THE FATHER GOOSE TREASURY OF POETRY: A Review and Giveaway Through Talking Story

 As promised last week, I'm back again with another marvelous poetry book by Charles Ghigna. But this time, it's not just one poem It is one hundred and one! THE FATHER GOOSE TREASURY OF POETRY (Schiffer Books: 2023) is divided into seven sections. There is one section for each season, plus "Home," "Animals," and "Poetry." In this blog, Charles talks about the process of how he decided which poems to include in the anthology-- as well as his favorite sweet treats.

REVIEW

Charles uses nature themes and a vivid imagination to write poetry that brings smiles to readers of all ages. The way he incorporates sensory imagery makes readers take notice of word choice and world details. 

Take this poem for example:

            White Butterflies

I like to watch the falling snow.

It puts on such a lovely show.

It looks like little veils of lace,

White butterflies upon my face. (p. 37)

I found three types of figurative language in this word picture--how many do you find? Highlight the following phrase for the answer. personification, simile, metaphor).

Or, how about this sing-song poem with its unique way of rhyming? This one reminds me of how Charles listened to music as a child--you can almost hear the music behind his words.

The title itself makes me laugh and the illustrations of trees dancing in the wind compliment the poem perfectly. Look closely at the cloud and goose and you'll see collage elements that illustrator Sara Brezzi incorporated.

"Morning Rain" reminds me of one of my childhood favorites, Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. (Does anyone else remember the "Land of Counterpane"? I was pleased to find out that Charles and I both read this book as children!)

           Morning Rain

Like a shadow

Passing by,

Storm clouds

Fill the morning sky,

From my window

I see wonder,

A lightning strike,

A clap of thunder.

I sit beside

The window pane

And watch the world

Fill up with rain.  (p.21)

Many of Charles' poems are playful,

            Thunder Bugs

On stormy nights

I often wonder,

Do lightning bugs

Make the thunder? (p.59)

Some are thought-provoking:

                 

      Orion's Way

 

Each evening

he enters

the black forest

of night

and spreads

his star crumbs

across the sky

to find his way

back home.  (p. 29)

And, 

In honor of the Talking Story issue on wordplay, I had to share this one:

       Wild Romance

I love EWE

I'm not LION

I really GOPHER you.

I never GNU this would happen.

You are so DEER to me.

It's more than I can BEAR.

Let us SEAL our love with a kiss.

I will always BEE yours.

I will never have any EGRETS.

You are my one and only GULL.

OWL always love you. (p. 101)

CURRICULUM RESOURCE and GIVEAWAY

Parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians--don't miss the opportunity to add this book to your collection! It's a wonderful read-aloud as well as an opportunity to teach figurative language.

Leave one comment here for one chance to win this book. Leave another through Talking Story for a second chance. On the far right column, you'll see an email address to enter four giveaways. Click on the link and let me know which book you are most interested in winning. (I try to honor requests-but I can't guarantee what Random.org picks!). U.S. addresses only. The giveaway ends on July 15th.

Congratulations to Gail Cartee who won A Poem is a Firefly from last week's blog.

A POEM IS A FIREFLY: A REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW, and A GIVEAWAY

As I mentioned in a previous post, the summer issue of Talking Story is on wordplay. Today and in my next blog I will share two books written by Charles Ghigna, our author-expert for that issue.  (Spoiler alert: In the next blog I'm reviewing his newest anthology THE FATHER GOOSE TREASURY OF POETRY and in the newsletter, Charles gives a few hints on how he writes his poems.)

"Father Goose" as he is affectionately known, is no stranger to my blog; you'll find a review of his adult collection here and a nonfiction book about strange, unusual, gross, and cool animals here. I admire his ability to create fun poems for children--he makes it look easy! 

REVIEW of A Poem is a Firefly

The book opens with the main character asking,

As the bear quickly finds out, a poem can be ANYTHING! That doesn't exactly answer his question, so Bear goes on a quest for the answer, which his animal friends supply. A hedgehog hurries to help him:

and a bee buzzes,

A butterfly blips onto a page and says, "A poem is an echo... slowly passing by."

A spider shares that,

The creatures converge:

Finally, as the sun sets, they suppose,

Illustrations courtesy of Charles Ghigna.

CURRICULUM RESOURCE 

I think this is a fantastic book for preschool through second-grade readers. The rhythm of the poems, the lyrical language, and the animal characters will engage each and every child. Like I have recommended in the past, read the book through several times with your audience. Then take it apart and point out the figurative language. See what nature comparisons your students can come up with. 

I think you'll agree that the illustrations by Michelle Hazelwood Hyde are outstanding and also engaging.  By the way, the title on the cover lights up in the dark--just like a firefly!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: What was your inspiration for writing FIREFLY? 

CHARLES: I wanted to create a book that would be an original, fun way of introducing children to poetry and metaphor based on a "show, don't tell" method. I choose a friendly group of woodland animals as my main characters and had them meet in the woods to discuss "What is poetry?" Each animal compares (metaphor) what they think a poem can be with answers that rhyme. It was fun for me to brainstorm on all the different aspects of nature that I could compare to poetry and create rhymes to lift the narrative with melody, lyrical language, and rhyme.

CAROL: I read on one of your sites that you work on 3 books at a time. What’s that process like? 

CHARLES: I always have more than one project going on at a time. It's fun switching back and forth between the manuscripts, often returning to the other one with new eyes and inspiration. Right now I have five new book manuscripts in the works. It makes getting up in the morning a little more exciting, wondering which ones will reignite the spark that will keep me writing all day ... and night.

CAROL: I assume that they’re each in a different phase? 

CHARLES: Yes, I like to let each of my new projects complete themselves on their own good time. 

CAROL: Did you like poetry as a child? 

CHARLES: My earliest discovery of the power and wonder of rhyme and poetry came from listening to songs. The radio was always on in our house. 

                                                    *****

So, teachers, parents, and homeschool educators let your students and children listen to songs and poetry. It will increase their love of words!

GIVEAWAY

Please leave a comment by July 8th if you are interested in adding this delightful book to your home or school library. Remember, you'll have a second chance to try and win it through Talking Story. If you're not receiving this quarterly newsletter, you can subscribe here. U.S. addresses only. Your comment might not go live immediately so be patient! Educators get two chances; just let me know in the comments. If you are new to my blog, please leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. If you're uncomfortable doing that, you can email me here.

STONES and ILLUSIONS: Poetry Collections by Charles Ghigna Part II: Author Interview & Giveaway

If you missed last week's blog, please take a minute to read some of the poems I enjoyed in Charles Ghigna's new collections, STONES and ILLUSIONS. In this follow-up post, Charles answers questions I sent him via email.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: First of all, why poetry? What is it about poetry that you love and couldn’t do without? What made you start writing poetry in the first place? Have you written poetry since you were a kid? (confession: I have!)

CHARLES: Poetry provides the perfect little package of words for sharing thoughts and emotions. It lifts the heart and sends the spirit soaring. I started keeping a daily journal as a kid. Within a few weeks the writing bug bit and I couldn't stop. Soon I found myself putting those random thoughts into rambling little poems, some with rhymes, some not. Most of my early poems were silly nonsense -- until I was smitten by a girl in high school. I started pouring my heart out in verse -- writing lots of bad, self-conscious drivel, keeping it to myself and throwing most of it away. I also had an English teacher who inspired us with his readings of poetry -- Frost, Millay, Sandburg, Teasdale and others. By then I was hooked. I started reading and writing poetry most every day. It's like breathing. I couldn't stop now if I wanted to.    

CAROL: Where do your ideas come from? You talk about nature, the circus, relationships, imagination, yourself as a child…on and on. Do you get entranced with a subject and write a series (like with the circus) or do they come out in bits at different times and then you realize, “oh, I’ve just written my fifth poem about the circus”? What is your favorite thing to write about?

CHARLES: I'm inspired by little things, quiet moments. I like to listen and observe. I like to celebrate life. I practice gratitude. I take long walks. My inspiration and ideas come from Nature, children, pets, animals, family, friends, and from the real and imagined visions I see along my daily two-mile hike. Much of my inspiration for my books and poetry for children comes from my beloved grandchildren, Charlotte Rose and Christopher. Their names are proudly displayed on the dedication pages of my latest books. My wife inspires all my love poems these days. My son's art inspires me too. Our first book together, ILLUSIONS, was just released. You can see samples of his paintings at ChipGhigna.com

CAROL: You seem to like/use both rhyme and free verse equally. Am I correct? How do you decide which you’ll use, or does the poem decide for you? 😁

CHARLES: Yes. I like to write in rhyme and free verse. Most of my poems for children are written in rhyme. Most of my poems for teens and adults are written in free verse. Sometimes it's fun to sneak in a rhyme or two within the lines of my free verse to lift the language -- and to see if anyone's paying attention. 

CAROL: Ha ha! You seem to like to play with words a lot. How do you know when your poem is done? (speaking from someone who recently changed a short poem several times). Can you comment on your process? Do you work on several poems at a time? Get inspired, write it down, and then move on? Do you “try” to write poetry? Or does it just happen? 

CHARLES: My poems usually come fast and furiously. I write them down as though I'm taking dictation. After I get it all out in a rough first draft, I usually let it sit a day or two. I then return with fresh eyes to polish and revise. When it all sounds about right and feels about right, I stop. Your great question, "How do you know when your poem is done?" makes me think of Paul Valery's comment, "A poem is never finished, only abandoned." Also, Robert Frost's famous anecdote comes to mind. When asked, "What does your poem mean?" Frost replied, What do you want me to do, say it over again in worser English?"

CAROL: At one point you said that ILLUSIONS was more for a YA audience. Just curious why you said that. It seems as if both collections would appeal to both YA and adult readers.

CHARLES: Thank you for that. I agree. I always hate to limit the age of the potential audience for poetry. I'd like to think that my poems in ILLUSIONS: Poetry & Art for the Young at Heart is for all ages -- middle graders, teens, YA -- and EVERYONE who is young at heart!

CAROL: Did you and Chip collaborate on the illustrations? I’d like to hear a little about that process if you can. 

CHARLES: This project was great fun -- and a great surprise to us! We really didn't sit down to write a book together. It just happened. I was writing a few poems to go with some of his paintings -- and he was painting images to go with some of my poems. We posted some of them on social media and people seemed to like them. We kept the fun going and before long we realized we were creating an entire collection of poetry and art that maybe others might enjoy too. 

Indigio by Chip Ghigna 

CELEBRATE POETRY MONTH with this GIVEAWAY!

I'm giving away my copy of STONES and Charles is giving away a copy of ILLUSIONS--autographed by both himself and his son Chip. Please leave me a comment, along with your email address if you are new to my blog.  A winner will be drawn the evening of April 10. If you share either this post or the last one on social media, I'll enter your name twice; just make sure you tell me what you did.

P.S. 

If these posts whet your appetite for more poetry, here are a few more titles that Charles is proud of Dear Poet: Notes to a Young Writer came out at the end of last year. A beautiful new picture book, Once Upon Another Time, is coming out this fall and is co-written with Matt Forrest Esenwine and illustrated by Andres Landazabal. 

STONES and ILLUSIONS: Poetry Collections by Charles Ghigna, Part I: Reviews

Charles Ghigna, aka Father Goose, is known by many readers for fun poetry for kids. The last time I featured him, I shared his book, Strange, Unusual, Gross and Cool Animals. (You can see two of his other children's books that I've reviewed here: First Times, and Who Can?). This time I'm showcasing his two new poetry collections, STONES: The Collected Short Poems of Charles Ghigna and ILLUSIONS: Poetry & Art for the Young At Heart. No question about it: as entertaining as Ghigna's poems are for children, his poems for adults are thought-provoking.  

In this post, I'll provide poetry samples from each book. In the next post, you'll get a peek inside Charles's writing process. Leave a comment on each blog post and you'll be entered into a special giveaway. I'm giving away my copy of STONES and Charles is giving away a copy of ILLUSIONS--autographed by himself and his illustrator--who just happens to be his son! 

If you are new to my blog, please leave your email address with your comment so I can add your name to the giveaway list.

STONES

Almost all of the poems in this collection are four lines or less. The description that came to my mind when I read them was "poetry snippets." As you read some of my favorites, consider the imagery and figurative language that Ghigna uses. (I wish I was teaching a creative writing class right now so I could use these as examples!)

Some of Charles' poems rhyme:

Picket Fence

Around the summer house it stands

like rows of children holding hands.

*******

But most don't:

Lion

The hot whip enters,

holding at the end

a fragrant man.

********

Many of the poems make you look at something in a different way. Like this one:

Caviar

Sturgeon swim into the eye of liquid moon, 
leave shining sleeves of self and salt,
hide upside-down from each new birth of sun
like bats without wings.

********

His poems can make you smile, 

Homerun Voyeur

Again the crowd rises,

watches Gravity lift

her heavy skirt of down.

*********

or think:

The Ballet of a Boxing Fan

A crushed program in his fist,

he moves in his ringside seat

at spotlight's gauzy edge

like a dancer with no legs.

********

Some poems are sad,

Attic Haiku

Stacks of old phone books

hide in the shadows like bound

obituaries.

********

Some are puzzles.

Honest Lies

You weave words

in webs of fire.

You turn Truth

into a liar.

*******

And many are philosophical:

Loco Motion

Time, a runaway train,

races through the tunnel vision of our future

while we sit and stare at the mirrored windows

of our past.

ILLUSIONS

The poems in Illusions are longer, but just as thought-provoking. Here is a sample, along with a few illustrations by Chip Ghigna, Charles' son.

DAYDREAMER

I'm going on vacation in my mind

I'm going there to see what I might find.

If I'm not back by half-past eight,

Please don't stay. Please don't wait.

Please don't call. Please don't write.

I'm going, going out of sight.

Please don't cry and carry on.

I'm going, going, going--gone.

Earth Bound

In the vastness of time and space

We ride this one little star

Never stopping to ponder our fate

Or how fragile and fleeting we are.

Optical Allusion

Like the baby who first 

sees himself in the mirror

and thinks he has met a stranger,

we shuffle through the old photographs

searching for the one we used to be.

But no matter how many times we smiled,

no matter how many times

we combed our hair and acted coy,

no matter how many times

the camera made us small,

we can only guess the fate 

of this smiling, young stranger

who once resembled us

this smiling, young stranger

we hold like a fortune, in our hands.

The last poem in this book is so beautiful, I had to include it.

Final Lines

Artist. Poet.

Creative minds.

We spend our lives

Making lines.

We paint.

We write.

All day.

All night.

Lines connect.

Father. Son

Lines that bind

To make us one.

Chip and Charles Ghigna

Poetry Month

Celebrate National Poetry Month--buy a book of poems! And now that many of you are spending more time at home with your children--read them poems and help them develop a love for wordplay. Come back next week for an interview with Charles and more information about the giveaway. Remember, leave a comment on both blog posts and your name will be counted twice!

Strange, Unusual, Gross and Cool Animals by Charles Ghigna: A Review and Giveaway

Congratulations to Joan Edwards who won the audio CD of "The Road to Bittersweet." Thanks to all who left comments. Keep persevering and entering. More giveaways coming up--starting today!

**********

Charles Ghigna, the Father Goose of children's books and no stranger to this blog, has done it again. But this time, it's not a clever book in rhyme for the youngest readers. Strange, Unusual, Gross, and Cool Animals  (Animal Planet, 2016) will appeal to kids of all ages who want to get up close and personal to some very weird animals. 

The animals are divided the way the title predicts: Strange, unusual, gross, and cool. Within each section there are four types of pages: a gallery spread which shows animals that live in different parts of the world but have adapted to their environment in similar ways; a featured creature that highlights one phenomenal animal through details about its life, stats, and maps; a creature collection which compares and contrasts a large group of animals; and macroview pages which show tiny details of very small animals.

Charles Ghigna gave me a "behind-the-scenes" look at the book's creation. After he agreed to write this book in nine months, he realized it would be a book that was, "Full of facts. No fanciful word play. No imaginative nonsense rhymes for toddlers. My tranquil treehouse would become the center of the universal pursuit of the biggest, baddest, best creatures on the planet. No more loose and loony alliteration. This was serious business."

Enter Strange, Unusual, Gross and Cool Animals--an accessible, factual, humorous book that will make every young reader want to learn more about the animal kingdom--even if she's scared of snakes and spiders like me. And guess what? Ghigna couldn't resist including a rhyme or two.

STRANGE

Strange how we as humans

view creatures great and small--

for we who see their strangeness

are the strangest of them all!

How strange is the star-nosed mole? Pretty strange. "It's nose is covered in 22 sensitive appendages that are so good at detecting vibrations they can tell when earthquakes are coming...It can even smell underwater by blowing bubbles it then breathes in through its nose." (p. 10)

UNSUSUAL

Unusual is what we call

The weird, the fast, the rare.

We classify each creature--

But do they really care?

The thorny dragon looks like it comes from prehistoric times. Besides having a camouflaged body covered in hard, sharp spikes and two horns--it also has a false head growing on its shoulders! The sharp spines make it difficult for a predator to swallow. Besides, as Ghigna points out, "Who would want to eat a thorny, two-headed , puffed-up dragon?"

GROSS

Gross is used instead of yuck

for words like poop and pus,

but all these animals agree--

it's only gross to us!

From my experience with kids, many are delightfully intrigued by gross stuff. From finding out that honey is really regurgitated nectar and millipedes can secrete yucky liquid that burns other bugs, discovering parrotfish who poop out sand, reading about a Goliath bird-eating spider that can be up to five inches long and when threatened, has a hiss that can be heard 15 feet away--readers looking for gross animals will find it in these pages.

COOL

Cool is how we think we look

when we try to impress,

but animals are born that way-

with lots of cool finesse!

Because of its translucent skin on its belly, "you can see through the glass frog and see its liver, heart, and intestines without an X-ray machine, just like Superman can!" (p. 108) Some see-through creatures include glasswing butterflies, the pelagic octopus, and the big skate that looks like a slimy ghost! Other cool animals glow in the dark, sport blue feet (blue-footed booby) or climb walls like Spider Man (mwanza flat-headed rock agama). 

A book to leaf through or read from cover to cover, young readers will enjoy discovering new animals just as much as Ghigna did: "The Blobfish first caught my eye. Icky pink and bulbous looking. Voted the “World’s Ugliest Animal,” I knew that one would become a hit with the 8-12 year old crowd. Who could resist the Rosy Wolfsnail, the fastest snail on earth? Who just happens to be a cannibal from Hawaii. And who just happens to inhabit my home state of Alabama and throughout the Southeast. Or the Fangtooth Fish whose teeth are so large it can never close its mouth?"

Ghigna told me, "I am glad I could be a part of this irresistible collection of amazing creatures whose lives will be explored by an endless parade of curious kids who might even put down their iPhones to ponder these scary, stunning pictures of exotic animals from around the world taken by some of the world’s top photographers."

GIVEAWAY

In mid-July Joyce Hostetter and I will publish our summer issue of Talking Story on "The Great Outdoors." Since all of these animals can be classified as existing somewhere in that category, I'm going to give away this tremendous classroom resource through Talking Story. Leave me a comment here (with your email address if you are new to my blog) and I'll enter your name once. Follow the directions to enter the Talking Story giveaway (and if you don't know about this quarterly newsletter for teachers and librarians here is a link to the spring issue. You can subscribe through the link) and your name goes in twice. Winner will be drawn on July 21.