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Sharing Ourselves with a Growth Chart

Hello, teachers, and happy fall! I hope you had a fabulous summer! I had a busy one–more about that in the coming weeks. But right now, I want to share an activity that I think could be great for community building as your school year is getting into gear. My newest picture book, Line Leads

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Minnesota Storytimes and a Colossally Beautiful Poetryaction

Happy Poetry Friday, and welcome to all! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m heading out on a 5‑day, 10-library, 3‑hotel For the Love of Loons storytime tour in the Kitchigami Regional Library system of Minnesota! The August whirlwind continues :>) Before I start two frantic days of prep and packing, I’ll quickly share

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“Heart of Earth” choral performance, using lines from my poems!

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Whether you’re a regular or a new visitor, I’m glad you’re here! Things are chaos at our place, as our younger daughter’s fiance just left after a 10-day visit, and my sister arrived from Florida with a couple of overlapping days. Lots of great times

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Sweetgum Seed Ball Magnipoem

Welcome to Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m so happy you’re here! Thanks for all your kind wishes last week. My husband is recovering from Covid, and our daughter and I are both still Covid-free (knock wood and praise the masks and gloves). Although I didn’t get to celebrate my new

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Laura’s New Book, Friendship Is a Circle, and the Poetry Friday Roundup!

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Welcome, and I’m so pleased that you’re here! As I post this on Thursday afternoon, it’s the book birthday for my new picture book, Line Leads the Way. I love this little tale of perseverance, vulnerability, imperfection, and library love. The charming illustrations by Alice

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Want Ad Haiku, Sort of

Happy Poetry Friday! Are you a regular or a newbie? No matter…you are welcome! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Hey, I have a new picture book out next week! I’m so excited about it. It has themes of imperfection, authenticity, and library love. It’s not poetry, but I hope you’ll like it anyway.

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One Rule of War

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m sharing more poems for teens/adults over the summer, when not as many teachers are looking for children’s poems. I wrote this one sometime over the past year. I know there are certain accepted “rules of war.” And there’s outrage when civilians are targeted. And

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We Sleep, a Poetryaction

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, whether you’re an OG PFer or here for the first time! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Before I forget, here are a few under-a-minute vids of the trip Kayla Harren and I took to Duluth, promoting Oskar’s Voyage. So much more fun to do unpaid and exhausting promo trips

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Wabi-Sabi, an Imperfect Definito Poem

News: The Kindle edition of Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten is on sale for $2.49 through June 30 only. Just in case you’re looking for some back-to-school reads for later! Happy Poetry Friday! Are you a regular or a newbie? No matter…you are welcome! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) This month, the Poetry

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Who Am I To Say

Happy Poetry Friday, and welcome! Whether you’re a regular or a newbie, I’m happy you’re here. (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) One of the many things I love about writing poetry is that it’s a great place to put painful and difficult emotions. This is a poem I wrote quite a while ago,

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The Moon Has Lost Her Memory

Happy Poetry Friday, and welcome! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I have so many friends (including here in the PF community) and family members, including our own immediate family, supporting people with memory loss, Alzheimer’s, dementia, etc. It’s such a devastating thing, and yet watching people guide and care for their loved ones

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Storm-Making on a Trolley

On Saturday, illustrator Kayla Harren and I read stories on the Stillwater (MN) Trolley. What a cool idea! It’s part of Valley Bookseller’s summer storytime lineup. Kayla and I shared Oskar’s Voyage, which she illustrated so wonderfully! We didn’t get any action shots because we were both sharing, but all three of us (me, Kayla,

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Homage to My Backbone

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) It’s the last Friday of the month, which means it’s Poetry Sisters time! We wrote poems in the style of Lucille Clifton’s “homage to my hips.” Such a fantastic poem, and so hard for me to write in the style of. That confidence,

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Dreaming of Savannah

[ETA: I updated my How Much Money Does a Writer Make? page with my 2023 income report. Sadly, the answer is “not much!”] Welcome to Poetry Friday! Whether you’re a familiar face or a new visitor, I’m happy you’re here. (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Recently, I received a review copy of Bless

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