Blog
Bull vs. Bear [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines are here)!
poetryaction and bookalikes for Lost and Found
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I love the whimsy of Oliver Jeffers’ books and the beauty and simplicity of his art. Sigh.
Big Fish [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)!
poetryaction for Totally Secret Secret
Who could not love Bob Shea’s Ballet Cat and Sparkles the Pony? In The Totally Secret Secret, you will recognize real kid behavior and the negotiations of friendship. I can’t wait for the next one coming out in 2016. Anyway, I thought about the secrets we keep that we shouldn’t, the ones that reveal our
poetryaction and bookalikes for Popcorn Astronauts
Popcorn Astronauts is full of zany and delightful poems about food, and it put me in mind of one of my favorite desserts, bomboloni from Biaggi’s. My sister Patty and I always go get it when she comes up to visit from Florida. And we each get our own order. (We don’t even order a
Eros [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Continuing my reliving of this past Father’s Day, we admired the big Eros sculpture outside of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I could swear I featured a photo of this sculpture years ago, with someone looking out of one of the eyes. But
poetryaction for Wherever You Go
For Wherever You Go,?I wondered how I would describe my own perfect path. And I wanted to use rhyme, which this book by Pat Zietlow Miller (beautifully illustrated by Eliza Wheeler) does in such a lovely way. I think it would be fun to have students write (but not necessarily in rhyme!) about the qualities
poetryaction and bookalikes for Yard Sale
In Yard Sale, a lovely book by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Lauren Castillo, those cheery balloons at the yard sale,
Classified Haiku [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Last month, we Poetry Sisters wrote poems in the style of e.e. cummings. Whew! I’m glad that is finished. For July, we decided to do haiku in the vein of classified ads. Two ancient forms–ha!
Weebles [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! On Father’s Day, we also went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see the Leonardo daVinci codex exhibit. Amazing! Randy wanted to browse the Mark Mothersbaugh exhibit, too. Not so amazing–well, just not my taste, for the most part. But this piece
Catch Your Breath: a poetry-writing guide by Laura Purdie Salas
Hey, guess what! My most recent writing project for Capstone Press is a guide to writing poetry, aimed at 4th-8th graders. And it covers ALL sorts of poetic forms and moods. (The title is rather a long story.) And in addition to a few classics, it features poems generously, graciously donated by many poets you
Pit [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! On Father’s Day, we went to the Smack Shack in Minneapolis (delicious), and I took this pic there and Waterlogued it. This image makes me think of:
My Cat, by Valerie Worth
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) With all the excitement over a lion or other big cat roaming a Milwaukee neighborhood, I thought “My Cat,” by Valerie Worth, would be appropriate for today. It’s from the book Pug & Other Animal Poems (see it on Indiebound or Amazon). The spread in
Umbrellas [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! When my sister Patty visited a few weeks ago, we went to an improv show (I love those!), and the mall had umbrellas all over. This image makes me think of:
Meet Me in St. Louis? And poetryaction for Dolphin Baby!
I’m on my way to St. Louis this morning for ILA 2015! Anybody else heading there? Would love to see you–leave a Comment here or Message me on Facebook or DM me on Twitter. Maybe we can meet up! Now… Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I really enjoy Nicola Davies’
Subscribe to Blog via Email
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