Holly Thompson's Blog, page 19
April 23, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 24
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 24In Chapter 41, at the long-term care center where Emma and Samnang volunteer, the poet who leads the poetry workshop assigns participants to read the poem “Enough” by Suzanne Buffam (poetryfoundation.org).
Prompt Day 24: Write a poem titled “Enough,” in which “enough” implies either exasperation or adequacy.
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 24In Chapter 41, at the long-term care center where Emma and Samnang volunteer, the poet who leads the poetry workshop assigns participants to read the poem “Enough” by Suzanne Buffam (poetryfoundation.org).Prompt Day 24: Write a poem titled “Enough,” in which “enough” implies either exasperation or adequacy.
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 23
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 23
In Chapter 41, at the writing workshop, Cambodian-American Samnang reads aloud his prose poem “Coins” (p. 437). The poem is in three stanzas.
Here are the first two stanzas of Samnang's poem:
Coins
My grandmother goes to a friend’s house for coining. The copper coin is rubbed over her back. Red lines appear, swell and sting. The rubbing makes friction. The friction makes heat. The heat battles the cold inside. So she says in Khmer to me.
Coins drop into a jar. Coins are collected and saved. Coins are counted and donated. Coins become cash. Cash becomes a chance for a kid to learn to dance.
Prompt Day 23: Write a poem about a traditional custom. Or write a poem about an object depicted in three situations.
More prompts from The Language Inside The 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 23In Chapter 41, at the writing workshop, Cambodian-American Samnang reads aloud his prose poem “Coins” (p. 437). The poem is in three stanzas.
Here are the first two stanzas of Samnang's poem:
Coins
My grandmother goes to a friend’s house for coining. The copper coin is rubbed over her back. Red lines appear, swell and sting. The rubbing makes friction. The friction makes heat. The heat battles the cold inside. So she says in Khmer to me.
Coins drop into a jar. Coins are collected and saved. Coins are counted and donated. Coins become cash. Cash becomes a chance for a kid to learn to dance.
Prompt Day 23: Write a poem about a traditional custom. Or write a poem about an object depicted in three situations.
More prompts from The Language Inside The 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 22, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 22
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 22 In Chapter 41, Emma, who is bilingual in Japanese and English and fears the loss of Japanese language skills while she is in the U.S., reads aloud her poem “Lonely Is” (p. 435).
The poem begins:
Lonely Is
when the language outsideisn’t the language insideand words are made of just 26 lettersnot parts that that tell stories like sun over birth for star 星or four people under a roof for umbrella 傘
or person and heavy and strength for work 働
Prompt Day 22: Write a poem that begins with an emotion or feeling plus “is,” such as “Frustration Is.” Avoid clichés. 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 22 In Chapter 41, Emma, who is bilingual in Japanese and English and fears the loss of Japanese language skills while she is in the U.S., reads aloud her poem “Lonely Is” (p. 435). The poem begins:
Lonely Is
when the language outsideisn’t the language insideand words are made of just 26 lettersnot parts that that tell stories like sun over birth for star 星or four people under a roof for umbrella 傘
or person and heavy and strength for work 働
Prompt Day 22: Write a poem that begins with an emotion or feeling plus “is,” such as “Frustration Is.” Avoid clichés. 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 21, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 21
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 21 In Chapter 41, at a poetry workshop at the longterm care center, Zena who lost use of her arms and legs after a brainstem stroke, shares her poem “As a Mermaid” (p. 433), via Emma,
Zena's poem begins:
As a Mermaid
wearing the tailI can swimnot walk but good enough
wearing the tailI can repelmean nursesand get away
Prompt Day 21: Write a poem on the theme of transformation, masks or costumes. 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 21 In Chapter 41, at a poetry workshop at the longterm care center, Zena who lost use of her arms and legs after a brainstem stroke, shares her poem “As a Mermaid” (p. 433), via Emma, Zena's poem begins:
As a Mermaid
wearing the tailI can swimnot walk but good enough
wearing the tailI can repelmean nursesand get away
Prompt Day 21: Write a poem on the theme of transformation, masks or costumes. 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 20, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 20
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 20
In Chapter 41, Emma tells the reader that Serey, an accomplished dancer, reads an ode poem to her kben (p. 432), an important wrap-around cloth used in classical Cambodian dance.
Prompt Day 20: Read some odes by Gary Soto and Pablo Neruda and write your own ode to an everyday object or an object key to your accomplishments.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 20 In Chapter 41, Emma tells the reader that Serey, an accomplished dancer, reads an ode poem to her kben (p. 432), an important wrap-around cloth used in classical Cambodian dance.
Prompt Day 20: Read some odes by Gary Soto and Pablo Neruda and write your own ode to an everyday object or an object key to your accomplishments.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 19, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 19
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 19
In Chapter 39 Emma reads to Zena from the long poem “Litany for a Hidden Apsara” by Cambodian-born interdisciplinary artist Anida Yoeu Ali (atomicshogun.com/writing.htm) founder of Studio Revolt. Here is an excerpt of her performance of Living Memory/Living Absence, an exploration of memory and exile.
Anida was recently nominated for a Sovereign Asian Arts Prize and here is a video about one of her art projects:
Prompt Day 19: Write a poem of repetitive chant. Consider focusing on a theme of human rights, children of a certain place, or your personal identity.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 19 In Chapter 39 Emma reads to Zena from the long poem “Litany for a Hidden Apsara” by Cambodian-born interdisciplinary artist Anida Yoeu Ali (atomicshogun.com/writing.htm) founder of Studio Revolt. Here is an excerpt of her performance of Living Memory/Living Absence, an exploration of memory and exile.
Anida was recently nominated for a Sovereign Asian Arts Prize and here is a video about one of her art projects:
Prompt Day 19: Write a poem of repetitive chant. Consider focusing on a theme of human rights, children of a certain place, or your personal identity.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 18, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 18
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 18
In Chapter 36 Emma writes the poem “Kamakura Buddha with Leap Sok” (p. 380). Emma has been raised in Japan and each year her family tradition was to take a photo on her birthday before the Great Buddha. She has visited the Cambodian refugee elder Leap Sok on the day she writes this poem. She is thinking of Buddha as envisioned and revered in both cultures.
Prompt Day 18: Write a poem about a holiday ritual or a poem about seeing something through another person’s eyes.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 18 In Chapter 36 Emma writes the poem “Kamakura Buddha with Leap Sok” (p. 380). Emma has been raised in Japan and each year her family tradition was to take a photo on her birthday before the Great Buddha. She has visited the Cambodian refugee elder Leap Sok on the day she writes this poem. She is thinking of Buddha as envisioned and revered in both cultures.
Prompt Day 18: Write a poem about a holiday ritual or a poem about seeing something through another person’s eyes.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 17, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 17
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 17 In Chapter 35, Emma makes a rather wistful list poem about the passage of time in her worlds near and far as she thinks of Japan, her mother's mastectomy in the U.S., and the upheaval in her life while considering time's effect on her family (p. 367).
Emma's poem begins
in a year the snow cap grows to a full skirt then recedes a breast disappears the cat grows fatter kanji go fainter temple bells gong a father shifts jobs a boy loses language
Prompt Day 17: Write a similar poem titled “In a Year” or “In a Month” or “In a Second” about time, place, change and emotion. 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 17 In Chapter 35, Emma makes a rather wistful list poem about the passage of time in her worlds near and far as she thinks of Japan, her mother's mastectomy in the U.S., and the upheaval in her life while considering time's effect on her family (p. 367). Emma's poem begins
in a year the snow cap grows to a full skirt then recedes a breast disappears the cat grows fatter kanji go fainter temple bells gong a father shifts jobs a boy loses language
Prompt Day 17: Write a similar poem titled “In a Year” or “In a Month” or “In a Second” about time, place, change and emotion. 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 16, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 16
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 16 In Chapter 33, Zena composes a poem about her stroke (p. 336), for which Emma suggests the title “Beached.”
Zena's poem begins as follows:
my stroke beached me like a whale on hot sandcome home! my daughter called and calledbut I couldn’t answer and finally she swam away
Prompt Day 16: Write a poem portraying some kind of loss or other strong emotion through simile and/or metaphor.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 16 In Chapter 33, Zena composes a poem about her stroke (p. 336), for which Emma suggests the title “Beached.” Zena's poem begins as follows:
my stroke beached me like a whale on hot sandcome home! my daughter called and calledbut I couldn’t answer and finally she swam away
Prompt Day 16: Write a poem portraying some kind of loss or other strong emotion through simile and/or metaphor.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 15, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 15
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 15
In Chapter 33 Emma reads to Zena the poem “Making a Fist” by Naomi Shihab Nye (poets.org; poetryfoundation.org)
Prompt Day 15: Write a narrative poem about a memory that takes on larger significance with time.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 15 In Chapter 33 Emma reads to Zena the poem “Making a Fist” by Naomi Shihab Nye (poets.org; poetryfoundation.org)
Prompt Day 15: Write a narrative poem about a memory that takes on larger significance with time.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
