What Inspires Me? Music Memory
Anyone doubting the impact music, dance, art has on our lives take a look.
Marta Cinta Gonzalez a once prima ballerina who’s age is unknown because she intentionally falsified records and when asked declared herself 40, is locked down due to old age and Alzheimer—physically and mentally—but Marta still—always—danced!
BTW: This video was uploaded in October 2018 by by Asociacion Musica para Despertar, a Spanish organization that promotes music therapy. Marta has since died. Click over to read more about Marta’s Swan Lake not Marta’s Swan Song!
Picture Books about Dancing get everyone moving! Here’s a great list!
And for all the rest who scampered to art, music, dance class, like me, clutching a plasticine Barbie Ballet shoe case, with prima ballerina dreams dancing in your head…enjoy!
And thank you Bright Vibes to bring hopeful stories like this.
BTW. This video was uploaded in October 2018 by by Asociacion Musica para Despertar, a Spanish organization that promotes music therapy. Marta has sense died.
Click over to read more about Marta’s Swan Lake not Marta’s Swan Song!
Let her memory inspire us to sing and dance with our children.
Play on! Dance On! Dream On!
What Inspires Me? Little Free Libraries
Take a Book: Share a Book
I was at a Texas Library Association (TLA) meeting once when author Laurie Halse Anderson called us all “Book Sluts.” Silence, gasps, nervous twitters, guffaws followed when she explained. “You all will read anything.” I did say “us.” And what eventually happens we go from Book Sluts to Book Hoarders. I’m guilty too. Every room in my house has at least one bookcase, book basket, book “decorative display” . . . Open a nightstand in a guest room hoping to find a spot to stow your stuff—fat chance! they too are stacked with books.
Dead Tree Turned Little Free Library! Who wouldn’t want to check it out?
Fast forward to 2018 when my family granted my birthday wish by surprising me with a Little Free Library of my very one—custom built with a rooftop garden by son Max.
Honestly, filling it that first time was a Sophie’s Choice. After all, the first part of the Little Free Library motto is “Take a Book.” Which of my zillions of babies could I stock it with knowing I might never get to see them, touch them, read them again?
I managed to curate what I considered a fine blend of books for all ages—especially picture books—classics and new releases, pop and literary (no judging) and some ARCs (the perk of being a TLA/ALA/ILA attendee and occasional reviewer).
My Very Own Little Free Library! Mary Lee Donovan’s A Hundred Thousand Welcomes didn’t last long.
That was in August of 2018. Frankly, although I was especially attentive: watching, weeding, rotating those first six months, I didn’t have many visitors. Doubt crept in: was my Little Free Library a flop? And then came March 2019.
Libraires closed. Stores closed. Work closed. School closed. Winter. Dark. Scary.
Little Free Library at a Gas Station in Ladysmith, VA. Fill your mind while you fill your tank!
My Little Free Library turned out to be a bright spot in our lonely quiet village. Suddenly, my LFL was a hopping spot. My books flew out faster than I could restock. My fear about what I could part with caused me to make some rash decisions—and do some strategic planning. I found myself testing visitor’s literary tastes by stocking one in a series. If it went, I’d put in another by the same author, and so on.
And then, just when restocking was beginning to hurt (some shelves were actually not sagging any longer) the other half of the Little Free Library motto happened: Visitors began sharing books! Lots of books! Sure a few dusty moldy collections, but mostly interesting reads. Some even wrote notes: “Read Me! Choose Me!” “This was my favorite!”
That was CoVid, we were all worried, so I’d rotate books to ensure they had a mandatory 72 hour kill-the-bug period, and I disinfected the heck out of my Little Library.
Microwaves, Fine Cabinets, Old Tin Boxes, Ovens…Libraries!
If anyone happened to visit my LFL I’d hide or drive right by. Not because I was scared to talk to them. But because so often visitors have a guilty look on their faces as they riffle through the books. As though they’re doing something naughty. Finally, one of my deepest darkest wishes had been granted: I had created a “Guilty Pleasure!”
Ohio-Pyle, PA—Where the rivers—bikers, hikers, rafters—readers—converge
Who inspires me: Todd Bol, who is 2009, built a model of a one room schoolhouse, posted it in his front yard and filled it with books. According to the Little Free Library website, “His neighbors and friends loved it, so he built several more and gave them away.” Then Rick Brooks heard what Todd was doing and they teamed up to make Little Free Library something more.
In the early days of Little Free Library, Todd Bol said he’d be happy if 2000 books were exchanged. At the time of his death in 2018, the organization he founded with Rick Brooks, celebrated it’s 75,000th Little Free Library. In 2022, there are over 150,000 registered Libraries in more than 115 countries.
Todd Bol and his first Little Free Library
“I really believe in a Little Free Library on every block and a book in every hand. I believe people can fix their neighborhoods, fix their communities, develop systems of sharing, learn from each other, and see that they have a better place on this planet to live.”
(Before you ask, yes, I did think that a picture book about Todd Bol and Little Free Library was a great idea. Margret Aldrich beat me to it! And so did Miranda Paul with Little Libraries; Big Heroes
Keep your eyes open, Little Free Libraries are everywhere, made from everything: trees, microwaves, filing cabinets and wood.
When you travel, find a LFL nearby—you don’t need a card to check out books! What’s more, you can lighten your baggage as deposits are always welcome.
And, if, like mine, your shelves are bowing—and I know they are you
Book S…Hoarder you! —maybe it’s time for a LFL of your own. Visit LittleFreeLibrary.org for more.
Fin Pal asks Norman "Do You Love to Sing?"
Norman does sing and dance, doesn’t he? Especially when his human does what? Can you guess from the illustration below?
Image from NORMAN ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH illustrated by Noah Z. Jones (Candlewick Press)
You guessed it! Norman always sings and dances when his human plays the tuba. But, does Norman like it? What do you think?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
But first a finny!
Q: What is the difference between a piano and a fish?
Q: What is the difference between a piano and a fish?
A: You can tune a piano but you can’t tuna fish.
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!
Poetry Challenge #255-Watermelon Daze
It’s Watermelon Season! Watermelon at my local patch is selling for 3 cents a pound. 3 cents—pick your own. How could I resist? My favorite way to serve watermelon is as a salad. Cut the watermelon from the rind, cube it, toss it with fresh mint, lime juice and feta cheese crumbles—cool, crisp, tangy-and just a hint of salt…delish!
Ready for more?
Poetry Challenge #255
Watermelon Daze
One way to come up with an idea for a poem is to start with a noun. Today in honor of National Watermelon Day, August 3rd, let’s use WATERMELON.
Think of ways to describe a watermelon and jot them down—its color, shape, texture, taste, smell, use.
Think of ways to compare it to something else—it looks like…feels like…tastes like…
Think of what watermelon reminds you of—when, where, why, what memories do you have?
Finally, write a poem using the best things you discovered while you were answering the watermelon questions.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Don’t forget to spit out the seeds!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Fin Pal asks Norman "Do You Like Sharks?"
Did you know there are about 500 different kinds of shark around the world? Only about 12 kinds are dangerous to humans, these include the great white shark, bull shark, tiger shark, shortfin mako, and oceanic whitetip shark. But all of them, when hungry could find goldfish a tasty treat—and we’re not talking about goldfish crackers, either! So what do you think Norman will say?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
But first a finny!
Q: Where do fish go to borrow money?
Q: Where do fish go to borrow money?
A: To a Loan-Shark
To learn more about sharks and see pictures click over to “20 Types of Sharks Around the World” on OurEndangeredWorld.com
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!
Poetry Challenge #254-Love is Kind
Because, as evidenced by our daily dose of news, kindness must be a learned behavior, July 27th has been designated National Love is Kind Day, a day set aside to “encourages you to become aware of how you are treating people, how people are treating you, and how you can become emboldened, supported, and empowered to lead the joyful and productive life.”
Poetry Challenge #254
Love Is Kind
Write an echo verse with “Love is Kind” as the theme.
An Echo Verse is one in which the last word or syllable in a line is repeated on the next line. In essence, that last word/sound is “echoed underneath to form a rhyming line, normally ending as the last line being the title to the poem.”
Below is an example of an Echo Poem YoungWriters.com.
Read it aloud and listen for the echo:
Set the theme of “Love is Kind” in your mind. Then, when you’re ready to begin:
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
After all, every day—especially on Love is Kind Day—What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love by Burt Bacharach! Hit it Dionne!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
What Inspires Me? Canada Did Something!
We talk-talk-talk about plastic waste while garbage islands—the size of Texas—float through the Pacific. We talk-talk-talk about overflowing land fill, about reduce and reuse. We talk. And we “bribe” ourselves to use less plastic with returnable deposits and nickel/dime bag charges and pat ourselves on the back when we put plastics into recycle bins to be repurposed and call it “doing something.”
Canada actually did something.
This is a photo of one of the huge plastic islands —See anything you discard?
Last Month the Canadian Government passed a ban on six categories of single-use plastic manufacture, import, export and sale.
A ban that begins now and will be fully implemented by the end of 2025.
“WE DON’T HAVE TO WAIT FOR A LAW TO BE PASSED—LET’S ACT UNLAWFULLY!
LET’S BAN SINGLE-USE PLASTIC THE EASY WAY—-DON’T BUY IT! DON’T USE IT!”
This is our park, our garbage cans, our picnic leavings—3 points for cleaning up after ourselves…but did we?
You may not remember it, but back in the good-old days, right here in the good old U.S of A, the highways, byways, parks, roadsides, parking lots were festooned with—trash! And everyone seemed fine with it. Really!
After all tossing trash out the window or into the bushes is easier, isn’t it? After all, isn’t that what all the marvelous new-fangled plastic, cardboard, Styrofoam containers and utensils are made for—one use and toss? So easy! Whooppee!
It took then first lady, Lady Bird Johnson, a shy thoughtful woman who loved flowers and nature, to say “Enough!” Convinced cleaner highways and streets would “make American a better place to live” Lady Bird launched her “anti-littering” campaign—publicly (and privately, no doubt). On Oct. 22nd, 1965, her husband, LBJ, signed the Highway Beautification Act.
Now, thanks to Lady Bird, while many of us still do it, we find littering deplorable. Doubt me? When the series Mad Men aired an episode where the Drapper family goes on a picnic and tosses their trash viewers were outraged. Here’s the Mad Men Picnic Littering clip.
But here’s the thing. We Americans don’t like anyone—especially “Government”—telling us what to do. We don’t want to be bossed around! We don’t like bans. Do we?
So why wait? Let’s show them who’s BOSS!
Let’s simply STOP! Stop buying and using single-use plastic. (And Styrofoam, too, while we’re at it. Styrofoam is as bad, worse than plastic.) But how? you ask. Below is a handy-dandy 5-item list of ways to stop buying and using single-use plastic.
“Hint: As Lady Bird did with her anti-littering campaign, get the kids involved. Let them help you—and us—be the change. ”
BYOB! BBD! BYOS! BYOC! BYOU!
Just as with using seatbelts, it might be uncomfortable at first, but we’ll get used to it!
Fin Pal asks Norman "Need Help Decorating Your Tank"?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
