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National Cat Day Is Coming Up!
Finally, Clover Kitty’s day is coming–haha! She would like to knit and nap and perhaps do seesaws with her friend, Oliver. And she’d love to be part of your cat-themed storytime! Also, here’s a listing of cat-themed picture books, plus you’ll find a fabulous readaloud of Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten on my readaloud page.
Nesting [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) You guys, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. My dad was in the hospital for several nights–he’s home and doing…sort of okay. Now my sister (the same one who had serious medical issues earlier this year) is back in the hospital and not doing
Getting Ready for Winter
The days are getting brisker, here in Minnesota anyway, and the creatures are all preparing for the cold. If you’re studying topics like hibernation, migration, and adaptation, make sure to add Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle: How Animals Get Ready for Winter (Millbrook, illus by Claudine Gevry) to your list of resources. So far this fall, I’ve
Celebrating Fall Leaves!
Fall is my favorite favorite time of year, and fall color is one of the reasons for that. A couple of weeks ago, Randy and I tried out our inflatable kayak. We were on a small lake in St. Paul, and we got to admire a bit of fall color while a bald eagle hunted
Petting Zoo [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) First off–a big thanks for the Poetry Friday folks who attended the Moving Words library event I participated in last weekend. It was WONDERFUL to see familiar names in the attendees list and see your comments in the chat box :>) If anyone’s interested in
High-Stepping Hippo [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) [Reminder about a free local library program (via Zoom) THIS Saturday. It will be Michael Hall, Joyce Sidman, and me–each talking a bit about how a book of ours came to be–then Q&A. Please join us–you can register at https://thefriends.org/event/moving-words-writers-across-minnesota-center-city/ ] Well, dang.
Celebrate the Moon with the Chinese Moon Festival #ClassroomConnections
On October 1st, some people in China celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival. Are you celebrating with your students? Add If You Were the Moon to your party! If you’re partying at least a day early, you can catch the virtual storywalk here. And for loads of moon
Traveling Together [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) You guys, I’m totally slammed from now through the end of October, so my posts will be uber-short. And I’ll still comment on other folks’ posts over the weekend, but I won’t get to everyone’s every week :>( [Hey, off-topic, but I’m part of a
Ready for Talk Like a Pirate Day? #ClassroomConnections
It’s almost Talk Like a Pirate Day! I can’t believe my A Is for Arrr! A Pirate Alphabet, was published 10 years ago! If you don’t have that book, check out this roundup of pirate-themed picture books. And don’t miss Pirates, by David L. Harrison and Dan Burr. It’s one of my very favorite poetry
New Mouse [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) School has started up in some form or another in most parts of the country, and I’m thinking that, even digitally, many kids (and teachers) are feeling lost in a maze of new rules, new technologies, new people, new platforms…Here’s a poem from my very
Freedom Is a Word [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m listening to The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo right now. Wow. I don’t know why I haven’t read it before, other than I don’t read a lot of ya, and I had some strange idea that it was related to Malcolm X, and the
A Virtual Storywalk for If You Were the Moon #ClassroomConnections
Did you see the full moon last night? Sigh…one of my favorite things in the world. Dakota County Library in Minnesota has created a virtual storywalk of my book If You Were the Moon (Millbrook Press, illus by Jaime Kim). It’s set up in a park so it’s as if you’re walking through the park
Writing to an Author #ClassroomConnections
Last month, I got an amazing email from a kindergarten teacher in Belgium named Eleonora about my most recent picture book, Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten. She said that a friend recommended the book to her because: “(I’m autistic and very sensitive to sensory stimuli) and a kindergarten teacher. And I really, really loved it,
Make Time Fly?
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was hindsight again — pick one of your old poems to revise and/or write a new poem in conversation with it… (any form). I am writing this on Wednesday and feel hopelessly behind. I almost didn’t
Get Ready for Literacy Day! #ClassroomConnections
September 8 is International Literacy Day! This year’s theme is Teaching and Learning in the Covid-19 Crisis and Beyond. It’s a great time to thank all the teachers you know for the extra work they’re doing to reach and teach your kids during challenging times. Thanks, teachers! Here are just a few activities I offer
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Are You Looking For?
Go to my Poetry page for:
- National Poetry Month projects through the years
- Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
- Introductions to several favorite poetry forms