So Much to Learn A Reading A–Z Poetry Book Word Count: 893 POETRY So Much to Learn Written by Dina Anastasio Illustrated by Chris Baldwin Visit www.readinga-z.com for thousands of books and materials www.readinga-z.com So Much to Learn Written by Dina Anastasio Illustrated by Chris Baldwin So Much to Learn A Reading A–Z Poetry Book © 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company Written by Dina Anastasio Illustrated by Chris Baldwin All rights reserved www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com I Don’t Get It I don’t get it This is rough I’ll never understand this stuff I’ve had enough of this today I wish I could go out to play What’s the answer? I don’t know My brain is moving very slow If only I could take one look And understand what’s in this book My mother says when I was small I’d try to walk and then I’d fall And later when I learned to ride I’d fall no matter how I tried Table of Contents I Don’t Get It Question Marks??? But I kept on Yes, it was rough In time I understood that stuff I guess it’s true, I’ll get it when I try and try and try again Blue and Yellow New Words 10 Homework 12 History 14 Question Marks??? I wrote a story about a boy and his pig The boy wasn’t small The pig wasn’t big I wrote a sentence about the pig making cheeps Instead of a snore or an oink as he sleeps Now a pig that makes cheeps is a magical thing Think of the questions that cheeping pigs bring “Why you cheep?” the big boy might say “Are you dreaming that you were a bird for one day?” But that’s not the sentence I decided to write I kept thinking of what little pigs dream at night So, this is the sentence I made up and wrote “Perhaps small pigs baah when they dream they’re a goat.” Blue and Yellow Today I learned how a color is made I learned how to mix up a lovely green shade I discovered that yellow when added to blue Turns into a pleasant, agreeable hue At first I was baffled by why I would choose To add yellow paint to my small pots of blues But then I remembered that grasses and beans, And olives and turtles and hoses are green I ended the sentence with a period dot I did not use a question mark A question it was not If instead I had written, “Are you a crow?” Now that is a question, even if he’d croaked “NO!” These days I care more about what’s at the end Of each sentence or question in the message I send If I’m searching for answers, to learn and grow wise, I’d better use question marks, or I’ll get no replies I started by adding bits of yellow to blues I was not sure exactly how much yellow to use I was painting some grass in a small sunny park, But the green in my grass looked unusually dark So I painted some beans I painted a snake I painted a fern by the side of a lake Then I added more yellow and thought of the sun I stirred and I stirred and when I was done, The green in the pot wasn’t dark, it was light Then I painted my grass, and the shade was just right New Words My new teacher says that in order to grow There are more and more words that I’ll need to know “Learn one word each day,” is what he tells me “Or learn several more, perhaps 5, perhaps 3.” I said “Okay, I guess that I’ll try But will you explain? Will you please tell me why? What is the purpose of learning new words? Will it help when I’m swimming or speaking to birds?” So I guess I have learned it’s important and true That green comes from yellow that is mixed up with blue And now when I think that learning’s a pain, I remember those colors that lit up my brain 10 Homework I did my homework yesterday I finished it and then, I gave it to my teacher Now here it comes again I see no need for homework What good is it to me? Will it help me sail the world When I’m twenty-three? “Of course! There’s no doubt!” said my odd little teacher “Words mean a lot when you speak to a creature When describing a swim to a bird you can say, ‘A luminous tarpon descended today He brushed up my fibula and my tarsal bone too Then he slithered away without saying adieu.’ Or perhaps you would rather just yawn, shrug, and say, ‘Today I went swimming in Barnegat Bay.’” 11 Wait! Perhaps I should rethink Those words I said before Homework might just help me when I’m sailing toward the shore I’ll have to understand the stars, And navigate the fog I’ll have to figure out the miles, And write things in my log So if I’m going to sail the world, To wander and to roam, I’d better my homework now, Or I won’t make it home 12 History When I’m feeling bored with my history book, I think of the trip my great-grandmother took Her ship hit a storm She shivered and cried For more than a month she huddled inside 13 14 Then at last she arrived She was just 10 years old She was scared and alone She was thirsty and cold Some relatives met her and carried her home They gave her some food, some clothes, and a comb They lit a nice fire and taught her a song And that’s when this girl knew just where she belonged She’s an old lady now, and she’s in that house still She tells me her stories and I listen until It’s time to go back to my history book, And read about trips other great-grandmothers took 15 16 .. .So Much to Learn Written by Dina Anastasio Illustrated by Chris Baldwin So Much to Learn A Reading A–Z Poetry Book © 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company Written... sailing toward the shore I’ll have to understand the stars, And navigate the fog I’ll have to figure out the miles, And write things in my log So if I’m going to sail the world, To wander and to roam,... answers, to learn and grow wise, I’d better use question marks, or I’ll get no replies I started by adding bits of yellow to blues I was not sure exactly how much yellow to use I was painting some