Poetry Friday - One Book for All

 

Carol Varsalona is "Bedecked in Autumn  HERE at her blog, Beyond Literacy Link!  Hers is our celebration of these autumn months, beginning tints, fully painted, now the goodbye. It's nearly time. Our leaves have had their heyday dancing around, some gymnasts, others ballet artists, floating oh, so gracefully down. They now lie quietly on my garden beds. Thanks, Carol, and to all those in Carol's new Gallery who shared their own bounty!

         As for bounty! Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I am certainly thankful for each of you! 

        The NAGC (gifted organization) was here in Denver this past weekend. Myra Garces-Bascal of Gathering Books was here and we had lunch together, met IN PERSON after about ten years of blogging together. It was a delight! What a pleasure to meet when you only know them online! Thanks to Myra for connecting!

Alen Ištoković, CC BY 3.0
 via Wikimedia Commons

          As I travel around in the city (at certain times), I see school buses full of kids, or empty because they've made it to school or home. Now, after reading Kat Apel's Bully on the Bus, I wonder if there is another child that can not wait to get off, because they, too, have bully problems.

          I've wanted to read Kat's book ever since my younger granddaughter started riding a bus to school this year. She's ten and has loved it. I'm glad for her. 

          But, Kat knows that is not always true for some, like the young boy Leroy in her book. Leroy loves school, being part of the "Superkids" in Mrs. Wilson's class. He looks forward to each day there, but NOT getting there via bus. It appears that this bus brings a varied group from a neighborhood that doesn't have a lot of kids because Leroy's bully is DJ, a high school girl. Her hair is often a different color but her attitude stays the same, nasty! From my adult perspective, it feels as if she's in a bad place, too. Picking on a young kid through insults, bad rhymes, and actually poking feels quite desperate for a high school kid. Older sister Ruby, fifth grade, tries to help but she's young, too. 

        There's lots of white space in this book as Kat makes her way through the story. She gives each part a title, i.e., a hint for readers of what's coming. Leroy hates riding, feels pretty helpless, but DJ has also threatened him if he tells. Reading the hate and the hurt builds:

                     On a Friday, Ruby and Leroy walk home, glad to have the weekend. They're playing with sticks, drawing a picture in the dirt. 

In "Sticks and Stones", Leroy says:

                           Dad says:

                           sticks and stones

                           may break my bones

                                            but words will never

                                            hurt me.'"

    A Little later:

                               "But it's not true,

                                 is it, Ruby."

     On that weekend, it's cupcake time, filled with all the fun Mom and Dad can create. Leroy and Ruby decorate and decorate and he makes one very special cupcake for Mrs. Wilson. Through these few pages, Kat manages to show lots of love in this family. We readers know it would help if Leroy would only tell! Ruby tries to help by pretending she is a bully and Leroy does say "Stop it now." and a few other shouting words.

       But, and yes, Kat changes the scene again on Monday. After Leroy tried for a ride with Mom to school, he's back on the bus with "Hunger"! All that's needed are these brief lines:

                             "Hey, Loser.

                     What did Mommy pack

                     for lunch today?"

      I know you can imagine what's next! The cupcake is ruined, Leroy's lunch and supplies are spilled to the bus floor, the bus driver gets angry, too. 

       There is more, and sad to write, the bumps continue: 

       Through Leroy fighting and losing to that "Bully on the Bus', Kat raises the tension until finally, there is one shout at home, 

                    "She's the bully on the bus."

                     I say and I feel

                     my words grow stronger.

                     "She picks on me and I don't like it".

      There is help to be found and I know things don't always work, but Leroy is given some tools to try along with support because he told. Kat shows how it can work, verse by verse! The layout of the verses show such great intention in the placement. It's not hard to see what Leroy feels in this part when he's speaking to Ruby. And the poetry shines, though sad to read.

                                            "Not Telling"

                                             Ruby wants me

                                             to tell

                                             but

                                             I

                                             say,

                                             "No.

                                             Don't

                                             tell."

                                             What will the bully

                                             do to me

                                             if I

                                             tell?

         Later in this part:

                                            I can't look at Ruby.

                                            I gaze past her

                                            into the distance and hear

                                            red-hot lava words whistling

                                                around like a steamed-up kettle

                                                inside my head.

                                          "... I'm gonna get you ... If you tell ... I'm gonna

                                     get you ... If you tell ... "

         It's not so easy to relay how effective a novel-in-verse with brief poems can be. Kat has managed to tell a story that ends well, giving some advice and support that kids can try when they feel helpless. I'm happy to recommend this book for teachers and parents, too, who might need a nudge to watch for signs from those kids they nurture who may need a boost. Thanks, Kat!

         There's a terrific article here about all Kat's verse novels! In a part of it, she says: "Bully on the Bus was such an exciting process – realising that the chapter book I’d written was really the verse novel I’d been trying to write. It was like an epiphany – and so rewarding, to uncover the verse, and then develop the heart and story more." Be sure to read the part about this book and then about all the others!