Haikus!

Here's post two of two, about haikus.

Haikus are short poems with a few simple rules.

Haikus can only be three lines.
There must be 5 syllables in the first and last lines and 7 syllables in the second line.
Here is an example of a funny haiku:

Haikus are easy.
But sometimes they don't make sense.
Refrigerator.


Haikus don't have to rhyme, but they should be creative.

Here are a few samples of my haikus:

An old pond sits here.
A stone falls in the water.
It makes small ripples.


The new leaves are green.
The sun makes them translucent.
Rus'ling in the wind.


The apostrophe there lets the reader know that a syllable has been removed.  Haikus do not have to be about nature, but mine were inspired by leaves and a pond, as you can see.
Challenge time!  I want you, my readers, to write your OWN haikus!  Post them in the comments after this post.  Looking forward to reading them!
--SwimmerGirl

Limericks!

Whoops!  I didn't post yesterday!  To make up for it, I'm going to do two posts today.  This is the first one.

Have any of you ever written a limerick?  It's a type of poem that I particularly enjoy.  Limericks are usually silly or nonsensical in some way, but they don't have to be.  Here is an example of a well-known limerick:
A flea and a fly in the flue
Were trapped, so what could they do?
"Let us fly," said the flea.
"Let us flee," said the fly,
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.


The rhyme scheme is simple and easy to follow.  The first two lines must rhyme with the last line, and the third and fourth lines usually rhyme, but in this case, they don't.

Here are some limericks I wrote:

This skeleton is nothing but bone
That never talks, but will groan
He must run from a pup
Or it'll eat his bones up
And that skeleton will then be unknown.


There once was a pizza named Fred
"I won't get eaten," he said.
But a boy went *much*
And his sister went *crunch*
To two children poor Fred had been fed.


Now, my readers, I challenge you!  I want to see your limericks!  Post them in the comments and I'll read them.  Looking forward to some funny poems!

--SwimmerGirl

The Anybodies

One book that I could read over and over again is "The Anybodies" by N. E. Bode.  It's about a girl named Fern who is strikingly different from her family.  She has known this all her life, but it only really sets in when a mysterious man who calls himself The Bone arrives at her door.  He claims to have mistakenly taken her parents' child, and in truth, the boy looks more like her parents, and she looks more like The Bone.  Once home, Fern is taught how to become an Anybody, a person who can change their looks to become anyone or anything.  She is quickly wrapped up in a world of magic and mysteries, but can she find her way out?
I really like this book because the author actually interacts with the reader.  They ask the reader questions and talk to them as if they were there.  Also, the imagery used in this book is fantastic, with illustrations scattered here and there among the pages.  I would recommend this book to anybody!  :)

Keep reading!
--SwimmerGirl

Teen Ink

Hello everyone!
This post is not actually a review, but it's about one of my favorite websites.  It's called Teen Ink.  It's a fantastic website where you can post your own artwork, poetry, stories and more.  Once they're on this site, anyone can read then, and they can rate your art and write reviews on it.  I have a few poems there myself!  My username for that website is StarGazer453.  Feel free to comment and review my stuff!

Keep reading!
--SwimmerGirl

Vacation!

Hey everyone!  It's school vacation week for me.  What a relief!

Just finished a book called "ttyl" (for those who aren't leetspeek-savvy, that's "Talk To You Later") by Lauren Myracle.  The story is told through the instant messages of three freshmen friends: Angela, Zoe, and Maddie.  Their IMs are funny, witty, and oh-so-true.  The conflicts are numerous and scattered throughout the book, and each is resolved in its own time.  The three friends are very different: Zoe is quiet and shy, Maddie is tough on the outside and the "bad girl" of the group, and Angela is crazy and fun.  Deep down, however, they are all fun-loving, happy teenagers.  I would recommend this book to young girls in their early teens, as it was a bit easy for me.

Keep reading!
--SwimmerGirl

Little Brother

Hello again!  I recently went to the library, so expect a lot more posts!

I'm reading a novel called "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow.  It's a futuristic story about a boy named Marcus who is a hacker.  He and his group of friends play a game called Harajuku Fun Madness, which involves both online and real-life playing.  While searching for a clue, the friends are caught in a terrorist attack and Darryl, Marcus' best friend, is badly hurt.  They frantically search for help, but end up captured by the Department of Homeland Security, where they are questioned and forced to reveal information.  Marcus, angered at the way he was treated (and the fact that Darryl was not released), strikes back, organizing groups of teenagers and twenty-year-olds who also hate the DHS. This story was a tale of how one boy fights for his freedom and rights.  I thought it was a good book, because it told the story realistically, and stayed in the viewpoint of a teenager.  It outlined the fact that everyone has rights, and they cannot be taken away.  This book is for older kids, maybe in their mid to late teens and up.  I enjoyed it and I hope you will too!

Keep reading!
--SwimemrGirl

Ice Drift

This book is called "Ice Drift" by Theodore Taylor.  It's about two Inuit boys and their dog who are hunting seals to feed their family.  Unfortunately, the ice is thin, and a large chunk breaks off, carrying the two brothers, Alika and Sulu, with it as it drifts.  Alika, the elder by four years, is able to hunt and sustain himself and his brother.  Sulu, a mere ten, is unable to do much of anything.  Alika must hunt enough seals for them to survive, because if he can't, there could be dire consequences....
I liked this book because it was an adventure story.  It described how the boys survived on the ice floe, and the facts in between chapters were interesting.  Also, the author used many Inuit words throughout the novel, and provided a helpful pronunciation guide in the back.  However, this book was a little too easy for me.  I would recommend this book to slightly younger children.

Keep reading!
-SwimmerGirl