April 12, 2011

HAPPY D.E.A.R. DAY, Love Wonderland



D.E.A.R. Day!
Be a DEAR and don't disturb us -
We are reading books today!
We have forts of sofa cushions
On the floor in disarray.

We'll read Ralph on motorcycle,
Cows that type on desks of hay,
Gilda's mysteries need solving
Calcifer would like to play...
True-fact books give questions answers,
Nonfiction the world portrays,
We'll read cookbooks, science books, and poems,
Tales of giants, orcs and fae...

Be a DEAR and don't begrudge us
Hours of reading fun today,
We'll be spies, adventurers, pirates,
Reading, all the livelong day.


When I was teaching, my slight obsession was bulletin boards... I changed them about every four minutes, put up poetry, book covers, artwork, and other random stuff that I happened upon. This is one of those spur-of-the-moment poems that would have gone up during National Poetry Month with lots of book covers, and I would have asked my kids to identify the books in the poem, and write their own.

Beverly Cleary, that splendid woman, was born in 1916 on this date, and is responsible for the lovely Drop Everything And Read celebration today. I wish her happy, and many more fabulous years of reading - and I wish the same for you.

2 comments:

Yat-Yee said...

Love your poem!

At my children's school, they have DEAR time every day. Isn't that great?

Sarah Stevenson said...

I love Drop Everything And Read! Wish I could have that every day, too...