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[my writing life] Forget Goals–Make a Dream List
Forget setting goals! No, don’t do that. I love goals, and I make tons of annual goals, monthly goals, weekly to-do lists, etc. It’s the only way I can accomplish at least 50% of all the things I want to do. My goals are measurable, realistic, and within my control. But… It’s important to dream,
[poetry friday] “I Am Fog” — a Poem Starter
1) If you’re a published poet with an in-print children’s poetry collection available in a printed version, and you’re interested in having a poem used in my Poem Starter series, please see my post from Tuesday! . 2) March Madness Poetry continues, and today, voting is live on the Sweet Sixteen matchups. Only eight pairs
[15 words or less poems] Gnarled
It’s March Madness Poetry time and the Sweet Sixteen poem matchups should be live soon. Visit, read, and vote:>)? Photo: Laura Purdie Salas Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! I took this picture of a quirky-looking fruit, though I can’t remember where I took it. It was either in
[poetry friday] “Blow It Up, Pufferfish” — My March Madness Poetry Poem
There’s a crazy poetry battle going on, and it’s March Madness Poetry, created by Ed DeCaria! I had to use the word “fickle” in my poem, and I decided to write about the shape-shifting pufferfish (aka blowfish). I’m battling it out in Round One right now, and voting ends this afternoon at 3 p.m. U.S.
[15 words or less poems] Where Would You Like This Camel Delivered?
It’s March Madness Poetry time! Voting is now live on Round 1 Poems. My matchup is here–my pufferfish goes up against Walt Disney. I hope you’ll go check both poems out and vote for your favorite…and then browse through all the other match-ups, too! Photo: Screen capture from An Idiot Abroad, a Ricky Gervais
[my writing life] Failure IS an Option
OK, this year has been incredibly good for writing news for me so far. There has been a book sale (more details to come after I sign a contract), a Minnesota Book Award Finalist, a Cybils award, Scholastic Book Club fun, Golden Kite Picture Book Text Honor, another honor I can’t announce yet, the Riverby
[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
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