THE CHILDREN'S BOOK ACADEMY
  • Home
  • WRITING
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2021 Picture Book Palooza >
      • 2021 PB Palooza Contributor Bios
      • Palooza Prizes
    • 2020 PB Palooza Instant Access
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • Mighty Networks Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship

My Blue is Happy

10/21/2013

10 Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to Mondays with Mandy (or Mira)!

I’m making every attempt to keep posting a video blog every Monday, but (whew!) it sure does take a lot of time. I spent this entire weekend working on a writing project that I had been neglecting for quite some time.  It’s probably the most important writing project I’ve ever done and yet it has been the hardest to complete. 

For the past (5 years!) I have been co-writing what started as a historical fiction picture book written completely in verse that has transformed itself into a historical fiction novel in verse.  And finally, over the past 4 days my co-writer (Sandra Havriluk) and I have finally gotten it together and very near completion.  Yay!

But, since most of my weekend was spent writing, I had to push back a video blog.   So today will just be a regular post, but I hope you still enjoy it.

In August, I discovered a book at Barnes and Noble that I wish I had written.  This book made me long to be a first grade teacher again.  The days I spent in a first grade classroom harvesting poets.  I love first graders!  They’re hilarious! I love that they are natural poets.  I love that by simply choosing the right book as a mentor text, they could write profound and brilliant poetry. (Even the boys who hated writing and would have rather been playing hide and seek on the playground.)

So when I discovered this book, it brought me back to my days as a first grade teacher.   I really wish there were a job called First Grade Poetry Teacher or even First Grade Writing Teacher. I would still be teaching the younger ones if there were.

This fabulous book is called My Blue is Happy by Jessica Young.

(From Amazon)

What is your blue like? A lyrical ode to colors — and the unique ways we experience them — follows a little girl as she explores the world with her family and friends.

Your neighbor says red is angry like a dragon’s breath, but you think it’s brave like a fire truck. Or maybe your best friend likes pink because it’s pretty like a ballerina’s tutu, but you find it annoying — like a piece of gum stuck on your shoe. In a subtle, child-friendly narrative, art teacher and debut author Jessica Young suggests that colors may evoke as many emotions as there are people to look at them — and opens up infinite possibilities for seeing the world in a wonderful new way.

I can’t tell you how much I love this book!  But here are a few reasons:

1.     It introduces similes to young kids in a very easily understood way.

2.     It helps them see the world on so many levels. Color has power, emotion, and we all see it differently.

3.     It’s a great mentor text that gives kids an easy structure to replicate.

4.     It has a great message that everyone sees color in different ways.

My favorite color in the whole world is brown.  I loved to tell this to first graders because they would all squeal with shock and laughter exclaiming that brown wasn’t a real color and why didn’t I love purple and pink like most girls?

But just like the little girl in this book, I saw brown in a different way. In the book, her dad sees it as an ordinary paper bag, but she sees it as chocolate syrup! 

I hope you get a chance to check out this book. It’s simply amazing.

Also, Jessica Young has some fantastic resources on her blog for teachers in K-2 and 3-5 that go along with this book. (Not all teacher resource materials are created equal, but I have to say hers are really good!)

http://jessicayoungbooks.wordpress.com/teachersandkids/

Picture
The rest of Jessica’s website is pretty fascinating as well. There are adorable pictures of her as a child! One thing in particular that I loved on her site was the following quote:

I’m inspired by things people (especially kids) say and do; sensations, like the sun on my face, or the taste of ice cream; memories of being a kid; music, art, and books;  names, random facts, and the sounds of words.

I couldn’t agree more!

I tutor a 5 year old in reading and each time I’m with her she says the most profound things!  I keep telling her mom she’s a natural poet. For example:

She lifted up a book and sniffed it and said, “Mmmmm….I love the smell of books!”

Or another time I was writing her sight words with a marker and she said, “It’s like you can hear the sound the letters make.”

Kids are amazing and such natural poets. We just have to really listen and pay attention to them.  And then expose them to great mentor texts like My Blue is Happy!

If interested in colors and words and similes, check out the following webpage. It’s a word lover’s candyland.

http://www.words-to-use.com/

Here are some other favorite books to inspire young poets:

Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman

Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neil

The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin

And finally…since I didn’t do a video blog, I’ll share a poem from the book I was working on this weekend. (Which coincidentally goes along with the topic of this blog.) The historical fiction novel in verse is set in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The novel is told in the alternating point of view of an eleven year old black girl, Matty, and an eleven year old white girl, Laura Lee, who both are riding the Cleveland Ave. bus. 

Hope you enjoy!  (Poem inspired by the following photograph found here: http://www.creativephotography.org/study-research/educators/reframing-america/palfi1c.html)

(***Update...I just realized that this poem I chose to share is actually dated Oct. 21st 1955 in the book and today's date is October 21st!  Crazy how that worked out.)

October 21, 1955

Painted on the wall

---Matty

 

This part of the bus for the colored race.

Colored. That’s a funny word

as if we have red and purple stripes

or green and blue polka dots

or yellow and orange starbursts

Other day,

teacher told us to draw

pictures of our favorite color

I drew

dark chocolate

vanilla beans

butter toast

fallen leaves

squat mushrooms

dried figs

copper pennies

dogwood twigs

brown sugar

cherry coke

grizzly bears

dried oak

cinnamon sticks

speckled hens

caramel candy

turtle’s skin

pussy willows

baby deer

maple syrup

root beer

Teacher told me to do it over

because brown is not a real color



© Mandy C. Yates





10 Comments
Charlotte Dixon
10/21/2013 10:45:10 am

No video, but beautiful words and many thoughts to contemplate. Thank you for a pleasant break in my day, Mandy :)

Reply
Dawn Young link
10/21/2013 01:33:27 pm

Mandy,
I really enjoyed this post. My Blue is Happy is a great way to see the world through a child's eyes. I can't wait to share it with my kids. And as for your story in verse...I'm so excited to read it. It sounds fascinating!
I know these posts take a while to create but you do such a great job. I look forward to them :)

Reply
Mandy
10/22/2013 03:33:12 am

Thanks guys! I greatly appreciate it!

Reply
Deborah Holt Williams link
10/22/2013 04:13:26 am

This book is so simple, yet so profound! And your poem, Mandy, is heartbreaking.

Reply
Mandy
10/22/2013 09:45:21 am

Awe! Thank you Deborah. That means a lot. :)

Reply
Jessica Young
10/22/2013 12:03:36 pm

Thanks so much for all your thoughts on My Blue. I really appreciate having another teacher's perspective on the book (and on the teacher resources, too). It makes me really happy that it resonated with you. I love what you said about children being natural poets, and your poem made me teary.

Reply
Mandy
10/23/2013 11:48:20 am

Thanks Jessica! That's so sweet.

Reply
Tracy Molitors link
10/24/2013 06:42:15 am

A wonderful book choice, Mandy! I am so inspired by color that I am always happy to find good books about it. Mondays with Mandy have been a real treat - your effort has produced GREAT results!!

Reply
Mandy
10/29/2013 12:11:58 pm

Thanks Tracy! I really appreciate your feedback. :)

Reply
Amy Pogue link
1/20/2014 11:34:16 am

Hello, Mandy and Mira, and thanks so much for your kind words and link to words-to-use.com! I update the site as much as I can and it makes me feel great that other people find it useful. Have a great day, Amy

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    We are so excited to be mixing things up at CBA, beginning with some delicious additions to the Blogfish. Meet our  awesome new bloggers!!

    Here's our lineup:
    1st Mondays begin with editor/art director, & CBA Director Mira Reisberg PhD who is handing her Mondays over to awesome former now tradtionally pubbed students to widen their audience.

    2nd Mondays will feature super smart Melissa Stoller whose career is taking off with several new books.
     

    3rd Mondays will feature
    Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer, man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    4th Mondays feature funny Aussie author Sharon Giltrow sharing awesome Aussie books.

    And 5th Mondays will feature Libyan American author Koloud Tarapolsi sharing wonderful diverse books.

    Enter your email address to follow this blog:

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

Picture
Discover
Why Us?
Courses
Blogfish
Book Shoppe
About Us
Meet the Academy Faculty
Community
Contact Us

Privacy Policy
Join Us
Social Media
Join our Community and receive a fabulous free gift, yummy newsletters, scholarship info, contests, and more!

Like us on Facebook 
Join our interactive FB Group  
Find us on Twitter 
Follow us on ​Instagram  
Look for us on Pinterest
​
Watch us on YouTube
© 2012-2021  All content on this website is copyrighted. Sorry, all courses are non-refundable.
  • Home
  • WRITING
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2021 Picture Book Palooza >
      • 2021 PB Palooza Contributor Bios
      • Palooza Prizes
    • 2020 PB Palooza Instant Access
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • Mighty Networks Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship