We have been listening to this magical book…
by Kelly Barnhill, on Audible, and we have absolutely loved it. I am looking forward to featuring it in the Quiet Paws Book Corner, starting on October 31st.
Busby says, “I don’t usually like fairy tales, but this one gripped me and I really felt I could be great friends with Luna’s little dragon. I could even imagine enjoying a little holiday with him in the cosy home he shares with Luna and Aunty Xan. I think there would be some good food and great smells. It was not at all scary, and there was a lot to think about, both for grown up dogs and puppies. My only criticism was that, yet again, dogs do not feature in this story.”
You can read a less dog-centred review of it here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-girl-who-drank-the-moon/kelly-barnhill/9781848126473
Parents can find out more about it here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-girl-who-drank-the-moon
Rather aptly, we have been moon-gazing…
The full moon, the Harvest Moon, was an amazing sight this month here in Cornwall. Did you manage to spot it where you are?
Did you know that the Harvest Moon is the only full moon name which is determined by the equinox? An equinox is when the night is as long as the day. The autumn equinox is near the end of September, and the full moon nearest to that date is called the Harvest Moon.
Native Americans did not use that convention, although, we did get some of our full moon names from their custom of naming each one.
A lone swimmer takes to the sea to swim under the Harvest Moon on 20 September 2021 in Swanpool Beach, Falmouth, United Kingdom. Photo by Hugh R Hastings/Getty Images
We love the variety and poetry of the names which the different Native American peoples called their full moons. You can read more about those of the Lakota people here: http://aktalakota.stjo.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8991
My favourite is ‘Moon when the wind shakes the leaves off the trees’.
There are many more evocative names on this website: https://www.wwu.edu/astro101/indianmoons.shtml
We have been listening to this very catchy jig…
It comes from the film, The Last of the Mohicans. It is modern but is based on traditional Celtic folk music. I was reminded of this catchy one when a pupil told me they play the violin and like folk music, particularly jigs.
Busby says, “If only I had opposable thumbs, maybe with a bit of practice, I could do this. But Mr Peak Fiddler, with my paws, I salute you!”
This is the film version… which do you like best?
We are watching clouds…
There have certainly been a lot of them about recently.
Did you know that you can predict the weather by looking at the sky?
At one point, Osh, in our book club story, Beyond the Bright Sea, looks at the sky and warns, “There’s weather coming in.”
You can find out how he knows this and how clouds can be used to predict the weather, here: https://www.almanac.com/kids/identifying-clouds-sky
Why not try some cloud-gazing yourself? Maybe see how many different types you can spot. Remember to protect your eyes – never look directly at the sun.
We are admiring…
author, Lauren Wolk’s, use of similes, metaphors and personification in Beyond the Bright Sea. They make her writing very poetic.
So we really appreciated finding this very clever poem about the parts of speech and poetic devices, such as metaphor and simile. It is called, ‘The Poetry Grand National’ by Roger Stevens. You can listen to it here:
We have been finding out about the art of Winslow Homer…
… and the Japanese art that inspired him.
We featured Breezing Up by American artist, Winslow Homer, on our book club page to give the idea of what it would be like to sail a small boat off the coast of Cuttyhunk, the island in our story. Busby found it, so realistic, that he began to look a bit green around the whiskers…
You can see some more Winslow Homer sea paintings in this slide show. Do they give you a sense of the sea and its different moods?
This painting is called Breezing Up and is by Winslow Homer. 
This painting is called Eight Bells and the sailors are using special instruments to check the boat’s position at the end of their watch (the eight bells are the last bells of each watch). Here, it is at midday. 
Northeaster 
Early Morning, after a Storm at Sea 
Kissing the Moon 
Moonlight
Courtesy of http://www.winslow-homer.com
This is one of the Japanese paintings that might have inspired Winslow Homer’s paintings. It’s called, THE GREAT WAVE, and is by Hokusai. 
Busby said, ‘We can do this together, you draw, I’ll direct you!’. So we had a go, and this is the result. Proving that, as ever, here on Buzzy Paws, we don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good – or even the not-so-good.
If you feel inspired to have a go at drawing your own Japanese wave picture or simply colouring one in, just click on the downloads below.
There are hundreds more of Winslow Homer’s paintings on this website dedicated to his work: https://www.winslow-homer.com/the-complete-works.html?ps=48&pageno=1
We have been looking at haikus…
A haiku is a type of poem that originated in Japan. It has just three lines and does not rhyme. Haikus are often written about the seasons or nature. It’s the ideal type of poem to write about the sea, the weather or sea birds even.
Busby says, “That’s it? Sounds like my kind of poem!”
Not so fast – there are some rules, but not many. The American poet and Children’s Poetry Laureate, Kenn Nesbitt, explains them clearly on his website: https://www.poetry4kids.com/?s=haiku+
You can download his Haiku sheet and have a go at writing your own one, here:
The following haikus come from a website just for haikus called haikupoemsandpoets.com but it is not a children’s website, so I have chosen several that tie in with our book.
An Ocean Sight by Robert Heemstra
The sun is peeking
Just over the horizon
In the ocean blue
Sea and Shore by Alfred Bergren
Blue ocean meets shore
White caps against cliffs and rocks
Trees on cliffs look down
Early Beach Morning by Tania Kitchin
grey wings soar the clouds
diving and dipping the surf ~ seagull serenade
Star by Daniel Koriass
Shine bright from afar
Convince the world that you are
Worth its endless gaze
Life of a Cat by Karen Croft
Pitter patter paws
A cosy warm place to sleep
Purring up a storm
It was fun finding pictures to match haikus – why not give that a go? You could make a great poster, card or slideshow even.
Or try it the other way around – find a picture that inspires you, and have a go writing a haiku!
There are a lot of haikus out there – Busby wanted ones about dogs, so here are a couple to keep him happy – or not.
My homework is late.
My dog ate it this morning.
I sure like my dog.
A Teacher’s Apology
I never believed
That dogs really ate homework
Until mine ate yours.
One Word Theme
It’s another simple, but life-enhancing idea from the Happier podcast by Gretchen Rubin and her sister Elizabeth (see below).
If you look at the books in our book club, you might spot a common theme in their titles – light.
It’s my one word theme for the year and I’ve used it to inspire myself a bit, to set the tone for the year and to help me decide some fun things – like choosing gifts, colours, designs or themes.
It was just lucky that my favourite book, The Star of Kazan, linked to it, however, the one word theme inspired me to give other books a go when I might not otherwise have done so.
That, for me, sums up the beauty of the one word theme idea.
This Lighthouse notecard is from Peter Pauper Press
Busby says,
“Dogs and children should keep it simple and fun. Choose pawsitive words such as : smile, enjoy, happy, calm, breathe, kind or… relax.”
“Maybe now the dust has settled, after the start of a new school year, you’d like to think of a word to take you through to July. Remember not to take it too seriously. Here I am demonstrating, relax.”
Adults and older readers can find out more about choosing a one word theme from author, Gretchen Rubin’s, Happier podcast, I got this fun idea from her. Listen here:
We are turning our thoughts to autumn…
and thinking about making our garden more wildlife friendly. High on our to-do list, is preparing the hedgehog house for any visitors brave enough to venture into Busby’s garden.
To avoid scaring hedgehogs off, we keep Busby away from that part of the garden after dusk when hedgehogs are likely to be active.
You can find out more about how to help hedgehogs, here:
As Busby is not great with a hammer and nails, we made our hedgehog home out of logs and old slates, then filled it with dry leaves and hay. We made an entrance tunnel out of bricks. You can see some more ideas for homes for hedgehogs, here: https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/hedgehog-homes/
Thank you…
everyone who has signed up to follow this blog – every time I see a new name, I feel great and Busby feels (p)awesome.
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We will be back next month with, amongst other things, a clip of the moment Busby learnt to swim!
IF you can’t wait until then, why not join our Quiet Paws Book Corner? If you like our blog page, you will almost certainly enjoy the information and activities on our book club pages.
It’s free and everyone, young or old, is welcome. You just have to like children’s literature. Head to the Join the Book Corner page in the menu at the top to sign up.
Buzzy Paws 
