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Leaping Hare [15 words or less poems]

  Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I took this pic at the Walker Art Center’s Outdoor Sculpture Garden on my birthday. It’s been years since I’ve been there! This image makes me think of: 1) a classic “Once upon a time” story 2) rabbits that do agility courses

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poetryaction to Number One Sam

    —————————————————————————————————————————– Poetryaction: After reading a picture book, sometimes I jot down a quick poem based on something in the book. It could be inspired by the entire book, the setting, a character, or even just a tiny detail in a picture or a single phrase from the text. I’m using picture books as

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poetryaction to Peggy: A Brave Chicken on a Big Adventure

  —————————————————————————————————————————– Poetryaction: After reading a picture book, sometimes I jot down a quick poem based on something in the book. It could be inspired by the entire book, the setting, a character, or even just a tiny detail in a picture or a single phrase from the text. I’m using picture books as a

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poetryaction to Dinosaur vs. School, by Bob Shea

I’ve been around those kids who take over a room with explosive voices and actions, and so I was totally sympathizing with the nervous classmates in Dinosaur vs. School, by Bob Shea.     —————————————————————————————————————————– I’ve been doing something new. After reading a picture book, sometimes I jot down a quick poem based on something

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My Little Free Library

I wanted to share some pictures from the process of my family putting together my Little Free Library birthday present:>) It’s one of the best presents I’ve ever gotten! Thank you to my thoughtful and talented family:>)

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Scary Hands [15 words or less poems]

  Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Usually, I post my own pics, but it’s almost Halloween, and I like this kinda creepy hand picture. This image makes me think of: 1) a scary funhouse 2) a cross between a demon and a bull 3) shadow puppets And here’s

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A scary poem video for K‑4

I love scary books and poems (and movies, even though I cover my eyes a lot during them). Here’s a cheesy video of me reading my poem “Midnight,” from a jack-o-lantern’s point of view. Midnight See my spooky, blank eyes staring? Like the crooked teeth I’m baring? Feel my wicked candle flaring? Am I smiling?

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poetryaction to The Flat Rabbit, by Bardur Oskarsson

To say that The Flat Rabbit, by?Bardur Oskarsson, is an odd picture book is an understatement, since it’s about a rabbit that is…roadkill. Ugh. But, somehow, this ends up being a kind of sad, beautiful statement on life and what we do for each other, even those we don’t know that well.?Here’s my poetryaction for

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School Library Journal Summit

I had a great time at the School Library Journal Summit in St. Paul, MN yesterday. Thought I would share just a few highlights. Click on any of the photos above to see my photo album of 15 pictures on Facebook (you don’t have to have a FB account to view). A few highlights: My

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poetryaction to Chengdu Could Not, Would Not Fall Asleep

Happy Poetry Friday! I’m sharing another poetryaction today. I sometimes have trouble sleeping. Lately, my back has been aching–I don’t know why. Long car trips to blame? Anyway, I felt bad for Barney Saltzberg’s Chengdu and wrote this cinquain in his honor. Here I am reading my poem: [soundcloud url=“https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/173369541” params=“color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=“100%” height=“166” iframe=“true” /]

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Empty Liner [15 words or less poems]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! After eating a tasty vanilla mini-cupcake the other day, I thought the empty liner looked kind of sad and lonely. This image makes me think of: 1) what do the other cupcakes think when they see this evidence? 2) what is that ghostie

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poetryaction to Super Sniffers, by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

My little nonfiction book group is talking about some of Dorothy Hinshaw Patent’s books today, and one I read and loved was Super Sniffers: Dog Detectives on the Job. Very. Cool. Nonfiction. Book.   I decided to do a poetryaction for it, and at first I was going to write about what it must be

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poetryaction to Take Away the A, by Michael Escoffier

I love the concept of Take Away the A, by Michael Escoffier. It pairs words together, showing what one word becomes if you take a letter out of it. ? One of the pairs in the book (the “i” pair) turned “stair” into “star.” I especially liked the illustration for that, and it made me

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poetryaction to The Tree House That Jack Built, by Bonnie Verburg

Happy Poetry Friday! I’m sharing another poetryaction today. In this one, I just was intrigued by the monkey that’s pictured in much of the book, and I went off on a little tangent imagining how much trouble one monkey could make. So this is a poetryaction that does NOT summarize the book or plot, just

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