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poetryaction for Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla
I was excited to share on Wednesday about Water Can Be… making it onto the Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended list. And one of the reasons it’s such an honor is because of the OTHER books loved by the award committee. Katherine Applegate’s Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla earned
Flowers [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I love taking close-up pics with my phone. Just ordered a little macro lens–can’t wait to try it. Maybe I’ll be able to do non-blurry close-ups! This image makes me think of: 1) Easter 2) fairy princess dolls or My Little Pony dolls
Charlotte Zolotow excitement!
Congratulations to Jenny Offill, author of SPARKY,? for winning the Charlotte Zolotow award for outstanding writing in a picture book! I’ve read and done a poetryaction for SPARKY (the funny story of a quite unusual pet!), but it hasn’t posted yet. The award committee also chose 5 Honor books and 9 Highly Commended titles, and
Everglades–With a Dash of Salt: a 50 State Poems Poem
Hi teachers! The last poem I’m going to share for now from my new 30 Painless Classroom Poems book, Wacky, Wild, and Wonderful: 50 State Poems, is the one inspired by my home state, Florida. Note: Florida Bay is an 850-square-mile estuary at the southern tip of Florida. The freshwater flowing south through the Everglades
Alaska: Night Lights: a 50 State Poems Poem
Happy Poetry Friday! Here’s another poem from my latest 30 Painless Classroom Poems book, Wacky, Wild, and Wonderful: 50 State Poems. Note: The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are usually visible only in the far North. They can be many colors and shapes. Various Indian tribes in Alaska and Canada have at times believed that
Bell [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I love bells. I really like the big, gongy kind, but pretty much any curved metal makes me happy. This image makes me think of: 1) a jewel 2) the Seven Dwarves (not sure why, but metal makes me think of mining, I
Washington: Move It! a 50 State Poems Poem
I’m moving across the country for this poem from my new 30 Painless Classroom Poems book, Wacky, Wild, and Wonderful: 50 State Poems. I didn’t know we had rain forests in the U.S. until I wrote a series of ecosystem books for Capstone several years ago. Here’s the Washington poem. Note: The Hoh rain forest
Booklist Gives Rocky Love
Delighted to share that Booklist has given A ROCK CAN BE… a lovely review! “[N]atural guessing game…challenging children…broaden their thinking…beautiful picture book…” What is not to love here? Thank you, Booklist! (The highlights and bold were added by me:>) A Rock Can Be … Salas, Laura Purdie (Author) , Dabija, Violeta (Illustrator) Mar 2015. 32
North Carolina: On Her Way to the Graveyard: a 50 State Poems Poem
Happy Poetry Friday! This week, I’m sharing a poem from my new 30 Painless Classroom Poems book, Wacky, Wild, and Wonderful: 50 State Poems. Note: Cape Hatteras is the outermost point of land on the Outer Banks Islands. These flat, sandy islands lie about thirty miles off the coast of North Carolina. Cape Hatteras is
Swirly Jack [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I took this pic while Randy was washing Captain Jack Sparrow, who was just a teensy bit ripe! Maddie usually bathes him, but she’s been away since early September, so… Jack wouldn’t hold still, but I kind of liked this effect. This image
Broken Yolk [poetry friday]
Hi, Poetry Friday peeps! Last week, I shared my triolet, “Rowing to the Future,” the first in a series of monthly poems I’m writing along with my Poetry 7. This week, I thought I’d share the other triolet I wrote. Broken Yolk Each dawn spills from a fractured night. Sun’s flaming yolk escapes the break
Pineapple [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I often take fruit to potluck gatherings so that I’ll have something healthy to eat (between cupcakes). I love the patterns of pineapples, both the outside and the inside, when I spiral cut them. This image makes me think of: 1) chainmail on
Lullaby and Kisses Sweet–a New Lee Bennett Hopkins Anthology
Yippee! Lee Bennett Hopkins has a new anthology coming out on March 3, and it’s the cutest board book I’ve seen in ages. It’s called Lullaby and Kisses Sweet: Poems to Love with Your Baby (Abrams). Lee notified everyone that the book is on sale for a great price right now in pre-order on Amazon,
I’m EMBRACE-ing 2015!
Each January, I choose a word of the year. This year, my word, my theme, is EMBRACE! I plan to try to embrace my writing life. If I can’t embrace it, I’m going to try to ditch it–either not do it (and quit feeling guilty about not doing it), outsource it…something. I love picture books,
I’m Nerdy!
WATER CAN BE… was named a Nerdy Book Award winner in the Poetry category. Woohoo! This means a lot, not only because of the way these awards are chosen, but also because of the fabulous other Poetry winners. This was also a big surprise. I had thought that WATER, if it got any votes at
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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