poetryaction to Super Sniffers, by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

My little nonfiction book group is talking about some of Dorothy Hinshaw Patent’s books today, and one I read and loved was Super Sniffers: Dog Detectives on the Job. Very. Cool. Nonfiction. Book.

 

Super Sniffers

I decided to do a poetryaction for it, and at first I was going to write about what it must be like to be a military sniffing dog and parachute into places! (The pictures in this book are fabulous!) But then I thought about my own dog, Captain Jack Sparrow. I wrote a zeno about what job he might have. The pickin’s were slim, I’m telling you:>) His useful skills are quite limited. He’s good at cuddling, though!

—————————————————————————————————————————–

I’ve been doing something new. After reading a picture book, sometimes I jot down a quick poem based on something in the book. It could be inspired by the entire book, the setting, a character, or even just a tiny detail in a picture or a single phrase from the text. I’m using picture books as a jumping off point for poems. I thought this might be something interesting for you to do in your classroom, so I’m going to share some of them here.

 

20 Responses

  1. Laura,
    Your poem is hilarious! I hope you send it out for publication. Every child needs to read this one.

    1. Thanks, Linda. Most children’s magazines won’t take submissions of anything published on a blog. So…I’ll just have to hope teachers share it with their students:>)

      1. Laura,
        Too bad most magazines won’t publish poems from blogs. Mostly adults read blogs, not kids. Are you able to publish poems that are posted on a blog in a book of poems? Only self-published books?

        1. I did notice a few months ago that the lovely and wonderful poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater had removed a number of poems from her Poem Farm because they were going to be included in books, I believe. I have a feeling if you had a fabuloso collection of poems and had shared one or two online, a publisher might be fine with that. Especially if your online presence was such a terrific platform for your work, like Amy’s is. Or it could even be that editors who loved Amy’s work looked at her poems online and said, “I love this! We could build a whole collection around it!” I’m not sure. Once these books come out using a few poems that first appeared on her blog, maybe she’ll share the backstory:>)

  2. Laura,
    Your poem is hilarious! I hope you send it out for publication. Every child needs to read this one.

    1. Thanks, Linda. Most children’s magazines won’t take submissions of anything published on a blog. So…I’ll just have to hope teachers share it with their students:>)

      1. Laura,
        Too bad most magazines won’t publish poems from blogs. Mostly adults read blogs, not kids. Are you able to publish poems that are posted on a blog in a book of poems? Only self-published books?

        1. I did notice a few months ago that the lovely and wonderful poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater had removed a number of poems from her Poem Farm because they were going to be included in books, I believe. I have a feeling if you had a fabuloso collection of poems and had shared one or two online, a publisher might be fine with that. Especially if your online presence was such a terrific platform for your work, like Amy’s is. Or it could even be that editors who loved Amy’s work looked at her poems online and said, “I love this! We could build a whole collection around it!” I’m not sure. Once these books come out using a few poems that first appeared on her blog, maybe she’ll share the backstory:>)

  3. Laura, your poem is right on. It brings to mind the first neighbor (now deceased) to welcome us when we moved into our home almost 18 years ago. He always said that his dogs were “shopping the classifieds.”

  4. Laura, your poem is right on. It brings to mind the first neighbor (now deceased) to welcome us when we moved into our home almost 18 years ago. He always said that his dogs were “shopping the classifieds.”

  5. this is so funny and I didn’t know that blog poem couldn’t be published in mag

    1. Most (but not all) magazines want unpublished poems, and most consider being on a blog to be published, because it’s out there, available for anyone to look at. Which is a bummer, since hardly anyone sees them, but that’s the way it works.

  6. this is so funny and I didn’t know that blog poem couldn’t be published in mag

    1. Most (but not all) magazines want unpublished poems, and most consider being on a blog to be published, because it’s out there, available for anyone to look at. Which is a bummer, since hardly anyone sees them, but that’s the way it works.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,547 other subscribers

Are You Looking For?

Poetry Friday posts

Classroom Connections posts

All my poetryactions

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
Tags
#waterpoemproject15 Words or Less Poems20for2030 Painless Classroom Poems50 State Poemsacrosticsactivity pagesactivity sheetALAA Leaf Can Be...Amy Ludwig VanDerwaterA Need to FeedanthologiesanthologyA Rock Can Be...art projectsaudiopoemsawardsbad newsBarbara Juster EsbensenBilly Collinsbiopoemsblog tourbookalikesbook festivalsBookSpeak!book spine poemsbook trailersbop poembyr a thoddaidcafepresscalendar poemsCamp Read-a-LotCan Be... bookscan be... poemsCapstoneCarol Varsalonacascade poemsCatherine FlynnccbcCCRA.W.3CCRA.W.4CCRA.W.5centoschapter booksCharles Waterschoral compositionschristina rossetticinquainsCLAclassified ad poemsclassroom connectionclassroom connectionsClover Kittyconferences and conventionscrown sonnetscybilsdansaDare to DreamDavid Elliottdeeper wisdom poemdefinitosdiamantesdiversitydizaindodoitsuDot DayDouglas Floriandownloadablesdrum corpse.e. cummingsekphrastic poemsepistolary poemsequation poemsessentialethereeseventsexquisite corpseFairy Tale Garage Salefamilyfibonaccifiction picture booksfinding familyfirefightersforeign editionsfound poemsfree author zoomsfree versefrom studentsgeesegeorgia heardghazalGift Taggiveawaygolden shovelgoldilocksgratitudehaikuheart of aheart of a teacherHeidi MordhorstHelen FrostHighlightshow-to poemshow to make a rainbowI Am FromI Am poemsidiomsif you want to knit some mittensIf You Were the MoonILAimagepoemsinterviewin the middle of the nightIRAIrelandIrene LathamJ. Patrick LewisJanet WongJoyce SidmanKendraKerlanKidlit Comboslailaura's board booksLaura's booksLaura's poemsLaura's readingsLaura ShovanLee Bennett HopkinsLilian MoorelimericksLinda Booth SweeneyLine Leads the WayLion of the Skylist poemslittle free librarylive writingLullaby and Kisses Sweetlyricsmadness poetrymagnipoemsmargaret simonMarilyn Singermary lee hahnmask poemsMatt Forrest EsenwineMeet My FamilyMelissa StewartMentors for Rentmentor textsmetaphorMichelle Myers LacknerMillbrookMinnesota Book Awardsmoneymoonmy reading lifemy writing processN+7naaninarrative poemsNational Poetry Month 2012 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2014 (riddle-ku)National Poetry Month 2015National Poetry Month 2016National Poetry Month 2017 (#wonderbreak)national poetry month 2018 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2020National Poetry Month 2021 (#EquationPoem)national poetry month 2022 (sticky-note poems)National Poetry Month 2023 (Digging for Poems)National Poetry Month 2024 (magnipoems)ncteNerdy Book Clubnifty newsnifty stuffNikki Grimesnonfictionnonfiction booksNonfiction Writers Dig Deepnovelsnovels in verseodesOne Minute Till BedtimeoppositifyOskar's VoyagepadletpantoumsparodiesPatreonpeacepersonalpet poemsphotopoetryphrase acrosticspicture booksplagiarismpoempicspoemspoems for two voicespoemsketchpoetic pursuitsPoetry 7poetryactionspoetry activitiesPoetry Blastpoetry booksPoetry FridayPoetry Friday AnthologiesPoetry Princessespoetry promptspoetry sistersPoetry Tips for Teachersprogressive poempublishing processpuddle songPutridquotationsraccontinosRandy Salasread-aloudreadaloudreading poetry in the classroomRebecca Kai Dotlichrecipe poemsrefugeesresearchreview copiesreviewsrevisionrhyming booksrhyming nonfictionrhyming picture booksRhyming Picture Books the Write Wayrhyming poemsRiddle-kuriddle poemsRock Can Be...Rock the Blogrondeau redoublesRudyard Kiplingsalas snippetsSCBWIschool visitsScotlandseasonssecrets of the loonSELsestinasshrinking daysskinnyskypeslice of lifesmall readssnack snooze skedaddlesnowman-coldsonnetsStampede!storm poemstorytimestorywalkstudent poemsstudent workSylvia VardellTanita Davistankatautogramteachableteacher resourcesteen/adult poemsterza rimasthankfulthank yous and referencesthe business sidethings to do iftracy nelson maurertrioletstunie munson-bensonvideosVikram MadanvillanellevillanellesWater Can Be...wealthy elementaryWe BelongWhat's InsideWhy-kuwinterwonderwonderbreakword of the yearwordplaywordsmithswork for hirewritingwriting bookswriting processwriting promptswriting the life poeticyoung authors conferencesYouTubeZapZap Clap Boomzenozentangle
Show More Show Less

Discover more from Laura Purdie Salas

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Join Laura's monthly newsletter for eductators

Get three of Laura's favorite poetry activities when you subscribe to "Small Reads."