Buffy Silverman: It Takes a Thief

VBC17, Flickr Creative Commons

Oh my.  I may have a bit of a problem here. 

What is one to do when their contributing science sleuth is engaged in... thievery?

Scene from the 1959 French film, The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups)

Buffy Silverman is here with a lesson in *safe* snatching.

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When I speak to students about writing poetry, I share one of my favorite tricks: learning to be a word thief! (I explain the distinction between plagiarism and lifting words—I don’t encourage students to steal entire phrases or sentences!) When reading for inspiration, I keep a pad of paper near me and write down interesting words.  Then I try to use those words in my own writing.  My thieving is not limited to poetry--often when I’m reading a novel in bed I come across words that I think will improve a poem, article, or story that I’m working on. I jot them down on a scrap of paper, and hope that I can make sense of my notes in the morning.

There are a few “word banks” that I draw on over and over.  One of my favorites is In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming. My now 23-year old daughter ordered In the Tall, Tall Grass from a Scholastic flyer when she was in kindergarten.  When I first read this treasure trove, I knew that it was not going to stay on my daughter’s shelf for long (uh oh, more thieving…) Vivid verbs! Onomatopoeia! And the book features animals that are common in a child’s backyard—subjects I particularly enjoy writing about.

Here’s how the book begins:

In the tall, tall, grass…
crunch, munch, caterpillars lunch
dart, dip, hummingbirds sip
strum, drum, bees hum
crack, snap, wings flap
pull, tug, ants lug
slip, slide, snakes glide

I so admire the simplicity and brevity of this text.  In the first 14 pages of this 32-page picture book I count 29 words.  Eighteen of those words are verbs that portray specific actions that a reader can see and/or hear (three verbs for each of six animals.) I’ve borrowed this book’s verbs many times to describe the animals that they are paired with in this text, and to describe other animals. The sounds and specificity of these words lead me to think of other strong descriptions.  They put me in a frame of mind where I’m better able to find the right words to paint my subject.

Another poem that I regularly pilfer is Joyce Sidman’s “Welcome to the Night,” the opening poem of Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. Here are the first two stanzas:

Welcome to the Night

To all of you who crawl and creep,
who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep,
who wake at dusk and throw off sleep:
Welcome to the night.

To you who make the forest sing,
who dip and dodge on silent wing,
who flutter, hover, clasp, and cling:
Welcome to the night. 

I love the way this poem introduces the creatures that are featured in the book with their actions, and how it invites the reader to use the senses to explore the night. And of course, I love the words that describe the action! When I’ve read this poem to students and asked them to pick out a favorite word, their hands fly up.

What are your favorite verbs from these gems? Dip, dodge, hover, cling?  Sip, hum, slip, glide? Try making a list of the verbs and nouns in these two poems, or from other favorite poems and stories.  Then see where these words lead you—you’ll be using fine marble to sculpt your masterpiece!

Pietro Magni- The Reading Girl (1856, National Gallery)

Buffy Silverman is the author of more than 60 nonfiction books for children, winning awards from Science Books and Films, the Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College, and the Society of School Librarians International.  She's also written over 100 articles, stories, and poems published in popular children's magazines, poetry anthologies, and educational resources.

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Joyce Sidman, who Buffy graciously mentions in her post today, also happens to be our spotlight author this month.  Have you been pondering Joyce's deeper wisdom challenge? This week's daily ditties included poems by Sydney O'Neill, Loree Griffin Burns, and Jan Gars. Believe it or not, there's only one week left to send me yours! See you back here next Friday for the end-of-month wrap-up celebration.

Tara Smith is undoubtedly wrapped up in today's Poetry Friday roundup! Please join her at A Teaching Life for a listing of this week's poetry finds.