Holly Thompson's Blog, page 18
June 3, 2015
Sculptor Film Emmy
Some exciting news for Boston-based filmmaker Anthony Penta--his film about my brother, artist Bill Thompson, just won a 2015 Emmy Award for Boston/New England! Bravo, Anthony!
I hope you'll take an 8-minute break from your day to watch this beautifully crafted short film, Bill Thompson: Sculptor about my brother's complex and labor-intensive creative process--in Boston. Anthony followed along every step of the way, catching exquisite detail and weaving a deft narrative.
Bill Thompson: Sculptor from Anthony Penta on Vimeo.
Congratulations to Anthony Penta! To see his other films, visit PentaWorks.
I hope you'll take an 8-minute break from your day to watch this beautifully crafted short film, Bill Thompson: Sculptor about my brother's complex and labor-intensive creative process--in Boston. Anthony followed along every step of the way, catching exquisite detail and weaving a deft narrative.
Bill Thompson: Sculptor from Anthony Penta on Vimeo.
Congratulations to Anthony Penta! To see his other films, visit PentaWorks.
June 2, 2015
Lowell's Tim Thou
When I began researching my novel The Language Inside, set in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Japan, I reached out to Tim Thou, founder of the Angkor Dance Troupe.
Tim Thou was featured prominently in a recent article in the Phnom Penh Post: At Home in Lowell.
Tim is one of the most giving humans I have ever encountered, and his altruism, endurance and perseverance have created an extraordinary community and cultural treasure, and a source of deep Massachusetts pride--the Angkor Dance Troupe. If you haven't seen the troupe perform yet, the annual recital at the Boott Cotton Mill Event Center in Lowell will be this Saturday, June 6 (free!).
The troupe performs around Massachusetts and beyond, and can be booked for events, and they appear annually at the Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival, which this year will be held on August 22. Tim is shown here with me at the festival in 2013. Alas, I missed the festival in 2014, but I'm definitely planning to be there for 2015.
with Tim Thou, founder of the Angkor Dance TroupeBesides introducing the phenomenal Tim Thou, the Phnom Penh Post article gives a good, brief overview of the Cambodian refugee and immigration history of Lowell, which is the setting for much of my novel involving the main character Emma and her Cambodian-American dancer friend Samnang. The city of Lowell is over 20 percent Cambodian, and . . . hooray! Lowell and Phnom Penh will now officially be sister cities; here is a Lowell Sun article about the Lowell delegation's trip to Phnom Penh and the newly signed sister city agreement. I look forward to spending more time in both cities.
Tim Thou was featured prominently in a recent article in the Phnom Penh Post: At Home in Lowell.
Tim is one of the most giving humans I have ever encountered, and his altruism, endurance and perseverance have created an extraordinary community and cultural treasure, and a source of deep Massachusetts pride--the Angkor Dance Troupe. If you haven't seen the troupe perform yet, the annual recital at the Boott Cotton Mill Event Center in Lowell will be this Saturday, June 6 (free!).
The troupe performs around Massachusetts and beyond, and can be booked for events, and they appear annually at the Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival, which this year will be held on August 22. Tim is shown here with me at the festival in 2013. Alas, I missed the festival in 2014, but I'm definitely planning to be there for 2015.
with Tim Thou, founder of the Angkor Dance TroupeBesides introducing the phenomenal Tim Thou, the Phnom Penh Post article gives a good, brief overview of the Cambodian refugee and immigration history of Lowell, which is the setting for much of my novel involving the main character Emma and her Cambodian-American dancer friend Samnang. The city of Lowell is over 20 percent Cambodian, and . . . hooray! Lowell and Phnom Penh will now officially be sister cities; here is a Lowell Sun article about the Lowell delegation's trip to Phnom Penh and the newly signed sister city agreement. I look forward to spending more time in both cities.May 22, 2015
Poet to Poet--Interview of Margarita Engle
Recently I was invited by Sylvia Vardell to interview Margarita Engle for the Poet to Poet series on the Poetry for Children blog. This was such an honor--I love Sylvia's blog and often bookmark and share posts, plus I have long admired Margarita's verse novels.
The interview is titled "Poet to Poet: Holly Thompson Interviews Margarita Engle" and focuses on Margarita's beautiful forthcoming verse memoir Enchanted Air--Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, August 2015).
Read the full interview here on Poetry for Children.
And be sure to read Enchanted Air, as well as Margarita's many Cuba-set verse novels and picture books. These are perfect titles to add to your global kidlit reading lists.
The interview is titled "Poet to Poet: Holly Thompson Interviews Margarita Engle" and focuses on Margarita's beautiful forthcoming verse memoir Enchanted Air--Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, August 2015).
Read the full interview here on Poetry for Children.
And be sure to read Enchanted Air, as well as Margarita's many Cuba-set verse novels and picture books. These are perfect titles to add to your global kidlit reading lists.
April 30, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 30
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 30 In Chapter 44, Zena shares her poem “Hair” (p. 473) about her daughter’s hair that she recalls and longs to touch and feel.
Here is Zena's poem:
Hair
locks around a chubby fingerin her mouthshaken abouttangled and wildin my facewhen she’s in my armsor deep asleep on the pillowbeside me
trimmed with my sewing scissorsbraided with my fingerstoweled dry by my hands
brushed and combed dry or wetsalty with sweathow I missher hair
Prompt Day 30: Write a poem about something missed or longed for. More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 30 In Chapter 44, Zena shares her poem “Hair” (p. 473) about her daughter’s hair that she recalls and longs to touch and feel.Here is Zena's poem:
Hair
locks around a chubby fingerin her mouthshaken abouttangled and wildin my facewhen she’s in my armsor deep asleep on the pillowbeside me
trimmed with my sewing scissorsbraided with my fingerstoweled dry by my hands
brushed and combed dry or wetsalty with sweathow I missher hair
Prompt Day 30: Write a poem about something missed or longed for. More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 29, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 29
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 29In Chapter 44, Emma reads to Zena and her daughter “The Fist” by Derek Walcott (poets.org).
Prompt Day 29: Write a poem concerned with the pain of love.
More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 29In Chapter 44, Emma reads to Zena and her daughter “The Fist” by Derek Walcott (poets.org). Prompt Day 29: Write a poem concerned with the pain of love.
More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 28, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 28
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 28 In Chapter 44, Emma reads the poem “Patience” by Kay Ryan to Zena and her daughter (poets.org).
Prompt Day 28: Write a poem about some quality that is considered a virtue. More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 28 In Chapter 44, Emma reads the poem “Patience” by Kay Ryan to Zena and her daughter (poets.org). Prompt Day 28: Write a poem about some quality that is considered a virtue. More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 27, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 27
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 27Read all of the poems mentioned in Chapter 41 assigned by the poet at the care center's poetry workshop: “Enough” by Suzanne Buffam (poetryfoundation.org); “Running Away Together” by Maxine Kumin (poetryfoundation.org); “The Boundary” by Bei Dao (poetryfoundation.org).
Prompt Day 27: Just as Zena, Emma, Samnang and the others at the long-term care center's poetry workshop are assigned in the novel, write a poem about some sort of journey.
More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 27Read all of the poems mentioned in Chapter 41 assigned by the poet at the care center's poetry workshop: “Enough” by Suzanne Buffam (poetryfoundation.org); “Running Away Together” by Maxine Kumin (poetryfoundation.org); “The Boundary” by Bei Dao (poetryfoundation.org). Prompt Day 27: Just as Zena, Emma, Samnang and the others at the long-term care center's poetry workshop are assigned in the novel, write a poem about some sort of journey.
More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 26, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 26
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 26
In Chapter 41 poet in the workshop at the care center assigns the poem in translation “The Boundary” by Chinese poet Bei Dao, a.k.a. Zhen Zhenkai (poetryfoundation.org).
Prompt Day 26: Write a poem about a boundary, either actual or metaphorical.
More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 26 In Chapter 41 poet in the workshop at the care center assigns the poem in translation “The Boundary” by Chinese poet Bei Dao, a.k.a. Zhen Zhenkai (poetryfoundation.org).
Prompt Day 26: Write a poem about a boundary, either actual or metaphorical.
More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 25, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 25
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 25
In Chapter 41, the care center's poet assigns the poem “Running Away Together” by Maxine Kumin (poetryfoundation.org).
Prompt Day 25: Write a poem of fantasy about running away.
More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 25In Chapter 41, the care center's poet assigns the poem “Running Away Together” by Maxine Kumin (poetryfoundation.org).
Prompt Day 25: Write a poem of fantasy about running away.
More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 24, 2015
Bertha Repotting
Happy Arbor Day!
Today is a day to celebrate trees, and if you are in the Boston area it is a perfect time to visit to the Arnold Arboretum. Today they will celebrate with a Tree Mob, this one including a tree planting.
The Arboretum has deep connections to Japan, and last week's Tree Mob was a public repotting of an ancient dwarf potted plant, nicknamed Bertha, a hinoki cypress that was begun as a seedling in 1787 in Japan, and first arrived in the U.S. in 1913 in the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection that was later gifted to the Arboretum.
Last week, Bertha was still in the same pot she'd traveled in from Japan by sea to San Francisco then by train to Massachusetts over 100 years ago.
You can read the intriguing tale of this and other dwarf potted plants that were brought to the U.S. in early 1900s in the fascinating article "From Temple to Terrace" by Peter Del Tredici in the Aboretum's magazine Arnoldia.
Arnoldia Vol 64 No 2 2006 The Larz Anderson Bonsai CollectionLarz Anderson, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, bought the plants from the Yokohama Nursery Company for his Italianate home "Weld" in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1913 ( 大正２年).
Yokohama Nursery Company, from their catalogThe Yokohama Nursery Company, in business for over 120 years, is still active today, not far from Yokohama's Ishikawacho Station.
At the Arboretum last week on transplanting day, a sizeable crowd gathered to watch . . .
as Bertha was carefully extracted from the old pot . . .
then its root ball scraped and trimmed before being repotted in the new pot with akadama soil.
Unfortunately I had to leave before the venerable hinoki was placed in its new pot, but I shall seek it out on my next visit to the Arnold Arboretum's bonsai/dwarf potted plant collection.
In July this year, the picture book The Peace Tree from Hiroshima: The Little Bonsai with a Big Story by Sandra Moore, illustrated by Kazumi Wilds is due out from Tuttle Publishing. This book tells the tale of another dwarf potted plant that traveled from Japan to the U.S. (If you recognize the illustration style, that might be because Kazumi Wilds illustrated my picture book The Wakame Gatherers--yay, Kazumi!)
This is a perfect book to pre-order on Arbor Day after a stroll in the Arboretum among the magnolias. Enjoy!
Today is a day to celebrate trees, and if you are in the Boston area it is a perfect time to visit to the Arnold Arboretum. Today they will celebrate with a Tree Mob, this one including a tree planting.
The Arboretum has deep connections to Japan, and last week's Tree Mob was a public repotting of an ancient dwarf potted plant, nicknamed Bertha, a hinoki cypress that was begun as a seedling in 1787 in Japan, and first arrived in the U.S. in 1913 in the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection that was later gifted to the Arboretum.
Last week, Bertha was still in the same pot she'd traveled in from Japan by sea to San Francisco then by train to Massachusetts over 100 years ago.
You can read the intriguing tale of this and other dwarf potted plants that were brought to the U.S. in early 1900s in the fascinating article "From Temple to Terrace" by Peter Del Tredici in the Aboretum's magazine Arnoldia.
Arnoldia Vol 64 No 2 2006 The Larz Anderson Bonsai CollectionLarz Anderson, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, bought the plants from the Yokohama Nursery Company for his Italianate home "Weld" in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1913 ( 大正２年).
Yokohama Nursery Company, from their catalogThe Yokohama Nursery Company, in business for over 120 years, is still active today, not far from Yokohama's Ishikawacho Station.At the Arboretum last week on transplanting day, a sizeable crowd gathered to watch . . .
as Bertha was carefully extracted from the old pot . . .
then its root ball scraped and trimmed before being repotted in the new pot with akadama soil.
Unfortunately I had to leave before the venerable hinoki was placed in its new pot, but I shall seek it out on my next visit to the Arnold Arboretum's bonsai/dwarf potted plant collection.
In July this year, the picture book The Peace Tree from Hiroshima: The Little Bonsai with a Big Story by Sandra Moore, illustrated by Kazumi Wilds is due out from Tuttle Publishing. This book tells the tale of another dwarf potted plant that traveled from Japan to the U.S. (If you recognize the illustration style, that might be because Kazumi Wilds illustrated my picture book The Wakame Gatherers--yay, Kazumi!)
This is a perfect book to pre-order on Arbor Day after a stroll in the Arboretum among the magnolias. Enjoy!
