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Animal Adaptations #ClassroomConnections

One of the science topics I am constantly fascinated by is animal adaptations: how animals’ bodies and behaviors adapt to their environments. My favorite facts from Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle: How Animals Get Ready for Winter (Millbrook, illus by Claudine Gevry) concern Northern wood frogs that freeze solid and earthworms that migrate vertically, just a few

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Blow It Up, Pufferfish!

Blow It Up, Pufferfish! Plus the Poetry Friday Roundup

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Today, I’m sharing a poem I wrote during a March Madness poetry competition several years ago. When I initially signed up to host, this would have been a Poetry Princesses Friday, but then we changed our schedule. Sooooooo, you get a random poem

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Pandemic Summer, an etheree poem

Pandemic Summer: an Etheree

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Hey, this part isn’t poetry, but it’s the LAST DAY for these two things, so I’m sharing here. First, there’s a Goodreads Giveaway. Win one of 20 copies–last day to enter is today. Second, it’s the last day to get CLOVER KITTY GOES

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Dandelion poems from two books, Lion of the Sky and Snowman-Cold=Puddle

Dandelion Poems, Crafts, and Coloring Page

There’s something about a dandelion. I know many folks hate them, and I admit a yard over-run by them can be…intimidating. But a single beautiful dandelion seedhead…. I seem to have a number of dandelion poems. Here are two from two 2019 picture books, Snowman-Cold=Puddle and Lion of the Sky. The riddle-ku on the left

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Obsession, a Cinderella Poem #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) First up, I’m over at Lydia Lukidis’ Blissfully Bookish with a post about my newest picture book, Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten–and there’s a giveaway (ends today)! Please stop by if you have a chance! Sometime in the last month or so, I answered a

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Puppet Play to Encourage Being a Good Friend

There are so many ways we can encourage kids to be good friends. And the actions that might be friendly to one child can feel totally overwhelming to another. In Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten, the other kitties aren’t really a squealing tornado of fangs and fur…but that’s how it feels to Clover. Check out

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image poem

If an Aurora Appears [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Hi, Poetry Friday friends. First, thanks for all the lovely wishes for Annabelle’s wedding :>) Even a rainy day and social distancing couldn’t tamp down the joy! I missed PF last week, and I missed you guys. This weekend will also be very busy with

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Use a Countdown Calendar to Ease Back-to-School Anxiety

[Guess what? Author/artist Lydia Lukidis is also featuring Clover Kitty on her blog today–with ANOTHER chance for a giveaway! Plus backstory and writing process info. You can check it out here!)   Is your child anxious about starting school? (Or are you?!) Check out the cute countdown calendar I created to go with my new

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Fireworks Poem

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Well, we won’t be going to see any fireworks this year, but the ones Mercè López created for Lion of the Sky are more glorious, anyway! Now if we could just create a world where the only explosions were fireworks… And for lots of wonderful

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“Morning” [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was: a theme of susurrus, or an image of thick woods, whatever form we wish! Maybe some of you wrote along with us? I look forward to seeing your poem on your blog, if so! I

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Moving Toward Independence

We’re coming up on July 4—the day the United States celebrates its independence. Lots of picture books also celebrate independence, since it’s a crucial journey kids embark on. This includes my newest photo picture book, Secrets of the Loon. In it, Moon Loon has to learn LOTS of skills to become independent! To extend the

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One Day Too Late

Some Poems for World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day is coming up on June 20. This is a subject that holds power for me, and looking at the photos of refugees, meeting asylum seekers in a refugee camp overseas, and talking to people who work to help with refugees have all inspired me to write poems over the years, and you

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We Are All Family!

When I sign my book Meet My Family  for readers, I write the above phrase. And when I read it out loud to groups, I invite kids to look for an animal family in the book that has something in common with their own human family. It’s fun to see kids’ eyes open wide when

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