Big Universe

A is for Appleseed

March 11 is Johnny Appleseed Day. I haven’t thought about this American folk hero in years, but I warmly remember singing about him in second grade and listening intently to the story my teacher read. (See book list below.)

Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and Rip Van Winkle were three of my favorite folklore characters. Their stories were larger than life, and that appealed to a child of 8.

Mr. Van Winkle’s story was a variation on the time travel theme – an easy remedy for life’s problems. Simply go to sleep and they vanish! Mr. Bunyan lived with gusto. He made flapjacks on such a big griddle that skaters had to strap hunks of bacon to their feet to grease the pan! And, Mr. Appleseed was a tree-hugger prototype, someone who appealed to an outdoorsy girl like me, who had grown up camping and playing for hours outside every day.

“Rip Van Winkle” was a short story written by Washington Irving and published in 1819. The legendary antics of super-human lumberjack Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are still told today, and many towns in the United States lay claim to him. The origin of these tales is hotly disputed.

John Chapman, the son of a Massachusetts farmer, was born in 1774. His favorite spot on his father’s farm is said to have been the apple orchard. He enjoyed talking to people who passed their farm as they headed west on wagon trains. The more he learned, the more he dreamed of joining them. He eventually set out, heading west with a pot on his head, a walking stick, a book and a bag of apple seeds. As he traveled, he planted seeds and told stories. The resulting trees became the source of delicious apples and legend, and John Chapman became known as “Johnny Appleseed.”

Why not read this enduring story to your children? Tie in additional lessons if you wish. His tale is a great launching pad for discussions about fruits, vegetables and nutrition. A bag of apples of various colors can be used to practice counting and graphing numbers on a chart. Talk about the difference between facts and legend. Discuss his character. Examine his attitude toward nature.

Here are some books to get you started:

• “Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend” – This book was written and illustrated by Will Moses, the great-grandson of folk painter Grandma Moses. It’s intended for ages 5-9. “The virtues his picture biography teaches include sharing, simplicity and kindness to animals,” said Massachusetts elementary school teacher Simon Rodberg in a New York Times review. “This ‘Johnny Appleseed’ is biography as parable, embracing history and tall tales equally, its bright pages packed with country cheer.” (Philomel Books)
• “Johnny Appleseed” by illustrator Steven Kellogg. (Morrow Junior Books) Ages 8-12.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written by award-winning author Carol Ottolenghi and illustrated by C.D. Hullinger. (School Specialty Publishing) Ages 6-10.
•  “The Story of Johnny Appleseed” written and illustrated by Aliki. Ages 5-7.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written in poem form by Reeve Lindbergh and illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen Hallquist. A Redbook Children’s Picture Book Award Winner.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written by Patricia Brennan DeMuth and illustrated by Michael Montgomery. (Grossett & Dunlap) Level 1 Beginners.
• “What’s so Great About…Johnny Appleseed” written Daryl Davis Zarzycki, a second grade teacher in Delaware. (Mitchell Lane Publishers)

I Don’t Like Dr. Seuss

It’s true. I don’t like Dr. Seuss.

There, I said it…on his birthday, no less. I imagine this is a form of blasphemy, a veritable act of treason, but I just had to get it off my chest!

 While I mean no disrespect to Theodor Seuss Geisel himself – who was born on March 2^nd 106 years ago in Springfield, Mass. – I have to be honest. His books creeped me out as a child. (They sit on the same memory shelf as “The Wizard of Oz” and all those flying monkey things.)

The stories involved naughty characters and scenarios of impending doom. It was a little much for a sensitive kid with a highly developed imagination, a quick trigger finger over the “Guilt” button, and a hyperactive sympathy response. (If my brother got in trouble, I would be the one crying when it was all over.)

 In my world, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Horton Hears a Who” were horrible stories. A thief was going to steal Christmas, my very favorite day of the year, and a little miniature civilization was going to be crushed despite the efforts of a well-meaning elephant. Don’t even get me started on “The Cat in the Hat” stories or “Green Eggs and Ham!”

 Those siblings in the Cat story were going to be in BIG trouble when their mom got home and found the house a disaster. The Cat and Thing One and Thing Two were uninvited guests and did not jibe with my inner “voice of reason” or my healthy fear of strangers.

And, for goodness sake, green eggs and ham? That entrée sounded particularly disgusting to a girl from a “clean-your-plate-or-you-do-not-leave-the-table” household.

 The illustrations were particularly creepy to me, too. I did not find them funny or cute. I loved animals, but these characters didn’t look like the soft furry ones I knew and adored. A one-humped Wump? A virtually hairless Zed? Zaxes, zooks and sneetches? No siree, bob. Not for me.

 Yup, childhood memories are powerful things. Although I grew up to be a reasonably well-adjusted adult, I simply could not overcome my feelings about Dr. Seuss’ books. So, I refused to read them to my children. (Did I just hear a gasp on a global scale?)

 Lest you think my children were deprived, think again. The books would end up in our take-home baskets at the library, although I never personally placed them in there. Unlike me, my husband reveled in reading “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham” to our girls – over and over and over again. He can still quote passages by heart as can my girls!

 I kept my prejudice to myself. An anti-Seuss sentiment just seemed so, well, un-American. I confided in my husband, but no one else knew. But, years have gone by and I have felt the urge to unload this heavy burden. My daughters are big girls now, young women of 16 and 19 years. I think it’s safe to purge. I think we are past the risk of leaving permanent psychological scars on them or impeding their education.

 My name is Suzan, and I am a Dr. Seuss book hater.

I guess that means  The Cat is out of the bag.

EDITOR’S NOTE: “Dr. Seuss” wrote and illustrated 44 children’s books during his lifetime. His works were turned into numerous TV specials, a Broadway musical and feature-length motion pictures. His honors have included a Pulitzer Prize, a Peabody award, two Academy Awards, two Emmys, and a whimsical sculpture garden was built as a memorial to him in his hometown. Despite my lack of appreciation for his well-loved rhyming schemes and quirky illustrations, his biography is fascinating and his contribution to children’s literature is unquestioned.

• To read more about this children’s literature giant, go to www.catinthehat.org.
• For a Level One Seuss word search puzzle, click here.
• Visit Seussville, a fun, interactive educational site for children.
• For additional  reading fun, visit Big Universe, a source of children’s books online.

Science Project: Fear and Loathing? Try These Tips!

If the tri-fold boards visible in the back window of all the minivans in town weren’t evidence enough, the glazed eyes of parents in the school drop-off line would be a dead giveaway! Science Fair Week had arrived.

If I were politically correct, I’d be moaning and groaning with the rest of the parents, some of the teachers and certainly the custodial staff.

“I hate these projects,” said one parent to no one in particular.

“You poor thing,” said a passerby to a judge sitting in front of a display of bedraggled bean sprouts.

“What a weekend,” moaned another mom who sported noticeable undereye circles. The child in tow did not look happy either.

It’s the seventh year in a row that I have volunteered as a science fair judge and the ritual is the same. The negative attitude toward science and this educational rite of passage was the norm, rather than the exception. Unfortunately, it’s not a localized attitude. Science teachers and organizations have been fighting this pervasive cancer on a nation-wide basis for years.

I, however, love science! I always have. Although I became a writer by profession, my first love was nature, science and the great outdoors.

As a child, I reveled in rocks and bugs and birds in the trees. I was awed by the birth of kittens and checked on the ever-changing tadpoles in our farm pond. I filled a shelf in my bedroom with my finds: an empty turtle shell, a blue jay feather, a rock with a tiny fossil embedded in it.

This interest in the natural world is not that unusual in young children. Just watch a curious toddler at a park. One is carrying a dandelion in a chubby fist, while another is collecting acorns and pebbles or observing the ants. It’s the scientific method in its infancy. It’s precious to watch.

So what happens to that natural curiosity and joy? Why the negative attitude? Is the disconnect inevitable?

I say it doesn’t have to end this way! I speak as a parent of four back-to-back years of science fair competition and as an experienced science fair judge. Here are a few suggestions that I think will help.

Science Projects: 9 Tips for a Positive Experience 

1. A student’s personal interest in the project topic is vital. The higher the interest level, the better the attitude, involvement and outcome.
2. Take a step-by-step approach. Methodical. Calm. Fun-focused. Note: A project cannot be completed successfully in a weekend.
3. Expose your children to good material from a young age. There are great science-themed books, videos, TV shows and community programs available. Visit the library, a book store, the local university, a national park, a zoo or the community science or agriculture center. Online resources are extensive. Big Universe has a particularly good collection of science-themed children’s picture books online and the Bill Nye the Science Guy website has a good sampling of easy experiments for parents or teachers to do with their children.
4. A positive parental attitude toward homework, science and education is key. Very often a parent’s bad attitude toward science projects is linked to an over-taxed schedule, a skewed understanding of the assignment’s goals, a poor view of education’s importance, or a negative personal science fair experience. “Every thought is a seed.  If you plant crab apples, don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious!” – Bill Meyer
5. Teacher attitude. (Yes, teachers too!) Whether you are part of a school system or are a homeschooler, personal views are powerful. A child can detect overt and subtle biases against science. Do you see the science unit as a necessary evil or do you see science and learning as a blessing and great opportunity?
6. Exposure to good role models. Expose kids to science professionals – an engineer with cool gadgets, a zoo keeper or veterinarian, or a science “performer” with a sense of humor and lots of loud, visually interesting experiments designed to intrigue kids.
7. Parental support. Good parent-teacher communication can go a long way in avoiding misunderstandings and encourage parental support. (The child can’t drive, pay for materials, or scour the Internet safely without parental involvement. Getting everyone on the same team is imperative.)
8. Time management! Colliding with deadlines is stressful to the child, the parents and even siblings. Anticipating checkpoints and due dates allows you to sidestep the stress. Look at the teacher’s guidelines and schedule each step in the experiment process on your family calendar: researching, planning, collecting supplies, testing, journaling, analysis and creation of the display board. Allow a time cushion! Family emergencies happen, plants die and glue sticks dry up.
9. Recruit science mentors. Many science professionals or hobbyists are happy to share their knowledge and love of the sciences. “Bring Your Child to Work Day” is another great opportunity to expose children to different careers and working scientists.

Brain Science Offers New Look at Teaching Math

“The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry, and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful.”   – Aristotle

 Aristotle appreciated math. So do my husband, father-in-law and sister-in-law. They made it their livelihoods. As for me…well, if push came to shove, I’d plead The Fifth.

However, I did read a well-written essay by Benedict Carey, titled “Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them.” It appeared as part of a series in The New York Times last month. Unfortunately it was published on Dec. 20 – just a few days before Christmas. I doubt it got the notice it deserved, but I found it fascinating and think teachers and parents will find it and the rest of the series interesting too.

 Carey talks about how cognitive neuroscience research is challenging the way educators have traditionally taught math and other concepts to young children. While some of these findings may have trickled their way into the classroom, I think the information bears repeating. Numerous brain science studies and researchers are cited, as well as a few teachers who have incorporated these new ideas into their classrooms through fun math games, activities and reading. 

“Teaching is an ancient craft, and yet we really have had no idea how it affected the developing brain,” said Kurt Fischer, in The New York Times article. Fischer is the director of the Mind, Brain and Education program at Harvard. “Well, that is beginning to change, and for the first time we are seeing the fields of brain science and education work together.” 

For those of you on the front lines in the classroom, please weigh in! Give the article and its readers’ comments a look and then offer your feedback here. Does this article resonate with you? Are you applying any of these principles in your math curriculum? Or are your hackles up? I’d like to hear what you have to say.

 If you are looking for some basic math concept picture books, Big Universe offers about two dozen online options from its publishing partners. Members also have created many volumes about math and counting, and you and your students can do the same. 

Blue Moon Special: ‘In Every Moon There is a Face’

For the past 18 years, I have given a special ornament to each of my children on Christmas Eve. Each trinket signifies something about their lives in the previous 12 months.

After almost two decades, we have a litany of stories and mementos hanging from metal hooks among the pine needles – ballet slippers, handprints, ponies, pianos and tokens from trips. It’s like a 3-D version of scrapbooking.

The first in this collection was a handcrafted moon with a little baby girl nestled in the lower curve of the star-bedecked crescent. The infant is asleep with her tummy facing down, her knees tucked in and her bottom poking up – my first-born’s position of choice when she snoozed.

Between that ornament and the lunar beauty on recent winter nights, I’ve had the moon on my mind. Last evening its light was so bright, it penetrated the curtains in my bedroom, leaving moon shadows on the floor.

On New Year’s Eve we will experience the second full moon this month – the celestial event known as a “blue moon.” The last time this occurred on a New Year’s Eve was 19 years ago in 1990 – two months before the birth of my first baby. The next one will ring in the new year in 2028.

This afternoon I heard my second daughter humming “Fly me to the moon. Let me sing among the stars.” So, it shouldn’t really have surprised me when the children’s book “In Every Moon There is a Face” caught my attention as I surfed Big Universe’s website for some of the latest additions on its virtual bookshelves.

While the book has been on the site for some time (480 others have read it) I somehow missed it. Its poetic verses were penned by renaissance man Charles Mathes, and his talented wife, Arlene Graston, gave the text wings with her fanciful paintings. Published by Illumination Arts, the book received the Gold Medal for Best Children’s Picture Book of the Year by Foreword Magazine.

I made the mistake of reading this book for the first time in the same way I would have recited the words to “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” for the umpteenth time. When I finished, however, I knew I had missed the mark. I hit the Read Again tab and gave this book another shot.

The second time I read Mathes’ poem I set off at a gentler pace, using a softer voice appropriate for a lullaby or soothing bedtime story. I took my time as the text circled in a dream-like fashion and lingered to absorb the illustrations, which expanded the story with their intricate detail.

This time I savored the collaboration of text and art like a fine wine – instead of treating it like a Big Gulp from the corner 7-Eleven. This time I arrived at a different impression entirely! I invite you to give it a read, too.

Other Lunar Favs on My Mind:

• Van Morrison’s song “Moondance.”
• “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown.
• The 1987 Oscar-winning movie “Moonstruck.”
• Cat Steven’s song “MoonShadow.”
• Keith’s Moon Page trivia.
• Mobile, Alabama’s new year’s celebration. The city raises a 12-foot, lighted mechanical moonpie replica above the city at midnight.  Think Times Square with a hint of marshmallow, graham cracker and chocolate.

 Happy New Year!  May you enjoy many hours of good reading in 2010 and a sprinkling of moon dust, too.

A Balancing Act . . . Writing a Picture Book in Verse

Sometimes we need a little imbalance in our lives to make us think about how to get centered again. Writing a picture book in verse is like that, too.

 When writing in poetical stanzas (With all those good things that any picture book needs—characterization, setting, and a plot, for goodness sake!)the writer has an additional concern. That is, a sense of balance. Oftentimes we can sense imbalance but we are not quite sure why something doesn’t work.

For example, the magical number in most western literature is three. Tasks, bad luck, good luck, etc. come in threes. If this is violated, somewhere down deep we readers feel a bit uneasy. Things are not quite what they should be.

Most picture books are thirty-two pages in length. (Some are forty, or twenty-four; all are a number of pages that can be divided by 8.) Working with thirty-two pages, a writer of picture books has to be able to envision action for approximately 13 double spreads (26 pages), and two single pages (first right page and final left page). The remaining four pages are front and back matter.

The job for the verse writer of picture books is partly realizing how the stanzas, with or without a chorus, play across these pages in a balanced way so the reader feels, yes! This is right. Early in my writing career I wrote a book from which my editor wanted me to remove one stanza to get it into a 24 page format. But which one should I remove?

This manuscript also contained a repeated chorus at precise points in the story. In my mind it was designed like one might a beaded necklace. There was an opening, three strands (stanzas) of a certain rhyme pattern and rhythm, a chorus strand with a different rhyme and rhythm, three more of the basic strand, another chorus, three more of the basic, and then a closing. So the original pattern went: Opening, 3 stanzas, chorus, 3 stanzas, chorus, 3 stanzas, closing.

How could I remove just one and keep the whole thing working in a balanced way? Well . . . obviously, I had to remove the center stanza so the central strand of the basic pattern contained only two stanzas. Now my pattern was Open, 3, C., 2, C., 3, Close.

You might think at this point that I am being just too fussy. But am I? Certainly a reader sometimes is not aware of all the work a writer does behind the scenes to make a story flow as though it were effortless. However, if we jarred the reader rudely at a point in the flow—he/she would certainly feel it, even though the reader might not be exactly sure why it didn’t work for him/her.

For example, lets look closely at a title from a friend of mine’s manuscript (Hope Vestergaard) that recently sold to Candlewick: Digger, Dozer, Dumper. Obviously, this is a book of large machines for little readers. And the title is perfect. Why is that?

First, we have the very descriptive words that tell exactly what each machine does. Second, we have the wonderful alliteration so beloved in children’s books that helps the title just roll off our tongues. But there is more . . . a third thing. This is something an author would think about and deliberately design, something that just feels right.

Notice the vowels? Each one progresses down in tone and where they said in the mouth. The “i” is higher, said using the tongue up near the roof of the mouth. The “o” is said in the round chamber of the middle of one’s mouth, while the “u” is said more in the lower back of the mouth near the throat. It feels good in our mouths to say it. It’s memorable, it’s musical. It’s perfect!

Now you know a little about why I fume when someone comments, “Oh it must be so easy to write those books. They’re so short.” When this happens I grit my teeth and remark that often the things we love most in the world are short, but they are not easily written. Think of Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods,” Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” or the 23rd Psalm.

The best writing is precise and balanced.

Here’s to the beginning of a new writing year! Happy Holidays, all!

Shutta

Loved the Fur Off Any Books Lately?

Gasp! The headline from the news feed grabbed my attention. “Copy of Poe’s First Book Sells for $662K in NYC,” it read.

 During the Christmas season, it takes an intriguing headline to get me to slow down long enough to read something for fun. This one jumped out for three reasons.

First of all, it was about a book, and a bibliophile can’t pass by such a juicy hook. Second, it was about Edgar Allan Poe – a literary friend of mine from way back. And finally, $662,000 is a huge sum of money in New York – let alone Greenville, S.C.

The rare copy of Poe’s “Tamerlane and Other Poems” just sold at Christie’s auction house, “smashing the previous record price for American literature,” reported the Associated Press. “The previous record is believed to be $250,000 for a copy of the same book sold nearly two decades ago.”

The collection of poems was published in 1827, but only about four dozen were printed. So, it’s understandable why the 12 that still exist are highly valued. It mattered little that the auctioned 40-page volume was stained and tattered – traits that typically lower the value of antique and rare books.

I have some old children’s books that show distinct signs of wear and tear. They were from my childhood…and my mother’s and my grandmother’s before that. I have since shared them with my children. They include “Through a Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll, “Hans Brinker” by Mary Mapes Dodge, “Heidi” by Johanna Spyri, “Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi and umpteen fairytale books.

The page corners are dog-eared, and the spines are broken. The fonts are uneven, and the tape over the tears (a big no-no among collectors) is quite yellowed. But those books are dear to me. The inscriptions in the front link me to other book lovers in my family, women who gave them as special gifts to the girls in their lives more than a century ago.

While my books probably wouldn’t warrant a second glance by anyone at Christie’s, they are precious to me. Like Skin Horse told the Velveteen Rabbit, “Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off.”

“‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse.

 ’It’s a thing that happens to you.

 When a child loves you for a long, long time,

 not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’ ”

A Picture Spawns a Thousand Words

Fifteen of my family members gathered at my house for the Thanksgiving weekend. For three days we feasted on turkey, pie and family stories. Laughter laced the ebb and flow of conversation and cameras flashed frequently.

One brother shared photos from his recent vacation on which he tracked down a tiny picturesque farm in Vermont, where our grandparents had lived for decades. We had thought the place would be long gone, but he found the house and barns still standing, lovingly restored by the current owner.

The pictures in his slideshow narration sparked many memories and lively discussion ensued. Photos have a way of stimulating our thinking, and it was fun to listen to the words my siblings and parents used to reminisce. “Grammy always had that black potbelly stove goin’…I remember finding the wooden sleigh in the barn… weird ball lightning dancing in the iron sink…What about Grampy bringing Princess the pony into the den?”

Photography serves as a catalyst for communication – something which the Literacy Through Photography (LTP) writing program has tapped into. This classroom-based educational component of FotoFest International is designed to help students improve their writing skills through visual imagery. LTP has been used successfully for 20 years in the Houston Independent School District by more than 25,000 pupils and teachers.

Even earlier than that, I remember a teacher using images to prompt creative writing in one of my classes as a child. I just ate that up! I had a healthy imagination, so written words were a way to express what was going on in my head and heart.

Big Universe’s Author tool offers the same benefits, allowing children to select from thousands of images in the graphics library and then to create a story to go with them. They also can upload their own photographs and scanned artwork with guidance from a parent or teacher and then write about these personal images.

Not only will children sharpen computer skills, but they also will incorporate visual arts with language literacy and learn to express themselves. In the end, they will have a book to show for their effort and skills to navigate our increasingly media-driven culture.

Humor: Be Still My ‘Beeting’ Heart

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “Never give a child a book you would not read yourself.” I couldn’t agree more. He also said, “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”… Something tells me he would heartily approve of the children’s book “Edgar, Allan, and Poe, and the Tell-Tale Beets.”

This humorous book written by Natalie Rompella, illustrated by Francois Ruyer and published by Lobster Press is one of those great stories that appeals to kids and adults at the same time. Author and artist deliver graphic descriptions through word and illustration, highlighting the aversion kids have for “yucky food” while winking at literary references – courtesy of Edgar Allan Poe and his dark short story “The Beating of the Tell-tale Heart.”

This modern rendition is clever and funny and makes me smile on so many different levels.

 First, Poe was the topic of my senior English term paper in high school. Secondly, while my husband and daughters are generally adventuresome eaters, they DESPISE beets. The few times I have tried to convert them, I was NOT met with the usual warmth or culinary accolades. The three of them most definitely were looking for loose floorboards. Thirdly, I was raised as a member of the “Clean Your Plate Club” and still harbor a grudge somewhere in the back corner of my psyche.

It should have come as no surprise when my daughters pulled a few tricks from their sleeves. They do, after all, come from a long line of food hiders.

Their grandmother threw bread crusts up to the very top shelf of her bedroom closet to keep from having to eat them when she was little. The petrified remains were not discovered until she was grown and long gone from the home. She also tossed milk through a window screen when her parents left the dining room – but she got caught on that one.

I have to admit I used deception to get my desserts, as well. The corner braces up under the edge of the dining room table were a perfect hiding place for balancing things like mushrooms and lima beans. The ol’ baked potato skin had a short-lived crime spree, as well. And so, the circle of life goes on!

Humor is an important catalyst for literacy, so find a funny topic that resonates with your child and have at it! These books keep us parents young at heart, too.

 “We don’t stop playing because we grow old;  we grow old because we stop playing.” 

—    George Bernard Shaw

“Edgar, Allan, and Poe, and the Tell-Tale Beets” is one of two books offered online for free this week at BigUniverse.com. For more funny stories, click the website’s Read tab, then the Browse by Categories listing and scroll down to Humor.

Colors! Colors! Colors!

October is my favorite month. This morning I woke up to a shower of gold as the sugar maple at our back deck let loose with its leaves on a stormy morning. (See pic.)

Here in Michigan October can be glorious! I recently posted about searching for ways to get autumn smells into my writing. But lately, due to the beautiful sugar maples, oaks, Norway maples, burning bushes, and sweet gum tress that are turning bright colors—I am overwhelmed by the desire to figure out to describe the precise color of some of the leaves I see on my walks. Terms like “red,” “yellow,” “orange” and even “gold” are not always sufficient.

I have a friend whose mother is in her seventies and still working as a model. She NEVER describes colors as simply “blue,” “green” or “pink.” She always uses terms like “sea foam,” “jade” or “raspberry.” It’s a bit silly sometimes—but the listener can always envision exactly what she is talking about.

So I’ve been making a list of my favorite stand-in color words for this autumn wonder. Synonyms, I suppose. There are the metallic words, of course: gold, bronze, copper, and brass. A word I particularly like is “amber.” Amber can be any color from a deep russet to a sunny gold. So sometimes it need an additional descriptor. “Russet.” There’s another word I like!

For the reds there are words like: russet, amber, crimson, carrot, flame, coral, blush, rust, magenta, maroon, scarlet, carmine, ruby, wine, burgundy, chestnut, and sorrel—to name just a few. Isn’t “sorrel” lovely? For yellows the stand-ins could be: amber, flaxen, lemon, saffron, buff, honey, sunshine, butterscotch, caramel, fawn, and tawny. Isn’t “tawny” great? For orange I can’t think of as many. Certainly, amber again—and copper, melon, brass, apricot. For shades of brown there is amber again. And then there are some other wonderful browns. For example, I could say that the leaves around here are copper, umber, toast-colored, chocolate, mahogany, fawn, ginger, coffee, chestnut, and cinnamon. Why are so many of the brown colors food words? And finally, there are some very fine stand-ins for the green shades. (Yes, we still have some green leaves hanging on.) There is emerald, beryl, forest green, lime, olive, jade, and willow. “Willow green.” Beautiful!

It is at this time of year that I pay the most attention to getting sensual detail into my writing. With that thought, I offer you an original poem (below). You can tell that I am concerned here with things seen (remembered) as well as the sound, the taste, and the feel of things. But . . . I’m still having trouble with that sense of smell! Oh well. That just leaves more fun for me as I keep on tweaking the poem.

I hope you are all happily writing, as well.

Ciao! Shutta

Summer Portrait

She disappeared through the door,

her limp house dress a swirl of dust motes

in the hot afternoon, in the random stillness of memory.

There may have been an ice cube tray smacked

against the metal-rimmed countertop,

the plinking of cubes into jelly glasses,

and a furious crackling as ice fissured in lemonade.

There may have been a murmur of sullen air

skulking through the dry switch grass.

We may have carried kitchen chairs

out into the shade of the crippled willow.

The Buick may have been on blocks by then,

beleaguered by goldenrod and purple asters.

And I don’t recall if static from the transistor radio

masked droning cicadas. Or if she spoke at all.

But like the surprise of finding a cicada’s husk—

there remains a fragile lace of memory. The slap

of pink flip-flops on the hard-pack of the yard,

half-moons of watermelon on yellow plates,

and the sticky wash of juice meandering down arms.

(copyright:2009 Shutta)