Transcript

MUSIC

Let's have some fun 

with things that rhyme

welcome Kids 

it's poetry time!

Hip Hip Hurray!

Welcome everyone to Kids’ Poetry Club with me, Little Dazzy Donuts. I’m on my way over to the river. Queenie and Chicken have invited me to join them on their day out fishing. They went down there early, and so should have already been fishing for a couple of hours. I’m not an angler myself, but it sounded nice to spend some time by the river with them, and so I jumped at the chance to go along.

As I’m not quite at the riverbank yet, why don’t we take advantage of this time to do our Club registration? This is where you get to shout out your name and get a Club point for being here. So, on the count of three, shout out your name so that I can hear you through your phone, computer, or radio.

Let the drum roll begin. Here goes …. One. Two. Three! ….. Excellent!

Well, I just arrived at the river, and I can see Queenie and Chicken down by the riverbend. Let’s pop over and say hello.

SOUND (River)

Hi Queenie … Hi Chicken.

Queenie: Hi, Little Dazzy Donuts! Come join us over here by the river. We’ve found such a wonderful spot.

My gosh, you have! This is beautiful. I like how you’ve put your chairs by this lovely willow tree. It’s nice and shady, and yet you can still see the river.

Queenie: This is one of our favorite spots. We have a few places where we fish, but there’s something special about this one.

I had no idea that the two of you enjoyed fishing so much.

Queenie: Oh, we love it. What better than to sit outside, watch the river flowing by, listen to the birds, and just escape from everything for a while. You know, Chicken and I have some of our best chats out here. Given how often we come, you’d think we’d run out of things to talk about, but we never do. There’s always something to discuss.

So, what are the two of you talking about today?

Queenie: Well, the big topic of the last hour was a contentious one. We were discussing the best way to camouflage a zebra.

How to do what?

Queenie: How to camouflage a zebra. I bet you think it’s easy, but it really isn’t. With all of those stripes, it’s tough to blend a zebra into anything that isn’t also striped. So, if you have a zebra, and you want to hide it in plain sight, where would you put it? We’ve been discussing that for ages.

And so what’s the answer?

Queenie: Oh, we don’t have the answer. If we found the answer, that would be the end of the conversation, and so what’s the fun in that. We’ve found that almost none of our discussions find an answer or solve a problem … and that’s on purpose. Instead, what we are really good at is finding what you could term “non-answers”.

And you’ve found non-answers for where to hide a zebra?

Queenie: Oh yes. We’ve found hundreds of non-answers – all places that would be awful for hiding a zebra in plain sight. Do you want me to list them for you?

Oh no, you’re fine – I’ll take your word for it. So, how’s it going fishing. Have you caught anything yet?

Queenie: Nope – we haven’t caught anything – but we have seen a lot of fish and that’s what really matters. Here, come sit down in this chair we brought for you, and watch our rods and floats for a while. If you keep watching the floats, you’ll see the occasional fish jump up out of the water. It has been happening all morning.

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Oh my gosh, Chicken – you’re right. Where are my manners? I haven’t offered you any tea from our thermos yet? Would you like a mug of tea, Little Dazzy Donuts?

That sounds lovely – yes please.

Queenie: And a biccie? We have some jammy dodgers, and some custard creams. Perhaps one of each to go with your tea?

That sounds wonderful. Thank you!

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Oh, you’re right Chicken …. You couldn’t hide a zebra behind a mug of tea. I’ll add that one to our list of non-answers.

SOUND (splash)

Oh, I saw a fish. It jumped up clear out of the water, right in front of your rod. Wow – you got so close to catching that one. I wonder what kind of fish it was.

Queenie: What did it look like?

It don’t know much about fish – it was long, had a tail … the usual fish things.

Queenie: How big was its smile?

Its smile? Ummm … come to think of it, it did have a massive grin on its face.

Queenie: Oh, that’s Freddie then. We actually don’t know much about types of fish. We know that they exist – like bass and trout and salmon. But it always feels so impersonal to call someone by such a broad category. So, we give them names instead. If it had a massive grin, then that’s Freddie. The fish that jumped before than was Celia. We see Freddie and Celia all the time – I guess they live around here somewhere.

Well, while we wait for something to happen with your rods, why don’t I read a poem to you? I’ve brought several fish poems along with me.

Queenie: What a wonderful idea! I’ll pour us some more tea so we can drink it while you read the poem.

This first poem is all about fishing … and is called “The Fish That Got Away”. I’m thinking that a lot of people go fishing and get close to catching a fish, but actually don’t, and so this poem is about someone who told all their friends about the one they almost caught – so, the one that got away. Here, I’ll read the poem to you now …

Let me tell you all about

the one that got away!

I’d fished all day,

without a bite,

and no big fish to weigh.

Then, at last,

the line it tugged,

I knew that it was big,

the size perhaps

of my whole foot

and maybe half my leg!

I reeled it in,

imagining

how all would be impressed,

for sure it was a salmon,

a trout or mighty bass.

But in the end,

I found out that

my catch was not so great

as there was no massive fish

attached there to my bait.

Hanging there, was a welly boot -

it was all I caught that day.

And so instead

I tell this tale

of a fish that got away!

Queenie: Oh, I do like that poem, Little Dazzy Donuts. I always like it when the fish gets away.

So, talking of fish, how’s it going with your rods. Have you caught any fish yet?

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: You’re right, Chicken. It’s time to let Little Dazzy Donuts in on our little secret.

Oh, what’s your secret?

Queenie: Well … the secret is … and please don’t spread this around as we may get thrown out of the Angling Club … well, we don’t catch fish.

I’ve noticed that. You’ve been here for hours, and you haven’t caught a single one.

Queenie: Well, when I say that we don’t catch fish, I mean that we never ever ever catch fish. Not once. Not ever. We must have fished 50 times, and never caught a single fish.

And is that because you’re bad at fishing?

Queenie: I don’t know how good or bad we are at fishing because we’ve never once tried to catch any fish. You see our rods and the lines – well there’s no bait or hooks on those lines. We just dangle our lines in the water, prop up our rods on the river bank, sit back in our chairs, put our feet up, and we chat and drink tea.

So, if you don’t have any hooks or bait, what exactly is on the end of your lines? I can’t see as your lines hang down over the river and drop down into the water.

Queenie: Ah – let me show you. Can you pass me the bait box? It’s that one there with the white lid.

There you go.

Queenie: Excellent. Well, if I open this up, you’ll see what bait looks like for me and Chicken.

Oh, it’s small laminated notes.

Queenie: It is. Each note has a positive message for the fish – something happy and encouraging. Look …

Oh yes, this one says “Swim proud. We love you.”

Queenie: Oh, I like that one. And then there’s this one …it says, “We’re here for you.”

And there’s another. This one says, “Dream big!” So, you put these on the end of your lines?

Queenie: Exactly. Then, the fish swim by, read them, know it’s me and Chicken, and jump up out of the water to say Hi briefly. As you’ve seen, some of them grin too.

Well, I must confess that I like your approach to fishing.

Queenie: Okay, I think it’s time for us to change the bait notes at the end of our lines. Chicken, let’s reel them in, and change out the notes. If we keep the same notes on there for too long, it gets boring for the fish. We like to change things up regularly.

While you do that, why don’t I read you another poem? This second one is all about different fish who form a band, and it has a lot of puns in it. See if you can spot how many different types of fish get mentioned in the poem. Here goes, it’s called “The Fish Band”

There was a Bass and a Salmon.

A Trout and Carp too.

Playing hard Rock and Sole,

‘tile their Breams all came true.

They were Perched up on stage,

with Mullets galore,

and they Clowned and they Floundered.

Did the Conger and all!

They Cod have done better.

It was Roughy for sure,

And most folks agreed that they

broke one or more lures.

If only the band

had ended it sooner,

as it was clear to us all

they were all out of Tuna.

Queenie: Oh my gosh – that poem did contain a lot of puns! And a lot of fish too. Let’s see – Chicken and I wrote down the ones we noticed. So, we spotted Bass, Salmon, Trout, Carp, Rock, Sole, Bream, Perch, Mullet, Clown Fish, Flounder, Cod, Roughy and Tuna.

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Oh, and Conger too! So we spotted 15 fish.

In that case, you spotted them all. Well done!

Queenie: Okay, now that we’ve changed the notes on our lines, I think it’s time for lunch. Let’s open up our hamper and see what’s inside.

So, who packed the hamper?

Queenie: Oh, I did. But I like to pack it, and then forget all about what’s inside. That way, it’s really exciting to open it up and see what’s for lunch. I used to pack it a few days ahead of time so I was guaranteed to forget what was in it, but it turns out that’s not a great way of enjoying a yummy fresh lunch. So, now, I make the lunch in the morning, and then try really hard to forget all about it. I love the excitement of discovering what’s in the hamper.

And what’s in the hamper today?

Queenie: Let’s see … okay … well in this first paper bag we have banana sandwiches. Oh, they look yummy! They’re made using my grandma’s banana sandwich recipe that has been handed down through the generations.

That sounds fantastic. So, what’s the recipe?

Queenie: Oh, it’s easy – you just take one banana, then you slice it, and put it between twooooo slices of bread. Oh my gosh, it’s tasty. Okay, let’s see what’s in this second bag. Oh, it’s avocado sandwiches! YIPPEE! These are also made with my grandma’s recipe that has been handed down through the generations.

That does sound tasty. So, what’s the recipe for your avocado sandwiches?

Queenie: Oh, that’s easy too. You just take one avocado, then you slice it, and put it between twooooo slices of bread. You won’t believe how tasty it is! Okay, that leaves us with this third bag. Oh, in this final bag we have tomato sandwiches.

And is that made with your grandma’s recipe too?

Queenie: Oh no – my grandma really didn’t like tomatoes. It was the one thing she never ate. What made you think that my grandma had a tomato sandwich recipe?

It was just a guess. Well, I tell you what, while you two dig into the sandwiches, I’ll read you the final poem for the day. This one is all about being by a river bank – just like we are – and it’s called “Take To The Bank”. Here, I’ll read it to you now.

You should go to the river.

You can borrow my chair.

There's a place near a willow.

Once you're sat there,

here's a book - it's my favorite,

and a journal to note

all that you see:

the birds, fish, and boats.

And here's a packed lunch,

a thermos of tea,

and a nice slice of cake.

I'm sure you'll agree

some time by the river,

your mind all a blank,

is a gift from a friend

you can take to the bank.

Well, sadly, that was our final poem for the episode.

Queenie: That is a shame. Still, at least it means that you can have a sandwich now, Little Dazzy Donuts. Plus, it also means that it’s time for our afternoon discussion. I’m so glad that you’re here for our afternoon topic. We saved this one for when you joined us.

And is the topic similar to the morning one – the one with the zebra?

Queenie: Oh no – this is a completely different topic. We agreed that, this afternoon, we’d talk about which came first, the color orange, or the fruit orange. I’m thinking that this could occupy us for the rest of the day.

I bet it could. Well, before we start our orange discussion, let me first remind everyone that there are lots of ways to join in with the club. If you go to kidspoetryclub.com, you can see the PodSnack video for the episode and also download the episode’s PodPack of activities. They’re all free. Plus there’s information on how to send your poems and drawings into the club, including your poem and art entries into the Autumn/Fall competition on the topic of gratitude – so, what you’re thankful for, grateful for, and appreciative of. You’ll find everything you need at kidspoetryclub.com.

It has been so lovely to spend time with you! Thank you for joining me, Queenie, and Chicken. I hope you enjoyed yourself, and hope you’ll be back for more next time the Club meets. Join us again next week when we’ll have a brand new topic, and new poems.

As always, let's finish with our short goodbye poem:

We've had some fun 

with things that rhymed

goodbye Kids 

until next time!

This is Little Dazzy Donuts saying .... keep rhyming!!!

MUSIC