Poems at the Poetry Free-for-all - "Frog and Toad are Friends" by Arnold Lobel

christopoloppopus

12-22-2000, 09:05 AM

(An I CAN READ book(R))

1971 Caldecott Honor Book

Finalist, 1971 National Book Award for Children's Literature

In my opinion, this book is exceptionally poetic, even if it is written for beginning readers.
I cannot express myself better than the book does, so I offer a quote:

<center>Spring</center>

Frog ran up the path

to Toad's house.

He knocked on the front door.

There was no answer.

"Toad, Toad," shouted Frog,

"wake up. It is spring!"

"Blah," said a voice

from inside the house.

"Toad! Toad!" cried Frog.

"The sun is shining!

The snow is melting. Wake up!"

"I am not here," said the voice.

Frog walked into the house.

It was dark.

All the shutters were closed.

"Toad, where are you?" called Frog.

"Go away," said the voice

from the corner of the room.
***

An element is lost without the pictures of this multiple-Caldecott-honored artist, but i think, if you read the entire book, it may enlighten you, as it has me and many others.

- schooltripsouppop

garyg

12-22-2000, 09:18 AM

Have you ever posted here without being ripped out of your mind on drugs?

Inquiring minds and all that.

garyg

earthshoes

12-22-2000, 10:29 AM

I Can Read Book

Owl At Home
Arnold Lobel
1975

<center>Tear-Water Tea</center>

Owl took the kettle
out of the cupboard.
"Tonight I will make tear-water tea," he said.
He put the kettle on his lap.
"Now," said Owl,
"I will begin."
Owl sat very still.
He began to think of things that were sad.
"Chairs with broken legs,"
said Owl.
His eyes
began to water.
"Songs that cannot be sung,"
said Owl,
"because the words have been forgotten."
Owl began to cry.
A large tear
rolled down
and dropped
into the kettle.
"Spoons that have fallen
behind the stove
and are never seen again,"
said Owl.
More tears dropped down
into the kettle. . .

Good words are found in the most interesting places. Thanks for the reminder Christop.

[This message has been edited by earthshoes (edited 12-22-2000).]

koro

12-22-2000, 06:57 PM

thank you chris and earthshoes. i love childrens books. it is the anniversary of raggedy ann.

one day a little girl named marcella discovered an old rag doll in her attic. because marcella was often ill and had to spend much of her time at home, her father, a writer named johnny gruelle, looked for ways to keep her entertained. he was inspired by marcella's rag doll which had bright she button eyes and red yarn hair. the doll became known as ...quote from the front of the book.

christopoloppopus

12-23-2000, 02:14 AM

Originally posted by garyg:
Have you ever posted here without being ripped out of your mind on drugs?

Inquiring minds and all that.

garyg

Hello!
To answer your question:
To be honest, I have never posted here under the influence of any drugs except caffiene and nicotine. It is true that I often write about drugs, legal and illegal. That is because I "write what I know," and, for good or for bad, I know more than a little about drugs, in terms of biochemistry, abuse, and history. I quit drug abuse when my friends started dying off or getting prison sentences.

As for the implication that this book does deserve serious attention:
A) It is admirably concise, while speaking volumes about interpersonal relationships.
B) It is didactic without being pedantic.
C) It is really funny, in my opinion, while remaining profound.

Do you not think so? Have you read this book?
To expedite your understanding of my reasoning behind this post, please allow me to offer a quote from the introduction to The Random House Book of Poetry for Children.

For very young children, responding to poetry is as natural as breathing. Even before they can speak, most babies delight in the playful cadences of nursery rhymes and the soothing rhythms of lullabies. For the toddler, Mother Goose favorites are an integral part of life. Poetry is as delightful and suprising as being tickled or catching a snowflake on a mitten. Young children are fascinated by the visual images of "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe." They revel in the rhythms of "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater." And although they may not quite understand the meaning, they are enchanted by the wordplay of "Sing a Song of Sixpence."

But then something happens to this early love affair with poetry. At some point during their school careers, many children seem to lose their interest and enthusiasm for poetry and their easygoing pleasure in its sounds and images. They begin to find poetry boring and irrelevant, too difficult or too dull to bother with.

...I've begun to understand the kinds of poems to which children respond -- poems that evoke laughter and delight, poems that cause a palpable ripple of suprise by the unexpected comparisons they make, poems that paint pictures with words that are as vivid as brushstrokes, poems that reawaken pleasure in the sounds and meanings of language.

Do ideals like this seem irrelevant to what you are trying to do here?

Dear earthshoes and koro-
i cannot express, right now, how much i appreciate your comments, other than
Thank you.

MSPav

12-23-2000, 05:58 AM

I learned there are troubles
of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead
and some come from behind.

But I've brought a big bat.
I'm all ready, you see.
Now my troubles are going
to have troubles with me!

Theodore S. Geisel a.k.a Dr Suess.

koro

12-23-2000, 07:59 AM

thank you chris for your reply to garyg.

have you read m.b. goffstein. her childrens books are tender, scholarly, and humorous. while browing one of the many libraries here i came across her in the children's section.
this is from the book lives of the artists

every outside
has an inside,
and every inside
has an outside.
just one stroke
of rembrandt's
chalk,
needle, brush, or pen
could tell both tales.
they tell them
to this day.

chris it is wonderful to be high on learning, exploring and imparting. thank you for your constant input inside this place.

koro

12-23-2000, 08:01 AM

Originally posted by garyg:
Have you ever posted here without being ripped out of your mind on drugs?

Inquiring minds and all that.

garyg

garyg, your discernment is under cover.

garyg

12-23-2000, 08:50 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by koro:
garyg, your discernment is under cover.

I'm one of many waiting for that happy day when you and christop discover email or icq or something.

garyg

christopoloppopus

12-23-2000, 12:31 PM

Dear garyg,

I am sorry.
I think I now realize at least one reason why you are so upset with me.
I talk about drugs all the time.
I did not consider how offensive that could seem.
In a circle of friends I had a few years ago, everybody did some type of drug.
We were always together, so we never gave any thought about our influence on other people.
To make this short: I do not advocate the illegal use of drugs, for any reason.
Many of my poems are about drugs. My intent is to show how destructive they are.
Phillip K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly" is about a cop who goes undercover to find out about a new drug called D. He gets addicted to it, & looses his mind.
At the end of the book, Dick gives a list of all his friends who died or went insane from drug abuse.
I am very sorry that I have not been clear that my poems are such a list.
I'm sure you dislike me for several other reasons, but I wanted to clear up this misunderstanding as soon as possible.
I do not want to be a bad influence on anybody. I feel very ill, thinking about how many of my posts could be interpreted. In the past, I had many friends because I was nice, smart, and generous.
This was superficial, because I did not stop them from hurting themselves.
I hope you will excuse me if this is sloppy & poorly organized, but I need to go to work.

I sincerely hope you will accept my explanation & apology.

-Christopher