Martine’s Briefcase

I was in a Grade IV classroom last spring and the teacher’s briefcase stays in memory, mostly because she was a teacher-librarian, no one busier, always on the run, always cheerful, willing … one great lady … with a bulging briefcase.

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MARTINE’S BRIEFCASE

the colour of earth                                                                     
it smells of leather    crayons
journeys in a bus jammed with kids

classes pour out of it
sheaves of printed paper
coloured by kindergarten stories
told on a red carpet

authors’ readings
book sales    math-tables
found-poems    workshops
reading weeks and conferences
spill over breakfast

phone calls    emails
travel passes    picnics
and finger-paintings
hide between the stiff leather panels

it squanders adventure
when the handles drop

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The Berry Books for 3-6 years old: Berry the mouse, who lives in a tree, gets into funny situations, and has to find his way out of them.