Hello Book Bums families!
You know that here at Book Bums we love words. This week in the newsletter we are exploring words in song lyrics (especially lyrics we heard wrong), poetry, movies, and of course, books. We hope you enjoy and learn some new words along the way.
"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."
-author Henry James
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Word of the Week
acquire (uh-kwih-er) verb/action word - to get as one's own, to learn or develop a skill or habit
Since our brains our so elastic when we are young, we acquire skills like speaking a language or playing a musical instrument more easily.
Literary Calendar
J• July 22 is the birthday of author S.E. Hinton.
• She is most famous for her novel The Outsiders which she wrote while she was in high school!
• Hinton's work shaped the genre of YA literature.
• Learn more about her and explore her work at her website
From our Bookshelves
Six Dots, A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant, is about a bright young inventor whose impact today can be observed all around us. There’s so much to love about this beautiful picture book. The bold Braille alphabet chart, the French pronunciation guide, and the book’s back matter make this a treasure trove of fascinating information for kids and adults alike. The author crafts the story from a delightful first-person perspective, uses rich vocabulary, and conveys a community’s love and support for a bright, blind boy who would one day make it possible for the blind to read and write.
Tips for Families (and Teachers)
Your kids might enjoy observing and experimenting with Braille, the writing system for the blind. They will be amazed to learn that Louis Braille was only about 11 years old when he began creating his six-dot system, with dots punched into cardboard, to represent text. When young Braille shared his system, the students in his school quickly accepted it; for they could use their sense of touch to distinguish one letter from another. It wasn’t until a couple of years after Braille’s death, however, that his writing system spread throughout the world.
Each letter is made using one to five dots on a frame of six dots, total—three dots high and two across.
You can share the code with some kids you adore and challenge them to write their names—using Braille of course! You can print the code and have your kids add dots of glue, dabs of nail polish, or even tiny gemstones to make the letter representations three dimensional.
Tip: Print multiple copies, cut the individual letters out, then glue them on another paper to form words your kids are interested in seeing/feeling.
I love this idea of using tennis balls in a six-muffin muffin tin to make the Braille alphabet! Challenge your kids to build letters with tennis balls.
Tips for Readers and Writers
Have you ever heard a word, grown curious about it, and then (without being told to!) looked up the meaning in a dictionary—whether hardcopy or digital?
This is something we need to equip and inspire children to do.
A curiosity about words can begin most anywhere.
I was listening to my “My Jams” playlist the other day. I was a kid in the 70’s, so I’ve got some great tunes there. One gorgeous day, I was tooling around in my Jeep, and “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band came on. There’s a line that says, “‘Cause I speak of the pompitous of love.”
I did it. I looked up pompitous.
(nonce word) One who is pompous or splendid. Pomp, ostentatiousness,
or spectacle.
Then I looked up nonce word.
1. (of a word or expression) coined for or used on one occasion.
"a nonce usage"
I acted on a little curiosity, and now I’ve got a couple of new words under my belt.
You can promote a curiosity about words with kids, too. I remember when Disney’s Frozen was all the rage for children everywhere, and the word fractals made its way into pop culture.
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
1. a curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical
character as the whole. Fractals are useful in modeling structures (such
as eroded coastlines or snowflakes) in which similar patterns recur at
progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic
phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid turbulence, and galaxy
formation.
A while ago, I mentioned that kids who love music can use lyrics videos to promote literacy. Think how powerful it could be to look up a particular lyric. Just jot the word and a quick, accessible definition, and then post it somewhere for frequent review. Simple but powerful.
Practical Grammar
Is it instantly or instantaneously?
Instantly means “at once” or “immediately,” while instantaneously means that there is no perceptible delay between things happening; they’re happening virtually at the same time.
It is said that careful writers keep these words separate.
Do you use these words interchangeably, do you use one and not the other, or are you a careful writer who sees a distinction between the two?
Have you become better acquainted with some words this week in the newsletter? We hope so!
Pause for Poetry
Words For It
by Julie Cameron
I wish I could take language
And fold it like cool, moist rags.
I would lay words on your forehead.
I would wrap words on your wrists.
“There, there,” my words would say–
Or something better.
I would murmur,
“Hush” and “Shh, shhh, it’s all right.”
I would ask them to hold you all night.
I wish I could take language
And daub and soothe and cool
Where fever blisters and burns,
Where fever turns yourself against you.
I wish I could take language
And heal the words that were the wounds
You have no names for.
Just for Fun
I was talking to a friend about how impressed I was that Styx had a line in “Lady” that used the word abate. The thing is . . . it doesn’t. Here’s what it says:
Lady, when you're with me I'm smiling
Give me all your love
Your hands build me up when I'm sinking
Just touch me and my troubles all fade
Ah! Such a missed opportunity! . . . my troubles abate would have been so much better!
1. (of something perceived as hostile, threatening, or negative) become
less intense or widespread.
It actually says, “ . . .kicking your can all over the place.” Whew!
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