America SCORES Hosts National Poetry Slam

National Poetry SLAM to be Held at the New York Stock Exchange

Each spring America SCORES celebrates the achievements of students across the country with a National Poetry Slam. Two student-poets from each of America SCORES' fifteen affiliate cities will be selected from among 6,000 America SCORES kids to perform their original poetry at the New York Stock Exchange on April 20 in front of an audience of 300 attendees.

America SCORES is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to bring soccer and literacy to kids in urban communities across the country. Resources provided by America SCORES include: Soccer and Creative Writing Curricula, Professional Development, Technical Assistance, National Publications by kids and for kids, and Challenge Grants.

You can read poems written by last year's contestants and learn more about America SCORES and the National Poetry Slam on the America SCORES website.

Author and Illustrator Blair Lent Has Died

Caldecott Medal Winner Blair Lent Dies

Children’s book lovers around the world are mourning the loss of children’s book author and award-winning artist Blair Lent, who died recently at age 79 in Medford, Massachusetts of pneumonia.

Lent authored and illustrated a number of books, including Pistachio, Bayberry Bluff, Molasses Flood, and the more recent Ruby and Fred. He created his illustrations using a diverse range of techniques and media, such as cardboard cutout prints, colored pencils, and acrylic paints. Lent was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1973 for his illustrations in The Funny Little Woman, a Japanese folktale retold by Arlene Mosel.

Read more about Lent’s accomplishments online in The New York Times and School Library Journal.

London Snow

Stoke Mandeville Station

The only "News" in England is the country (but mainly London) has ground to a halt due to - shock, horror - snowfalls in winter!

Boris Johnson said: "I think we've done pretty well in what are absolutely extraordinary circumstances. There's no doubt about it, this is the right kind of snow, it's just the wrong kind of quantities. My message to the heavens is: 'You've put on a fantastic display of snow power but that is probably quite enough'." – Good Ol’ Boris, a First Rate Mind as they say in Oxford!

THE LAND now known as St James’s Park was acquired by King Henry VIII in 1532 as a game park for hunting, but has evolved over 4 centuries of Royal patronage into an elegant open space spanning 23 hectares (58 acres) with a lake harbouring ducks, geese and pelicans - the latter introduced by a Russian Ambassador in 1664.
With its royal, political and literary associations, St James’s Park is considered by many to be the most impressive of all the Royal Parks in London, yet the landscape remains largely unchanged to that which was designed by the architect John Nash in the 1820s.


Buckingham Palace


Frozen Lake with Buckingham Palace in the background


London Eye

The Park is central to some of London’s most important monuments including Buckingham Palace, Horseguard’s Parade, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey which is but a short walk away. The Palace of St James, built in the 1530s, and still used as a Royal Residence also borders the park on the western side.




Duck Island


Mr & Mrs Pelican

Old Queen Street and adjacent Queen Anne’s Gate are set in the Birdcage Walk Conservation Area and contain some of London’s most striking William and Mary, Queen Anne and Georgian architecture. Past residents include peers, industrialists and philosophers, amongst whom are Lords Colchester, Guernsey, Dartmouth and Derby: Lords Grey, North and Palmerston (19th C. Prime Ministers): painters Joshua Reynolds and Jonathan Richardson: industrialists and the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.


Queen Anne’s Gate

“To stumble upon this most exquisite of streets...is one of London’s best architectural surprises...also about the only place where you will see London houses of the 18th century in near-mint condition.”






London Snow

by Robert Bridges

When men were all asleep the snow came flying,
In large white flakes falling on the city brown,
Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying,
Hushing the latest traffic of the drowsy town;
Deadening, muffling, stifling its murmurs failing;
Lazily and incessantly floating down and down:
Silently sifting and veiling road, roof and railing;
Hiding difference, making unevenness even,
Into angles and crevices softly drifting and sailing.
All night it fell, and when full inches seven
It lay in the depth of its uncompacted lightness,
The clouds blew off from a high and frosty heaven;
And all woke earlier for the unaccustomed brightness
Of the winter dawning, the strange unheavenly glare:
The eye marvelled - marvelled at the dazzling whiteness;





The ear hearkened to the stillness of the solemn air;
No sound of wheel rumbling nor of foot falling,
And the busy morning cries came thin and spare.
Then boys I heard, as they went to school, calling,
They gathered up the crystal manna to freeze
Their tongues with tasting, their hands with snowballing;
Or rioted in a drift, plunging up to the knees;
Or peering up from under the white-mossed wonder!'
'O look at the trees!' they cried, 'O look at the trees!'
With lessened load a few carts creak and blunder,
Following along the white deserted way,
A country company long dispersed asunder:



When now already the sun, in pale display
Standing by Paul's high dome, spread forth below
His sparkling beams, and awoke the stir of the day.
For now doors open, and war is waged with the snow;
And trains of sombre men, past tale of number,
Tread long brown paths, as toward their toil they go:
But even for them awhile no cares encumber
Their minds diverted; the daily word is unspoken,
The daily thoughts of labour and sorrow slumber
At the sight of the beauty that greets them, for the charm they have broken.

London Snow

Stoke Mandeville Station

The only "News" in England is the country (but mainly London) has ground to a halt due to - shock, horror - snowfalls in winter!

Boris Johnson said: "I think we've done pretty well in what are absolutely extraordinary circumstances. There's no doubt about it, this is the right kind of snow, it's just the wrong kind of quantities. My message to the heavens is: 'You've put on a fantastic display of snow power but that is probably quite enough'." – Good Ol’ Boris, a First Rate Mind as they say in Oxford!

THE LAND now known as St James’s Park was acquired by King Henry VIII in 1532 as a game park for hunting, but has evolved over 4 centuries of Royal patronage into an elegant open space spanning 23 hectares (58 acres) with a lake harbouring ducks, geese and pelicans - the latter introduced by a Russian Ambassador in 1664.
With its royal, political and literary associations, St James’s Park is considered by many to be the most impressive of all the Royal Parks in London, yet the landscape remains largely unchanged to that which was designed by the architect John Nash in the 1820s.


Buckingham Palace


Frozen Lake with Buckingham Palace in the background


London Eye

The Park is central to some of London’s most important monuments including Buckingham Palace, Horseguard’s Parade, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey which is but a short walk away. The Palace of St James, built in the 1530s, and still used as a Royal Residence also borders the park on the western side.




Duck Island


Mr & Mrs Pelican

Old Queen Street and adjacent Queen Anne’s Gate are set in the Birdcage Walk Conservation Area and contain some of London’s most striking William and Mary, Queen Anne and Georgian architecture. Past residents include peers, industrialists and philosophers, amongst whom are Lords Colchester, Guernsey, Dartmouth and Derby: Lords Grey, North and Palmerston (19th C. Prime Ministers): painters Joshua Reynolds and Jonathan Richardson: industrialists and the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.


Queen Anne’s Gate

“To stumble upon this most exquisite of streets...is one of London’s best architectural surprises...also about the only place where you will see London houses of the 18th century in near-mint condition.”






London Snow

by Robert Bridges

When men were all asleep the snow came flying,
In large white flakes falling on the city brown,
Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying,
Hushing the latest traffic of the drowsy town;
Deadening, muffling, stifling its murmurs failing;
Lazily and incessantly floating down and down:
Silently sifting and veiling road, roof and railing;
Hiding difference, making unevenness even,
Into angles and crevices softly drifting and sailing.
All night it fell, and when full inches seven
It lay in the depth of its uncompacted lightness,
The clouds blew off from a high and frosty heaven;
And all woke earlier for the unaccustomed brightness
Of the winter dawning, the strange unheavenly glare:
The eye marvelled - marvelled at the dazzling whiteness;





The ear hearkened to the stillness of the solemn air;
No sound of wheel rumbling nor of foot falling,
And the busy morning cries came thin and spare.
Then boys I heard, as they went to school, calling,
They gathered up the crystal manna to freeze
Their tongues with tasting, their hands with snowballing;
Or rioted in a drift, plunging up to the knees;
Or peering up from under the white-mossed wonder!'
'O look at the trees!' they cried, 'O look at the trees!'
With lessened load a few carts creak and blunder,
Following along the white deserted way,
A country company long dispersed asunder:



When now already the sun, in pale display
Standing by Paul's high dome, spread forth below
His sparkling beams, and awoke the stir of the day.
For now doors open, and war is waged with the snow;
And trains of sombre men, past tale of number,
Tread long brown paths, as toward their toil they go:
But even for them awhile no cares encumber
Their minds diverted; the daily word is unspoken,
The daily thoughts of labour and sorrow slumber
At the sight of the beauty that greets them, for the charm they have broken.

Grace Lin Initiates Monthly Art Auction to Benefit FCB

Original Paintings Auctioned to Support the Foundation of Children’s Books

In search of a creative means of "giving back to schools and the community," children’s book author and illustrator Grace Lin has initiated a monthly art auction of her own paintings to benefit the Foundation of Children's Books. The vibrantly colored original paintings feature Chinese proverbs and are approximately 5 inches square. You can view her paintings and learn more about the auction on her blog at “Small Graces: A Painting a Month for the FCB.” February's painting appears here. You can help assist in this literacy cause by bidding on one of Grace's paintings on eBay!

The Foundation of Children's Books is a nonprofit, educational organization located in Boston. The mission of FCB is to "help teachers, librarians, and parents select and use quality children's literature in order to instill in children the joy of reading as a prerequisite for literacy and lifelong learning."

Fair Weather Britain

Britain ground to a halt this morning as the transport systems lack of operational competence and depth was once again cruelly exposed. Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We are doing everything in our power to ensure services, road, rail and airports are open as quickly as possible, and we are continuing to monitor this throughout the day." No doubt these words will ring as true as his meaningless “British Jobs for British workers” boast. The Highways Agency said the organisation was well prepared to deal with snowfall over roads after criticism over its reaction to severe weather in 2003 but for the long suffering commuters this morning there was no sign that lessons have been learnt and all these organisations which insist on fining commuters in cash if they don’t have the correct fare were not offering them cash refunds for this transport disaster.

LONDON was overwhelmed by six inches of snow today with the threat of at least as much again to come in the next 24 hours. Forecasters warned that the big freeze could last until the weekend. Every bus was withdrawn from service for the first time in living memory because of fears for passenger safety - not even the Blitz stopped the capital's buses running.


Snow in Chiswick

All but two Tube lines were either totally or partially suspended. Many mainline trains in and out of the capital were cancelled with Southeastern and Southern services completely shut. Roads were either impassable or treacherous after the heaviest London snowfall in 18 years.

Dozens of motorists on the M25 gave up trying to drive in treacherous conditions and stayed in their cars on the hard shoulder. The AA warned motorists they risked hypothermia if their cars broke down. Both runways at Heathrow airport were closed and passengers were advised to check with their airline before leaving for the airport.


Snow White City

A spokesman for the worst World Class airport operator BAA (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/up-up-and-away-with-baa-no-2.html)said while Gatwick was open, there were significant delays and cancellations. Stansted, London City and Luton airports were shut. Hundreds of thousands of commuters were forced to stay at home, hitting businesses already suffering from the credit crunch. Most schools were shut.

Network Rail said it had been unable to cope with the sheer volume of snow. An NR spokesman said: "We knew the snow was coming. We had teams of track workers at key junctions. We had people out all night clearing the tracks but the snow was so heavy that once the tracks had been cleared the conductor rails were covered with snow and ice again."


Epsom Downs Station

Many of London's best known sights were blanketed, affording spectacular views of Parliament and other landmarks. Up to six inches of snow fell in London overnight with the same again expected over the next 24 hours. The snow, brought in on winds from Siberia, is the heaviest since 1991 when six inches fell in London and 20 inches in Yorkshire.

While the whole of the UK was affected, London and the South-East bore the brunt. The standstill angered workers who asked why London was unable to cope with conditions that had been predicted several days ago. "London looks beautiful but I'm really angry the transport system has collapsed," said Michael Topper, 24, as he walked from his home in Kensington to offices in Soho. "They've known about the snow since yesterday. The later I get into work the more money we will lose and it's a really worrying time."

Transport for London announced on its website that all London buses, which carry five million passengers a day, had been "withdrawn from service due to adverse weather and dangerous road conditions". The Highways Agency said 500 Lorries had worked through the night spreading grit. A spokesman said: "Our real problem is HGVs which skid, jack-knife and block the roads which mean our gritting Lorries can't get through." The National Rail Enquiries phone line crashed at 7.30am - normally the height of the rush-hour - because so many people were trying to get through.
David Brown of Transport for London said the situation was "exceptional". He added: "We haven't had a circumstance like this for over two decades. We were prepared in the sense that all our cold weather plans on the underground were put into place. But I think that actually the volume of the snow falling during the middle of the night was very difficult for us."


Barons Court Tube Station

At midday the Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced the £8.00 Central London Congestion charge was being suspended for the day – an empty gesture for the empty streets. ( http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/london-congestion-charge.html) Disruption caused by the heavy snowfall could cost UK businesses about £1bn, business groups have estimated. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that 20% of the UK's working population, or 6.4 million

Trading on the London Stock Exchange was thinner than normal. Stephen Alambritis from the FSB said its estimate of £1.2bn was a cautious one and the actual cost was likely to be higher. "There is also the knock-on effect of passing trade going down as people won't be buying their sandwiches for lunch or picking up a coffee or newspaper," he said.


Alfresco at Canary Wharf

Questions have been asked about whether authorities were sufficiently prepared for the snowfall, given that it was widely forecast. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, admitted that the capital was not equipped to deal with such an unusually heavy snow fall. "This is the kind of snow we haven't seen in London in decades. We don't have the snow-ploughs that we would otherwise need to be sure of getting the roads free," he said. But Mr Johnson said it did not necessarily make sense to make a major investment in snow-ploughs if they were only used once every two decades.

This may be so but taking today’s almost total wipe out of transport systems serious questions need to be asked about how the lack of resilience is hitting the economic viability of Britain and how London can claim to be a World Class City if it and its economy grinds to a halt under six inches of strange fluffy stuff? Has the limits of outsourced Britain been ( http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/10/outsourcing-or-ouch-sourcing.html ) discovered as the superficial consequences of the outsourcing, franchising and the tendency to concentrate on short term solutions at the expense of longer term and more robust responses to problems? Is this a country powered by an economy and transport system which only works in fair weather? Is this Fair Weather Britain?

Fair Weather Britain

Britain ground to a halt this morning as the transport systems lack of operational competence and depth was once again cruelly exposed. Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We are doing everything in our power to ensure services, road, rail and airports are open as quickly as possible, and we are continuing to monitor this throughout the day." No doubt these words will ring as true as his meaningless “British Jobs for British workers” boast. The Highways Agency said the organisation was well prepared to deal with snowfall over roads after criticism over its reaction to severe weather in 2003 but for the long suffering commuters this morning there was no sign that lessons have been learnt and all these organisations which insist on fining commuters in cash if they don’t have the correct fare were not offering them cash refunds for this transport disaster.

LONDON was overwhelmed by six inches of snow today with the threat of at least as much again to come in the next 24 hours. Forecasters warned that the big freeze could last until the weekend. Every bus was withdrawn from service for the first time in living memory because of fears for passenger safety - not even the Blitz stopped the capital's buses running.


Snow in Chiswick

All but two Tube lines were either totally or partially suspended. Many mainline trains in and out of the capital were cancelled with Southeastern and Southern services completely shut. Roads were either impassable or treacherous after the heaviest London snowfall in 18 years.

Dozens of motorists on the M25 gave up trying to drive in treacherous conditions and stayed in their cars on the hard shoulder. The AA warned motorists they risked hypothermia if their cars broke down. Both runways at Heathrow airport were closed and passengers were advised to check with their airline before leaving for the airport.


Snow White City

A spokesman for the worst World Class airport operator BAA (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/up-up-and-away-with-baa-no-2.html)said while Gatwick was open, there were significant delays and cancellations. Stansted, London City and Luton airports were shut. Hundreds of thousands of commuters were forced to stay at home, hitting businesses already suffering from the credit crunch. Most schools were shut.

Network Rail said it had been unable to cope with the sheer volume of snow. An NR spokesman said: "We knew the snow was coming. We had teams of track workers at key junctions. We had people out all night clearing the tracks but the snow was so heavy that once the tracks had been cleared the conductor rails were covered with snow and ice again."


Epsom Downs Station

Many of London's best known sights were blanketed, affording spectacular views of Parliament and other landmarks. Up to six inches of snow fell in London overnight with the same again expected over the next 24 hours. The snow, brought in on winds from Siberia, is the heaviest since 1991 when six inches fell in London and 20 inches in Yorkshire.

While the whole of the UK was affected, London and the South-East bore the brunt. The standstill angered workers who asked why London was unable to cope with conditions that had been predicted several days ago. "London looks beautiful but I'm really angry the transport system has collapsed," said Michael Topper, 24, as he walked from his home in Kensington to offices in Soho. "They've known about the snow since yesterday. The later I get into work the more money we will lose and it's a really worrying time."

Transport for London announced on its website that all London buses, which carry five million passengers a day, had been "withdrawn from service due to adverse weather and dangerous road conditions". The Highways Agency said 500 Lorries had worked through the night spreading grit. A spokesman said: "Our real problem is HGVs which skid, jack-knife and block the roads which mean our gritting Lorries can't get through." The National Rail Enquiries phone line crashed at 7.30am - normally the height of the rush-hour - because so many people were trying to get through.
David Brown of Transport for London said the situation was "exceptional". He added: "We haven't had a circumstance like this for over two decades. We were prepared in the sense that all our cold weather plans on the underground were put into place. But I think that actually the volume of the snow falling during the middle of the night was very difficult for us."


Barons Court Tube Station

At midday the Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced the £8.00 Central London Congestion charge was being suspended for the day – an empty gesture for the empty streets. ( http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/london-congestion-charge.html) Disruption caused by the heavy snowfall could cost UK businesses about £1bn, business groups have estimated. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that 20% of the UK's working population, or 6.4 million

Trading on the London Stock Exchange was thinner than normal. Stephen Alambritis from the FSB said its estimate of £1.2bn was a cautious one and the actual cost was likely to be higher. "There is also the knock-on effect of passing trade going down as people won't be buying their sandwiches for lunch or picking up a coffee or newspaper," he said.


Alfresco at Canary Wharf

Questions have been asked about whether authorities were sufficiently prepared for the snowfall, given that it was widely forecast. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, admitted that the capital was not equipped to deal with such an unusually heavy snow fall. "This is the kind of snow we haven't seen in London in decades. We don't have the snow-ploughs that we would otherwise need to be sure of getting the roads free," he said. But Mr Johnson said it did not necessarily make sense to make a major investment in snow-ploughs if they were only used once every two decades.

This may be so but taking today’s almost total wipe out of transport systems serious questions need to be asked about how the lack of resilience is hitting the economic viability of Britain and how London can claim to be a World Class City if it and its economy grinds to a halt under six inches of strange fluffy stuff? Has the limits of outsourced Britain been ( http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/10/outsourcing-or-ouch-sourcing.html ) discovered as the superficial consequences of the outsourcing, franchising and the tendency to concentrate on short term solutions at the expense of longer term and more robust responses to problems? Is this a country powered by an economy and transport system which only works in fair weather? Is this Fair Weather Britain?