Posted
on September 8, 2013
...and
International Literacy Day!
This
combination of events cannot be a coincidence, can it? Obviously, we
want to make sure people can read SO THAT they can read the fun and
funny poems written by Jack Prelutsky!
Actually,
International Literacy Day is a serious holiday dedicated to raising
awareness of the importance of teaching reading, writing, and other
literacies around the world, to kids and adults, in order to help
people gain autonomy – which means the ability to take care of
themselves, to learn what they need to know, self-empowerment,
independence.
According
to UNESCO, this year's theme for the day is “Literacies of the 21st
Century.”
Now
for fun and funny poems!
If
you check out Jack Prelutsky's website, you will hear squashy,
splatty sounds, you will see crazy bright pictures, and you can
read poems such as “Ballad of a Boneless Chicken” and “It's
Raining Pigs and Noodles.” If you want to experience my personal
favorite, “Bleezer's Ice Cream,” you have to click “About
Jack,” “Stop Juggling,” “Jack's Music,” and “Play.”
(Wouldn't you love to try Chocolate Chop Suey Cluster ice cream? And
how about Tuna Taco Baked Potato ice cream? Yum!)
Jack
Prelutsky was born in Brooklyn, New York, on this date in 1940. He
seemed unlikely to succeed as an author. He claims he was a skinny
kid with a big mouth, which was a bad combination, and he was quite poor. He hated school, and he particularly hated poetry. He finally
got happy when he was able to go to The High School of Music and Art,
where he trained his singing voice and performed in musicals. Still,
he went on to flunk English classes in college several times before
dropping out of college.
Prelutsky
worked odd jobs but sang in coffeehouses, where he met famed musician
Bob Dylan. The two became friends. (Prelutsky apparently met him when Dylan was becoming
known but wasn't yet huge.)
Prelutsky
loved drawing imaginary animals. A friend of his encouraged him to
send his creative artwork to a children's publisher...so at age 24
Prelutsky worked hard on some drawings. After six months he was
finally ready to send his beloved pictures off to a publisher. But
Prelutsky decided at the last minute to send some accompanying poems.
He quickly thought up some rhymes, sent out the artwork, and crossed
his fingers, hoping to hear back.
He
heard back! And it was a “yes”! People wanted to publish his
work!
But
it wasn't the pictures that Prelutsky had poured time and effort on
that the publishers wanted. It was those last-minute poems!
The
rest, as they say, is history. Jack Prelutsky has written more than
50 poetry collections. And he makes music to accompany some of his
poems, performs for kids by reading aloud and sometimes singing his
poems, sometimes while he plays guitar. (Years ago, my kids and I got
to see him perform. Loved it!)
Also
on this date:
Check
out my Pinterest pages on September
holidays, September
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in September.
And
here are my Pinterest pages on October
holidays, October
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in October.
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