Jon Scieszka - 200 Typing Monkeys Almost Make It

            200 Typing Monkeys
                Almost Make It
                          by
Emily Dickinson and Jon Scieszka

I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.

I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were a whole bunch of giant deliciously ripe bananas.

© 2009 National Simian Scribe Project. Some rights reversed.

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While 200 typing monkeys might one day recreate the work of Shakespeare or Dickinson, one has to wonder if they'd ever, ever, ever type out the work of the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Jon Scieszka. I've always loved the odd angles and approaches he takes to material... and obviously, so do kids. On a more personal note, I also love the fact that I was not drinking anything when I first read 200 Typing Monkeys Almost Make It because I surely would've covered my monitor by doing a spit-take.

By the way, Jon Scieszka's mission as Ambassador is "to get kids excited about reading." Bravo, I say! Now, in my experience, his own books do that quite well, but beyond that, he's also the founder of GUYS READ, a remarkable resource that you really must check out (or use again!). And hey, you can follow him on Twitter as @GuysRead, too. I know how busy the Ambassador is jetting about and being so Ambassadorial, so I'm extra grateful to him for taking the time to commune with his good friend Emily D. and send a poem in to 30 Poets/30 Days.

And hey, hey, hey, it's Poetry Friday! Go on over to Becky's Book Reviews and check out the roundup of posts to see what else is rippling poetically through the Kidlitosphere today.

Yesterday we had Betsy Franco's Me and Joe Lining Up After Recess. Tomorrow... Skeleton at Dinner by Kristine O'Connell George!