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[poetry friday] “Ordinary” — a Poem Starter
This week, my poem is “Ordinary,” a cinquain from my book?Do Buses Eat Kids? Poems About School?(Capstone, 2008). . Ordinary Pencil Black tube hiding Inside yellow wrapping Leaves grey trail of letters, stories, Magic –by Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved Teachers, if you’re looking for a poetry idea… Poem Starter: Listen to the poem
[15 words or less poems] Giant Snowman
Photo: Laura Purdie Salas Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s a ginormous snowman I saw on my way home from a school visit a few weeks ago. It was huge–10–15 feet tall!?It makes me think of: 1)?What would a snowman carry in her purse? 2)?What if the Great
[poetry friday] “Say Yes” — a Poem Starter
I’m trying something new–poem starters! I’ve been trying to figure out what I can offer of value to teachers and young writers, and poem starters seems to be something lots of them are looking for. So I’m going to give it a try. I’ll be trying some different options in the coming months, and once
[15 words or less poems] Petal
Poetry Lovers, I need your help with two things! I’m looking for a children’s poem about perseverance, and I need it by the end of today. Ack! It doesn’t need to actually be about it, but it has to demonstrate it. I have to read it to an assembly of K‑5th graders tomorrow, and I
[15 words or less poems] Tickets!
Photo: Laura Purdie Salas Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Aren’t tickets fun? They mean something is going to happen!?Here’s what this image?makes me think of: 1)?Magic show 2)?Bag filled with memories 3) The old tickets Disney World had when I was growing up (“I’m almost out of E
[my writing life] John Burroughs Riverby Award
It’s been a feast of good news lately, and I’m incredibly grateful. I learned a couple of weeks ago that A Leaf Can Be… has been awarded the John Burroughs Riverby Award for excellent natural history books for young readers! You can see all five winning books here! I’ve eaten cupcakes and brownies in celebration
[Poetry Friday] Cybils!
Well, my head is still spinning from the lovely news yesterday that BookSpeak has been given the Cybils award for Poetry! I had a specific book in mind that I thought would surely win it. When I got up at 5:30 and turned on my laptop, all was calm. Email: normal. Facebook: Normal. Then I
[15 Words or Less Poems] Sparkle & Cybils!
Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh. BookSpeak has been given the Cybils award for Poetry! I am so honored that my peeps–poetry book-lovers of the kidlitosphere–chose BookSpeak for this, especially when all the?Finalists are such fantastic collections/ anthologies that I love. (And I’m super thrilled that Wonder, which I just read, won the Middle Grade category!) OK. Deep breath. And
[Nonfiction Monday] Art from Water Can Be… and Art/Text Activities
Welcome to Nonfiction Monday! I’m sharing a piece of near-final?art from my forthcoming Water Can Be… (Millbrook Press, 2014) today. A while back, I shared a couple of wonderful sketches from the illustrator, Violeta Dabija. Recently, Carol Hinz, my super-smart Millbrook editor, sent along a piece of almost-final art to look at, and it’s art
[15 Words or Less Poems] Seedhead
Photo: Laura Purdie Salas Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s a seedhead from fall. I love how odd and prickly they look!?Here’s what this image?makes me think of: 1)?Brillo pad 2) Spiderweb 3) Hair going grey And here’s my poem first draft: Cinderella’s Beauty? Cracked skin red, rough…
[my life] Happy Anniversary, Randy!
Today, I have been married 25 years to Randy Salas. I met him in my first creative writing class in college (taught by Wyatt Wyatt–that’s right–at the University of Central Florida). What a great class–I found both a new career I loved and a future husband I loved! I know some writers whose families are
[My Writing Life] Books for Breakfast
Saturday morning, after a bit of driveway shoveling and dropping off my daughter for a broomball tournament, I went to Children’s Literature Network’s annual Books for Breakfast event. Twenty-five authors and illustrators give a two-minute peek each into their current work to an audience of 200+ teachers, media specialists, etc. And me. I wasn’t presenting
[15 Words or Less Poems] Glass Ceiling
Photo: Laura Purdie Salas Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here’s the atrium ceiling from the cruise ship we were on in late December. I love glass ceilings! Here are a few things this one makes me think of. 1)?The carapace of a beetle 2) A fancy necklace 3)
[Good News] “Winter Window”
I’m excited to have a poem in Cricket Magazine.It’s one I wrote a number of years ago, back when we had old double-paned windows with bad seals. Every winter, the hot air from the house would meet the cold air outside and, between the two panes, condense into moisture, freeze into frost particles, and make
[15 Words or Less Poems] Roots
Photo: Laura Purdie Salas Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Here are the roots of a cool tree in the Bahamas–I think this was at a beach in Freeport. Here’s what this image?makes me think of: 1)?Knotted shoelaces 2) Mermaid hair 3) Medusa And here’s my poem first draft:
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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