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Roundup of Fall Small Reads [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Oops, I’m checking in late here! But I want to give y’all a link to my Small Reads for Fall roundup page! This was the main part of my November e‑newsletter for educators, Small Reads. Check the right sidebar to find the subscription link! You’ll

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Sheep Is a Solid Word [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) A quick invitation before my poem today! Click on the graphic for details and free registration. So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was a Wordplay poem, my choice–whee! Now, lots of poems have wordplay in them, of course, but what I’m talking

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Her Fur Is Soft as Mittens, But… #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m late getting this together, but I have three big things to share! 1) Thank you! A huge thank you to all of you who sent both donations and good wishes to my friends Steve and Vicki Palmquist last week. I am so grateful for

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How-to Writing #ClassroomConnections

October only: Looking for how-to mentor texts to share with your students? If You Want to Knit Some Mittens takes the reader from a sheep to a pair of sunny gold mittens in 18 easy steps—including some madcap adventures and ending with a close-knit friendship. Plus Angela Matteson and I created this downloadable writing activity

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A Measuring Lesson Plan #ClassroomConnections

October only: I’m so pleased to have a measuring lesson plan (using yarn!) for K‑2 available on Patricia Newman’s wonderful blog as part of her LitLinks series celebrating the links between STEM topics and writing/literature. I hope you enjoy it! [My Classroom Connections posts share a way to connect one of my books or poems

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Call of the Highland Sky #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Wasn’t planning to post this week, but then my small group met yesterday, and I wrote this poem, inspired by a YouTube video. For your weekly poetry rabbit hole, fall into the Poetry Friday Roundup with fantastic poet Irene Latham! Save

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Outside Storytime with Nature Books #ClassroomConnections

October only: There’s nothing like getting outside to read a nature book! A couple of weekends ago, I got to share Secrets of the Loon with some families at a Minnesota park through Dakota County Library. It was a gorgeous fall day, and it was fun to talk about how a loon’s anatomy affects its

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The Poetry Friday Roundup Is Here!

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m so happy to be hosting this week. I’m feeling sad about a breakup in the family, and this is a good distraction–along with being super busy with deadlines, storytimes, and promoting my forthcoming picture book. Poetry Princesses Challenge This month, our Poetry

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A Post for Writers, Plus a Book Giveaway!

Howdy! I’m over at Lydia Lukidis’ blog today with a Blissfully Bookish post about the writing of If You Want to Knit Some Mittens! I hope you’ll check it out and also comment on Lydia’s site to enter the giveaway of a signed copy! And stick around to get to know Lydia, too :>) Here’s

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It’s a Book Trailer Premiere!

I’m so excited that Mr. Schu at Watch. Connect. Read. premiered the book trailer yesterday for If You Want to Knit Some Mittens! Please go check it out:>) I’m embarrassed to say how long it took me to put this video together–and that’s with someone ELSE knitting the actual mittens (shout out to Kimberley Gorelik

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The Look on a Reader’s Face #ClassroomConnections

I’ll be sharing lots about my forthcoming picture book, If You Want to Knit Some Mittens, in the coming weeks. But for now, I just want to soak up the joy on the face of a family friend, Ryeli, who I gave one of my author copies to. Teachers, I hope you’re seeing lots of

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What Detroit Knows [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Well, I missed the Poetry Princess August posting because I was visiting family in Florida for the first time in almost two years! But I love the form they played with: What _ Knows. I wrote this one during and after my 2019

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Grandparents Day is September 12 #ClassroomConnections

I always felt a little sad when our girls’ schools had Grandparents Day programs, since they never had any local grandparents. I think any holiday or celebration that happens around certain family members could also use recognition that not all families have someone in that role—and that’s okay! Check out Meet My Family to celebrate

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Bs Are a Few of My Favorite Things, and an Uplifting Anthology

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Howdy, friends. This week, I’m sharing an old poem, because it recently found a new little audience. I wrote this spoof in 2009, inspired by Tricia Stohr-Hunt. (More details back here.) Now this poem is included in a new anthology created by Jayne Jaudon Ferrer.

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