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Poetryaction for Toad Weather
I had read Sandra Markle’s Toad Weather, and I was just in a mood to play with words, so I started jotting. Out came “toads”
License Plate Poetry
Yesterday, I was sharing the opening poem of BookSpeak! and how it came to be the opening poem. Well, last week was my birthday, and Randy, my husband, and I were spending a few days up on the North Shore of Lake Superior–one of my favorite places in the whole world! We had just parked
Writing Openings
A couple of weeks ago, I posted about working on the opening to my next picture book. I still haven’t heard if the opening I submitted will fly or not, but I thought I’d follow up here and share a couple of openings written after the fact. A lot of times, the meat of the
Poetryaction and Bookalikes for Emu
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) If you’re not a regular reader here, welcome! I share poetryactions, or poems written in reaction to picture books (usually) on a fairly regular basis. And I’m sharing one today! One of my favorite things about Claire Saxby’s Emu is her use of
Pipes [15 words or less poems]
Hello, my fun 15 Words or Less community! Today, I’m driving home from a FABULOUS 4 days on the North Shore of Lake Superior. That’s one of my favorite places on earth, and Randy and I have been just hanging out, soaking up fall beauty, reading, playing Scrabble, and getting away from it all. (This
Poetryaction and Bookalikes for By Mouse & Frog
Deborah Freedman’s By Mouse & Frog made me think about the old adage of opposites attract, and how so often kids are indeed friends
Poetryaction and Bookalikes for Sweep Up the Sun
The phrase “stitching earth to sky with invisible thread” is
Poetryaction and Bookalikes for Whale Trails
Good morning! I’m going to share some poetryactions this week, because it’s been a while! Hope you like them! Whale Trails, a fun and wonderfully structured book by Lesa Cline-Ransome made me think of the whale-watching trip Randy and I went on in 2010 when we went to Boston. Whales are so huge, you’d think,
Sailing Stone, National Geographic’s Book of Nature Poetry, & the Poetry Friday Roundup!
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome to regulars and newbies alike–I’m glad you’re all here. I’m happy to be hosting Poetry Friday today, and I’m extra happy to be sharing a beautiful new anthology edited by J. Patrick Lewis. You probably remember the Book of Animal Poetry, and now Pat’s done a second anthology with National Geographic,
Reaching Hands [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines are here)! Howdy, 15 Words or Less-ers! I took this picture a couple of years ago at a high school. I was walking down the hall, and these hands were overhead! They make me think of:
The Sun and the Moon Gripe a Little [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! I am at the ITEM conference today chatting with media specialists and instructional technology folks (and seeing some writer friends, too). Hopefully, we will not be squabbling like the moon and sun are in my poems today! Last month, we Poetry 7 wrote found poems. This month, we tried a form I
Flower Boot [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines are here)! Good morning! I took this picture in Ireland, and though you can’t really tell, this shoe is hanging on a stone wall outside someone’s house. These flowers growing out of a hiking book make me think of:
Inviting a Reader in
Teachers, I’m in the editing/revision process for my next book with Millbrook Press. Carol, my insightful editor, wondered if the book needed more of an opening to orient the reader. I wrote the book as a Things To Do If… poem (see some quick TTDI poems here and here and here), and if you go
poetryaction for When the Wind Blows
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I saw an early version of Linda Booth Sweeney’s When the Wind Blows, and it was already a lovely, image-drenched story! It’s super exciting for me to see
Fossil [15 words or less poems]
OK, I think I have the Comment settings figured out so that it’s easier to Comment now. I just thought nobody was coming by! And, today’s the last day of the 99-cent sale of the Kindle edition of Riddle-ku: Haiku for Very Close Reading. Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines
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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