Small Reads for Brighters Days
March 2 is Read Across America Day! Here’s a poem to start off your storytime. When I read this poem with kids, I act out the poem using simple motions that they can mimic. Give it a try! Calling All Readers I’ll tell you a story. I’ll spin you a rhyme. I’ll spill some ideas— […]
I had a lovely message a few weeks ago about my poem “Good-Bye, Hello!” It’s a back-to-school poem that appeared in Highlights magazine last year, and it is the runner-up for SCBWI’s 2015 Magazine Merit award. Yay! And, I’m happy to say that Michelle Heidenrich Barnes of Today’s Little Ditty was the winner for her […]
Tip #5: Make a face. Keep an appropriate expression. Don’t grin during a sad poem or look serious during silly verse. If you were to smile while reading this poem, for instance, your students might be a little disturbed–or think you are!
Yuck! Kids know how fun it is to be grossed out! This book shows the foods different young animals like to eat, and they all seem pretty disgusting. Then it ends with a reversal about what those animals think about human food. This made me think of one of my favorite childhood/teen sandwiches–grilled peanut […]
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 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? […]
Usually in this feature, I share my process as a reader reading a poem someone else wrote. But for this one, I’m sharing the writing process behind a poem I shared last week on Poetry Friday, “Ocean Tales.” I was working on a set of poems that eventually became BOOKSPEAK! POEMS ABOUT BOOKS (Clarion, 2011), […]
Aw, look at the cute shirt poet Joy Acey sent me! Joy and I (and Mary Lee Hahn and Charles Waters, too!) both have poems on a Poem in Your Pocket handout that Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong put together). So Joy made the handout into a t-shirt and sent me one. How sweet is […]
Paired Picture Books Colors of Insects by me, Laura Purdie Salas Capstone Press, 2011 (signed discounted copies available here– be sure to email and specify who you’d like it inscribed to) I never thought I would like writing a book about bugs, but doing this book really gave me a new appreciation for them (though […]
I’ve blogged about generosity at conventions, “Is it worth it for a writer to go to IRA?” (or any of the big conventions), setting goals for conventions, and following up afterwards. Now, I just want to take a minute to share some of the fun I had in Vegas. You can hover over images to […]
