Thoughts, opinions, and ramblings about (broadly) children's literature from my perspectives as a writer, parent, and volunteer elementary school librarian. Plus I post Fibs, Oddaptations and poetry galore, all listed on the right and left hand sides of the blog.
The "Just Because" Hug
by
Robert Schechter Bears willhugyou cause they're mean, so watch out for their claws! But I don'thugyou cause I'm nice. Ihugyoujustbecause.
There is no rule that says I must. There are no 'hugginglaws,' no hidden motives to discuss. Ihugyoujustbecause.
I do nothugyou to reward your virtues or your flaws. Can you guessthereason why Ihugyou? Justbecause.
When life's too busy, rushing by, sometimes I like to pause and wrap my arms around you. Why? Ihugyoujustbecause. JustbecauseI have two arms. Be glad it's not two paws! Justbecauseit feels so good, Ihugyou. Justbecause.
I highly recommend you read (and listen to) a couple of Bob's poems that have been in Highlights - Colors and My Nose - both of which have a similar voice that makes me wonder... hmmm... is it Bob who has this wonderful world view? If it is, well, that'd just add to the reasons I'm so happy to have Robert Schechter here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love April around these parts? I do! I get to share poems (and read them before anyone else!) and enjoy poems here and all around the blogosphere, too.
I'm particularly enjoying the comments left for the poets here (most of whom are active online, too) and on Facebook and Twitter and elsewhere. And I'm excited to see all sorts of new names hanging out, too.
There's all sorts of great poetry left to come this month - including, I should note, some older skewing ones, so if you're reading these to your 5 year old without reading 'em to yourself first, you might want to take a step back! And yes, you'll hear from me throughout the month, too.
And finally... another hat tip to Carter Higgins for this year's logo! It makes me happy wherever I see it. I encourage you to check out more of her work because I predict it'll make you happy, too.
Sing it loud. Sing it clear.
National Poetry Month is here.
Sing it loud. Sing it clear.
National Poetry Month is here.
Do not write a boring poem.
Write about a front lawn gnome.
Write about your Uncle Nick.
Write about your favorite flick.
Write about a your best friend’s burp.
Write about the way you slurp.
Write about a painful itch.
Write about your left eye twitch.
Let your spirit swing and soar.
Let your mind float out the door.
Free your voice to laugh and seethe.
Feel your poem begin to breathe.
Sing it loud. Sing it clear.
National Poetry Month is here.
Longtime GottaBook readers probably know that I have a "thing" for poems about poetry and writing (and poems about Poetry Month, too), so I was quite happy to see Sing it Loud come my way. I love the playfulness... the permission it grants... the inspiration it gives... and the call to action, too. I read it, and I wanna write, and that is awesome.
I was also quite happy to see the anthology that Jill edited (and wrote a poem for) Dare to Dream... Change the Worldcome out last year and receive some great recognition. The book is full of poems about real people who inspire, written by fabulous poets, and it's sure to inspire kids who read it. Notice a theme? Jill's inspiring... and that's just one reason I'm excited to have her here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
Long ago a renowned candy judge
Who loved lemon drops, toffee, and fudge
Found that each yummy taste
Would go straight to his waist--
Now that fudge-loving judge cannot budge.
I first ran into Tamera via her blogging, not immediately aware that she was a poet, too. Then... kaboom! There was Gone Fishing, her novel in verse (with illustrations by Matthew Cordell), and it hits what I think is this really great middle grade sweet spot: telling a relatable story (with poems!), using different poetic forms within the text, and then explaining it all with back matter, too.
It's exciting to see her debut novel - just out last month! - and I know I'm looking forward to the next book from Tamera, too. In the meantime, I'm thrilled to have her here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
I'm a sucker, as many of you know, for food poetry and wordplay, so it was a happy day when Olympic Sprouts came over the email transom. And maybe it's because of Doug's illustration background, but I can just see what the voice of the poem sees, and I'm left wanting to toboggan down spaghetti, too.
The same sense of fun can be found in Doug's book, Pigmares, by the way - his first book of poetry... after having written or illustrated over 125 books for kids! That's a happy thing, indeed, as is having Doug Cushman here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
If you haven't read Sonya Sones' novels in verse... well... just go and do so. Oh, I suppose you can
wait for her upcoming box set but you're only postponing what you know you should do. Her books are so vibrant and full of the type of detail that makes everything come alive for me... and yet she does it all with such economy. I read and enjoy. Then I read and try to learn. (But don't tell her!)
It's a good time to be a Sonya Sones fan, by the way. She's got a novel out in August with the fantastic title of To Be Perfectly Honest (A Novel Based on an Untrue Story). And she's got a picture book for high school grads coming out soon co-written with her daughter, Ava. Perhaps that will lead me to a future 30 Poets/30 Days participant... but for now, I'm thrilled to have Sonya Sones here at GottaBook. Achooooo!
Big boxes! Small boxes!
Sturdy and tough.
I love you space figures,
I can’t have enough.
Your bases and faces
I truly adore.
Big boxes! Small boxes!
May I have one more?
Big boxes! Small boxes!
Piled high in my room.
You wobble, you bobble.
You topple down— Boom!
Your bases are strong.
Space figures, you’re great!
Big boxes! Small boxes!
You’re cool! But, wait.
Pyramids, prisms, and cones,
how you rock!
Your faces and bases
I like quite a lot!
When I look at you
I see 3D perfection.
I want more figures—
a bigger collection!
What is a Space Figure?
An object like a tissue box is 3-Dimensional. It may also be called a space figure. The sides and the top of the box are sides, or faces. The edge is where the base and face connect. A tissue box has six faces and twelve edges. Try counting them for yourself!
Of course, it's not enough just to be a poem about a concept. No. It's still gotta be fun to read. The words and images have to speak and inform on their own, and if you read Heidi's poems, whether about math or seeds or whatever else, you'll find they always do.
He's also, as you can see from the above example, a wonderful weaver of words. Blackbird is such a soothing, lush poem and combined with the art that goes with it, from Catherine Hyde, it's got me wishing that the book it's from, Conjuring the Dusk, were out NOW. But, no. We have to wait. That's not right.
Still, in the interim, we can pick from Andrew's other books as poet, novelist, anthologist, and picture book author. Or we can hope to find him didgeridooing somewhere. In all cases, however, it's a real pleasure for me to have Andrew Fusek Peters here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
You've lost your shoes – you don't know where.
You do not have another pair.
Your mother says they're in your room.
You trod upstairs to face your doom.
They aren't lying on the floor,
Not on your desk, not in a drawer,
Behind the chair, under the bed –
They must be someplace else instead.
You pull the door – it makes a creak –
Into the closet's depths you peek.
The hanging clothes are all unhung
Mixed in a pile with things you flung.
You sift and dig. You sort and toss.
You start to become very cross.
Then finally, inside a box,
You find your shoes. Where are your socks?
If you've followed Writing and Ruminating, Kelly's blog (where her ruminating is not to be missed, by the way), or seen her picture book, At the Boardwalk, or run into her poetry anywhere else it's been published, you'd no doubt share my opinion. With a keen eye and a great ability to push her reader just a little farther (as in... to socks!), it's always a treat to read her poetry... just as it's a treat for me to have Kelly Ramsdell Fineman here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
It occurs to me that some of you may not know Mary Lee's poetry. Instead, you might know her as half of the A Year of Reading duo or as a teacher or the Poetry Friday organizing dynamo. In fact, I didn't know Mary Lee wrote poetry when I first got to cyber-know her years ago. But she does! Oh, indeed she does!
Now published in both the Poetry Friday Anthologies (for K-5 and middle school), I predict it won't be long before we're seeing Mary Lee Hahn authored collections. She has a way with phrasing and imagery that can often take my breath away and a startling ability to make me see the world through her eyes. And I find that I truly like the view, one reason I'm so happy to have here here today kicking off 30 Poets/30 Days.
Believe Me When I Tell You
The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger—1943-; Keith Richards—1943-;
Charlie Watts—1941-; Ronnie Wood—1947-;
Brian Jones—1942-1969
Rock ’n’ roll’s
The perfect party favor
Rock ’n’ roll’s
Granddaddy’s nervous tic
Rock ’n’ roll
Believe me when I tell you
Rock ’n’ roll
Is always Keith and Mick
It’s the penthouse floor in a snazzy hotel
It’s a symphony written to a sorcerer’s spell
At the wedding of the undertaker and his bride
When they kiss, he’s happy, she’s terrified
Rock ’n’ roll
Comes shaking like a preacher
Rock ’n’ roll
Some say’s a dirty trick
Rock ’n’ roll
In case you ever doubted
Rock ’n’ roll
Is purely Keith and Mick
It’s the cyclone rush of a wind tunnel high
It’s a poke in the snoot and it’s mud in your eye
It’s a cream pie hit to the guv’nor’s tux
As he swindles the choir for a few hundred bucks
Rock ’n’ roll
Is caution on a riptide
Rock ’n’ roll
Is opera with a kick
Rock ’n’ roll
I think I oughta mention
Rock ’n’ roll
Is always Keith and Mick
By the way, you can check out today's Poetry Friday roundup at A Year in Reading to get a bunch of pre-National Poetry Month poetry joy. And consider today's poem pre-kickoff to 30 Poets/30 Days.
To get all the poetry that appears here on the blog in your inbox instead, you can join my poetry list. Simply enter your email address into the box and click subscribe:
And if you listen really closely, you can probably hear me singing and shouting with joy and glee.
There are so many folks to thank, of course, and that includes y'all. I know so many of you have been hanging around these parts since this book was not even a manuscript. Others of you have come by more recently. And all of you here are a big part of what's kept me writing during the good and bad times. That's why I look forward to celebrating a lot with you in the months ahead.
I feel awfully lucky right about now: National Poetry Month and 30 Poets/30 Days are coming up, I get to see my debut novel's cover soon (and will share it here, natch!), and did I mention... my book is coming out in October?
I'm thrilled to announce the 2013 edition of 30 Poets/30 Days, an April-long celebration of children's poetry that takes place here at GottaBook.
Each day of the month, I'll post a previously unpublished poem by a different poet. I've seen a lot of the poetry already, and I can safely say it's gonna be a great month. Here's an alphabetical list of who's work you'll be seeing here during National Poetry Month 2013:
Am I excited? YES! Yes, I am. Now, there are a few easy ways to follow along and not miss out on any of the fun. You can visit here every day, of course. Or you can subscribe to GottaBook via email or your blog reader.
You can also join my poetry list, and get all the poems emailed to you the day they hit my blog. To be on the list, enter your email address into the box and click subscribe:
That list runs year round, by the way, so whenever I post a poem here, whether it's my own or a poem from a visiting guest poet, you'll see it.
There are always a ton of people to thank with an event like this and other details to share, but today I'm simply going to wrap it up with a bit hat tip to the extra-talented Carter Higgins for designing this year's 30/30 logo. And, of course, thanks to all of you for reading! Now...
THE POETRY FRIDAY ROUNDUP!
Please leave a comment with a link to your Poetry Friday post, and I'll be adding things in as the day goes on....
Wanna see an original poem about wishes? Exellent! Because that's what's up at the ever wonderful Poem Farm, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's poetry rich home on the web.
Maria shares a process and a poem - definitely a process to try yourself - over at Teaching in the 21st Century. And I am jealous because she's done workshops with Kate Messner and Ralph Fletcher!
You gotta check out Portrait of a Trembling Poet, wherein Buffy Silverman (one of the March Poetry Madness's final 16 poets) details her process of how she crafted her poem using the word "gnawing."
The Sea Gypsy appears... or really, is posted... over at Bildungsroman. If you're a fan of Richard Hovey or if you're not, go on over and be swept away in the wonder of the sea.
Paintings and poetry mix at the Bald Ego blog... as do father and son. Charles and Chip Ghigna share a picture book in progress... and I hope we see it in stores, soon.
Steampunk! Haiku! You Steampunk Me comes from Lorie Ann Grover... complete with a photo you just gotta see (cuz, like, someone out there is a way cool parent).
Cathy at Merely Day By Day is sharing an original poem - One Wish - today, and it asks a question that I will be mulling over for some time now. I guess it's rhetorical, but it's in my head now, and it'll probably be in yours, too.
I'm caught up with links... but keep 'em coming, y'all, in the comments below. Poetry Friday is like the New York City subway: there's always room for one more.
It is rare that I focus on YA books here, probably because I am only 11 years old and don't yet read up. Or something like that. However, I did want to take a moment to talk about Bridget Zinn's debut novel, Poison.
I met Bridget at an early Kidlitcon. I think it was impossible not to like her, even via a brief encounter. She just exuded positivity and good humor and... you know... you just liked her.
So, it was exciting to see her on her path to publication, even though, unfortunately, she ended up on a simultaneous path of cancer, chemo and hospitals. Bridget passed away in 2011 at only 33. Nearly two years later, her book has finally arrived.
But really... what's going on here is a celebration of a debut novel that's garnering reader love. It's what all of us authors want. Are there deeper levels? Of course. So go kiss a loved one or rededicate yourself to your own manuscript or both!
And maybe, in celebration, you can spread the word about Poison, too!
My dog has it in for me badly.
I swear he’s the worst cur on earth.
I wish I could get away from the vendetta
He’s had against me since my birth.
Instead, he finds new ways to hound me.
My days are spent shaking with fear!
And he is why actually, truly and factually,
None of my homework is here.
This was a poem written for this year's March Madness Poetry shebang... though it did not help me advance to the next round, as you can see. My task was to write a poem using the word vendetta, by the way. I believe it was the first time I'd done so, and I was pleased enough with the result to share it here.
If you want to get all the new poems here (and only the poems) emailed to you for freeee as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe!
The even better news is that whether I move forward or not, you can keep voting as new matchups keep coming! I know I'll be casting a vote in every matchup til it ends....
Look for the Poetry Friday round up here a week from today... but in the meantime, go see this week's Roundup over at Jone's Check It Out blog.
Things are gonna heat up around these parts, I tell ya, and I'm looking forward to hanging out with you here all April long.....
Sweeeeeet! March Madness, poetry style, is back again thanks to Ed DeCaria at Think Kid, Think. And once again, I'm giving it a go along with 63 other poetry loving foo... errr... poets!
The way the Madness works is pretty simple: we "face off" against another poet, each of us having 36 hours to write a poem based on an assigned word. This year, I'm a 13th seed, and that means my words are gonna be challenging. But isn't that the fun of it all? Yes!
I hope you'll follow along with the whole bracket. I'm in action starting Tuesday the 12th, and others begin the 11th. Last year was a blast and a great way to lead into the fun of National Poetry Month in April, too.
We’re locked in our classroom all day for a test
Answering questions for hours with no rest.
You want us to learn? Well, this isn’t the way.
Sequester the tester and just let us play!
I wrote this poem almost a year ago during last year's March Madness (the fantastic event masterminded by Ed DeCaria). During the Madness, some poor poet had to write a poem in 36 hours using the word "sequester"... and I decided it was such a great word, I'd give it a try, too, just cuz.
Flash forward to a year later, and "sequester" is suddenly in the news (AND it's standardized testing time all over the place, too). So, I've decided to dust off this little ditty. (And, yes... I'm doing the Madness again! More on that soooooon.)
And hey... it's Poetry Friday, so you can see what else is going on around the Kidlitosphere by heading over to the weekly roundup at Heidi's Juicy Little Universe.
Plus, if you want to get all my new poems (and only the poems) emailed to you for freeee as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe!
It's been a sparse blogging few weeks, and I've realized once again that for me, the joy of blogging is y'all. I miss the interactions and conversations and the idea that even when we're not in direct communication, you are out there reacting in some way to what I'm sending out.
I don't miss the act of blogging or the blogger interface or the joy of pressing "publish." Nope. It's you!
So thank you for being out there. Things'll be picking up here again soon. And then, just as now, I'll so happy you're here with me.
You can head over to this post at Jone's Check It Out blog and enter for a chance to win a copy of The Late Bird (my ebook of poetry). Plus you get to see my poem Doughnuts! Oh Doughnuts!
What's not to love, I ask you? What's not to love?
I'm excited about the whole shebang but must give an extra cheer for Laura Purdie Salas and BookSpeak! - Poems About Books winning the poetry category. It's a great choice in a great poetry year....
Keep your "Bunny Ears" and "loop-de-loops" -
I'll tie shoes with the method I've got.
Oh, sure, it's a mess
Yet there's often success...
So I call it the "Probably Knot."
And if you want to get all my new poems (and only the poems) emailed to you for freeee as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe!
I was so excited, I jumped at the chance to film some interstitial thangs for him of me performing a bunch of my poems. Here's a sample Brad whipped together of me and my poem, Today is Not Tomorrow....
The ALA Awards are coming tomorrow morning (or, for a lot of you, have already happened by the time you'll read this). I'm wondering who gets that early morning Newbery call... who will win the Caldecott, the Belpre, the King, and so many more.
It's always an exciting day in our world, but we don't think the fun should end tomorrow. No! So this week's #kidlitchat - held each Tuesday night on Twitter at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific - will be all about the award winners. Come join us in conversation and celebration!
Over on David L. Harrison's blog, J. Patrick Lewis stopped by to introduce a poetic form he calls the Careerhyme. Basically... four lines (in two rhyming couplets), a career name to start it and a definition of the career to follow. And they're meant to be "light verse"... so you know I gave it a whirl.
Dentist: cleaner of the gums;
Remover of stuck seeds and crumbs.
Years of school are on this track...
Yet no diploma! Just some plaque.
You gotta head over to David's blog, though, where you can read Pat and David's examples (oh,
and Jane Yolen and Laura Purdie Salas and so many more fine folks
stopped by, too). I left two others besides the above in the comments, too.
As always, these are great lists of books in a slew of categories. And apps, too.
I was a poetry category finalist judge a few times, so I always look most closely at that category's gems... and then offer up my thanks that I don't have to pick just one from the list!
Yesterday came and folks burst into song,
Yet nobody's cheering when I come along.
I don't get confetti. I get no parade.
A movie about me has never been made.
I've tried bringing sun, bringing snow, bringing rain.
It just doesn't matter: I don't rate champagne.
In some ways I'm lucky - at least I'm a date...
But always the second's a frustrating fate.
If you want to get all my new poems (and only the poems) emailed to you for freeee as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe!
I have a bad trait - I procrastinate.
Last year it was the worst:
The very first date that my work wasn't late
Was March the thirty-first.
I think the solution's a resolution,
So hear these words I speak:
"Elimination of procrastination
Starts soon! Perhaps next week!"
May you stick to all your resolutions... and may 2013 be filled with good health and happiness galore!
If you want to get all my new poems (and only the poems) emailed to you for freeee as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe:
The world is still here!
Yet I'm still sensing doom
Cuz I lost my excuse -
Now I must clean my room.
Whether or not this is my last post of the year (which it might be, but not because of misinterpreted Mayan calendars), I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season and happiness and health in 2013 and beyond!
And if you want to get all my new poems (and only the poems) emailed to you for freeee as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe!
My teacher said to calculate
3.141 times 8.
I threw my hand up instantly
and so, of course, she called on me.
She asked me, “What’s the answer, please?”
I’d figured this one out with ease.
I looked her squarely in the eye
and calmly answered, “Octopi!”
It took her half an hour to get it,
and then she gave me extra credit.
It is always a happy day here at GottaBook when I'm getting to share Kenn Nesbitt's poetry. Octoproblem comes from his new book, The Armpit of Doom: Funny Poems for Kids, and it's a poem that makes me gleeful.
I find the book quite true to its title - it is full of very funny poems AND there is an armpit of doom therein. I'd recommend it any time of the year, truth be told, yet I know it makes a perfect holiday gift (for anyone from kids to adults). Go on and check out what J. Patrick Lewis called "more mayhem from one of the masters."
I post a fair amount of poetry here at GottaBook, both mine and other fine folks who stop by. If you'd like to sign up for the poetry email list and get the poem-filled posts (and only those posts) emailed to you as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe!
Mother Reader has a fabulous post up called 150 Ways to Give a Book. It's chock full of great recommendations of books and ways of giving them, and even if none of the specifics work for you (which seems unlikely, actually), I bet the ideas will spark you. So check it out!
And of course, I should add that The Late Bird itself makes a great gift! But you knew that :-)
I'm a screenwriter, volunteer librarian, dad, and SCBWI member with a love of poetry and picture books.
I'm currently working on a middle grade novel for Arthur A. Levine Books as well as writing Fibs, other poetry, and, over at The Happy Accident, all about social media, too.
