Spark (Chris Baron)

 

Wow. This book was an experience. The author did a fantastic job of really helping you feel the fear that is a part of events like devastating fires. I had serious feeling stirred up about how important it is to look after the environment...and being a girl who'd rather stay inside and read - that is something. The whole idea of survival - how the forest realizes that burning is a part of the natural process...and the humans have to learn to understand that as well as they live amongst the forest in areas developed where they weren't in the past.....powerful symbolism.

I'm not sure what age I'd recommend Spark for. Colby Sharp read it to his grade five students (I think anyway....or maybe he just read it himself...not sure). I'm not so sure I'd do that. If I read it aloud, there's definitely be tears and big emotions on my part. It says it's a middle-grade book - but it's one that you'd have to approach carefully because there are a lot of big and difficult issues of trauma. The scenes where they escape the fire are so well written! 

Rabbit figuring out the origin of the fire reminded me of Willowdeen arguing for science and saving the trees. I loved the connection to ancestors. Early on, Finn learns that the portrait of his great-grandfather, Phineas Katz, is important to his family—and that if the fire ever comes they should save it. Finn, the main character, is named after his grandfather. He has traits like his grandfather - liked to keep a journal and write down lists of things.

There is a black-and-white photograph above the fireplace of my great-grandfather, Phineas Katz. Everyone says I look like him: brown hair, green eyes, medium height.  Average, like someone who fits right in. His story is how our family got here. He uprooted everyone, because their home wasn't safe. On the ship, a sailor warned him he should shorten their names, so when he got to the States they could have a "normal life". But is normal, anyway, once everything in your life has changed? He disagreed, but he shortened it from Phineas. I know him as Great-Grandpa Finn. That's me, too. Phineas Katz, but everyone calls me Finn. Mom says that my great-grandfather kept a field journal. He loved to write it all down just like I do, inking everything he could about his journey. Mom says the field journal and the photograph remind us of whah=t is important, where we've come from, and what we've been through. Mom says that if the fire does ever come, we can't forget to take his portrait.

His great grandfather went in search of a "normal life"....which is what they try to get back to after the fire. 

The author is Jewish and the main character in the book is also Jewish. I read this with my Children's Lit book club and one of the other teachers told me about PJ Library...and organization that sends children (ages 0 to 5) a book every month that has Jewish characters or teaches about Jewism.  

Goodreads says:

Finn and his friend, nicknamed Rabbit, live in a rural area that's been hit hard by wildfires. Families were displaced and school was interrupted. Moreover, their beloved forest is suffering -- animals and plants haven't been able to come back, and the two friends wonder if there's anything they can do to help. Rabbit's uncle, a science teacher, is part of a study that may help bring the forest back to life, but Finn and Rabbit wonder if the forest can wait. And what if another fire comes in the meantime? They believe a small part of the forest -- the forest heart -- that survived the wildfire may hold the key to regrowth, but first, they have to find it and then convince the adults around them to listen.

For any young person who's ever felt powerless against the world, here is a story about two kids doing all they can to understand their natural world and preserve it.

Chester Van Clime Who Forgot How to Rhyme (

 

Great for our poetry unit!

Everybody had lots of laughs over how the sentences seemed so silly when they didn't rhyme.

Goodreads says:
"Chester tries his best to recover his rhyming talent when he suddenly loses the ability that once came so naturally to him"--

I Could Be a Million Things (Jessy Humann)

 

Great story for the end of year or for 'what do you want to be when you grow up' conversations/writing.

Goodreads says:

A poetic celebration of a world full of possibilities, and the beauty of a million things to be and do. Go on a journey across oceans and mountains, gift smiles while traveling far, and find magic in the skies above.

I could look for magic

or find a million stars.

I could be a helper

or cross the deep blue sea . . .

but my favorite thing in all the world

is choosing to be me.

I Could Be A Million Things is a beautifully illustrated ode to what surrounds us and the inspiration to be found in nature, dreams, and the power we all carry inside of us. 

A beautifully illustrated, poetic picture book about a world full of possibilities. For jacks- and jills-of-all-trades ages 4 years and up.

Falling Back in Love With Being Human (Kai Cheng Thom)

 

Once I realized this was poetry, I could forgive the author for the lack of capitalization (that's the teacher in me!) The book is beautiful. It is almost like therapy. It has a story/poem and then a suggestions for something to do. Some of my favorites were: 

Make a list of five good things that you frequently do for other people. Within a two-week period, do them all, at least once, for yourself.

Design and perform a ritual to release something from your life that you love, but htat is no longer serving you. Throw a handful of dandelion seeds out the window of a moving vehicle, or clip a lock of your hair and leave it on your windowsill for the birds to carry away.

The author is a trans female. She is a Chinese Canadian. It was a beautiful opportunity to get a view of her heart and heartaches. It's very honest and vulnerable. In this day and age, this should be required reading. It would be great for a discussion.

Goodreads says:

What happens when we imagine loving the people--and the parts of ourselves--that we do not believe are worthy of love?

A transformative collection of intimate and lyrical love letters that offer a path toward compassion, forgiveness, and self-acceptance.

"Required reading."--Glennon Doyle

Kai Cheng Thom grew up a Chinese Canadian transgender girl in a hostile world. As an activist, psychotherapist, conflict mediator, and spiritual healer, she's always pursued the same deeply personal mission: to embrace the revolutionary belief that every human being, no matter how hateful or horrible, is intrinsically sacred.

But then Kai Cheng found herself in a crisis of faith, overwhelmed by the viciousness with which people treated one another, and barely clinging to the values and ideals she'd built her life around: justice, hope, love, and healing. Rather than succumb to despair and cynicism, she gathered all her rage and grief and took one last leap of faith: she wrote. Whether prayers or spells or poems--and whether there's a difference--she wrote to affirm the outcasts and runaways she calls her kin. She wrote to flawed but nonetheless lovable men, to people with good intentions who harm their own, to racists and transphobes seemingly beyond saving. What emerged was a blueprint for falling back in love with being human.

The Wisdom of Trees (Lita Judge)

 

I've read a few things about how trees seem to communicate. This is a wonderful addition to that topic.

Goodreads says:

With lush illustrations, poems, and accessible scientific information, The Wisdom of Trees by Lita Judge is a fascinating exploration of the hidden communities trees create to strengthen themselves and others.

We clean the air and seed the clouds, we drench the thirsty land with rain. We are like wizards.

The story of a tree is a story of community, communication, and cooperation. Although trees may seem like silent, independent organisms, they form a network buzzing with they talk, share food, raise their young, and offer protection. Trees thrive on diversity, learn from their ancestors, and give back to their communities. Trees not only sustain life on our planet―they can also teach us important lessons about patience, survival, and teamwork.

A New York Public Library Best Book of 2021
A New York Public Library Top Ten Book for Kids
Green Earth Book Award Longlist
An ALA SustainRT Top 10 Sustainability-Themed Children’s Books 2022

Truth Pixie Goes to School (Matt Haig)

 

I love the rhyming in this story! 100+ pages and it never fails! 

I'm also really impressed by the illustrator, Chris Mould. There are a LOT of illustrations in this book and they're all very compelling. 

I heard a podcast where Matt Haig was being interviewed and he said that his kids books are all kind of self-help books for kids. I would totally agree with that for this book. There are a lot of good things to learn about friendship, standing up for what is right and not being bullied into doing what others think is cool. 

Goodreads says:

New school. New friends. Same old pixie.

'Aada started her new school,
And the pixie came too.
But this school was a place
Where it was hard to be true . . .'

An uplifting story that will delight younger readers and help them to be themselves in their school uniform. With words by the bestselling mastermind Matt Haig and pictures by the inky genius Chris Mould.

Truth Pixie (Matt Haig)

 

Goodreads says this book is 3.5 in the Christmas series. #1 is A Boy Called Christmas, #1.5 is A Mouse Called Miika, #2 is The Girl Who Saved Christmas. I'm not sure what #3 is! 

This one was delightful. It's a rhyming book and has a great story about friendship, the hazards of being a little too honest and trusting that things will work out. 

Goodreads says:

https://ihaveabookyoushouldread.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-boy-called-christmas-matt-haig.html

Live Oak With Moss (Walt Whitman, illustrated by Brian Selznick)

 

I picked this up because I love everything Brian Selznick does. I really don't know much about Walt Whitman and I'm really not good at poetry...but this book is beautiful. The story of his poem is fascinating. I can't imagine what drives someone to play with words to that extent until they get it to exactly what they want. It's a special kind of brilliance. Apparently, he wrote this, then cut it up and hid it amongst other poetry....and then someone who studies Walt Whitman uncovered it! Amazing!

Brian Selznick tells the story of how he got to know Maurice Sendak (imagine?!) The book is dedicated to Maurice Sendak. He was originally asked to illustrate the poem but felt like poems didn't need illustrations. I hope Brian Selznick will illustrate more famous poems. It helped me  increase my understanding, that's for sure! I'm sure there are more people like me out there who need a little help with their poetry comprehension. 

Goodreads says:

As he was turning forty, Walt Whitman wrote twelve poems in a small handmade book he entitled “Live Oak, With Moss.” The poems were intensely private reflections on his attraction to and affection for other men. They were also Whitman’s most adventurous explorations of the theme of same-sex love, composed decades before the word “homosexual” came into use. This revolutionary, extraordinarily beautiful and passionate cluster of poems was never published by Whitman and has remained unknown to the general public—until now. New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Award–winning illustrator Brian Selznick offers a provocative visual narrative of “Live Oak, With Moss,” and Whitman scholar Karen Karbiener reconstructs the story of the poetic cluster’s creation and destruction. Walt Whitman’s reassembled, reinterpreted Live Oak, With Moss serves as a source of inspiration and a cause for celebration. 
 

Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem (Kate DiCamillo)

 

There is so much I love about this book! It is from the Mercy Watson series (or is it The Tales From Decawoo Drive series?) It has metaphors. It has drama. It has hilarious illustrations. It has a villain (Horace Broom....that guy in class who seems to have his hand up for EVERYTHING). It has a mean old secretary who guards the door to the mean old principal. It has a wise caretaker. And it has Mercy Watson. What more could anyone ask for?! 

This will definitely be our next read aloud when we are doing a poetry unit.

Goodreads says:

Stella Endicott loves her teacher, Miss Liliana, and she is thrilled when the class is assigned to write a poem. Stella crafts a beautiful poem about Mercy Watson, the pig who lives next door — a poem complete with a metaphor and full of curiosity and courage. But Horace Broom, Stella's irritating classmate, insists that Stella’s poem is full of lies and that pigs do not live in houses. And when Stella and Horace get into a shouting match in the classroom, Miss Liliana banishes them to the principal’s office. Will the two of them find a way to turn this opposite-of-a-poem day around? In the newest spirited outing in the Deckawoo Drive series by Kate DiCamillo, anything is possible — even a friendship with a boy deemed to be (metaphorically speaking) an overblown balloon.

Where The Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

 

Kya is a girl who grows up alone because she is abandoned by everyone. Her father is abusive and this affects her mother so that she eventually leaves. She doesn't ever really recover from having her mother leave her, and eventually we find out that her mother never recovers from abandoning her children. No one really knows Kya. Even the people who do get close to her don't know her. She protects herself because of all the people that leave her. People make judgments about her and don't really ever give her a chance. It's heartbreaking to watch her endure the scorn from other people. Her ability to make sense of people through connections to her understanding of nature and animals is amazing. She has enough skills to survive on her own, but growing up so isolated really becomes a problem for her that she never really gets over. This was particularly interesting to think about in the midst of the pandemic right now where maintaining connections with people is not easy.

The wonderful thing about Kya is she really teaches that we can all do so much more than we think we can do. When things get really difficult, we usually find out we can do way more than we realize we can do. Kya pulls off everything she needs to do. She's witty and gritty and she gets it done.

When I finished this book I had just had to sit with the feeling it left me. The ending is a surprise and made me feel like I needed to sit and be in it for a while longer. 

This book reminded me of so many other books. It's a little bit like Hatchet because she has to survive on her own. It's a little bit like Tara Westover in Educated because her father is abusive and her family abandons her and even though she never goes to school, she learns to read, one day writes books and earns an honorary degree. It also reminded me of Looks Like Daylight, which was full of stories of First Nations kids and their connection to the land. It also has a murder trial just like To Kill A Mockingbird.

Meaning of the title: when Tate and Kya are looking for a place to hang out, her friend, Tate, suggests that they go somewhere “where the crawdads sing.” He explains to Kya that it means “far in the bush where critters are wild, still behaving like critters.”

Goodreads says:

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. 

Spoiler alert:

Why did Kya keep the shell necklace?

The shell necklace that Kya gives to Chase becomes a manifestation of the dissonance between her desire to be loved and her wariness to let other people into her life. ... However, Kya ends up putting the shell on a necklace that she later gives to Chase as a gift.

Monumental Verses (Patrick Lewis)

What a neat book. Poems about structures. Many of the structures we focus on or use as structure projects are in this book:

- Stonehenge
- Easter Island
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Great Pyramid of Cheops
- Empire State Building
- Arc de Triomphe
- Rose city of Petra
- Palace of Versailles
- Statue of Liberty
- Machu Picchu
- Eiffel Tower
- Mount Rushmore
- Great Wall of China\

(Is in our school library)

Goodreads says:

Award-winning poet Lewis invites readers to climb aboard for an eye-opening, lyrical journey to some of the world's greatest monuments, including lush photographs. The back matter features a map showing each site's location, historical information on each one, and a brief history of the photographs. Teachers looking to integrate language arts into their social studies lessons will find this book a delight.

Where's the Baboon? (by Michaël Escoffier)

We thought this would be a really fun read with Reading Buddies. We could read the big words and the grade ones could figure out the little words in the words. Lots of fun! The pictures were very interesting too.

Goodreads says:

Step right up, fearless readers! Today, in this very book, we will PROVE to you that a snake can hide in a snowflake, that pigs can paint, and that the ones who copy the most are not necessarily cats! Prepare to be AMAZED by the game of hide-n-seek the words play! These tricksters are true experts in the art of camouflage!

Michaël Escoffier was born in France in 1970. Raised by a family of triceratops, he discovered his passion for writing and telling stories at a young age. He lives in Lyon with his wife and two children.

Kris Di Giacomo is an American who has lived in France since childhood. She has illustrated over twenty-five books for French publishers, which have been translated into many languages. This is her seventh book with Enchanted Lion Books. 

What's The Magic Word (Kelly DiPucchio)

This is a cute rhyming story. It would be fun to use it when our kindergarten classes are hatching their chicks. It would also work really well when we're writing couplets. Once students catch on to the fact that it rhymes and that there's a pattern, they could make predictions about where the chick is going to land next.


Goodreads says:

No matter where Little Bird goes, everyone wants to know the magic word. Is it "Peep-peep?" "Moo-moo?" "Oink-oink?"

How will Little Bird ever find out? Not until Little Bird returns home does he hear the magic word from his very own Mama Bird!

Kelly DiPucchio's rhythmic and noise-filled text combines with Marsha Winborn's colorful illustrations for a delightful swirl of a book.

If I Had A Little Dream (Nina Laden)

This would be a great book to read when we're learning about similes and metaphors and writing poetry. It's beautiful and optimistic and full of heart.


Goodreads says:

See and appreciate through a child’s eyes how fortunate we are to live in the world we do. Celebrate the wonder of the world - the joy, love, and beauty that is part of each and every day. Our world is full of possibilities if you look for them.

The Alphabet Thief (Bill Richardson)

Clever! Great for phonemic awareness. It is full of all sorts of puns too, which are great for discussion in class.

It was interesting to see who could quickly figure out what the new words would be when the letters were taken by the alphabet thief.

And best of all, it's a Canadian author! Thanks for helping me get to my goal of 150 Canadian books this year :)


Goodreads summary:

The alphabet thief stole all of the B’s, and all of the bowls became owls…

When night falls, along comes a peculiar thief who steals each letter of the alphabet, creating a topsy-turvy world as she goes. It seems that no one can stop her, until the Z’s finally send her to sleep so that all the other letters can scamper back to where they belong.

Bill Richardson’s zany rhymes and Roxanna Bikadoroff’s hilarious illustrations will delight young readers with the silly fun they can have with language — and may even inspire budding young writers and artists to create their own word games.

Boy Soup (Loris Lesynski)

Great Tumble Book story! The kids loved the trick. I loved the verse. Great rhymes. In the end, the giant is glad he didn't eat the boys. Lots of good descriptive adjectives in here!

Goodreads summary:

When Giant wakes up with a big hurting head and a sore raspy throat, he finds the cure is a bowl of Boy Soup! Giant captures five boys and Kate, who all protest his plan. But Kate soon comes up with her own remedy and convinces the Giant that the soup should be made, not of boys, but by boys.

Animal Epitaphs (J Patrick Lewis)

A rather dark and hilarious book. Would be great during a poetry unit for just the right kids - especially boys. If you look carefully you will see animals in illustrations from previous pages in the story.

Goodreads summary:

Irony and wit permeate this darkly humorous collection in which each poem is the epitaph of a different animal. The pieces are grouped by animal type, and range in length from one to eighteen lines.

Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson)

I learned about this book from a Nerdy Book Club post by Donalyn Miller. I've seen a lot of tweets about it as well. It seemed like a book that I needed to carve out some special time for. I was fascinated that the entire book is written in verse. How weird could that be? It wasn't weird. It was beautiful and had magic. As Donalyn Miller said, "Jackie catches words, blows on them, and floats them on to me." 

I wanted this book to go on forever. I tend to be a fast reader. This book made me want to slow down and savor every word. Seriously.

Goodreads Summary:

Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse.  A novel in verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become. 

I got this book from the library and must apologize to the librarian for all the pages I had to turn down. They were the pages I just couldn't quite let go of yet.

I loved the image this stirs.
p. 131 sometimes, no words are needed
Deep winter and the night air is cold. So still,
it feels like the world goes on forever in the darkness
until you look up and the earth stops
in a ceiling of stars. My head against
my grandfather's arm,
is a blanket around us as we sit on the front porch swing.
Its whine like a song.

You don't need words 
on a night like this. Just the warmth
of your grandfather's arm. Just the silent promise
That the world as we know it
will always be here.

I hope I can help all my students feel like this about school:
p. 158 first grade
My hand inside my sister's hand,
We walk the two blocks fo P.s. 106 - 
I am six years old and
my sister tells me our school was once a castle.
I believe her. The school stretches for a full city block.
Inside
marble stairs wind their way to classrooms filled
with dark wood desks
nailed down to dark wood floors polished to a high
and beautiful shine.

I am in love with everything around me,
the dotted white lines moving
across my teacher's blackboard, the smell of chalk,
the flag jutting out from the wall and slowly swaying 
above me.

There is nothing more beautiful than P.s. 106.
Nothing more perfect than my first-grade classroom.
No one more kind than Ms. Feidler, who meets me
at the door each morning,
takes my hand from my sister's, smiles down and says,
Now that Jacqueline is here, the day can finally begin.

And I believe her.
Yes. I truly believe her.

Jacqueline Woodson is a Jehovah's Witness and that plays a role in the story. It was a unique view into a religion I really don't understand.
p. 162 flag
When the kids in my class ask why
I am not allowed to pledge to the flag
I tell them It's against my religion but I don't say,
I am in the world but not of the world. This,
they would not understand.
Even though my mother's not a Jehovah's Witness,
she makes us follow their rules and
leave the classroom when the pledge is being said.

Every morning, I walk out with Gina and Alina
the two other Witnesses in my class.
Sometimes, Gina says,
Maybe we should pray for the kids inside
who don't know that God said
"No other idols before me." That our God
is a jealous God.
Gina is a true believer. Her Bible open
during reading time. But Alina and I walk through
our roles as Witnesses as though this is the part
we've been given in a play
and once offstage, we run free, sing
"America the Beautiful" and "The Star-Spangled Banner"
far away from our families - knowing every word.

Alina and I want
more than anything to walk back into our classroom
press our hands against our hearts, Say,
"I pledge allegiance..." loud
without our jealous God looking down on us.
  Without our parents finding out.
Without our mothers' voices
in our heads saying, You are different.
Chosen.
Good.

When the pledge is over, we walk single file
back into the classroom, take our separate seats
Alina and I far away from Gina. But Gina
always looks back at us - as if to say,
I'm watching you. As if to say,
I know.

Jacqueline also struggles with comparing herself to her brilliant sister:
p. 169 gifted
Everyone knows my sister
is brilliant. The letters come home folded neatly
inside official-looking envelopes that my sister proudly
hands over to my mother.
Odella has achieved
Odella has excelled at
Odella has been recommended to
Odella's outstanding performance in

She is gifted
we are told
And I imagine presents surrounding her.

I am not gifted. When I read, the words twist
twirl across the page.
When they settle, it is too late.
The class has already moved on.

I want to catch words one day. I want to hold them
then blow gently,
watch them float
right out of my hands.

I was really taken by her ability to describe her difficulties with reading.
p. 226 reading
I am not my sister.
Words from the books curl around each other
make little sense
until
I read them again
and again, the story
settling into memory. Too slow
the teacher says.
Read faster.
Too babyish, the teacher says.
Read older.
but I don't want to read faster or older or 
any way else that might
make the story disappear too quickly from where
  it's settling
inside my brain,
slowly becoming 
a part of me.
A story I will remember
long after I've read it for the second, third,
tenth, hundredth time.

I know this story! It's called Stevie. 
p. 227 stevie and me
Every Monday my mother takes us
to the library around the corner. We are allowed
to take out seven books each. One those days,
no one complains
that all I want are picture books.

These days no one tells me to read faster
to read harder books
to read like Dell

No one is there to say, Not that book,
when I stop in front of the small paperback 
with a brown boy on the cover.
Stevie.

I read:
One day my momma told me,
"You know you're gonna have
a little friend come stay with you."
And I said, "Who is it?"

If someone had been fussing with me
to read like my sister, I might have missed
the picture book filled with brown people, more
brown people than I'd ever seen
In a book before.

The little boy's name was Steven but 
his mother kept calling him Stevie.
My name is Robert but my momma don't
call me Robertie.

If someone had taken
that book out of my hand
said, You're too old for this
maybe
I'd never have believed
that someone who looked like me
could be in the pages of the book
that someone who looked like me
had a story.


One fascinating part of the story was the aftermath of segregation. During her time as a child there wasn't segregation, well, sort of. I wish I was more like Jacqueline Woodson when it comes to change. I'm a little more like the grandma sometimes though, a little afraid to step out. And when I do step out, I do it pretty quietly. I don't like that about myself.
p. 237 what everybody knows now

Even though the laws have changed
my grandmother still takes us
to the back of the bus when we go downtown
in the rain. It's easier, my grandmother says,
than having white folks look at me like I'm dirt.

But we aren't dirt. We are people
paying the same fare as other people.
When I say this to my grandmother,
she nods, says, Easier to stay where you belong.

I look around and see the ones
who walk straight to the back. See
the ones who take a seat up front, daring
anyone to make them move. And know
this is who I want to be. Not scared
like that. Brave
like that.

Still, my grandmother takes my hand downtown
pulls me right past the restaurants that have to let us sit
wherever we want now. No need in making trouble
she says.  You'll all go back to New York City but
I have to live here.

We walk straight past Woolworth's
without even looking in the windows
because the one time my grandmother went inside
they made her wait and wait. Acted like
I wasn't even there. It's hard not to see the moment - 
my grandmother in her Sunday clothes, a hat
with a flower pinned to it
neatly on her head, her patent-leather purse,
perfectly clasped
between her gloved hands - waiting quietly
long past her turn.