Haiku to the Rescue ~ by Kathy Halsey

Cosmic cliffs. Star birth.

Our past mysteries come alive.

Stellar nurseries.

I am thrilled to be guest blogger on author-friend Sue Heavenrich’s Archimedes Notebook today. Sue and I met at the WOW Nonfiction Retreat in the Georgia mountains 7+ years ago and blog together with other children’s writers on the GROG blog. 

I love writing nonfiction and informational fiction. The natural world is a muse that relaxes me and feeds my curiosity. A writing format that makes nature observation even more detailed and distilled is the seemingly simple haiku. I discovered haiku early in high school; Bashō and Issa were my favorites. 

Last August, after I received a professional critique that made me feel like I couldn’t write my way out of a paper bag, I stopped writing. Haiku came to my rescue. I sat on the back deck with my journal, sketched, and wrote. This simple joy soothed me. 

It's Just Stones!

Making something new

from ordinary unseen

elements is ART.

This year I began to take my haiku, photos, and photos of friends to Twitter weekly. I enjoy participating in #HaikuSaturday, created by Susan (Morhar) Andrews (@AndrewsSusanM).  As Susan says, “There aren't any rules-- just friends sharing haiku and having fun. Everyone is welcome.”  

Connecting to the natural world in an artistic form via haiku comes easily to me now. Through wonder, play and being outside, I meet science through nature’s magic. I observe, make comparisons, investigate, ask questions, take notes, and talk to experts—teachers, scientists, and, of course, I do research. I’ve even used haiku as a revision technique for a STEAM picture book. I’m sharing a few of my favorites to help you jumpstart your brain and see the world with fresh eyes.

Betta Dance

Bettas swim and swish.

Water ballet is their forte.

The tank? Their own stage.

Splendor Alights

Stillness. Perfection

lights upon sweet nourishment.

A moment in time.

For nature to shine.

For me to reflect beauty.

For splendor captured.

Whispering Pines

Fall calls. Reflections

gleam and mirror in the lake. . .

Time to reset. Pause.

Zebras as op art.

Nature's canvas paints a feast

For discerning eyes.

Kathy Halsey received a 2019 PBChat Mentorship and is Ohio SCBWI Central/South region’s newest ARA. Her first board book releases winter of 2023. She is a former K-12 school librarian, seventh grade English teacher, and Past President for The Ohio Educational Library Media Association. Kathy volunteers for the Choose to Read Ohio Advisory Council for the State Library of Ohio and learns about nature, flowers, plants, and vegetables by volunteering in a community garden. Kathy and Bob, her husband, live in Columbus OH with their rescue Corgi Scrappy Doo. Find Kathy online at 

her website ~ http://www.kathyhalsey.com

the GROG ~ http://groggorg.blogspot.com

twitter ~ https://twitter.com/infowoman1

facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/kathy.halsey.5

Finding Fall Treasures

On a Gold-Blooming Day: Finding Fall Treasures 

by Buffy Silverman

‎32 pages; ages 4-9

Millbrook Press, 2022

theme: autumn, seasons, poetry

On a gold-blooming, bee-zooming, sun-dazzling day…

creatures are busy! Crickets are chirping, butterflies slurping, squirrels nut-burying, mushrooms popping up after a fall rain, and leaves are falling! 

What I love about this book: The language! Lines rhyme and make it a perfect read-aloud. And the language is lively – as in, there are lots of wonderful verbs used in oh-so-many ways. They show action (seeds drift) and describe the sort of day it is (nut-crunching).

I love the photos. They are big, bold, filled with fall colors and scenes of nature.

And (of course) I love the back matter: four pages packed with additional information about the plants and animals you find in fall, a glossary, and a list of books for curious young naturalists (and the adults who read the books to them).

I’ll be interviewing Buffy over at the GROG Blog on the First Day of Fall, but today I just had to ask her One Question about her book!

Me: What are some of your favorite words from the fall season?

Buffy: My favorite fall words from On a Gold-Blooming Day are: "Cranes rattle. Fish skedaddle." In the fall, sandhill cranes gather in large numbers in the swampy end of the lake near our house, rattling late into the night (in fact, I can hear a few cranes right now!) Lots of animals skedaddle during autumn, hurrying to find food or make other preparations for winter. Although it still warm in Michigan, I am looking forward to crisp, crunchy, goose-honking weather!

Beyond the Books:

Go on a fall treasure hunt. Notice the different kinds of leaves on the trees and see if any are changing color. It might be too early – but that’s OK because you can do this activity all fall until the last leaf falls. While you walk, collect different kinds of leaves, acorns, sycamore balls, seeds, and other things for some leaf-art activities.

Make leaf rubbings and leaf people. You can make leaf people by gluing leaves to a sheet of paper like this, or you can create 3-D leaf people puppets like this.

Write your own list of Fall Words. They could be colors, sounds, smells of fall or the things you notice animals and plants doing. If you have crayons, you can write the words in fall colors. Turn your words into a Fall Chant or a song or a wish-list or …. Whatever you want to do.

Need more ideas for celebrating the coming of fall? Check out this list of 100.

Buffy Silverman is a member of #STEAMTeam2022. You can find out more about her at her website, https://buffysilverman.com/

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Flitting around with Fritillaries

 

In late summer the goldenrod blooms. Some flat-topped, some droopy spikes, all filled with the color of the sun. And above, fritillaries flutter, land, unroll their long tongues and slurp sweet nectar with the abandon of a kid sucking up the last of the season's milkshakes.

This week look at the colors of the flowers - and the butterflies - in the landscape surrounding you.