humor and social issues. When two Mongolian boys show up in Julie's school in England, no one is quite sure what to make of them. One of the boys appoints Julie as their guide and she strives to understand Mongolia and the interesting customs of the boys without losing face with her classmates. Students in grades three and up will find this to be an interesting story that gives them a feel for Mongolia as well as the difficulties of immigration.<br /><strong>Pakistan<br /><em>Iqbal</em> by Francesco D’Adamo</strong> is fiction for grades four to seven that is based on the real Iqbal Masih who spoke out against the treatment of children working in the carpet making factories.<br /><strong><em>Ruler of the Courtyard</em> by Rukhsan Khan</strong> features a young girl in rural Pakistan who is in frightened of the chickens in her courtyard until she defends her grandmother from what she assumes is a snake. This is a nice picture book about courage and believing in yourself wherever you may live.<br /><strong>Thailand</strong><br /><strong><em>The Umbrella Queen</em></strong> <strong>by Shirin Bridges</strong> is a picture book (kindergarten through third grade) set in a village somewhere in the mountains of Thailand where the women are known for the beautiful umbrellas they decorate with flowers and butterflies. Noot is thrilled to finally be old enough to decorate umbrellas but she is soon bored with the traditional paintings. How can she win the title of Umbrella Queen if she won't follow the rules.<br /><strong>Vietnam<br /><em>Inside Out and Back Again</em> by Thanhha Lai </strong>is one of the most beautifully written books I have found this past year. In free verse, it recounts life in Vietnam for ten year old HA, the family's evacuation from Saigon as the city falls, and the difficulties they all face settling in to life in Alabama. People in grade five and up are promised a moving, sometimes humorous, story in this lovingly written book.<br /><strong><em>The Hermit and the Well</em> by Thich Nhat Hanh</strong> is a beautifully written account of an event that happened to Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh when he was a young boy in war torn Vietnam. The picture book format makes this book accessible to all ages.<br /><strong>CARIBBEAN<br />Cuba<br /><em>My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood</em> by Rosemary Wells and Secundino Fernandez</strong> offers just what the title states to readers in grades three and up. It is a well and lovingly told story.<br /><strong>Dominican Republic<br /><em>Before We Were Free</em> by Julia Alvarez</strong> is a semi-autobiographical novel that looks at the difficulties for children whose parents suddenly fell out of favor with regime changes and the family must flee the country that they love. Readers in grades six to nine will find much to keep them reading this slim novel.<br /><strong>EUROPE<br />Armenia<br /><em>Forgotten Fire</em> by Adam Bagdasarian</strong> is an often gruesome story of a young Armenian living in Turkey in 1915 who watches his family destroyed before his eyes. This young adult book carries a strong message and is not for the faint of heart.<br /><strong>Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic<br /><em>The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain</em> by Peter Sis</strong> is a beautifully and intricately illustrated account of growing up under Communism as bits of culture occasionally slip under the wall. Sis is one of the most inventive illustrators alive today. This book can keep the attention of a third grader while providing insights and information for much older readers.<br /><strong>England<br /><em>The London Eye Mystery</em> by Siobhan Dowd</strong> is a great story that also gives readers in grades five to eight a feel of life in modern England. It is told through the eyes of an autistic boy who solves the mystery of his cousin's disappearance on the huge Ferris Wheel known as the London Eye.<br /><strong><em>A Dog For Life</em> by L. S. Matthews</strong> is a touching and often humorous tale of John Hawkins who travels across England with his dog to help save his very ill brother Tom. Along the way they meet a variety of interesting characters. This story for grades four to six is filled with adventure, magic, and meaning.<br /><strong>France<br /><em>This is Paris</em> by M. Sasek</strong> is an oversize picture book that was originally published in 1959 by this illustrator who was trained as an architect. It is a lovely introduction to the City of Light. Look also for Sasek's <strong><em>This is Paris</em></strong> and <strong><em>This is Rome.</em></strong><br /><strong><em>Chloe’s Birthday…And Me</em></strong> and <strong><em>The Year I Didn’t Go to School</em> by Giselle Potter</strong> are delightful picture books for kindergarten through third grade that are semi-autobiographical looks at the time Potter and her family spent living and traveling around Europe, specifically France in the first title and Italy in the second.<br /><strong>Greece<br /><em>War Games: A Novel Based on a True Story</em></strong> <strong>by Audrey Couloumbis and Akila Couloumbis</strong> is based on Akila Couloumbis' experiences as a boy living in Greece during World War II. Petros and his older brother Zola are busy enjoying childhood until the Germans invade and suddenly nothing is normal, especially when the boys discover that their cousin is a member of the resistance. Readers in grades five to eight will be pulled into this story of games that become all too real.<br /><strong>Russia and Lithuanian<br /><em>Between shades of Gray</em> by Ruta Sepetys</strong> is a beautifully written tale of a Lithuanian family that is carted off to Siberia. Lina, the narrator, uses her art to calm her nerves and to communicate with the outside world.<br /><strong>MIDDLE EAST<br />Iraq<br /><em>Silent Music—A Story of Baghdad</em> by James Rumford</strong> is a beautiful illustrated story of a boy named Ali who drowns out some of the sounds and fears of war by creating beautiful caligraphy. This picture book will appeal to all ages.<br /><strong><em>The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq</em> by Jeanette Winter</strong> (picture book format for grades two to five) and <strong><em>Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq</em> by Mark Alan Stamaty </strong>(graphic format for grades five and up) both tell of the librarian who saved the Basra library from the bombs of war.<br /><strong>Israel and Palestine<br /><em>Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak</em> by Deborah Ellis</strong> is a collection of interviews with children ages 8 to 18 who discuss their hopes and dreams about a wide range of topics beyond the conflict which affects their daily life. Readers the ages of the interviewees appreciate this book.<br /><strong><em>Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood</em> by Ibtisam Barakat</strong> is a memoir of living through the Six Day War in 1967 that will be enjoyed by readers in grades seven and up.<br /><strong><em>When the Streets Had a Name</em> by Randa Abdel-Fattah</strong> follows the journeys and risks that a young Palestinian girl takes to save her family. It will appeal to middle school readers. <strong><em>Habibi</em> by Naomi Shihab Nye</strong> tells a very realistic (and perhaps autobiographical) story of a young girl whose father moves the protagonist, a young girl, and her family from St. Louis to Jerusalem to be near their Palestinian grandmother. It is a touching story of the difficulties of settling into a new culture that will be enjoyed by readers in grades five to nine.<br /><strong><em>Sitti’s Secrets</em> by Naomi Shihab Nye</strong> is a lovely picture book that tells of a young girl meeting her grandmother for the first time and learning, despite the differences of language, to appreciate her grandmother's dreams.<br /><strong><em>Samir and Yonatan</em> by Daniella Carmi</strong> was originally published in Hebrew. It begins when Samir, a young Palestinian boy, injures himself in a bicycle accident and ends up in a Jewish hospital. He learns about the Jewish children in the hospital, especially Yonatan who befriends him, and gradually tells them his story as well. This is a moving book for middle school readers.<br /><strong>OCEANIA<br />Australia<br /><em>How to Scratch a Wombat: Where to Find it, What to Feed It and Why It Sleeps All Day</em> by Jackie French</strong> is the non-fiction book for grades three and up that beautifully compliments French's very fun picture book, <em><strong>Diary of a Wombat.</strong> </em>Both books made me want to go out and find a wombat to share my life.<br /><strong>New Zealand<br /><em>Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot</em> by Sy Montgomery with photos by Nic Bishop </strong>is filled with amazing photographs and fascinating narrative as it tells the story of scientists who are working to save these adorable and quirky birds that live on a small island off the coast of New Zealand.<br /><strong><em>The Whale Rider</em> by Witi Ihimaera</strong> comes in an illustrated version that will appeal to people who have never seen the movie and those who have. Alas, I don't know if it is available outside of New Zealand, but mentioning this children's book gives me the opportunity to encourage adults to read Ihimaera's adult novel whenever you can find them. He is a master storyteller.<br /><strong><em>Under the Mountain</em> by Maurice Gee</strong> is a fantastical journey under the dead volcanoes of Aukland. The story is filled with creepy creatures and mystical meanderings that will be enjoyed by ages eight to eleven. Gee has several more novels about New Zealand that are also worth reading.<br /><strong>SOUTH AMERICA<br />Colombia<br /><em>Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia </em>by Jeannette Winter</strong> is a lovely little picture book that tells the true story of a man who takes books to remote villages in Colombia. Follow this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuTswmx9TQU">link</a> to see a video of Luis Soriano at work. Kindergarten students will enjoy this book, as will others of all ages.<br /><strong>Amazon River Basin</strong><br /><strong><em>Journey to the River Sea</em> by Eva Ibbotson</strong> is set in 1910 and tells the story of an English orphan sent to live with a distant relative who owns a rubber planation along the banks of the Amazon river. Maia does not know what to expect but soon finds more adventure than she ever could have imagined as she avoids her strange cousins and gets to know the indigenous people of the area. This is an action packed story for readers in grades four and up.<br /><br />Please feel free to leave me comments and suggestions for other good reading for world travellers.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-82296267086557385592011-12-28T15:35:00.004-05:002011-12-28T15:43:44.160-05:00Student EssayOur school added several new students in September, as it does every year. One of those students, who I will call Kasey, is in fifth grade. A recent essay he wrote for class caught my eye and I have asked him if I can copy it hear on the blog. I wanted it first because I think it is well written and also because he writes about <strong><em>Bud, Not Buddy </em>by Christopher Paul Curtis</strong>, a book which is also a favorite of mine.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>One of My Most Favorite Books</strong></div><br /><div align="left">A favorite book of mine is called <em>Buddy, Not Buddy.</em> It was very interesting and amazing. It had a monster and a boy named Bud. The boy hated having to deal with people calling him Buddy.</div><br /><div align="left">I thought the book had lots of details and lots of excitement. It was very interesting the way they explained the book and the order they put the story in. Although there were some parts I didn't like at all and they were very heart breaking. It has some favorites, too, like the time he was out on his own. I didn't know that people back then were living on their own. If I lived on my own it would be a disaster waiting to happen and I most likely would not have survived without my mother, father, or my little brother. In fact, this book taught me something. It's not all about you and your needs and wants. You're lucky for what you have and you should appreciate all of it. The book talked about a monster int he beginning as I said and before it was very creepy. There was running up a hill as a monster chases them. I am pretty sure they were scared because I was scared and I was just reading the book. If you ever get to read it, I thought it was fabulous.</div><br /><div align="left"></div>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-43502594730402640502011-10-30T12:28:00.004-04:002011-10-30T13:17:13.667-04:00Non-Fiction is True EnjoymentNon-fiction is not dull reading. New and beautiful books on topics from poetry to pandas and biographies to ball games come out every month. While I will indicate ages of the intended on audience on this, keep in mind that non-fiction appeals to all ages.<br /><br /><ol><br /><li><strong><em>Panda Kindergarten</em> by Joanne Ryder</strong> is aimed at humans in kindergarten through second grade but everyone will enjoy the photographs of panda babies at play. Learn how panda rescue efforts are keeping these amazing creatures alive.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Can You Survive the Titanic? An Interactive Survival Adventure</em> by Allison Louise Lassieur</strong> is part of an interesting new series of choose your own adventures. In these historically accurate stories, the reader is asked to make decisions that a person would have had to make in the actual situation. Should a young person on the Titanic go above deck or wait for friends or family? Should he jump overboard and try to swim to safety? A wrong choice can lead to death. A great deal of historical fact is presented in a format that will appeal to readers in grades three and up.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Odd Ball: Hilarious, Unusual and Bizarre Baseball Moments</em> by Timothy Tocher</strong> helps verify what I have always suspected--part of baseball's appeal is the expectation of the unexpected. With funny drawings to illustrate the many odd facts, this will be enjoyed by baseball fanatics who will surely share the stories with everyone within ear shot. This book will hit a home run with readers in grades three and up.</li><br /><br /><li><strong>Demi</strong> creates some of the most beautiful biographies in any collections. Her illustrations are detailed and intricate and so are the stories she tells. Look for biographies of a wide range of people such as <strong><em>Tutankhamun, Muhammad, Buddha, Jesus, Marco Polo, Gandhi, The Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, </em></strong>and many more. The illustrations make these seem as though they may be picture books, but you will find solid, well researched biographies inside the covers. It will take reading ability at the fourth grade level or above to digest all of the information provided.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Lemonade: and Other Poems Squeezed From a Single Word</em> by Bob Raczka with illustrations by Nancy Doniger</strong> is a playful exploration of words, anagrams, and poetry that delights those who are able to see how the poem grows out of a single word. The revelation of this trait and the often pun filled nature of the poems are perfectly amplified with simple illustrations. The illustrations in my other favorite poetry book of the year are lush and filled with fairy tale charm. <strong><em>Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse</em> by Marilyn Singer with illustrations by Josee Massee</strong> offers two views of familiar fairy tales in poetry that reads up and down to offer differing perspectives. Poetry lovers, aficionados of word play, and those who simply enjoy a fairy tale will all enjoy this unique collection.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat : History's Strangest Cures</em> by Carlyn Beccia </strong>admittedly plays on the gross factor while introducing medical treatments from days gone by. Who doesn't squirm at the thought of swallowing live frogs or sprinkling ground up mummies on a wound? The book's multiple choice quiz format encourages discussion and sharing with others. Many of the cures that may seem crazy are shown to have a sound scientific basis while others are revealed to be more harmful than helpful. Readers in grades two and up will find much to share in this unusual book.<br /></li></ol><br /><p>Enjoy the facts and fun of a good non-fiction book.</p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-27870638381314424122011-10-30T09:44:00.005-04:002011-10-30T13:17:59.408-04:00Middle School: Not Too Busy for a Good BookIt seems as though middle school and high school students barely have time to think let alone read for pleasure between homework, friends, sports, music, and all the other things they do. Just like adults, however, many find that escaping into a good book can rejuvenate them. Publishers are eager to find books that will fascinate and hold the attention of this group. It can be difficult, however, for middle school students to pick among the many Young Adult titles. Some offer much more mature subject matter than these younger young adults want. Here are a few titles that I have enjoyed recently. Parents need to know that many are good for adult reading, too.<br /><br /><ol><br /><li><strong><em>This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Viktor Frankenstein</em> by Kenneth Oppel</strong> is truly creepy which befits a "prequel" to <strong><em>Frankenstein.</em></strong> This novel looks at the family life if the young Frankenstein boys Viktor and Konrad. When the young twins and their cousin stumble upon The Dark Library filled with tomes on alchemy and the dark sciences, their father forbids them to ever visit the room again. Viktor is drawn to the the library, especially when Konrad falls deathly ill and the doctors seem unable to cure him. Filled with hope and foreboding, I imagine that Mary Shelley would enjoy this novel. My first stop after reading it was to revisit the original which I predict is what middle school readers will do as well. This is not a story for younger readers nor for the faint of heart. Oppel also wrote the adventure series about bats that begins with <strong><em>Silverwing</em></strong>, a fascinating adventure for readers in grades four through six. More recently he wrote <strong><em>Half Brother</em></strong> which takes middle school readers into the world of a young man whose family chooses to study and raise as chimpanzee in their family, soon to become a beloved half brother. </li><br /><br /><li>A real horror is depicted in <strong><em>Between Shades of Gray </em>by Ruta Sepetys</strong> which begins with the night in that Soviet officers barge into the home Lina, a young Lithuanian girl. The family is separated from the father and sent to Siberia where Stalin orders them to work in the beet fields under cruel conditions. Lina consoles herself and her family by drawing pictures and trying to find ways to get them to her father. The author is a Lithuanian refugee and much of this book is based on stories from her own family.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>The Running Dream</em> by Wendelin Van Draanen</strong> is capturing the hearts and minds of strong young women, whether they are runners or not. Jessica, a high school junior, looks to be in line for scholarships and accolades for her running prowess when an accident claims her leg. The novels traces her sorrow, depression, and climb back into an appreciation of her life and how she can use what she has to help others as well as herself. This could be a terribly treacly story, but it rises above this through the author's talent, humanity, and clear appreciation of running. Van Draanen has also written the <strong><em>Sammy Keyes</em></strong> detective girl series for readers in grades four and up. <strong><em>Runaway, </em></strong>a touching novel in the form of the journal of a girl who runs away from home and must fend for herself, is another Van Draanen novel that will be enjoyed by middle school readers.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>The Kneebone Boy</em> by Ellen Potter</strong> is a truly odd book. It is this oddness that makes it so enjoyable. The three Hardscrabble children are used to having their father go off for weeks at a time to paint portraits of royal families around the world, but never before have they stayed with their odd great-aunt Haddie who lives in a full size playhouse near an old castle once owned by the Kneebone family. What follows is explorations of folk histories, magic, and some harsh realities. The story is alternately hilarious and heartbreaking. It is book that demands a reader who is willing to ride its roller coaster of emotions.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Inside Out and Back Again</em> by Thanhha Lai</strong> is simply beautiful as it tells the autobiographical story of a young Vietnamese refugee who is resettled in Alabama. Told in free verse, the story conveys the beauty of Saigon, the agonies of refugee camps, the slow process of adapting to a new country and customs, and the strength of family and hope. The poems are often humorous and almost always poignant.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story </em>by Linda Sue Park</strong> follows the lives of two young people in Sudan. Salva is only 11 in 1985 when his home town is attacked by rebel soldiers. The story of his escape across the war torn countryside to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya and eventually to the United States is told honestly but without too much graphic description of the horrors. His inspiring efforts to help his homeland are mirrored in the alternating chapters about Nya. In 2008, Nya must walk long distances to get drinking water for her family. It seems like a miracle when Salva and his organization drill a well in the village, which also makes possible Nya's dream of going to school.<br /></li></ol><br /><p>You may notice a conspicuous lack of fantasy on this list. You will have no problem finding this genre from middle school readers. These titles will help those who want more than vampires in their reading list.</p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-33904813342636855782011-10-30T08:31:00.007-04:002011-10-30T13:18:50.551-04:00Reading Up a StormOnce a child discovers a love of reading there is often no stopping the demand for more and more and more books. Authors and publishers know this so there is always something new on the bookshelves. The problem for parents is that tastes are being more clearly defined. Some students in grades 2-5 will only read fantasy and others want nothing but historical fiction. So your first step is to know your customer. Then you can simply enjoy the ride. The list of interesting and exciting books for this age is long. Here are a few suggestions.<br /><br /><ol><br /><li><strong><em>The Flint Heart</em> by Katherine Paterson and John Paterson</strong> is a generously adapted folk tale . The tale begins during the Stone Age when a man asks for ultimate power through the creation of a talisman. The spirits breathe such power into the little stone heart that the wearer becomes an unbearable tyrant. When the original owner dies the heart is buried and left untouched until the early 20th century. Then it can only be destroyed with the help of a brother and sister team, their dog, a German made hot water bottle, and legions of fairies. The book is easy enough for many second graders yet interesting enough for much older readers. Humor and adventure abound in both the text and the vibrant illustrations by John Rocco. It would make a great family read.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Invisible Inkling</em> by Emily Jenkins</strong> is in some ways a very typical school story. Hank is a young boy who is just a little bit different from the other kids at school. He is a bit of a loner, creates models out of matchsticks, and invents interesting ice cream flavors for the family store. One day he rescues an invisible (not imaginary) bandapat who demands food and shelter. The two, Hank and the bandapat, become partners in solving their problems with some hilarious results. The under story of the novel is about bullying. I have to agree with the critics who suggest that the school authorities do not do a particularly good job of handling the bullying, but if they had acted appropriately, the methods that the bandapat suggests would not be as interesting, amusing, or necessary. <strong>Emily Jenkins</strong> also has written the very enjoyable <strong><em>Toys Go Out</em></strong> series.<br /></li><br /><li>What is zipping off my library shelves these days? <strong><em>Big Nate</em> by Lincoln Peirce. </strong>Big Nate was originally a comic strip. Now Peirce has brought this spunky young man into novels that are full of energy and humor. One review I found called them a combination of <strong><em>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</em></strong> and <strong><em>Calvin and Hobbes</em></strong>. That describes them so well that I don't need to add another word.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Bigger Than a Breadbox</em> by Laurel Snyder</strong> at first seems like yet another story of a family that is splitting up and the effect on the children. Yes, it is that, but it is so much more. Rebecca is hurt and angry when her mother moves the family away from Dad to another state to live with their grandmother. Gran tries to be understanding, even letting Rebecca claim items from the attic to use in her own room. One of these is an old fashioned breadbox that reveals magical powers. Whatever Rebecca wishes for appears in the box, as long as the wish will fit. At first it is a seagull to remind her of home but soon the requests grow to money and other ways to help her fit in at her new school. When Rebecca learns more about how things appear in the breadbox, she has to deal with some huge moral issues. This book offers an interesting twist to some familiar concepts.</li><br /><br /><li><strong>Louis Sachar</strong> recently wrote <strong><em>Card Turner,</em></strong> a young adult novel about playing bridge. Now <strong>Meg Wolitzer</strong> has written an enjoyable tale of Scrabble competition. <em><strong>The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman</strong> </em>begins with the revelation of Duncan's ability to read print with his fingertips, a talent that one of his new classmates soon realizes could be useful when playing Scrabble. From there the story widens to include other contestants in the Youth Scrabble Tournament. Duncan, April, and Nate all have their own reasons for going to the tournament, but only one team can win.<br /></li></ol><br /><p>Please look at former posts on this blog for more of my suggestions. There are many good books just waiting to be discovered.</p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-56989777238491628752011-10-29T16:13:00.004-04:002011-10-29T17:17:39.031-04:00Hone Reading Skills on These TitlesOne of the most exciting times in a person's life is that moment when all those funny looking squiggles come together to make words and those words make sense and suddenly a new world is opened within the covers of a book. Those of us who grew up with Dick, Jane, Sally, and Spot can appreciate the early readers of today more than young people who never knew life before <strong><em>The Cat in the Hat.</em></strong> I have talked about early readers before so I will simply urge you here to wander through that section of your library or bookstore to find those that interest your new reader. You will find some familiar friends who are just as much fun as you remembered--<strong><em>Frog and Toad, Mr. Putter and Tabby, Commander Toad</em></strong>, and <strong><em>Amelia Bedelia</em></strong>. Newer characters include Fly Guy and Piggie and Elephant. My biggest advice is to not buy only those tied to the latest pop culture. Let your child learn to read with some of the tried and true titles. They get lots of Pokemon, My Little Pony, Dora, and Diego on TV. Books with those characters won't hurt them, but do you really want them to be the only things they know?<br /><br />Suddenly your child is ready for chapter books. These are sometimes hard to find because along with reading skills come definite opinions of what to read. Here are a few suggestions.<br /><br /><br /><ol><br /><br /><li>Girls have lots of options at this age like <strong><em>Junie B. Jones, Ivy and Bean, </em></strong>and, my favorite, <em><strong>Clementine</strong> </em><strong>by Sara Pennypacker.</strong> All of these have several books in the series and feature spunky, funny girls who will remind you of that perennial favorite, <strong><em>Ramona Quimby </em>by Beverly Cleary.</strong></li><br /><br /><li>At first glance, it may seem that there are fewer books aimed at boys at this level but look again. <strong>Marvin Redpost by Louis Sachar, Ready, Freddy by Abby Klein, </strong>and <strong>The Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith</strong> are all good starting points for getting boys to enjoy adventure and humor in the same book.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Attach of the Fluffy Bunnies</em> by Andrea Beaty</strong> will remind many people of <strong><em>Captain Underpants</em> by Dav Pilkey</strong> or <strong><em>Fat Camp Commandos </em></strong>and others by <strong>Daniel Pinkwater </strong>because of its wild and weird events. This is something that may not please mom nearly as much as it pleases young readers, most of whom value odd attacks sugar crazed alien bunnies. Books of this type start many a reluctant reader down the road to fine literature.</li><br /><br /><li><strong>Kate DiCamillo</strong> has written some wonderful novels for older readers and dabbled in picture books yet it seems that her first chapter book series <strong><em>Mercy Watson</em></strong> often gets overlooked. Mercy is a very spoiled pig who likes good food, a trait that often leads to disaster. Her doting humans find a way to make everything seem normal and fine. These are always good for a smile.</li><br /><br /><li>Everyone loves <strong>Doreen Cronin's </strong>picture books like <strong><em>Click, Clack, Moo, </em></strong>and <strong><em>Diary of a Worm, </em></strong>so it is no surprise that she has written a great chapter book. The mystery <strong><em>The Trouble with Chickens</em></strong> features J. J. Tully, a wise if not always patients dog who though he was retired until two chicks come asking for help to find their missing siblings. The story takes exciting and humorous twists on its way to a satisfying ending.</li></ol><br /><br /><p>Enjoy the search that for those books that build the bridge to becoming a life long reader.</p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-79295277032282558192011-10-29T13:02:00.004-04:002011-10-29T15:09:07.111-04:00Pick Up These Picture BooksPicture books are the easiest of all books to select. The process is simple. Find a bookstore or library and head to their picture book section. Pick up books at random and leaf through them. I can spend hours (and much money) doing this. Picture books can be totally irresistible. They can also be pretty but not well written or beautifully written with illustrations that spoil it all. You have to be careful, but you are sure to find something that appeals to you.<br /><br />The key is to have the picture book you select appeal to you and, if you plan to share the joy, your listener. Here are some picture books that appeal to me.<br /><br /><br /><br /><ol><br /><br /><li><strong>Peter Brown</strong> is a fairly new discovery of mine. His two most recent books drew my eye to the large, friendly looking bear on the cover. <strong><em>Children Make Terrible Pets</em></strong> features that young bear hugging a small boy. The story and its charming illustration show Lucy,the bear. interacting with her new pet child. She appears to be having a wonderful time with Squeak, as she names him, until he exhibits behavior problems, just as her mother had warned. A suitable moral is learned at the end. In <strong><em>YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND </em></strong>(yes, it is in all caps.) Lucy is desperately searching for a friend. Her bumbling approach seems to make success impossible. Or is it? Could another clever moral await?</li><br /><br /><br /><li><strong>Eric Litwin</strong> and <strong>James Dean </strong>have two charming, simple stories about Pete the Cat with another one coming out in May of 2012. In <strong><em>Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes</em></strong> this very cool cat puts on his new white shoes and proceeds to walk through various items (i.e. fresh fruit, mud) which change the color of his shoes but never interfere with their cool factor. <strong><em>Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes</em></strong> takes a tour of school letting his shoes make him feel confident in every location. The rhythm of the text makes these books a joy to read aloud.</li><br /><br /><li>Ahhh... <strong>Jon Agee</strong>! This author, illustrator never lets me down. His most recent, <strong><em>My Rhinoceros,</em></strong> is no exception. A young boy goes to the exotic pet store and selects a rhinoceros. Initially it seems to be a real dud because it doesn't do anything of interest. Am expert tells him that he has a perfectly good rhino because all rhinos do is pop balloons and poke holes in kites. That seems boring until the rhinoceros proves that he is a super hero and saves the day. While you are in the Agee section, take a look at <strong><em>Milo's Hat Trick, Nothing, The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau, </em></strong>and all the others.</li><br /><br /><li>I am sure I have said it before, but I will say it again. No child today should grow up without being introduced to <strong>Mo Willems.</strong> The Pigeon books (<strong><em>Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus </em></strong>and many more), the <strong>Knuffle Bunny</strong> books, and the <strong>Elephant and Piggie</strong> books are all destined to be classics. Read them all. Then read <strong><em>Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, Amanda and Her Alligator, </em></strong>and <strong><em>Leonardo the Terrible Monster.</em></strong> All of these will make you laugh. Finally, savor <strong><em>City Dog, Country Frog</em></strong>. It will fill you with joy. You can't go wrong with Willems.</li><br /><br /><li><strong>Eric Carle</strong> has a new book out called <strong><em>The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse.</em></strong> It is a tribute to the artist Franz Marc but what young readers will care about is that it features Carle's bright and interesting illustration collages along a path to creative thinking. It is beautiful. </li></ol><br /><br /><p>There are so many more great authors and illustrations of children's books that I could go on for hours. I will stop here and simply encourage you to go look for yourself.</p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658859149572493256.post-81469687698936989832011-10-29T11:28:00.004-04:002011-10-29T12:25:14.673-04:00Adults reading in the FallIt is that time of year again when folks at school are gearing up for our annual book fair on November 13. My biggest contribution, aside from the joy of joining everyone for a remarkably fun evening, is making some suggested reading lists. Here are my top five suggestions for adults.<br /><br /><br /><ol><br /><li>Since <strong><em>River of Smoke</em></strong> the second in the Ibis trilogy has just come out, it seems the perfect time to suggest you read the first in that trilogy by <strong>Amitav Ghosh. <em>The Sea of Poppies</em></strong> is long and often complicated, but by the end of it I was totally absorbed in the story and the lives of the myriad characters is this story set in and around Calcutta, India shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. It has taken Ghosh several years to add the second book and I have not yet had the chance to read it. I forgive him this long writing time because it was clear in the first that he carefully researched his story and worked painstakingly to craft every word.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Birds Without Wings</em> by Louis de Bernieres</strong> is another long and often complicated novel that is well worth the trip. Set in Anatolia as the Ottoman Empire is crumbling, the story takes the reader into the lives and minds of a wide range of people who populate a small town. There are the famous like Mustafa Kemal and the everyday people like the potter, the priest, and the children who interact within a system that is open to all. Muslim Turks, Christian Greeks, and Armenians support each other when they can while often gossiping about each other. As in <strong><em>Captain Corelli's Mandolin</em></strong> de Bernieres has a beautiful way with words.</li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>Love Marriage</em> by V. V. Ganeshanathan</strong> takes the reader to Sri Lanka via Toronto as it looks at the long time fighting in Sri Lanka through the eyes of Yalini,a young woman who left the country with her family when she was two years old. Now her uncle has fled Sri Lanka to to die in Toronto. He is not allowed into the U.S. because he is a leader of the Tamil Tigers and branded as a terrorist. Various marriages--for love or arranged--offer the road map for a trip through the history of the family and the country, as well as the narrator herself. Ultimately it is a story of love through many definitions. Emerson School will host Ms. Ganeshanathan in November for an evening of discussion. </li><br /><br /><li><strong><em>The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet</em> by Reif Larsen</strong> sticks with me because it is so quirky. Any description of it should be accompanied by the same maps, diagrams, photos, and footnotes that fill the ample margins of the over-sized book. T.S. Spivet is a 12 year old boy living in rural Montana when his detail filled maps of nearly everything are submitted to the Smithsonian by an adult friend. Soon T. S. is riding the rails to accept a special post at the Smithsonian and his life is turned upside down. This is a coming of age story unlike any other.</li><br /><li>As I scanned my bookshelf this morning, my eye fell on a book that is one of my long-time favorites, <strong><em>The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary</em> by Simon Winchester.</strong> Like so many people, I read and enjoyed Winchester's <strong><em>The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. </em></strong>This book takes a broader look at the writing of the dictionary and its impact on the lives of the people involved as well as the world as we know it. There is little more fascinating to me the words and this book made me wonder if I should have been a lexicographer. </li></ol><br /><p>There are so many good books to read and so little time. As always, I would enjoy hearing what you suggest as good reading in any genre.</p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09689951037763602566noreply@blogger.com0