Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
— William Shakespeare
If you love books pulsing with voice, that magical quality that brings characters to life, you’ll love It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk, by Josh Funk, illustrated by Edwardian Taylor, Two Lions, 2017. Continue reading
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
— William Shakespeare
For all my fairy tale lovers (and to beat the March doldrums), I’ve scooped together various flavors of International Cinderellas, an ice cream sundae of humor and romance, for kids of all ages:
In the style of radio’s heyday, there’s a wonderful theatrical version accompanied by Rossini opera music (produced by Minnesota Public Radio | American Public Media). Continue reading
Little leaves
Buried in the snow,
Peeking out
Like children,
Dressed in their red pajamas,
Throwing off covers.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This poem is called a Shadorma, which is a rhythmic six-line poetry form, each line having specific syllable counts of 3, 5, 3, 3, 7 and 5. It may be modern; it may be a revived older poetry form. Some attribute it to Spain, although to me it sounds Indian, for no other reason than it rhymes with Lamb Korma. No authority I found gave it a definitive origin, and I offer it to you as a beautiful form, allowing a licentious 26 syllables instead of the austere 17 permitted by haiku. It’s a heady freedom!
References:
http://risinghawkspeaks.wordpress.com/2013/12/22/noreaster/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadorma
http://www.poetrypages.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=16872
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/poets/shadorma-a-highly-addictive-poetic-form-from-spain
http://popularpoetryforms.blogspot.com/2013/01/shadorma.html
http://caraholman.wordpress.com/tag/shadorma-poetry/
Friendly Fairy Tales 