Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)
If you’re not a regular reader here, welcome! I share poetryactions, or poems written in reaction to picture books (usually) on a fairly regular basis. And I’m sharing one today!
In Mary’s Garden, a lovely picture book biography of unconventional artist Mary Nohl made me smile. This poetryaction started out with me imagining different statue body parts made of junk. The word “bottleneck” came to me, and I decided to change the original parts (I had soup cans and buttons in there before) and make them be words that could be used two ways: I made knobby knees into door knobby knees, and I made her face a clock. And her chest is a toy chest. It’s funny how once you start playing with words, it’s hard to stop.
Please check out my Pinterest boards of poetryactions and bookalikes if you’d like to see more. I’m building up a collection there!
The deliciously enthusiastic Jama Rattigan has guest Penny Parker Klostermann sharing a buttons poem for National Button Day plus all the links for the Poetry Friday Roundup at Alphabet Soup!
9 Responses
This is a great pairing today, Laura. I love how you play with words so they make sense in a short little shot.
Thanks, Carol!
I’ve heard nice things about this book and like your poem with its knobby knees and bottleneck and clock face. I thought of the Tin Man in the second stanza.
Thanks, Jama!
I’ve been away from Poetry Friday for a while, and I love this concept of pairing poetry with picture books! Fantastic!
Hey, Kelly–great to see you! (And thanks:>)
I always tell kids that poetry makes me see the world in whole new ways, and that’s definitely true of your paired poems. When I read your poems, I’m always surprised by how I see the paired book differently. I read this book, and promptly forgot about it. Now you make me want to go back and reread. And I love the playing with words, e.g. door-knobby knees.
You stretched so far in so few double-duty words, Laura.
I’m a fan. Please keep those pairings coming! Thanks! God bless you!