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I have the pleasure of welcoming author and our friend, Kathy Erskine, to our gathering at Bookworm Central.
As you know, Kathy has won acclaim for her YA and MG novels. She has that wonderful amalgamation of curiosity, smarts, talent, open-mindedness in her very big heart for young people and the young at heart.
I've read almost all of Kathy's books. Mama Africa How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song was published almost simultaneously with The Incredible Magic of Being....which puts me a little bit behind -- but not for long.
If you have not had a chance to take a peek at The Incredible Magic of Being, I hope you do soon. This book is perfect for ages 7-14. The mission of its main character and unisensor, Julien is to let us know that....it's going to be all right. The Universe really is an incredible place and none of us are going to slip through its cracks. Just take time to stop and notice. And, there are funny threads too like talk of burning s'mores and FARTS (Facts and Random Thoughts).
In the voice of Julien, Kathy asks readers to notice the unknown..the incredible...the magical and persist with questions even in the face of doubt, because it's how we all achieve the impossible.
What a beautiful message for today.
On her blog, author-poet Laura Shovan sometimes pairs newly published kid-lit novels with poetry. I'm going to give that a try. The Spinning Earth, by Aileen Fisher, suits Julien at age nine, the age he is in The Incredible Magic of Being.
The Spinning Earth
- The earth, they say
spins round and round.
It doesn't look like it from the ground,
and never makes
a spinning sound.
And water never
swirls and swishes
from oceans full
of dizzy fishes,
and shelves don't lose
their pans and dishes.
And houses don't go whirling by,
or puppies swirl around the sky,
and robins spin instead of fly.
It may be true
what people say
about spinning
night and day...
but I keep on wondering anyway.
Aileen Fisher
This next poem is for us, the readers -- grown-up Julien's. I think grown-up Julien would inscribe these words on his telescope.
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
- Thank you for joining us and sharing some of the magic of the universe with us tonight, Kathy.
- To get to know Kathy better follow her on facebook, twitter @KathyErskine or, her website: http://kathrynerskine.com
Please visit the immeasurably talented Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales for lots more Poetry Friday.
