Wet Cement

Who says words need to be concrete? This collection shapes poems in surprising and delightful ways. Concrete poetry is a perennially popular poetic form because they are fun to look at. But by using the arrangement of the words on the page to convey the meaning of the poem, concrete or shape poems are also easy to write! From the author of the incredibly inventive Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word comes another clever collection that shows kids how to look at words and poetry in a whole new way.

Children are like wet cement-moldable and impressionable. In this best-selling book, Anne Ortlund shows parents how to practice verbal affirmation, a simple yet powerful technique for raising children to be secure, loving adults. She gives specific suggestions for each stage of childhood, from infancy to the teenage years and beyond.Sprinkled with stories of Anne's own childhood and parenting experiences. Won the 1982 Christy Award as Best Marriage/Family Book of the Year.

Parents, teachers, and administrators are still asking the question that a young mother asked me over 20 years ago. "I have to go back to work," she said as she interviewed me over the telephone, ..".and I don't even know what questions I should be asking you!" That young mother broke down in tears as the full importance of her responsibility hit home. For those of us in the field, the impact may not be as personal, but the responsibility is every bit as great. Stepping in Wet Cement is a guidebook. It tells parents and practitioners what is important for young children, why those things are important, and what parents can do at home to maximize their child's learning potential.

Orphaned siblings create a macabre secret world for themselves in this “irresistibly readable” novel by the New York Times-bestselling author (The New York Review of Books). This “powerful and disconcerting” novel by the Booker Prize-winning author of The Children Act and Atonement (The Daily Telegraph) tells the story of a dying family who live in a dying part of the city. A father of four children decides, in an effort to make his garden easier to control, to pave it over. In the process, he has a heart attack and dies, leaving the cement garden unfinished and the children to the care of their mother. Soon after, the mother too dies and the children, fearful of being separated by social services, decide to cover up their parents’ deaths: they bury their mother in the cement garden. The story is told from the point of view of Jack, one of the sons, who is entering adolescence with all of its attendant curiosity and appetites. Julie, the eldest, is almost a grown woman. Sue is rather bookish and observes all that goes on around her. And Tom is the youngest and the baby of the lot. The children seem to manage in this perverse setting rather well—until Julie brings home a boyfriend who threatens their secret by asking too many questions. “[A] beautiful but disturbing novel.”—The AV Club “McEwan’s evocative detail and perfect British prose lend a genteel decorum to the death and decay that surround the family.”—The New Yorker

Offers a collection of poetry for young readers from numerous visual poets, including Maureen W. Armour and John Hollander.

Is that a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a poem! Concrete poems are shaped like their subjects. They can look like objects, animals, or even people. You won't find many straight lines here! Award-winning author Brian P. Cleary explains how concrete poems work—and uses them to create all sorts of wild wordplay. Ode to a Commode is packed with mind-bending poems to make you puzzle and ponder. And when you've finished reading, you can try your hand at writing your own concrete poems!