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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
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
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
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
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
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
Celebrate the Lunar Landing Anniversary with If You Were the Moon
July 20 is the 51st anniversary of the first lunar landing! I bought stamps recently featuring this momentous occasion in our history. It really is astonishing to me that humans were able to walk on the moon. Want to celebrate the moon landing with your students or kids? Check out the post I wrote for
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
“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
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
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
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
The World’s Last Magic Bean #PoetryFriday
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m sharing another poem readaloud from one of my 30 Painless Classroom Poems books. Now, today, I’m sharing another poem from Fairy Tale Garage Sale, which has the concept that all the characters in fairy tales are selling off their unneeded items. It’s another Jack
Father’s Day Picture Books
Looking for examples of great dads to share with young readers for Father’s Day? My new picture book Secrets of the Loon illustrates how both loon parents share all the responsibilities, from guarding the nest to giving hatchlings piggyback rides to feeding the chicks. You can expand the reading fun by partnering my title
Respirator [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Also, Poetry Friends who have seen our Poetry Princesses/Poetry Sisters/Poetry 7 posts for many years — After more than a decade of writing together and several years of monthly assignments, we wondered if any of you might like to play along? Here’s what
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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