Greetings, Poetry Lovers! We're halfway through my National Poetry Month project, "I Pause for Poems" and "I Pause for Haiku"! On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I share a new mini poem movie with one of my published poems for kids; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it's haiku suitable for kids.
Today I'm sharing a reading of "Lunch Lady" (©Robyn Hood Black) from SCHOOL PEOPLE (Wordsong, 2018) by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Ellen Shi. Monday would have been Lee Bennett Hopkins's 82nd birthday, and everyone in the children's literature world still mourns his loss last August.
Lee kept requesting rewrites of this poem. And, rewrites. It finally clicked to me that he wanted a picture of a REAL person, someone who works very hard at his or her job and who is tired at the end of the day!
In this unprecedented season of remote school, I'm sure students and school people of all ages are missing the folks who serve tasty food to nourish bodies and minds. I know many school systems have gotten creative to continue to provide meals to kids, and sometimes their families, too. At the beginning of this school closures adventure, my teacher-daughter's county began a program to deliver meals to stops along the bus routes.
Here's to all the men and women who work in food service! You are appreciated, and I'm sure everyone will be happy to gather in the cafeteria again in the fall.
Click here for this mini poem movie, and here for my YouTube channel.
Thanks, and I hope you're having a wonderful Poetry Month amidst these challenging times.
(Children under 13 may comment only with demonstrated parental consent – Thanks!)