Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by poet Buffy Silverman, Here. Thank you Buffy! I always look forward to your posts.
I’ve been with my new grandson watching as he tries to roll over. At six months, he coos and sometimes sounds like a parrot! He’s always listening and watching.
Since the Ukranian fight of sovereignty has continued and they are fighting valiantly, I want to celebrate the Ukranian people with a children’s picture book author with Ukranian roots, Patricia Polacco. Now, I know that the teachers and librarians that follow Poetry Friday are familiar with her. But I was reminded of her this week .
On my daily walks in Pacifica, CA, I visit a little library on the walking path. One day, it contained four picture books signed by Patricia Polacco, which I thought were treasures. I took two. She has written more than 77 books, many inspired by her Ukranian grandmother. Here is Polacco’s author website. On this website is a fascinating u-tube video of one of her author visits where she talks about her family and storytelling. It was really delightful to watch.
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Today I’ll share her picture book Rechenkas’s Eggs. Polacco is an author and illustrator. I love her artwork.
Her signature from 2008
The main character is not a child, but an old Russian lady, Babushka,who paints eggs and every year wins first prize at the Easter Festival in Moskva.
One day after it snowed, she meets a heard of caribou, hungry because the grass they eat is covered with snow. Babushka believes it a miracle that they have found her. But while she if feeding them a flock of geese fly by. One goose falls from the sky, shot by a hunter! :
Fortunately, the goose isn’t dead. Babushka rehabilitates the injured goose back to health, though in the process the goose accidentally wrecks Babuska’s art table, her paints as well as the eggs that Babushka has carefully painted.
It’s a disaster!
But as the injured goose recover from her wound, she leaves in her basket beautiful painted eggs . Babushka kindness is repaid with daily beautiful eggs, enough for her to again win at the egg festival.
While Babushka is off to the festival, the goose, now healed, leaves and returns to its flock. And there is a surprise ending: the goose has left another painted egg that hatches. The little baby goose remains forever with Babushka.
So, in this book we find healing after violence. Babushka recovers from her losses and there is hope for the future.
I have found a number of old poetry books for kids in the Little Library. I found a poem to share in one entitled, POEMS CHILDREN WILL SIT STILL FOR: A SELECTION FOR THE PRIMARY GRADES, Citation Press, New York, 1969. The poem is by William Butler Yeats.
I find it is moving and relates to the rest of the post, maybe because of the gun threat, but the fear in this poem is unfounded. According to the book, the word KYLE-NA-NO is Irish and refers to an unknown place: a narrow inlet of the sea of old.
TO A SQUIRREL AT KYLE-NA-NO
by William Butler Yeats
Come play with me.
Why should you run
Through the shaking tree
As though I'd a gun
to strike you dead?
When all I would do
Is to scratch your head
And let you go.
The Pacifica ground squirrel, is noted for their lack of a bushy tail, and living in burrows in the ground.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and thanks, Buffy, for hosting Poetry Friday.
Janice, Cheers for grandson fun, with many more sweet days. And for reminding me of the beauty & soul of Patricia Polacco’s artistry in words & images. We’ve passed along most of our family’s picture books but I remember THE BEE TREe & also her friendship book, PINK & SAY. Appreciations for mentioning the Ukraine & this author.
Thanks for reminding me of Rechenka’s Eggs! Patricia Polacco lives fairly close to me, so I’ve had the pleasure of hearing her read a couple of times. She is a gem–both her stories and artwork are captivating.
What a wonderful post. This is what story can do…it can teach, heal, extend thousands of miles, thousands of generations to connect. Why do we act like that squirrel when we see a book or know a story is coming? It’s not going to hurt to just listen for a bit. Love the message here.
Thanks for highlighting Patricia Polacco’s book and tethering its message to the struggles of the Ukrainian people today. Also thanks for the nudge to put some of my autographed children’s books into free little libraries as treasures for others to find and enjoy. (They’re not doing much good sitting on my shelf…)
Patricia Polacco’s books are classics. I have a copy of this one. I’m not sure if I brought it home or left it in my classroom library for the next teacher. It was not a signed copy, for sure. I’m putting those in a special place. I have a neighbor from Ukraine. She is suffering because her mother’s apartment building was bombed. Such a scary time!
Love Polacco’s work. Thanks for this, Janice!
Janet, decades ago, I was so enamored by Patricia P after seeing her at a convention. I brought her to Long Island to attend one of our conventions so others could be dazzled by her storytelling. Everyone was delighted. While I never bought this book about the eggs, I find you retold the story with ease. Thank you for resurrecting my thoughts on this author. I will take these books out for my granddaughters to read.