Poetry Friday: "The Secret of Me," by Meg Kearney
Nonfiction, Freshly Minted

Sunday Afternoon Surfing, 2.24

I like to do the New York Times' crossword puzzle, but occasionally (okay, more like every Thursday through Sunday), I need a little help. I recently found out about the blog Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle. Parker gives some answers, offers opinions, and runs a cool site.

The 2008 Lee Bennett Hopkins poetry award was announced a while back. Carole Boston Weatherford's Birmingham, 1963 took the top prize. Cybil winner This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, by Joyce Sidman, and Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems, by John Grandits, made the honoree list.

Last Saturday I was lucky to catch Monica Edinger's presentation at the Donnell Library Center in NYC. The fourth-grade teacher, Newbery judge, and blogger at Educating Alice talked about fantasy literature. A Fuse #8 Production provides an excellent summary.  Next up in the Donnell's ongoing Children's and YA Literature Cafe series is YA editor Sharyn November. (The date's in March, but I can't track it down. Maybe someone will pop up with the info.) [Edited to add: Monica E. says that it's March 15th. Thanks!]

Some new blogs to see:

  • I.N.K. (Interesting Nonfiction for Kids). Posts from nearly 20 children's authors.
  • Literate Lives. Book talk from a school librarian and an elementary-school teacher.
  • Creative Literacy. A mom/teacher/kid-lit enthusiast.
  • Literacy Is Priceless. Early literacy resources for parents and teachers.
  • 100 Scope Notes. A library media specialist with a good sense of humor.

Passionately Curious, the blog of a second-grade teacher, is rolling along again, documenting 30 days in the life of a very literary second-grade class.

Comments

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Thank you so much for your kind notice of our new blog! I have been a fan of your blog for some time now, and I am delighted that you mentioned us.
Bill (the librarian) and I (the 5th grade teacher) are having a blast being part of the kidlitosphere!
Thanks again!

Karen, you're welcome. Isn't blogging fun!

It was great to meet you last Saturday. I believe Sharyn will be at the library on Saturday, March 15th.

Thanks for that date, Monica. I had a great time at the Donnell!

I am glad to know that this Rex Parker thinks about the crosswords more than I do, although I do put some thought into them. I was doing one in the staff room the other day and got into a conversation with someone about how funny the crosswords can be, but she didn't get it at all. Sigh.

I keep thinking I'll improve if I cheat enough using Rex Parker's blog, but so far that has not been true.

Wow, Sharyn November! That should be great.

I'll have to check out Rex Parker's blog. I stopped doing the crossword for a while and my skills have slipped...

A.F., when I commuted on the train every day to work, my crossword skills weren't bad. Now, however--meh.

I've only been doing crosswords in a dedicated/obsessive way for a little over a year, and I've gotten so I can fly through the Mondays and Tuesdays. Puzzles later in the week usually take me a couple/few days. Forget Sunday. Usually, I'm dedicated to NYT, but lately I've been having some fun with the crosswords in Games magazine that have the clues right in the puzzle. They don't have the wit of the NYT, but there's something very satisfying in the way they come together and having the clues RIGHT THERE.

Adrienne, the one time I took part in a crossword puzzle contest at our library, which used Times puzzles, the Monday and Tuesday puzzles were the only ones that I got completely. I also like the puzzles that Will Shortz (NYT puzzle ed.) does on Sunday mornings on NPR.

Thanks for the kind mention of Passionately Curious.
Just trying to keep up during this busy time of the school year! Looking forward to exploring the others blogs you've listed. Your site is always a source of inspiration!

Thanks, Lisa. Your second grade class looks like so much fun.

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