Amy SchmidtRecensioni

This biography of one of the few women in her generation to devote herself entirely to the pursuit of meditation also includes Dipa Ma's spiritual teachings, which have made her a major figure in contemporary Buddhism.

Summary: A perfectly balanced mix of poetry partnered with the perfectly delightful subject of dogs. Simple poems meant to entertain, that also help children think about dogs in a fresh descriptive way. The pictures of real dogs partnered with well-crafted poems makes this book worth looking at.

Personal Response: I picked this book off of the shelf because I loved the cover. It shows a Boston Terrier blowing a big pink bubble. I was choosing books for National Poetry Month and this one caught my eye. Inside, the pictures and poetry only got better. I shared it with my mentor, and she wanted to buy it after she had passed through the library and heard me reading a couple of the poems to a group of second graders. I think I will buy this one for her as a gift for being my mentor this year.

Curriculum Connection: I read two poems from this book to all of my 2nd-6th graders this week. They had to respond to each of the poems and write about the image that came to their minds when I read the poems. I got great responses. I read The Battle of the Bone which was about two Chihuahuas fighting over a bone, and I read Clean Dog, Smelly Dog: A Tail of Woe. I ended up reading several more poems from this book because the kids did not want me to stop. I even had a third grade boy use this book for his poetry project where he is creating a “copycat” poem. I will definitely be pulling this book off the shelf each April for National Poetry Month.

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Schmidt-Dipa-Ma-presence-et-rayonnement-dune-femm...

> RÉSUMÉ. — Ce livre présente à la fois l'histoire de la vie de Dipa Ma et ses enseignements. Dipa Ma est une figure incontournable de la spiritualité contemporaine. Maître bouddhiste d'exception, cette femme, épouse et mère, a découvert la méditation sous l'égide de Mahasi Sayadaw en Birmanie dans les années 1950 et a très vite atteint les plus profonds niveaux de concentration et de sagesse. De retour en Inde, son pays natal, elle a enseigné depuis son petit appartement dans les quartiers pauvres de Calcutta. Totalement dévouée à la pratique et à sa transmission, elle encourageait tous ceux qui le souhaitaient à pratiquer la méditation dans toutes les situations de la vie. Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein et Jack Kornfield ont été ses élèves. À travers eux et suite aux deux voyages qu’ils ont organisés pour elle aux États Unis, elle a profondément marqué la pratique de la méditation et de la vie en pleine conscience en Occident.
La sagesse et la compassion infinies de Dipa Ma continuent à inspirer et à guider un nombre croissant de chercheurs spirituels et de pratiquants, toutes dénominations confondues. Ce livre tisse harmonieusement, à travers anecdotes et récits, l'unique testament de la vie de Dipa Ma et de l'héritage extraordinaire qu’elle nous a légué. Ed. Sully (2014), 203 p.

> UN LIVRE REMARQUABLE. — Sur la vie d'une femme qui l'était tout autant. L'ouvrage se lit rapidement et facilement, je l'ai terminé en deux soirs. Éminemment complet, le livre est constitué d'une biographie, de témoignages et de transcriptions de questions-réponses.
Dipa Ma méritait amplement d'être connue en France, les enseignantes du Theravada sont rares ; on retrouve au fil des pages des personnalités telles que Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein et Michelle Levey qui fondèrent le fameux Insight Meditation Society, ou encore le grand Mahasi Sayadaw, ainsi qu'Anagarika Munindra qui devint le maître de Dipa en Inde.
Comme à son habitude, Jeanne Schut a effectué une magnifique traduction du livre d'Amy Schmidt. (Daniel ROBERT)
—le 24 déc. 2014 (Sur Amazon.fr) 5/5

> Un beau livre inspirant sur l'une des enseignantes du Dharma les plus aimées, véritable sainte bouddhiste. (Jack Kornfield)

> Bien que Dipa Ma ne soit venue que deux fois en Occident, son impact sur le bouddhisme occidental a été très profond. (Joseph Goldstein)

> Dipa Ma incarne tout les enseignements. Avec courage et détermination dans la pratique de la méditation, elle a fait basculer son destin. La petite femme craintive et dépendante est devenue un « noble être » parfaitement accompli dont l'assurance et la force se manifestaient très simplement, dans l'amour et la lumière qui jaillissaient d'elle et gui enveloppaient tous ceux gui l'approchaient. (Jeanne Schut)

> AMITA (AMY) SCHMIDT a été enseignante permanente à l'Insight Méditation Society de Barre, dans le Massachussetts, aux États-Unis, de 2000 à 2006. Assistante sociale clinique diplômée, elle travaille aujourd'hui à Hawaï, en libéral et propose une thérapie basée sur la psychologie et la spiritualité.½

In my opinion, “Dog-Gone School” is a great attention-grabbing poetry book for children. My favorite thing about this book is the illustrations. To be specific, in the poem “SLURP,” a dog is pictured standing on a tall stack of books, leaning on top of the water fountain in order to get a drink. In this case, children may get a good laugh at this image of a dog piling up books and standing on them. Also, the detailed language and word choice is an essential contribution to this book. Using academic language such as, “saxophone wails,” “tuba bellows,” and “trumpet whines,” shows a perfect example of strong vocabulary and descriptive language. I think the main idea of this book is to get children excited about school, through the use of humor and dogs.

In my opinion this is a good book. I liked the authors writing style because it was well-organized, in the fact that while going through the book, each poem regarded a different school subject and went in the order of a real school day. Also, each poem was unique in some way, and all of the poems required the reader to think about whatever school subject the poem was focused on. For example, the “Adding Up” poem required the reader to add, and the “Spellbound” poem required the reader to complete a word with the missing letter. Another reason I liked this book is because of the pictures on every page of funny dogs. While I personally am not a dog person, I know majority of people are, and children especially would love the real pictures of dogs dressed up in glasses and school attire. Each dog was different, too, so a lot of children would probably compare one or a few of the dogs in the books to their own. The main idea of this book is to get children excited for school.

I enjoyed reading Dog-Gone School because it is a fantastic poetry picture book that can be used in a variety of grades. It could be used in the lower grades because it is a cute books about dogs in school, but the higher grades as well who are learning how to write poetry. The book has several examples of different types of poems such as haikus, acrostics, cuplets, and more! I liked the book for its illustrations as well. For example, the book has actually pictures of dogs doing things in a school, which is very engaging for readers, because it is not something that is seen everyday. There is a picture of one dog in an art class with paper all over his face, which is cute and funny. There is no central message to this book other than the various types of poetry used throughout the book as well as getting children excited about poetry.

I can't account for my opinion on this one because the book is generally well done. I'm just not that enamored with the cuteness factor here. Some of my friends with more reading credibility than me (and an admittedly soft spot for dogs) love this book. I liked it, but that was about it.

Many times, while sitting at a meditation retreat, I would hear my teachers talk about their teachers and one of their favorites was Dipa Ma. I've heard so many stories, in fact, that I was glad to find this book which explains her life in more detail. She was a remarkable woman - some believe an enlightened being - yet the book manages to keep her ideas and life accessible to the general practitioner. It's a quick read, but one that should be savored.½

Simple, short poems that coincide with the photographs of dogs, posing with props. Font and text is layouted in such a way as to indicate movement of the words or pauses in speech. Photography is AWESOME. Animals lovers will agree.½

Schmidt, A. (2009). Loose Leashes. New York: Random House.

9780375856419

Created by a husband and wife team, Loose Leashes shares poems of dogs who are anthropomorphized in various ways. Honey doesn’t want to go to a groomer. Lewis and Clark seek adventure. Grace goes ice-skating. Pip and Squeak fight over a bone (Okay, so the last one is still typical dog behavior).

From the first poem, “Loose Leashes,” several dogs are free to do as they please and most seek adventure of some sort. A few dogs deal with overcoming their fears. But most just have fun.

The poems are cute and funny and lend support to the images they stand beside. For me, it’s the photographs that are most engaging. Surreal and fun, many kids will want to stare at them for a while, especially dog lovers.


Some may even try to pet the end papers, which feature photos of a white dog’s coat.


Activities to Do with the Book:

After seeing the photos of Loose Leaches and reading or listening to the poetry, students may be inspired to write their own poems or stories based on the photographs (It might be easiest to give each students or small groups a photocopy of one of the images and have them write the poems beginning with describing what they see).

Another option would be to have students pick their own favorite animal and draw them in strange settings or with various objects.

A teacher could also ask students if they’ve read any other picturebooks that feature animals in weird places. (I think Chris Van Allsburg’s Jumanji would be a natural beginning).

Although Loose Leashes does not list the dog breeds featured in the illustrations, a teacher could use the book to trigger a research project on various breeds.


Favorite Quotes:

“I’m going far—
Just need to learn to drive this car.”

“Sharing is always a hard thing to do,
Especially when one bone is given to two.”

“There once was a dog that could read
With amazing page-turning speed.”

For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.

Wonderful variety of poem types featuring a special dog. The photos are as creative as the poems and shows the dog's personality.½

From LibraryThing:

This biography of one of the few women in her generation to devote herself entirely to the pursuit of meditation also includes Dipa Ma's spiritual teachings, which have made her a major figure in contemporary Buddhism.