A group of young singers, called the Cactus Cuties, learn the story behind the creation of America's national anthem, profiling Francis Scott Key as a busy and respected political adviser who was inspired to write his famous poem after witnessing the Battle of Fort McHenry.

With wit and charm, Oh Say Did You Know serves up 300 intriguing events and ideas that helped shape the United States. Gain valuable insight into the intricacies of every period of American history, from colonial days to the historic election of the first African American president. Five chapters cover a variety of topics, including government, politics, economy, commerce, science, education, innovation, medicine, daily life, and arts and entertainment. Myth-debunking sidebars and fun tidbits about lesser-known historical figures are dispersed throughout the book, along with lists such as "Cup o'Canary, Wench!" (long-forgotten drinks serves in colonial taverns) and "America's Ten Highest-Grossing Movies" (from Gone With the Wind to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). Whether you're a history buff or a lover of miscellany, you won't be able to get enough of these fascinating anecdotes. You'll find engaging tales and facts, including these examples: *"Gambling in the Colonies"-Gambling was a fact of life in early America, and the governments of all 13 colonies used lotteries to help finance road building and numerous other public projects. *"The Costly Epizootic of 1872"-Less than a decade after the Civil War, a fast- moving equine influenza swept down from Canada into the United States, crippled virtually all of the nation's horses, and left the economy in ruins. *DIDN'T HAPPEN sidebar: "Betsy Ross's Flagging Reputation"-Sheer hearsay put Betsy Ross into history books as the person who designed the American flag. The more likely designer was Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. *OUR NATIVE TONGUE sidebar: "Atomic Slang"-Words and terms coined in the early years include go ballistic, more bang for the buck, blast (a great party) and bombed (seriously inebriated). REVIEW

Winner, Helen Kay Chapbook Prize 2019 Author bio: I teach writing in Ithaca, NY, summer workshops at Star Island, NH, and workshops each semester at Cornell University. After retiring from work in a crisis center in 2006, I felt like a cartoon character walking off a cliff into thin air without a plan. But within a few months, I designed Writing through the Rough Spots, a course enabling participants to create clarity about challenging life situations. My students, 18–85 years old, range widely—athlete, author, chaplain, ex-felon, hairdresser, musician, physician, prison guard, restaurant server, scientist, therapist… and come from across the US and 15 countries. The midwifery of writing makes teaching a non-stop thrill for me. I’ve written poems for most of my life, but only became interested in sharing them publicly when I turned 70. Less than two years later my poems appeared in 2018 Passager Poetry Contest, #65, The Avocet, Poetry Quarterly, Caesura, and The Healing Muse. My experience as a manuscript editor has been primarily with memoir, poetry, fiction and YA fiction. www. WritingRoomWorkshops.com The poems in Oh say did you know reflect on the exterior world, the political, environmental and civil landscapes surrounding us all, as well as on the navigation of the interior. My poems traverse where the two meet. Keen observations from the natural world provide metaphors for these parallel terrains. My poems juxtapose the impact of loss with gratitude for what we keep. The cycles of nature offer sturdy and stirring metaphors. Observations of daily life as well as imaginings are gleaned from growing wisdom that comes with age combined with a fresh outlook. I hope my poems will nurture other’s spirits as writing them has nurtured mine. What others are saying: Ellen Schmidt has that rare ability to make her personal voice express the universal experiences in all of our lives. She takes the seemingly mundane world of our relationships with family, friends and nature and finds, in them, the insights that allow the reader to question and appreciate what had once been taken for granted. –Joel Savishinsky, Author of Breaking the Watch: The Meanings of Retirement in America, winner of the Gerontological Society of America's book of the year prize. These poems peek at doom and dance with delight, always shining with Ellen’s hope, gratefulness and big heart. She infuses some humor, helping to make this a warming brew. What we drink from her poems is enriching and enjoyable. –Barbara Lydecker Crane, author of Zero Gravitas, Alphabetricks, and BackWords Logic With great wisdom and humanity, Ellen Schmidt gives us poems that teach and celebrate and mourn and encourage. Unafraid of the dark in these fearful times, she is "armed to the teeth with Hope." I feel lucky to be among her readers, taken care of within her poems – "oases of kindness [where] reason's tender shoots can burst forth." –Mary Azrael poet and editor of Passager Books

Laugh and learn with fun facts about flowers, plants, fruit, and more—all told in Dr. Seuss’s beloved rhyming style and starring the Cat in the Hat! “I’m the Cat in the Hat, and I think that you need to come take a look at this thing called a seed.” The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series combines beloved characters, engaging rhymes, and Seussian illustrations to introduce children to non-fiction topics from the real world! Grow your brain with fun facts about flowering plants and learn: how they all start out as a seed how they make their own food inside their leaves how bees help spread the pollen flowers need to produce fruit and much more! Perfect for story time and for the youngest readers, Oh Say Can You Seed? All About Flowering Plants also includes an index, glossary, and suggestions for further learning. Look for more books in the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series! High? Low? Where Did It Go? All About Animal Camouflage Is a Camel a Mammal? All About Mammals The 100 Hats of the Cat in the Hat: A Celebration of the 100th Day of School A Great Day for Pup: All About Wild Babies Would You Rather Be a Pollywog? All About Pond Life Happy Pi Day to You! All About Measuring Circles I Can Name 50 Trees Today! All About Trees Fine Feathered Friends: All About Birds My, Oh My--A Butterfly! All About Butterflies Inside Your Outside! All About the Human Body Ice is Nice! All About the North and South Poles

A collection of nonsensical tongue twisters.

A New York Times Editors' Choice The fascinating story of America’s national anthem and an examination of its powerful meaning today. Most Americans learn the tale in elementary school: During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key witnessed the daylong bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry by British navy ships; seeing the Stars and Stripes still flying proudly at first light, he was inspired to pen his famous lyric. What Americans don’t know is the story of how this everyday “broadside ballad,” one of thousands of such topical songs that captured the events and emotions of early American life, rose to become the nation’s one and only anthem and today’s magnet for controversy. In O Say Can You Hear? Mark Clague brilliantly weaves together the stories of the song and the nation it represents. Examining the origins of both text and music, alternate lyrics and translations, and the song’s use in sports, at times of war, and for political protest, he argues that the anthem’s meaning reflects—and is reflected by—the nation’s quest to become a more perfect union. From victory song to hymn of sacrifice and vehicle for protest, the story of Key’s song is the story of America itself. Each chapter in the book explores a different facet of the anthem’s story. In one, we learn the real history behind the singing of the anthem at sporting events; in another, Clague explores Key’s complicated relationship with slavery and its repercussions today. An entire is chapter devoted to some of the most famous performances of the anthem, from Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock to Roseanne Barr at a baseball game to the iconic Whitney Houston version from the 1991 Super Bowl. At every turn, the book goes beyond the events to explore the song’s resonance and meaning. From its first lines Key’s lyric poses questions: “O say can you see?” “Does that banner yet wave?” Likewise, Clague’s O Say Can You Hear? raises important questions about the banner; what it meant in 1814, what it means to us today, and why it matters.

This book is for all (everyone), the learned and the not so learned. It entails a path for those who can see and a direction for those who can’t. It is a guide for some, a key for few and a source for many. It is poetry, it is documented facts along with scripture, it is truth within the art and detailed, it is powerful. Then again, it may not be for you... If you don’t believe in anything or anyone at all.

This picture book celebrates and explains America's symbols, landmarks, and important words in lively brief text and bright, humorous illustrations. There are stars-and-stripes T-shirts. There are Statue of Liberty pencil sharpeners. There's an eagle on our money and Uncle Sam Halloween costumes. Symbols are everywhere...but where do they come from? What do they mean? How does something become a symbol? This celebration of twenty of America's important places, interesting objects, and inspiring words is for the youngest Americans. Each symbol is decribed on a two-page spread that is decorated with fun, bright pastels. Plymouth Rock, the White House, Ellis Island, Mount Rushmore, the flag, the eagle, Uncle Sam, the national anthem, and

USA Today bestselling author Allie McMurphy is busy making yummy fudge for the summer holiday—until murder gives her something else to chew on. . . Red, White, And Boom It's not Fourth of July on Mackinac Island without fireworks and fudge. The Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop is supplying the treats—and Allie has hired Rodney Rivers, the biggest name in aerial displays, to create an unforgettable spectacle. Unfortunately, Allie finds him dead, covered with screaming chicken fireworks, just before the entire warehouse of pyrotechnics goes up in smoke. Is it arson or is it murder? Allie and her bichonpoo, Mal, must sift through the suspects until the killer is caught and the island can enjoy a star-spangled celebration.

Lyrics to the United States national anthem are accompanied by flaps to lift revealing information about the song's origins, national monuments, the history of the flag, and the Pledge of Allegiance, along with a CD of ten patriotic songs.