Posted in Soup Blog Poetry Festival

Tuesday Challenge … limerick

On Tuesdays, until the end of August, we’ll post a tiny poem challenge for you. So here’s today’s challenge!

Write your own limerick and then read it out to someone to see if you can make them laugh … [OK, groaning counts].

A limerick has five lines — three long ones and two short ones — and a particular rhythm and rhyme. Limericks are often nonsensical and funny. Do you know any? Here are two we like:

 

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said ‘It is just as I feared! —
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!’

– Edward Lear

and

An ambitious young fellow named Matt
Tried to parachute using his hat.
Folks below looked so small
As he started to fall,
Then got bigger and bigger and SPLAT!

Graham Lester

Would you like some help writing your first limerick? You’ll find some instructions here.

If you think your limerick is a humdinger, ask a parent to email it to us and we’ll post it here! (If we post your limerick, we’ll only publish your first name, age, and state – or country if you are outside Australia.)

YOUR LIMERICKS (HURRAH!)

This limerick was written for Leith’s cousin Angus’s 2nd birthday card (good idea, Leith!).

There once was a boy named Gus,
Who drove to school on a bus.
He ate all the cake,
And got a belly-ache,
And made a terrible fuss.

by Leith , age 7,  QLD
Posted in poetry, Soup Blog Poetry Festival

Time for a poem: Old Man Platypus

Old Man Platypus by AB (Banjo) Paterson

Far from the trouble and toil of town,
Where the reed beds sweep and shiver,
Look at a fragment of velvet brown —
Old Man Platypus drifting down,
Drifting along the river.

And he plays and dives in the river bends
In a style that is most elusive;
With few relations and fewer friends,
For Old Man Platypus descends
From a family most exclusive.

He shares his burrow beneath the bank
With his wife and his son and daughter
At the roots of the reeds and the grasses rank;
And the bubbles show where our hero sank
To its entrance under water.
Safe in their burrow below the falls
They live in a world of wonder,
Where no one visits and no one calls,
They sleep like little brown billiard balls
With their beaks tucked neatly under.

And he talks in a deep unfriendly growl
As he goes on his journey lonely;
For he’s no relation to fish nor fowl,
Nor to bird nor beast, nor to horned owl;
In fact, he’s the one and only!

—————————————————————

Today is the first day of the Soup Blog’s Poetry Festival — until the end of August we’ll be posting poems, interviews with children’s poets, tips for reading and writing poetry, and Poetry Prescriptions.

Posted in poetry, Soup Blog Poetry Festival

Soup Blog Poetry Festival

festival streamers and party blowersHave you already been enjoying your winter school holidays? Here in WA we are JUST STARTING our school holidays this afternoon. It’s great holiday weather in Perth. As I look out my window I can see blue, blue skies.

In addition to being in a holidayish mood, I am very excited to announce that we are holding a poetry festival right here on Soup Blog. For the rest of July and all of August we will be celebrating poetry and poets. Bring all your friends! Bring your teachers! Bring your grandparents! Bring your dog!

What will be happening during our poetry festival?

I’m so glad you asked. We’ll have tips for reading poetry, we’ll be sharing some poems we love (oldies but goodies), talking to a number of Australian children’s poets about their writing, and every Tuesday we’ll offer you a tiny poem challenge. We’ll also feature Poetry Prescriptions from our visiting children’s poets — poetry is good for the soul!

When does this festival start?

On Monday 8 July 2013! Be sure to check back then. We’ll be launching the Soup Blog Poetry Festival with the very first poem we published in Alphabet Soup magazine. (I wonder if any of you can remember what it was?) On Tuesday we’ll have our first tiny poem challenge for you. And on Thursday we’ll have a first of our Australian poets visiting — Jackie Hosking.

See you then!

~ Rebecca (Soup Blog’s editor)

Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Pippa

Book review: The Amazing Spencer Gray

The Amazing Spencer Gray by Deb Fitzpatrick, ISBN 9781922089328, Fremantle Press

Reviewed by Philippa, 11 (A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.)

The Amazing Spencer Gray (cover)

Spencer Gray, his mum and dad, and his younger sister Pippa live in the country, near Perth. Spencer’s dad loves to fly in a glider over the mountains and Spencer is finally old enough to join him. His mum is not so sure about him going, and then one rainy night Spencer and his dad don’t come back after a flight. It seems that no-one knows where they are or if they are hurt …

I like the pictures this story paints in your mind and the excitement and fear of Spencer’s flights in the glider. You may have read part of this book serialised in the West Australian — and I can recommend reading this longer book version. I think The Amazing Spencer Gray is suitable for 9 to 12 year olds who like a bit of adventure.

Posted in Book reviews by Rebecca

Book review: Drongoes

Drongoes by Christine Bongers, ill. Dan McGuiness, Omnibus Books, ISBN 9781862919822

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Drongoes (cover)

Jack really wants to beat Rocket Robson in the cross-country race this year. Jack’s best mate Eric has a different goal — he just wants to finish the race for a change. (Eric gets asthma and has trouble breathing if he gets nervous or too tired.) They hatch a plan, to help each other with training so that they are as ready as they can be. The day of the race finally rolls around. Jack feels good. Eric feels optimistic. Rocket Robson is as nasty as ever …

Fun and action-packed, Drongoes is a bit like a famous fable (clever readers might recognise which one). The colour illustrations, in a cartoon/comic book style, really suit the story.

This is a new title in the Mates series of early chapter books.

© June 2013 “Review of Dronges” by Rebecca Newman (https://soupblog.wordpress.com)
Posted in info

July School Holiday activities (NSW)

Here are some fabulous-looking workshops for young writers and illustrators in NSW. (We wish we could go!)

1.       Writing with Deborah Abela

A Transylvanian Tale by Deborah Abela
Ghost Club: A Transylvanian Tale by Deborah Abela

Author Deborah Abela will be leading a writing workshop for students in Years 3-6  at The Children’s Bookshop as their Writer in Residence.

Explore the writing process, focusing on creating charismatic characters and sensational settings!

Activities will be hands-on and fun!

When: Thursday 11 July 2013,  9–12.30pm

Where: The Children’s Bookshop, 6 Hannah St, Beecroft NSW

Cost: check with the bookshop—by email or phone 9481 8811

 

2.       Creating Spooking Houses with Sarah Davis

Sounds Spooky (cover)
Sounds Spooky: illustrated by Sarah Davis

In this hands-on workshop for children in grades 3–6, you will make a paper diorama of a haunted house with Sarah Davis, illustrator of Sounds Spooky. Design character cutouts and set up and photograph little dioramas with spooky lighting. Go home with a photo print, and your house and characters.

When: Tuesday 9 July 2013, 9–12.30pm

Cost: $50 per student. All materials provided. Book early!

Where: The Children’s Bookshop, 6 Hannah St, Beecroft NSW

How to Book: check with the bookshop—by email or phone 9481 8811

3.       Let’s Go to the Circus

Share the stories and adventures of the world of the Circus, enjoying craft and art activities based around this theme. And there is a prize for the best dressed Circus participant!

Workshop Leader : Jocelyn Shute is a talented Infants Teacher and a great friend of The Children’s Bookshop.

 When: Wednesday, 10 July 10 2013 , 9–11am For Children Ages 5-7

Where: The Children’s Bookshop, 6 Hannah St, Beecroft NSW

Cost: $30 per student. All materials provided. Book early!

How to Book: check with the bookshop—by email or phone 9481 8811

Posted in info

Out of the box (What we’re reading)

It’s a sunny winter’s day in Perth today and I’m raiding the reading stash from the box under my desk.

I have to say it’s one of my favourite ways to spend a Thursday (or any day, really!) … what’s in the reading stash at your place?

– Rebecca

Book covers - Drongoes, Bumper Book of Pets and other Animals, Guinea Pig Town and other Animal Poems

 

Posted in illustrator

July Cartooning workshop (WA)

 Cartooning Around with James Foley

In the Lion (cover)Join cartoonist James Foley for an introduction to creating your own kooky comic strips. James drew the cartoons in the Quokka for many years. He also illustrated The Last Viking, and wrote and illustrated In The Lion.  While you are at the Arts Centre, you can check out James’s illustrations from In the Lion in the heARTlines exhibition.


WORKSHOP DETAILS
When: 1pm – 4pm, Tue 9 July 2013

Where: Mundaring Arts Centre, 7190 Great Eastern Highway, Mundaring WA 6073

Ages: 9 – 13

Cost: $20 (or $15 members of Mundaring Arts Centre)

Bookings essential, places are limited. To book, ring Mundaring Arts Centre on 9295 3991.

To download the full HeARTlines program for 2013, go to the Mundaring Arts Centre website.

Posted in Uncategorized

Found! A story by 7-year-old Saahil

We love reading your stories, poems and book reviews. Last week Saahil from Yidarra Catholic Primary School sent us this exciting adventure story. Read on …

Found! by Saahil, 7

One day, when I was playing in the school playground with my friend Zack, we suddenly fell into a deep hole. It wasn’t any ordinary hole; it was a hole full of gold.

We fell in with a CRASH and a BANG! We looked around this unusual place for a while, and then Zack said “Where are we?” I said that we were in one of the pyramids in Egypt.

Zack asked again, “How did we get in the pyramid?”

I replied “I think we fell into the hole that we were digging.”

When it was getting dark, Zack and I called out for help, but no one answered. We were left here in the dark by ourselves.  The next day, we heard a crack on the wall. Somebody was mining in the pyramid. The archeologist was an Australian man. His name was Max. We found out that the archeologist was a friendly man. He worked for an Australian Mining Company in Egypt. Max helped us out of the pyramid. He wanted to know where we were from. I said that we were from Perth, Australia. So, Max called the taxi to the airport. Max found the flight back to Perth and we flew back there. Our parents were searching everywhere for us. The government told our parents that we were on a flight back to Perth. Our parents found us at the airport and took us home. Zack and I were happy to be home.