Ha, ha, ha HAIKU!
You can say that’s snot funny
But I nose better
©2018 Annette Rochelle Aben
RAE’S READS
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What frustrates people,
even believers,
is that God don’t put you
where you wanna be
but where you need to be.‘Course, there are some times
when those two match up,
but the times
when they don’t,
that’s when you should ask,“What is it you want me to be doin’?”
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I have had the pleasure of reading several kid’s books this past week. I like to preview the books I add to my Little Free Library, and I find that a quick read of a good children’s or YA book will take my mind off from whatever is going on in my life at the time. A book that I found especially appealing is The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown by Betsy Byars, an author my sixth graders often gravitated to. This book is not “the very latest fad in adolescent books,” but its timely life lessons hold true, and because I found neighborhood kids had “donated” it to the LFL, I knew it was still being read years after its publication date.
Bingo Brown is the typical middle school boy. The “Burning Questions” he asks as he makes his way through the treacherous labyrinth of middle school relationships and complexities are still very relevant, and the answers he “discovers” are helpful to young boys encountering for the first time feelings about girls, teachers, and facing one’s future. What is admirable is the way Byars gives solid answers that are specific … and work. For example, Bingo holds hands with a girl for the first time. It is the first time he has ever wanted to, and a burning question pops up, “When and how do you stop holding hands with a girl”? The answer he comes up with is, “When your hands got sweaty. It was simple really.” Bingo reminds me of a neighbor I often converse with as he passes my LFL in the mornings on his way to the bus stop, whom I first met when he was a fifth grader at the elementary school down the street. When he “graduated” to junior high this fall, I happened to be refreshing the library as he came home from his second day of junior high. When I asked him how junior high was, he said, “It sure is different from fifth grade…it’s so confusing.” He went on to describe how his relationships with friends, especially girls who were friends had changed over the summer. In the conversation, he often repeated “I just don’t get it…it’s so confusing.” He went on to say, “Even the classes are confusing.” He described how his Language Arts teacher was pointing out that geo meant earth and therm meant heat; thus, geothermal energy was formed by the heat or the earth.” He complained in an agonized tone, “That’s not Language Arts; it’s science. I just don’t get it…it’s so confusing!”
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In her article on the editorial page of Tuesday, August 14th, 2018’s Houston Chronicle, Esther J. Cepeda describes the problem of home involvement in a child’s reading skills development: “The inconsistency in home support is magnified when you factor in the preparation that teachers bring to the singularly crucial task of reading instruction.” She goes on to describe the standards and certification requirements of reading teachers in several states, and her opinion seems to be that those requirements do not help teachers or their students with reading instruction. (Her statistics and examples are worth reading.)
She ends her discussion of teacher accountability and the requirements students are held to by standardized testing with these words: “It seems like plain common sense that all states should require elementary teachers and special-education teacher candidates to prove they can produce the highest number of successful readers.” Here is where Cepeda and I part…
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Saenz is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. I have read several of his books, and each one seems better than the one before. Carry Me was his debut novel, described by the Chicano author of Bless Me Ultima, as “ferocious” and “sentimental.” The characterization (which is something I am always drawn to) and conflicts presented are outstanding. Originally printed in 1995, the E-version came out in 2010.
The story is set in 1970’s America at the height of the AIDs epidemic. It opens with the relationship of Jake and Joaquin, and with Joaquin slowly dying. A compassionate hospice nurse, Lizzie, becomes involved with the two men as she takes care of Joaquin. Her best friend, the pregnant Maria Elena, confides to her that she has been keeping a BIG secret from her husband and feels compelled to reveal it to him before their baby is born. Little does Maria Elena know that Eddie, her husband, has a BIG secret of his own. Does their marriage survive the revealing of the secrets? What is wrong with the son who is born to them, and where did the gene that carries his affliction come from? How does Lizzie work out the connections between Eddie and Jake, between Maria Elena and herself? When did Lizzie begin to have her supernatural gifts, and how will she use them for the benefit of those she loves? All these questions come pouring in as the novel progresses, but the author ties up all the tendrils of mystery at the end in an entirely satisfactory, uplifting way.
The reader may encounter a few obstacles to smooth reading; some of the characters change their names in the novel, which is confusing, but then the author adds in a twist or a turn that turns the obstacle into an “aha” reveal. If I could only use one word to describe the ending, I would choose “peaceful.”
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My last Sunday (Evening) Post was on September 10th, so I have a good deal to post about the reading I have done since then.
Started Reading:
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk I used this book, which was contributed to my Little Free Library for my First Line Friday post recently and made the comment that the opening was so rough I wondered if I could read it. I read the first chapter so far and am still not sure.
Continuing to Read:
Dogsbody by Gary Paulsen The story seems very promising, but because I have several library books checked out presently, I have had to put it aside.
Fix It, Clean It, and Make It Last by the editors of FC&A (whatever that is) is a DIY book which is going very slowly because I am taking copious notes. It, too, was donated to my LFL.
The Inexplainable Logic of My life is by one of my favorite authors, Saenz, who also wrote Ari and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, which was my introduction to this amazing author It is on my Kindle app.
My Better Half and I are continuing to read aloud The Obelisk Gate.
Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being is a real “find,” and the perfect follow-up to listening to The Elegance of the Hedgehog.
Finished:
Breakfast with Buddha by Merullo
Just Juice and The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown, two children’s chapter books which will be featured on Saturday’s Saturday Mornings for Kids post this coming week
I Want to Start Soon:
Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke, the Texas Gulf Coast Read and the October selection for our Third Tuesday Book Club
Evidence of Flossing by blogging friend Jennifer Payne, a collection of poetry
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, a novel we are considering as a book club selection We have a “rule” that someone in the group has to have read the book before we consider it for a month’s selection.
As you can see, I have my work cut out for me, and since several of these are library books, I need to “get cracking.”
Happy Reading!
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The August 14th, 2018’s Houston Chronicle, included this excellent article by Esther J. Cepeda (Writer forThe Washington Post) on the editorial page. She states that the most often heard request at a parent-teacher conference is they want “Johnny” to read better. She continues:
“Difficulties with reading are a major roadblock to students’ overall academic success, and the statistics are startling.” She gives averages, and points out that statistics for “black, Hispanic, and Native American-Pacific Islander students are even lower.” “Nearly a third of all fourth graders failed to reach a ” basic” level of reading ability, according to a 2017 report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ Nation’s Report Card on Reading.”
Of specific interest to this former junior high language arts teacher, is the statistic from this same 2017 report that “by eighth grade nearly a quarter of students still didn’t have such basic skills as identifying statements…
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Today I am starting a new type post. Saturday Morning for Kids will be book reviews and miscellaneous thoughts aimed at the younger set. When I was a kid, Saturday morning TV was reserved for kids only. Showtimes began at 6:30 a.m. and ran through 11:00 or 12:00 noon, depending on the network. While kids were safely occupied with cartoons, Mom and Dad could safely sleep in a few extra hours if they wished. Older kids poured cereal and milk into younger siblings’ bowls, and we munched in time with the musical backgrounds of cartoons like Looney Tunes. Who knew we were getting an education on classical music!
Today’s review will be of The King of Show and Tell, a book in the Ready Freddy series written by Abby Klein and illustrated by John McKinley. This 86 page (large print) book, published by Scholastic includes at the back a newsy, fun letter from the author to the reader and Freddy’s Fun Pages which includes facts about sharks, a secret decoding riddle, a fill-in-the-blank silly story written by the main character, directions for building a bird feeder, and a maze.
The first page of the book states Freddy’s problem:
“I have a problem. A really, really big problem. I never have anything cool to bring for show-and-tell. Let me tell you about it.”
The characters are the typical ones found in classrooms for students young enough to have Show-and-Tell in their curriculum, and will appeal to readers young enough to participate in this activity, especially those who might share Freddy’s problem. Without spoiling the plot or the outcome, read this book to your kid, grandkid, or students and see how Freddy goes from the Dunce of Show and Tell to the King of Show and Tell.
It is a funny book and an outstanding series.
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