Friday, February 13, 2015

THE RED PENCIL by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illus. by Shane W. Evans

Hello, and happy Poetry Friday! Please visit Cathy at Merely Day by Day for Roundup.

I'm in with a favorite verse novel from 2014: THE RED PENCIL by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illus by Shane W. Evans. Set in Sudan, THE RED PENCIL is a verse novel that chronicles Amira's life before, during and after the Janjaweed attack her family's village.

Here are three poems I especially love:

HAND, TWIG, SPARROW

When I draw, it's not me doing it.
It's my hand.
And my twig.
And my sparrow.

My hand
and my twig
and my sparrow
make the lines.

My hand and my twig
and my sparrow
do the dance
on the sand.

I never know
what my hand
and my twig
and my sparrow
             will create.

My hand
holds my twig.

But my twig goes
on its own.

My sparrow - that's what's inside me:

             flight.

- Andrea Davis Pinkney
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I am in love with this "sparrow." I think Amira and I share the same sparrow, actually. Beautiful thought!
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POSSIBILITIES

Dando and I have a favorite game called
What Else Is Possible?

The only real rule for our game
is that answers to the question
What else is possible?
can only be good.

Dando goes first.

"If you wake to find your sandals gone, do you worry?"
Dando answers his own question.
This is how the game works.

He says,
"Worrying, that is a waste of time.
Better to ask, 'What else is possible?'"

Dando peels off his own sandal, waves it.

He insists, "Your sandals may not be gone at all,
only missing, while a generous hand mends
their worn edges."

Now it's my turn.
"If two days pass, then five, then seven,
and still no sandals, do you worry?"

I shake my head fast, ready to answer.

I tell Dando,
"It could be those generous mending hands
have stitched you a whole new pair of sandals."

"Made of gold!" Dando adds.
Dando wave both his sandals.

I wave my sandals, too,
one right, one left.

"Lift them high," Dando says. "High!
They are new, and glistening, our sandals."

What Else Is Possible?
is the game about looking at things
in shiny ways.

- Andrea Davis Pinkney
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How brilliant is this for staying positive and being creative?? And it reminds me of a game I play with myself all the time as a writer when brainstorming analogies... What Else does it look like? What Else?
---------------------------
FAVORITE

Of all the funny-bug letters I know,
the letter O
is my favorite shape.

Ya, O!

Open.
Unbroken.
Eternal.

Ya, O!

- Andrea Davis Pinkney
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I have never before thought about my favorite letter -- favorite word, yes -- but letter? And now I can't stop thinking about O. :)
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16 comments:

  1. Wow. That Andrea Davis Pinkney is SOME talent, is she not? Thanks for sharing these poems, which make me thirsty for the whole book.

    And favorite letter? I have many. Since childhood, a cursive, capital letter L - so simple and elegant and "open to possibilities" - and it starts the word LOVE, which I send you lots of this weekend. xo

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  2. Appreciations, Irene for sharing, "Favorite," "Possibilities," & "Hand, Twig, Sparrow."
    Each of these moments from Andrea Davis Pinkney speaks to me & makes me grateful that she cares about this Sudan experience.

    I think you could to an entire poetry post on Favorite Alphabet Letter!


    The cover of bold colors by Shane W. Evans whets my interest in the actual pencil of the title THE RED PENCIL. We were fortunate to experience Andrea's spoken word reading & ideas at our public library in recent years & I expect to find this novel in verse easily.

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  3. I have this book, Irene, & still haven't read it. I think I must after reading the poems you shared. I like "looking at things/in shiny ways." Perhaps I'll share this with students-wonder what they will "see". And the favorite letter-mine has always been A, because it leads us into all the other possibilities. Thanks!

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  4. I am going to have to request this book. It looks lovely. All I can think about is the red twig and the sand as she writes what is inside her only to see it disappear. Imagine to not have a container for words and to have them always slip away.

    Cathy

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  5. I have just started reading this book. What beautiful use of language. I am finding some lines to steal, "When I draw, it's not me doing it." I am loving novels in verse. You would think as a poet, this would come naturally. It's hard, though, as is all writing, hard, and so worth the struggle.

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  6. These poems are so powerful, Irene. I love the optimism, strength, and spirit in each of them. If more people looked at things in life "in shiny ways," there would be a lot more joy in the world!

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  7. Thanks for the Valentine's present, Irene. This one's going straight to the top of my to-read pile. The poems are so positive... so beautiful... like you, actually. :)

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  8. Hi Irene! Happy Valentine's Day room mate! Loved hearing your voice. Thank you for introducing me to this book. I think I will go out and buy it to read this blizzardy, brrrr weekend. Ahhhh. . . the sparrow.

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  9. Hi Irene! Happy Valentine's Day room mate! Loved hearing your voice. Thank you for introducing me to this book. I think I will go out and buy it to read this blizzardy, brrrr weekend. Ahhhh. . . the sparrow.

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  10. I loved this book - and what a joy to hear your voice reading these poems, Irene.

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  11. I loved this book - and what a joy to hear your voice reading these poems, Irene.

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  12. I love Andrea Davis Pinkney, but I haven't seen this book. Hearing you read these three poems makes me want to buy this book! Thanks!

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  13. Gotta move this book to the top of the TBR stack!

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  14. Saving those first two poems -- what joy! Thanks, Irene :-)

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  15. Thanks for highlighting this book, Irene. It's on my reading list for the future. I love your reading as well. Your soft, lilting voice does all the poems you read, justice.

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  16. Thanks for highlighting this book, Irene. It's on my reading list for the future. I love your reading as well. Your soft, lilting voice does all the poems you read, justice.

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Your thoughts?