Posted in Climate change, EPA, Trump's climate change,, Uncategorized, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer, tagged EPA, Trump's trees, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on February 7, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Hey Mr. Trump. You blamed the fires on CA for not cutting down our trees and now you’re proud of saying “Plant a trillion trees for climate change.” If only it were that simple.
But you’re too late, my little mouse poet already started this in 2012 with his book Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! If you want to truly be the first of all Presidents, how about appointing a literary poet mouse as your EPA director?
Posted in Alzheimer's Association, My Books, On writing chldren's books, our children, Uncategorized, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth Dances the Waltz, Wordsworth the Poet, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer, Wordsworth, It's In Your Pocket, tagged Alzheimer's Assoc, Wordsworth Dances the Waltz, Wordsworth the Poet, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer, Wordsworth, It's In Your Pocket on March 26, 2019| 1 Comment »
To Wordsworth the Poet fans, please check him out at his own FB page. He’s complaining that no one goes there much. In today’s post, he is complaining how he was not flown first class from Sacramento to Honolulu to Hilo. He also explains how he was created. He’s getting pretty verbal, now that he’s so well-sought by his fans in Hawaii. Do you know Maui has now invited him over to visit their schools to teach them about Alzheimer’s and memory loss? No, I was not invited.
https://www.facebook.com/WordsworthThePoet?fref=ts
Posted in Caregiving, My Books, Palomia Tree, Uncategorized, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer, tagged Alzheimer's Disease, Memories, Palomia Tree, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on March 30, 2017| Leave a Comment »
A Wordsworth Tree Brings Solace
When Raj went to Hawaii in 2013, she remembered my children’s book Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer. Wordsworth and his friends write poetry to save trees and Wordsworth asks readers to plant a Wordsworth tree. Raj brought two Palomia seeds back to Sacramento. The Royal Palomia took root.
Raj deeply believed that the tree would show its first blossom during her mother’s last year as she lived with Alzheimer’s Disease. It did. The tree bloomed for the first time soon after her mother died. Yesterday, we sat before the blossoming Palomia to honor the memory of Raj’s mother. We sipped tea and marveled how Alzheimer’s Disease had brought all of us together.
Posted in Events, My Books, tagged Breaking the Silence:A Caregiver's Voice, Heritage Source, Jan Ken Po Craft Fair, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, Mosaic Moon: Caregiving Through Poetry, Teacher You Look Like a Horse, Wordsworth Dances the Waltz, Wordsworth the Poet, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on September 15, 2013| 2 Comments »
Wordsworth the Poet and I will be so delighted to see you in Elk Grove.
Saturday, September 21.
We’ll be signing books at the Jan Ken Po Gakko Arts & Crafts Fair
from 9:30 – noon. The fair is from 9 – 3:30.
Site:
Sacramento Asian Sports Foundation Facility
9040 High Tech Court
Elk Grove CA 95758
Posted in our children, tagged Suzume No Gakko, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on July 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Our country has been ruled by men. Our history is filled with wars and conflict.
The first, second, and third grade students at the San Jose Suzume No Gakko summer school
gave me something to think about.
After introducing my children’s book: Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer!,
I took a Tonka bulldozer and walked toward the students saying:
“ The bulldozer is coming toward your favorite tree. How will you stop the bulldozer?
The bulldozer is coming ,the bulldozer is coming.”
A boy: I will get an axe and wreck the bulldozer to pieces.
A boy: I will pull the driver out and take over the steering wheel and drive the bulldozer away.
A girl: I will talk to the driver and tell him why the tree is so special.
A boy: I will stand in front of the tree and the bulldozer will have to drive around and around and it will run out of gas.
A girl: I will go to all the homes and knock on their doors and tell them about the bulldozer and ask for their help.
A boy: Did Wordsworth pray in front of the bulldozer?
I rest my case.
Posted in education, My Books, On writing chldren's books, Students in classrooms, Uncategorized, tagged Being Japanese, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, Suzume No Gakko, Wordsworth Dances the Waltz, Wordsworth the Poet, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on July 19, 2013| 3 Comments »
The Suzume No Gakko Summer School in San Jose
invited me to speak to their students in grades 1 – 6, on being an author. It was to captive audiences that I shared stories on how my Wordsworth books were written. But when Wordsworth made a surprise visit, the stage became all his.
Wordsworth was pretty excited and it looks like he shaved off his whiskers that morning. One alert first grader brought it to his attention.
Wordsworth promised to dance the waltz with everyone at his next visit.
Posted in Book Awards, My Books, tagged Elvis Memorabilia, Watermark Publishing, Wayne Harada Show Biz, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on May 13, 2013| 1 Comment »
Beloved personal collection of Elvis items will aid MVT
By Wayne Harada
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, May 12, 2013
Disclosure: I’ve been a collector of recorded music for more than 60 years. Imagine walls of shelves and boxes upon boxes on the floor containing vinyl 331⁄3 LPs, 45 rpm singles, cassettes, CDs and videos. To me, this was pure treasure; to my wife, junk that took up a whole bedroom and then some.
So clearing out a lifetime of recorded music — whole lotta spending and shaking going on over the decades — has been painful and nostalgic. There were easily 10,000 titles, representing a lifetime of memories and reflecting a soundtrack of my life from the 1950s to the present.
Amid the stash, I discovered vintage collectibles and decided to dub a parcel “The <B>Elvis Presley Quartet” to donate as a live-auction bundle for Manoa Valley Theatre’s upcoming Manoa Marquee fundraiser, “Rock ‘n’ Roll is Here to Stay!,” at 5 p.m. May 19 at the Pacific Club. Elvis may not realize it, but proceeds will help MVT continue its tradition of presenting quality stage productions.
The package includes:
» An autographed photo of The King. Got it when I was in high school. (I still savor another photo, addressed to me.)
» A limited-edition “Aloha Elvis” decanter of bourbon (still filled) with Elvis clad in a white jumpsuit and lei. This trophy was created for a USS Arizona Memorial fundraiser (a project he supported), and doubles as a music box that plays “Blue Hawaii.”
» Four mint-condition 33 1⁄3 vinyl LPs of Presley’s early best-sellers.
» A coffee-table book, “Elvis: A Celebration,” by Mike Evans, DK Publishing.
It’s priceless stuff, impossible to merely give away since it represents part of a storied history of listening, collecting, interviewing and reviewing Elvis over the decades. For the right collector of things Elvis, it’s a gold mine.
Are you that collector? If so, call 988-6131 for ticket info — and bring your credit card. …
PERSONALITIES: Congrats to isle author Frances Kakugawa; her “Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer!” (Watermark Publishing) won best children’s book laurels at the 20th annual Book Awards Competition sponsored by the Northern California Publishers/Authors group. So all three of her “Wordsworth” books have that gold-seal winner’s decal on the cover. …
SMALL WORLD: When Matt Yee was at the Red Carpet Club in Narita, on a layover from Hong Kong/ Macau where he was performing, he overheard on the speaker: “Robert Cazimero, would you please …” Yep, Cazimero constantly visits Asia. Yee just staged his “Divas Live!” show in the Big Apple. …
ON BROADWAY: Local theater buffs who remember Kevin Gray, the Broadway actor who portrayed Scar in “The Lion King” in its Honolulu debut six years ago, may be interested in a celebration of his life at 2 p.m. Monday at the Majestic Theatre, where “Phantom of the Opera” resides. Gray died Feb. 11; Harold Prince, Craig Schulman, Cris Groenendaal, Rebecca Luker, Hugh Panaro and Dodie Pettit (Gray’s widow) will participate. Share your aloha if you’re in the Big Apple. …
SHORTS OF SORTS: Universal is delaying “Jurassic Park 4” filming even though director Colin Trevorrow has been prepping here for the June 24 shooting launch, now on hold. …
Frank De Lima’s Mother’s Day show unfolds twice, at 10:30 a.m. (brunch) and 6 p.m (dinner) today, at Pagoda’s C’est Si Bon. Call 948-8370. …
“Rain,” the Beatles experience, debuts Tuesday at Blaisdell Concert Hall. …
Society of Seven LV unveils a new show Tuesday at the Outrigger Waikiki’s Main Showroom. On weekends, “Live at the Outrigger” with Augie T and Andy Bumatai launches at 10 p.m. Saturday and repeats Saturdays thereafter. Call 923-7465. …
And that’s “Show Biz.” …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at http://www.staradvertiser.com
Posted in Going Green, Poetry, tagged Sacramento Supervisory Council, Save Sacramento Oak Trees, Wordsworth the Poet, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on May 11, 2013| 1 Comment »
Poor Wordsworth. There’s no rest for a mouse poet who writes poems to save trees. I sent him to the Sacramento County Supervisors Office when I heard about a group going in to save the majestic oaks trees that are being destroyed to make room for swimming pools and other home improvements. I hope Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! makes a difference.
Wordsworth was thrilled to be in this photo with Mr. James Schbert, Senior Landscape Architect for the County and Mr. Howard Schmidt, Chief of Staff for Supervisor Susan Peters. Way to go, Wordsworth.
The Bulldozer
there was a place I sat and wrote
to music played in my concert grove.
branches rubbed against branches,
coconuts dropped to the ground.
vines snaked and squeaked their way
seeking the hot noon sun.
frilly fronds danced the wind,
lacy limbs brushed their leaves.
sparrows, mynahs spattered notes
low c’s, high c’s and in-between.
it was a place for violins, cellos,
trombones, flutes, and piccolos, too.
Oh, what music to my ears.
Then the monster came.
gachump!
gachump!
gachump!
he gobbled up notes
oh, what a beast.
he chomped and crushed,
grunted and groaned,
belched and gobbled
everything in sight.
oh, what a monster,
oh what a beast
to eat my trees.
to eat my trees.
Wordsworth fell asleep thinking, “Gachump, Gachump.”
from Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! by frances kakugawa Watermark Publishing
Posted in My Books, tagged Northern CA Publishers/Authors, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on April 28, 2013| 4 Comments »
Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! won two awards last night at the
Northern CA Publishers/Authors 20th Annual Book Awards Competition dinner event.
Best Children’s Book of 2013 and third prize in Cover & Design.
It was an honor to received the awards from President Ted Witt and NY best selling author John
Lescroart.
Posted in our children, Poetry, Sacramento Poetry Center, Uncategorized, tagged Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods, Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, Poetry Contest winners, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on April 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Happy Earth Day, everyone! We are celebrating by announcing the winners of the Wordsworth the Poet “Poe-TREE Contest!”
In the Wordsworth Poe-TREE Contest, students were asked to write a poem celebrating their favorite tree, following the model of Wordsworth the Mouse and his friends in the book Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! The young mice in the story campaign to save the trees in their community by writing poems reminding all the neighbors about the special qualities of the trees around them.
Poems were judged based on creativity, poetic merit and how well they conveyed what makes the trees special to the students. The six contest winners will receive a copies of each of the three books in the Wordsworth series, a gardening tool kit and a Koa Legacy Tree from the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, donated by Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods.
K-5 Division Winners:
Makayla Rose Molden
Makayla Rose Molden (age 6, Kapolei, Mauka Lani Elementary), untitled
The Mountain Apple tree is yummy to me.
The fruit is up so high to knock it down is a game I try.
I collect the fruit and make apple pie.
Eli Wolfe
Eli Wolfe (age 5, Honolulu, University Laboratory School), “Banyan Tree”
I like to climb the
Banyan tree
at Barwick.
I can climb to
the sky.
You should try it too
someday.
It is so fun.
Grade 6-8 Division:
Cindy Tsou
Min-Hua (Cindy) Tsou (age 11, Kapolei, Kapolei Middle School), “Red Maple Tree (Acer rubrum)”
A bright, scarlet leaf blew by.
A red lobed leaf fall and fly.
It can be red, yellow and even green.
Red maple trees makes a beautiful scene.
It grows in the north, with it’s flower blooming back and forth.
A red maple tree brings red, bright shines.
A red maple is of course, very fine.
Emerson Goo
Emerson Goo (age 12, Honolulu, Niu Valley Middle School), “Forest Guardians”
Sentinels at watch
Forest guardians holding
Treasured memories
Grade 9-12 Division:
Sophie Corless
Sophie Corless (age 15, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Northern Highlands Regional High School), “The Lemon Tree”
The cool sticky air clings to me;
my bare feet squelch in the grass
just after the rain shower.
The lemon tree stands in the back corner
towering over the garden, and has a prevailing presence.
Under the tree lies my step ladder,
with my initials carved in the leg.
The wicker basket dangles
on a tiny branch at my height.
I have my technique down,
twist and snap over and over again.
Even the bees and ants are fixated on my movements,
their fragile wings and tiny legs
seem to stop to observe.
Little droplets collect in the pores of the rind,
making my hand cool,
droplets of lemon juice ooze through the pores
and run down my hand to my wrist and to my elbow,
stopping and then dripping off.
By the end I am covered in a mixture of rain and lemon,
dried and sticky.
With every lemon I snap off,
the branch snaps back and sprinkles me with rain.
I swear I hear my sweltering forehead
sizzle against the cool droplets.
In the kitchen I squeeze every last lemon,
popping the juice into the pitcher with the yellow flowers,
along with a fistful of sugar and a splash of water.
I crack the ice tray in half, scooping out the cubes.
The first sip makes my face contort
into an uncomfortable position,
one you can’t avoid,
but the last is always the sweetest.
Zoe Edelman Brier
Zoe Edelman Brier (age 18, Allendale, New Jersey, Northern Highlands Regional High School), “Veins of Color”
I remember maple Leaf picking
with my father before the bus
came to ship me off
to a grey school building
with a grey blacktop
and grey windows.
The colors of the Leaves
were brighter than anything
I’d ever seen, standing out
against the blah of morning.
even through fog,
the Leaves shown like bright beacons
of change and hope for the future.
the Leaves would vein and crinkle
in red and orange and yellow,
mixing in a thin canvas.
My father would sit me on his shoulders
and have me reach the highest branch
possible to get the best Leaf
to press in a book that I still have
12 years later, the colors frozen in time,
unbrowned and delicate, red stains
clashing with the dark green of Leaf.
Congratulations to all our winners and to all the poets who entered our contest. Wordsworth’s message to you all: Don ‘t stop writing poems and continue to save our trees. Give your favorite tree a hug!
Frances Kakugawa's Blog 