release dates: April 22-28 17-1 (06) 2006 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc. By BETTY DEBNAM Celebrate National Poetry Month Meet Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) wrote books and poems more than 100 years ago. They are classics that we still enjoy today. His poetry book for children, A Child s Garden of Verses, was published in 1885. Stevenson also wrote many adventure books for adults and kids, such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In college, Robert Louis Stevenson first studied engineering, then switched to law. Although he became a lawyer, he decided he wanted to write rather than practice law. art courtesy Associated Press, from the Silverado Museum Collection, St. Helena, CA. Childhood Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was often ill as a child, suffering from tuberculosis, an illness that makes it hard to breathe. He suffered from health problems throughout his life. Seeking adventure As soon as he graduated from college, he began a life of traveling. His first books were about his journeys. He married an American, Fanny Osbourne. He, his wife and stepson traveled for years, looking for a climate that would be good for Stevenson s health. They settled on an island in the south Pacific Ocean, Samoa (suh-moe-uh). Stevenson died there after a stroke when he was only 44 years old. jacket art by Tasha Tudor, 1999 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers The poems in A Child s Garden of Verses were different from most poems of the day. Stevenson used simple words and wrote about everyday happenings in a child s life. Before that, kids poems taught lessons in a serious way. My Shadow (from A Child s Garden of Verses ) I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed. The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, And he sometimes goes so little that there s none of him at all. He hasn t got a notion of how children ought to play, And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. He stays so close behind me, he s a coward you can see; I d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me! One morning, very early, before the sun was up, I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
17-2 (06); release dates: April 22-28 A Sample of Stevenson s Poems The Mini Page gives you a sampling of poems from A Child s Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The Cow The friendly cow all red and white, I love with all my heart: She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with apple-tart. She wanders lowing here and there, And yet she cannot stray, All in the pleasant open air, The pleasant light of day; And blown by all the winds that pass And wet with all the showers, She walks among the meadow grass And eats the meadow flowers. Bed in Summer In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light. In summer quite the other way, I have to go to bed by day. I have to go to bed and see The birds still hopping on the tree, Or hear the grown-up people s feet Still going past me in the street. And does it not seem hard to you, When all the sky is clear and blue, And I should like so much to play, To have to go to bed by day? Mini Spy... Mini Spy and Alpha Mouse are playing with their shadows. See if you can find: exclamation mark man in the moon key umbrella cat knife mushroom pencil word MINI snake lady s shoe tooth question mark spoon butterfly The Wind I saw you toss the kites on high And blow the birds about the sky; And all around I heard you pass, Like ladies skirts across the grass I saw the different things you did, But always you yourself you hid. I felt you push, I heard you call, I could not see yourself at all O you that are so strong and cold, O blower, are you young or old? Are you a beast of field and tree, Or just a stronger child than me? POETRY TRY N FIND Words that remind us of poetry are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: POET, STEVENSON, CLASSIC, GARDEN, VERSES, SHADOW, WORDS, ADVENTURE, BOOK, HAPPENINGS, RHYMES, READ, ARRANGE, PAGE, EXPERIENCE, WRITE, MUSIC, VOICE, HEARD, KIDS, POEMS. DO YOU KNOW A POEM BY HEART? Rain The rain is falling all around, It falls on field and tree, It rains on the umbrellas here, And on the ships at sea. Time to Rise A birdie with a yellow bill Hopped upon my window sill, Cocked his shining eye and said: Ain t you shamed, you sleepy-head! Basset Brown The News Hound s W V H A P P E N I N G S L L G R O H E C I O V S E M Y H R A A E R D R A E H S E S R E V R R K A D E G A P W O D A H S D R I K D S P O E T E T I R W E A D C L A S S I C V K O O B N N S W K K E C N E I R E P X E GMU S I C E RU T N E V D A E S M E O P N O S N E V E T S
Go dot to dot and color. 17-3 (06); release dates: April 22-28 Rookie Cookie s Recipe Creamy Macaroni Casserole You ll need: 1/2 pound macaroni 11/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 3 tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 3 eggs, beaten 2 cups milk What to do: 1. Cook macaroni according to package directions. 2. Drain and keep macaroni in the same pot. 3. Add 3/4 cup of cheese and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Stir well. 4. Add the mustard, salt and pepper. Stir well. 5. Add the eggs, and then stir in the milk. 6. Pour macaroni mixture into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and butter. 7. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350-degree oven for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Makes 6 servings. Note: You will need an adult s help with this recipe. The Swing (from A Child s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson) How do you like to go up in a swing, Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing Ever a child can do! Up in the air and over the wall, Till I can see so wide, River and trees and cattle and all Over the countryside Till I look down on the garden green, Down on the roof so brown Up in the air I go flying again, Up in the air and down! Meet John Leguizamo John Leguizamo (leh-gwee-zah-mo) is an actor, comedian and producer. He is again playing the voice of Sid the Sloth in the movie Ice Age: The Meltdown. John has always liked making people laugh and would test his comic skills on his high school classmates. They voted him Most Talkative. After high school, he took theater classes in college. John started his acting career as a stand-up comedian in New York City. He had his first TV part on a series in 1984. His first big film role was as Luigi Mario in the movie Super Mario Bros. in 1993. He continues to act on TV and in movies. John has also been the voice of animated characters. He was the rat in Doctor Doolittle and the Genie of the Lamp in the TV series Arabian Nights. John, 41, was born in Bogotá, Colombia. His family moved to New York City when he was 3. HUGE SALE! The Mini Page Help for Planet Earth A popular resource book containing solutions for problems of trash, air and water quality, and wildlife habitat. To order, send $3.00 total cost (includes all postage and handling) for each copy. Send check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to: Andrews McMeel Universal, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS 66206 or call toll-free 1-800-591-2097. Please send copies of The Mini Page Help for Planet Earth (Item #0-8362-4316-1) at $3.00 each, total cost. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) www.smartwarehousing.com Name: Address: City: State: Zip: All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category? Helen: What kind of ice cream treat should have been served on the Titanic? Herbert: Floats! Heidi: What kind of ice cream do sharks like best? Henry: Fin-illa and jaw-berry! Horace: What job requires a loud voice? Hans: Selling ice-scream!
17-4 (06); release dates: April 22-28 Some Poetry for Kids Today The Mini Page celebrates National Poetry Month by interviewing a poetry professor, Dr. Sylvia Vardell. Dr. Vardell, who teaches at Texas Woman s University, has written several books on poetry for kids. She is now working on an encyclopedia of children s poets. What is poetry? People often think something is poetry if it rhymes. But not all poetry rhymes. And some things that rhyme are not poetry. If a work cannot stand on its own, without pictures, it is not a true poem, even if it rhymes. Poets are interested in the words and the spaces around the words. They carefully decide how to arrange the words on the page. They keep only the exact words they need. Poets try to show the reader the heart of an experience. Rhyming Many poets do rhyme their poems. Often, rhyming helps the reader feel the music of the words. Many poems should be read aloud. Poetry is not written to sit quietly on a page. Whether people are reading poetry or putting it to music, it can come alive through our voices. Poetry is an invitation to be loud and to be heard. Look through your newspaper for a picture or story that you could write a poem about. Next week The Mini Page celebrates Mother s Day with a story about special animal moms. The Mini Page offers some of the poetry for kids being written today. Janet S. Wong has written several books of poetry for kids. Night Garden: Poems From the World of Dreams is about many kinds of dreams, even a dog s. Old Friend I had forgotten you, friend. Is that why you came into my dream? I had forgotten you. When I fall asleep again, will you leave your address on my pillow? Old Friend from Night Garden Poems From the World of Dreams by Janet Wong, 2000 by Janet Wong. Used with permission from Margaret K. McElderry Books/ Simon & Schuster Children s Publishing J. Patrick Lewis has written more than 25 poetry books for kids. The Mini Page is created and edited by Betty Debnam Associate Editors Tali Denton Lucy Lien Staff Artist Wendy Daley Your Average Cow Your average cow lives to age 15 Some live longer now and then. The average human? 75. (Women live longer than men.) So we live to be how many times As old as your average cow? If you guess the answer correctly, Go ahead and take a bow. Your Average Cow from ARITHME-TICKLE, 2002 by J. Patrick Lewis, reprinted by permission of Harcourt, Inc. jacket art 2002 by Frank Remkiewicz, published by Harcourt, Inc. jacket art 2000 by Julie Paschkis, published by Simon & Schuster Arithme- Tickle is filled with fun riddles and rhymes about math. Answer: 15+15+15+15+15=75. Or 15 times 5 = 75, or 5 times as old. Douglas Florian illustrates his own poetry books. jacket art 2003 by Douglas Florian, published by Harcourt, Inc. The Pointers Some pointers point at foxes. Some pointers point at hares. Some pointers point at pheasants. Mine points at Frigidaires. The Pointers from bow wow meow meow, 2003 by Douglas Florian, reprinted by permission of Harcourt, Inc. Kristine O Connell George has written several kids poetry books. jacket art 1997 by Kate Kiesler, published by Clarion Books bow wow meow meow is filled with poems about all kinds of cats and dogs, including lions, wolves, Persian cats and sheepdogs. The Great Frog Race has poems on many subjects, from nature to school, from the farm to tools. Evening Rain The porch light shines on rain taking thin silken stitches with strands of wet thread. I run outside to the rain to see what it is sewing. Evening Rain 1997 by Kristine O Connell George, from The Great Frog Race and Other Poems, published by Clarion Books.
Meet poet Robert Louis Stevenson in art courtesy Associated Press, from the Silverado Museum Collection, St. Helena, CA. by Betty Debnam Appearing in your newspaper on. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam 2006 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc. (Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-4 1 /4-inch ad promoting Issue 17.) release dates: April 22-28 17-5 (06) from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam 2006 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc. Standards Spotlight: Meet Robert Louis Stevenson Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page s content and offer activities that will help your students reach them. This week s standards: Students comprehend and respond to a variety of images and text. Students identify forms and elements of literature. (Language Arts: Reading) Activities: 1. Select one of the poems in today s Mini Page. Draw a picture to go with the poem. Then copy the poem on the paper under your picture. Give the poem to a family member or friend. 2. Look through the newspaper to find rhyming words. Circle a word with a colored marker. Then find a word that rhymes with that word and circle it in the same color. To try something different, circle a word with a marker and write your own rhyming word next to that word. 3. Go to the weather section of your newspaper. Circle at least six weather words. Now use those words in your own poem about weather. 4. Select your favorite comic strip in the newspaper. Write a cinquain about the character in the comic strip. On the first line, write the character s name. On the second line, write two words that describe the character. On the third line, write three verbs ending in ing that tell what the character does. On the fourth line, write a four-word phrase about the character. On the fifth line, write another word for the character. 5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about one of the poets whose books are featured in today s Mini Page. Use these questions to guide your research: When did the poet first become interested in writing poetry? What topics does the poet like to write about? Where does the poet get his/her ideas for poems? How does the poet write his/her poems? What awards or recognition has the poet received? (standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) Supersport: Chris Carpenter Height: 6-6 Birthdate: 4-27-75 Weight: 220 Birthplace: Exeter, N.H. Chris Carpenter has the tall, lean look of a basketball player. And lots of baseball s sluggers no doubt wish he were somewhere on a court rather than on the pitcher s mound. In 2005, the St. Louis Cardinals ace baffled batters once again. He compiled a 21-5 record with a 2.83 earned run average and captured the National League Cy Young Award, which is given annually to the league s best pitcher. Simply put, Carpenter is a right-hander with all the right stuff. He s counted on again this season to lead a strong pitching staff, which helped the Cardinals win 100 games and the Central Division title in 05. As a youth growing up in New Hampshire, Carpenter excelled in both baseball and hockey. During the off-season, he returns to his native state, living in Bedford, N.H., with his wife, Alyson, and their son, Sam. (Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 17.) (Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 17, to be used in place of ad if desired.)