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You are here: Home / Poems for Kids / One Book I Love: A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk

One Book I Love: A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk

June 10, 2009 By Laura

Deborah Ruddell and Joan Rankin, the team behind Today at the Bluebird Cafe, have a new picture book poetry collection out: A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems.

This is another fun collection with many touches of humor. While I enjoy serious poetry about animals and nature a lot, it’s also good to see a gently funny collection. These aren’t silly or nonsense poems, they’re just poems about the lighter side of the forest. Here are a couple I enjoyed:

 


Biography of a Beaver

Bucktoothed Cleaver
Tree Retriever
Building Conceiver
True Believer
Waterproof Weaver
Overachiever
Roll-Up-Her-Sleever–
Hooray for the Beaver!

–Deborah Ruddell,
all rights reserved

How wonderful is that? Waterproof Weaver/Overachiever are my two favorite lines there. I’ve been enjoying list poems a lot lately (check out Falling Down the Page), and this one puts me in mind of Douglas Florian’s work. This simple set of identifiers for a beaver–so fun and clever!

Here’s another one I love:

Ode to a Salamander

Ponder yonder salamander,
innocent and shy:
a sensitive amphibian
who wouldn’t hurt a fly…
especially if there should be
a spider passing by,
which she could sweetly gobble up
and barely blink an eye.

–Deborah Ruddell, all rights reserved

Hope you enjoy this collection as much as I do!

Tagged With: Deborah Ruddell, poems, poetry books

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JANUARY NEWS

I loved the holidays! And I'm so glad they're over. A quiet, snowy January is just what I need. This month, I'm working on two board book manuscripts, and I'm making materials to go with my 3 spring 2023 books.

I'm also busy prepping for upcoming author visits and setting my goals and priorities for 2023. Wishing you a lovely start to your own new year!

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