middle grade Archives - Page 129 of 366

Away with Words!: Wise and Witty Poems for Language Lovers
by Mary Ann Hoberman (Author) and Perry Hoberman (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Celebrate the joy of wordplay with poems about the alphabet, assonance, alliteration, grammar and punctuation, similes, rhythm and rhyme, and so much more in this poetry collection.

Snippet:
ASSONANCE/ALLITERATION

Assonance/Alliteration –
Here’a a bit of information
If you’d like to keep them straight,
Consonants alliterate:
Pa put peppers on Pat’s plate.
Vowels instead are assonant:
Pa want almonds for Ma’s aunt.
Sometimes they appear together:
Wes wed Wendy in wet weather.

Margaret is hosting Poetry Friday at Reflections on the Teche

The Way I Say It
by Nancy Tandon (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Sixth-grader Rory still can’t say his r’s, but that’s just the beginning of his troubles. First Rory’s ex-best-friend Brent started hanging out with the mean lacrosse kids. But then, a terrible accident takes Brent out of school, and Rory struggles with how to feel.

Rory and his new speech teacher put their heads together on Rory’s r’s (as well as a serious love of hard rock and boxing legend Muhammad Ali), but nobody seems to be able to solve the problem of Rory’s complicated feelings about Brent. Brent’s accident left him with a brain injury and he’s struggling. Should Rory stand up for his old friend at school–even after Brent failed to do the same for him?

Snippet: “Brent, your friends are here,” Mrs. Millikin announces.

Like last time, I almost don’t recognize him. He has a soft helmet over buzz-cut hair. His eyes are open oddly-wide. Spit is collected at the corners of his mouth. He stares at us and squints like he’s trying to focus. He stands up.

“I don’t want to be here!” he says.

He comes charging at me. Teresa stands up and grabs his arm before he can knock me over.

“Brent,” she says, her voice firm and calm. “Your friends came to visit you. We’re going to say hi and talk for a while. “Sit down.”