Giving Thanks

It's been a week or so since Thanksgiving, but I've been thinking...
     In my latest book, Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop, I wrote a lot about my father.  In fact, the idea of seeing conferring as the keystone, the strength of reader's workshop, was based on the fact that my father was a stonemason and bricklayer.  Dad died on November 21, 1988, three days before Thanksgiving... his funeral was on the 23rd, a Wednesday.  It was no small task, planning a funeral in two days, but we did it (Mom wanted the funeral before Thanksgiving)!  And, despite the sadness of dad's death, it was one of Thanksgivings that will go down as one of my family's favorites.  Dad would have loved it!
     Wednesday was one of those beautiful Novembers in southern Colorado.  Warm.  Sunny.  Blue skies.  Fluffy white clouds.   So many memories of that day still float through my mind... I remember looking across the lawn at the funeral home as we were getting into the limousine and seeing Ruthe Smith, our next door neighbor lady staring at the hearse, dumbfounded and sad, waiting to wave goodbye to her dearly departed friend (I jumped out and went over and gave her a huge hug and I still remember her whispering "I'll miss him..." in my ear).  I remember my niece, Trudy, singing You're Something Special to Me so beautifully, so clear... and I still can't listen to Just a Closer Walk With Thee without tearing up.  I remember watching my mom, Freda, sitting there not wanting to say goodbye to the love of her life (her ol' Crab Patch).  I remember my older brother, Dan, having to say goodbye to his pal (his first funeral); Dad and Dan were kindred spirits.

     And, I remember Thanksgiving that year.
     After the funeral, we decided we should perhaps plan Thanksgiving.  So all the brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, got busy cooking.  Everything was going well until we realized that no one had thought to thaw the turkey (can't imagine why). The turkey we were going to cook was the grand champion at the state fair (yep, that's what they are raised for) the previous year and weighed 42 pounds!  Yes, 42 pounds.  That's a HUGE turkey.  Its size created HUGE turkey roasting difficulties.
     Problem 1)  Frozen. Problem solved... (much to the chagrin of some of us), it was quickly thawed in a sterilized bathtub!  Where else would it fit?  Quick thaw methods aren't necessarily safe according to everything I've read.
     Problem 2)  Too big.  Who has an oven that fits a 42 pound turkey?  So, my brothers went to work.  They decided to "pit roast" the turkey.  Haven't heard of it?  Neither had I.  Here's the drill... you cook the turkey in an underground pit (which reminded me a bit of the cemetery).  First dig a pit deep and wide enough for the turkey and 6 to 8 inches of hot coals (burn enough wood to make a hot coal bed, 6 to 8 inches deep). Cover the hot coals with a sheet of tin. Place your wrapped turkey on the tin.  Then cover the hole with another sheet of tin. Bury the top sheet with dirt (to keep the heat in).  Supposedly, you can come back in 10 to 12 hours and you have perfectly roasted meat. An underground oven of sorts.  And supposedly if you do it at night, the next morning it's ready!  So that's what they did... it was a marvel of engineering.
     Problem 3)  Didn't work.  When we uncovered the "pit"... the fire had gone out and the partially cooked turkey had "rested" in the pit overnight.
     Problem 4)  What to do?   What else... you're on a farm, grab a saw!  Saw the partially cooked bird in half with a "sterilized" handsaw.  Postpone dinner for a few hours.  Cook half in your sister's oven, cook half in your mother's oven... Viola`... two 21 pound turkeys!
     Suddenly my brothers, who's engineering prowess had failed, were basking in the fact that the bird was indeed golden, delicious, and thoroughly cooked!
     When we sat down to dinner I whispered to my wife, "I'm not eating any turkey."
     She replied, "Me either!"  We both decided to be the designated drivers... when our family was stricken with food poisoning from quick-thawed, partially cooked, viciously sawed, and oven-roasted turkey.     
     BUT God was watching over us that Thanksgiving.  No one got sick.  The meal was delicious (less turkey on my plate).  The laughter was raucous.  The tears flowed.  The stories of dad's amazing life filled the air... 
     And we celebrated one of our favorite Thanksgivings.  Out of sadness, came joy!  Dad would have loved it... but I think, he too, would have passed on the turkey! 

 

     

Homegrown House

Who doesn't like a free book?  Thanks to Simon and Schuster, there were many lucky recipients who walked through their booth on the last day of NCTE to take a book... or two... or three... depending upon how many times you stood in line.  I went through three times (it was either that or go to the airport far too early).
     One of the books I picked up was homegrown house by Janet Wong (based on my friend Troy's recommendation).  It was a great recommendation... I love the book and the beautiful illustrations.  I love the back and forth story of the grandmother who's only lived in two houses her whole life and the girl in the book who is already moving to her fourth.  There's a sense of humor and realism floating through the pages.  When I picked it up to read it there was a sudden sense of comfort that developed as I thumbed through the pages... very Patricia MacLachlan-like.  I love the line, "...there will be nothing more to do.  Nothing except to settle into this house, to learn to live it right, to make it feel, as Grandmom says, Homegrown."
     This was another wonderful book to add to my collection.  And, the price was perfect! 

The Storm in the Barn

Another book I picked up at NCTE is The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan.  In 1937 Kansas, 11-year-old Jack Clark comes face to face with the horrors of the Dust Bowl.  His small town is faced with extraordinary choices related to the outcomes of the Dust Bowl... including this eery look at "dust dementia" and the choices related to survival when the entire landscape was changing.  The illustrations in this graphic novel draw the reader into a time that fewer and fewer Americans remember experiencing.  Jack "sees" the effects of the Dust Bowl--in strange and frightening ways.
     I was immediately pulled into this book.. the barns, the rabbit drives, the wind, the mystery, the uncontrollable dust permeating the very souls of the people experiencing it.  I picked this book up at the Candlewick Press booth (why am I never disappointed by a book from this publisher?) and was blown away (pardon the pun).  Perhaps because both my father and my sister (who is now 81) shared their Dust Bowl experiences with me.
     I can see boys in 5th or 6th grade loving this book and perhaps even investigating more and more about this important aspect of American life in the 1930s.  

Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton

On Friday, 11/20, Philly was alive with the sounds of Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamiliton.  They were speakers at the Friday General Session.  Although her daughter spoke for a longer period of time than Ms. Andrews, it was a treat to hear from them both... I sat there, a bit in awe.  After all, this was the voice of the woman who for so many years has filled our lives with song and laughter... and there she was "spit..spot" talking to us about her love of reading and how she shared that love with her family.
     Ms. Andrews explained to us that she despises being called a called a celebrity author, because she was an author long before she was a celebrity and that writing has always been an important part of her life.  She said that when she was being tutored as a child actor, her teacher would reward her for doing other work by giving her time to write.  She said it was her father, a teacher, who taught her, "the beauty and power of language."  She also noted that, "My life in the arts has always been about evoking images" and that writing allows her to "celebrate a sense of words, wonder, and wisdom."  She credits her father for teaching her that we must "notice the miracles that happen under our noses every day."
     Her daughter, Emma, is an author of her own books as well as co-author of several books with her mother.  She has a book called Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids to Read for Pleasure and Empowerment.  While she is an "arts" teacher and not a teacher of reading, she says that we must, "restore or create a primal connection to reading."  She noted that reading, especially poetry, brings, "a vision of beauty, meaning, and joy in the world" and that everyone "deserves the open destiny of life" that reading can bring.
     I don't know what I expected when I heard that both Ms. Andrews and her daughter would be speaking, but I left the session pleasantly surprised... by their passion, by their love of language and literature, by their commitment to writing, by their loving and caring relationship, and by their belief that "words illuminate life."  
     I loved the story of how her own children asked her to repay a debt to them by writing them a story.  She asked them, "What should my forfeit be?" And they said a story.  That's how Mandy was born.  It was a great way to start a conference!  Like brown paper packages, tied up with string...

Kisses on the Wind

I picked up the book Kisses on the Wind at NCTE at the Candlewick Press booth.  There was something about this book that caught my eye... and I'm so glad it did!

     This is a wonderful story of a pioneer family that is leaving for Oregon and a little girl, Lydia, who is saying goodbye to her grandmother, who is staying behind.  The illustrations by Kathryn Brown (The Old Woman Who Named Things) are wonderful (especially the one of the grandmother laying by the pond with her granddaughter sailing a bark boat).  
     There are two parts that blew me away, "Then I hugged Grandma a long time.  I breathed her in deep so I would not forget.  I listened to her heartbeat and made my ears remember." and "Grandma reached into her apron pocket.  She pulled out a brown book and laid it in my hands. 'I wrote my stories down for you, Lydia.  When you miss me, you read them.'  I opened the book that Grandma had made and turned the pages.  Words floated by, Grandma's words.  Grandma's stories.  Stories she's told me since I was a baby.  I rubbed the smooth leather cover with my hands.  'Now you'll always be with me,' I said.  'And every day I will think of you and love you.'... 'And I'll be loving you,' said Grandma."
     This is a wonderful book.  I'm so glad I picked it up on my way out of the convention center! 

Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek

I picked up this book at NCTE and had it signed by Deborah Hopkinson (one of my favorite authors).  I was excited to add Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale to my already full carry-on!  But who can resist the sales on the last day in the exhibition hall?

     As the story goes... In 1816, Abraham Lincoln and his friend Austin traveled down to see Knob Creek after a rainstorm.  The creek was full after heavy rains and they decided to cross it on a log.  Abe fell into the swollen creek and his friend Austin saved his life.  Even as president, Abraham Lincoln remembered his friend and never forgot his promise to Austin--a promise to remember that day forever.

     I love this unique book.  Deborah Hopkinson and the illustrator, John Hendrix, create an interesting narrative... they draw you in through creative illustrations and wonderful storytelling.  I love the ending... 

     "Now we're coming to the last page.  About all that's left is to remind you of the moral of our story:  Listen to your mother and don't go near any swollen creeks.  WHAT?  Oh, you don't think that's really the point?  A mite weak, perhaps? Like Abe, a bit thin?

     Then how about this:  Remember Austin Golaher, because what we do matters, even if we don't end up in history books.

     Yes, let's remember Austine Gollaher, who, one day long ago, when no one else was there to see, saved Abe Lincoln's life.

     And without Abraham Lincoln, where would we be?

     But that's a story for another day.  Because ours, at last, is done." 

Check out Deborah Hopkinson's website:  http://www.deborahhopkinson.com

Poetry Party... NCTE

One of the sessions we attended at NCTE was called, "Poetry Party:  Celebrating 2009 NCTE Poetry Award Recipient Lee Bennett Hopkins."  They served sparkling cider, cookies, and amazing readings at this celebration.  Each of the attendees received a copy of Dear One: A Tribute to Lee Bennett Hopkins, a compilation of poetry by some of Lee's friends... whom he calls "Dear Ones." 
     Some of our favorite poets read their poetry in tribute to Mr. Hopkins... Jane Yolen, Georgia Heard, J. Patrick Lewis, Kristin O'Connell George, Heidi Mordhordst, Walter Dean Myers, Eileen Spinelli, Ralph Fletcher, Bobbi Katz, John Grandits, Janet Wong... the words, the poetry, the language, the laughter, the passion... it was an amazing tribute to man who has touched the lives of poets (young and old) with his brilliance and dedication of collecting poetry for children.  Walter Dean Myers said of Mr. Hopkins, "Good people in the field hold you feet to the fire!"  Isn't it the truth?  Ralph Fletcher said that Mr. Myers, "Embodies a life of living with passion."  Passion.  What's yours?

      In the back of the book we received, there is a wonderful quote by Lee Bennett Hopkins:  Poetry and I fit together.  I can't imagine being without it... It is the food and drink, it is all the seasons, it is the stuff of all existence.  It was so evident by the poets who read their words to their dear friend that he, indeed, has touched their lives.  It was one amazing tribute of words after another... story after story... poem after poem!  And Mr. Hopkins relished in each and every poem and story.

     This session was a reminder to me of the power of poetry and the extraordinary role it plays in the lives of our students... and how just a word, or two, or three can change a life!  
     What's your favorite Lee Bennett Hopkins' collection?  Here are a few of mine...