KEEP A POEM IN YOUR POCKET

Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.

The little poem will sing to you
the little picture bring to you
a dozen dreams to dance to you
at night when you're in bed.

So ~
Keep a picture in your pocket
and a poem in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.

~ Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, American Children's Books Author (1914 - 2000)

A Lifetime Love of Language and Verse

Caroline Kennedy, daughter of Jackie and President John Kennedy, has compiled a delightful collection of poems drawing from the poems her family cherished. In A Family of Poems, My Favorite Poetry For Children, Caroline comments, "If our parents read to us as children, we remember the closeness of the moments together, the sound and power of voice and expression, the sense of wonder that a poem inspires."

"We all like to fool around, and playing with sounds and language is one of the first ways we explore our world. Silly poems are easy to collect and memorize ~ they remind us that things that seem funny can be serious underneath ~ and enjoying them encourages us to try reading different kinds of poems. Soon enough we realize that there is no poem we can't tackle, no idea we can't understand."

A Family of Poems, Caroline Kennedy (1957 - ), Hyperion Books For Children, 2005.

Ben goes shopping. (For larger image, dbl. click on photo.)
The Reading Mother

~

I had a Mother who read to me

Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,

Cutlasses clenched in their yellowed teeth,

"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.

~

I had a Mother who read me lays

Of ancient and gallant and golden days;

Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,

Which every boy has a right to know.

~

I had a Mother who read me tales

Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,

True to his trust till his tragic death,

Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

~

I had a Mother who read me the things

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings ~

Stories that stir with an upward touch,

Oh, that each Mother of boys were such!

~

You may have tangible wealth untold:

Chests of jewels and coffers of gold,

Richer than I, you can never be ~

For I had a Mother who read to me.

~ Strickland Gillilan, American poet (1869 - 1954)

Sachem Article - The Neat Little Bookshop

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sachem.ca%2Fopinions%2Farticle%2F229522&sa=D&usg=AFQjCNHYbKvH-L2Ym6j3zJYlnY6mjoEi0A

Thank you Jill Morison for the excellent article in The Sachem about The Neat Little Bookshop. We are looking forward to having Jill share with us some of her own personal stories. She is well known in journalistic circles and concedes that the opportunity to write good-news stories is exciting.

"Lorna Walker has a neat little bookshop" appeared in the February 15th issue of The Sachem, a weekly based in Caledonia, Ontario. Also available online.

Possibly A "Herbism?"

We'll have a sweet little cafe
In a neat little square,
We'll find our fortune and our happiness there.
We shall thrive on the vain and resplendent
And contrive to remain independent.
We'll have a meek reputation
And a chic clientele.
King's will fall under our spell.
We'll be so zealous
That the world will be jealous.

Bitter Sweet, 1929, Noel Coward, English playwright, author (1899 - 1973)

Have we identifed Herb's inspiration for the name "The Neat Little Bookshop?" In a column in the Grand River Sachem, 2002, Neil Dring establishes that Herb Martindale's Neat Little Bookshop got its name from a Noel Coward play. [Refer "Books Good Books" Feb. 4 blog-post.]

Those who knew Herb will recognize a "Herbism." Herb always leaves us smiling!

++---Our thoughts and prayers are with Birdsall Melick's family, neighbours and friends tonight---++

Our dear friend, Kim Jeffrey, has offered on short notice to OPEN the bookshop tomorrow morning. Kim is opening her own pottery and gift shop in the spring just around the corner. We welcome Kim and appreciate her help.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

We will be attending a family funeral. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. We will be available as usual for Story Hour in the afternoon.