Spring is the Time
(a pantoum)
by
Joyce Sidman
Spring is the time for eggs:
soft air and sprigs of green.
Bright lemon sun,
wet nights singing.
Soft air and sprigs of green,
Snug nests and puddles.
Wet nights singing,
feathery days.
Snug nests and puddles--
new life, new hope.
Feathery days,
yellow as yolk.
New life, new hope!
Bright lemon sun,
yellow as yolk.
Spring is the time for eggs.
©2009 Joyce Sidman. All rights reserved.
Joyce Sidman won the first two Cybils for poetry... and it was as a judge on those panels that I fell deeply in the thrall of her poetry. I should note that in 2007, I thought "no way will the same person win the first two Cybils!" Then I read This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness (illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski). The book made me laugh... made me think... made me want to apologize to people... made me want to write poetry like the characters in the book... and made me want to read it over and over again. Now I dive into her work with glee, and was so thrilled to get a poem (let alone a pantoum, a form I love to read!) from her as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
Joyce Sidman has a new book out now, again illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, called Red Sings from Treetops - a year in colors ... and over at the Miss Rumphius Effect, you have a chance to win a copy this month. Give that a try... but whatever you do, make sure you get a book of hers so you and the kids you share it with can join me in my thrall.
Yesterday we took The Flight Before Christmas with Adam Rex. Tomorrow... Rules for Spot by Bruce Lansky.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Adam Rex - The Flight Before Christmas
I've been trying to make this idea work off and on for years.
This is the closest I've come.
-Adam Rex
The Flight Before Christmas
'Tis the flight before Christmas. Our aircraft today
is a Boeing C-25 JingleBus sleigh.
At this time I would like to say "welcome aboard"
and please ask for all luggage and toys to be stored
in the space by your feet or the overhead sack.
Use caution untying the sack when you pack
as the toys may have shifted about during flight.
Santa gets a bit…dazed by the end of the night.
It's hardly surprising for someone who stares
for twelve hours at eight tiny reinderrières.
Plus the eggnog. Our point is, expect a rough ride,
but in two thousand years not one passenger’s died.
In the likely event of a freefall or dive
there’s an oxygen mask that will keep you alive.
We ask that you first find a mask for yourself–
put it on and pull tight before helping an elf.
Get your safety belt buckled, and keep it that way–
no standing or stretching at all in the sleigh.
Not a soul should be stirring, not even the mice.
Our pilot is quite the flotation device!
If we land in the water, hold onto him tight.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good flight.
©2009 Adam Rex. All rights reserved.
Adam Rex's Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich is always checked out at the elementary school library where I've been the volunteer librarian. In fact, when I want to read a poem aloud from it, I know I have to bring my own copy (then hold onto it tight!). The poems in Frankenstein and its sequel are hilarious and sly and connect with kids perfectly. And the art! Don't get me started on his fantastic illustrations in Frankenstein and its sequel, or his art in his picture book Pssst or Elvira Woodruff's Small Beauties or Amy Timberlake's The Dirty Cowboy or... no, no! I won't start.
Seriously, though, anyone who writes a poem about the Invisible Man going for a haircut or describes Santa looking at eight tiny reinderrières sees the world in a way that's different than most, yet Adam gets his vision across in poem after poem. I hope we'll be seeing more Adam Rex poetry collections... but I'm very happy to see at least one more poem from him here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
Yesterday we were In the Museum with Marilyn Singer. Tomorrow brings us Spring is the Time by Joyce Sidman.
This is the closest I've come.
-Adam Rex
The Flight Before Christmas
'Tis the flight before Christmas. Our aircraft today
is a Boeing C-25 JingleBus sleigh.
At this time I would like to say "welcome aboard"
and please ask for all luggage and toys to be stored
in the space by your feet or the overhead sack.
Use caution untying the sack when you pack
as the toys may have shifted about during flight.
Santa gets a bit…dazed by the end of the night.
It's hardly surprising for someone who stares
for twelve hours at eight tiny reinderrières.
Plus the eggnog. Our point is, expect a rough ride,
but in two thousand years not one passenger’s died.
In the likely event of a freefall or dive
there’s an oxygen mask that will keep you alive.
We ask that you first find a mask for yourself–
put it on and pull tight before helping an elf.
Get your safety belt buckled, and keep it that way–
no standing or stretching at all in the sleigh.
Not a soul should be stirring, not even the mice.
Our pilot is quite the flotation device!
If we land in the water, hold onto him tight.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good flight.
©2009 Adam Rex. All rights reserved.
Adam Rex's Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich is always checked out at the elementary school library where I've been the volunteer librarian. In fact, when I want to read a poem aloud from it, I know I have to bring my own copy (then hold onto it tight!). The poems in Frankenstein and its sequel are hilarious and sly and connect with kids perfectly. And the art! Don't get me started on his fantastic illustrations in Frankenstein and its sequel, or his art in his picture book Pssst or Elvira Woodruff's Small Beauties or Amy Timberlake's The Dirty Cowboy or... no, no! I won't start.
Seriously, though, anyone who writes a poem about the Invisible Man going for a haircut or describes Santa looking at eight tiny reinderrières sees the world in a way that's different than most, yet Adam gets his vision across in poem after poem. I hope we'll be seeing more Adam Rex poetry collections... but I'm very happy to see at least one more poem from him here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
Yesterday we were In the Museum with Marilyn Singer. Tomorrow brings us Spring is the Time by Joyce Sidman.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The Twitter #poetry chat
Scroll right on down to see Marilyn Singer's wonderful In the Museum... or hang out here a minute to hear an invitation to Friday's Twitter #poetry chat!
Yes, at 2 Eastern/11 Pacific on Friday, we'll be talking poetry on Twitter. Using the #poetry tag on tweets so we can find each other, a group of... who knows who or how many ... will be hanging out for an hour talking about poets and poetry, sharing Twitter verse, resources, and, well, we have no idea what will happen! That's part of the poetry of it, seems to me.
You can read more about the idea of the #poetry chat right here. If there are topics you'd love to chat about (and this is not a children's poetry specific chat at all, by the way), feel free to leave a note in the comments or at the above link. Hope to see you there!
Yes, at 2 Eastern/11 Pacific on Friday, we'll be talking poetry on Twitter. Using the #poetry tag on tweets so we can find each other, a group of... who knows who or how many ... will be hanging out for an hour talking about poets and poetry, sharing Twitter verse, resources, and, well, we have no idea what will happen! That's part of the poetry of it, seems to me.
You can read more about the idea of the #poetry chat right here. If there are topics you'd love to chat about (and this is not a children's poetry specific chat at all, by the way), feel free to leave a note in the comments or at the above link. Hope to see you there!
Marilyn Singer - In the Museum
In the Museum
by
Marilyn Singer
See those big bones?
Once, dinosaurs went walking
through dust, mud, and stones.
See those big bones?
Long, long ago, no computers, no phones,
no people, no talking.
See those big bones?
Once, dinosaurs went walking.
©2009 Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.
Marilyn Singer's In the Museum, a triolet, makes me so happy. I love good dinosaur poems to start with, and I also love seeing different forms used well. And on top of that, I love the use of the title here to give this poem a setting and a context besides just being about dinos. I'm there in that museum looking at the skeleton, I tell ya, listening in to someone I can learn from. All that with one title, eight lines... with many of them repeated! It's not a surprise, of course, since Marilyn Singer is a gifted and accomplished poet who does things like this alllll the time. But still... it makes me happy.
By the way, Marilyn (along with Barbara Genco) has gathered up an amazing crew for the upcoming ALSC Poetry Blast 6: Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, David Harrison, Bobbi Katz, Laura Purdie Salas, Jon Scieszka, Joyce Sidman, Marilyn Singer, Hope Anita Smith, Susan Marie Swanson, Joyce Carol Thomas. Yowza. How can that not be a blast?
Rock n Roll Dad by Jaime Adoff set the beat yesterday. Tomorrow brings Adam Rex and The Flight Before Christmas.
by
Marilyn Singer
See those big bones?
Once, dinosaurs went walking
through dust, mud, and stones.
See those big bones?
Long, long ago, no computers, no phones,
no people, no talking.
See those big bones?
Once, dinosaurs went walking.
©2009 Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.
Marilyn Singer's In the Museum, a triolet, makes me so happy. I love good dinosaur poems to start with, and I also love seeing different forms used well. And on top of that, I love the use of the title here to give this poem a setting and a context besides just being about dinos. I'm there in that museum looking at the skeleton, I tell ya, listening in to someone I can learn from. All that with one title, eight lines... with many of them repeated! It's not a surprise, of course, since Marilyn Singer is a gifted and accomplished poet who does things like this alllll the time. But still... it makes me happy.
By the way, Marilyn (along with Barbara Genco) has gathered up an amazing crew for the upcoming ALSC Poetry Blast 6: Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, David Harrison, Bobbi Katz, Laura Purdie Salas, Jon Scieszka, Joyce Sidman, Marilyn Singer, Hope Anita Smith, Susan Marie Swanson, Joyce Carol Thomas. Yowza. How can that not be a blast?
Rock n Roll Dad by Jaime Adoff set the beat yesterday. Tomorrow brings Adam Rex and The Flight Before Christmas.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Rolling, rolling, rolling!
The poetry is rolling along (in fact, there's a poem right below this post, so either scroll down to see it, or click here to see Jaime Adoff's Rock n Roll Dad!), and I can safely say I'm having a blast. Tricia's Poetry Makers series and Sylvia's reviews are fantastic, and there's so much more going on in the Kidlitosphere, too (like Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast's great Douglas Florian post today).
Today was also the online launch party for Laura Purdie Salas' new book, Stampede: Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School. Celebrating a new book of poetry is ALWAYS in style, April or not. The party's done, but stop by her blog and wish her well.
Not related to poetry, but well worth celebrating, is Fuse #8, Betsy Bird, doing her Happy Dance. Okay, and the reason WHY she dances -- she sold two picture books! She is brilliant, funny, and nice, to boot, and I'm thrilled for her (and for the kids who'll read her).
An overdue hat tip to School Library Journal and Rocco Staino for their 30 Poets/30 Days article in the Extra Helping newsletter that helped kick us off in style. And to all the other bloggers, librarians, and schools that are helping spread the word... thanks! (Extra applause for the largehearted boy blog for putting poetry for children right in there with Springsteen, U2, and a zombie book giveaway!)
Marilyn Singer's In the Museum is up soon... but now I gotta book!
Today was also the online launch party for Laura Purdie Salas' new book, Stampede: Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School. Celebrating a new book of poetry is ALWAYS in style, April or not. The party's done, but stop by her blog and wish her well.
Not related to poetry, but well worth celebrating, is Fuse #8, Betsy Bird, doing her Happy Dance. Okay, and the reason WHY she dances -- she sold two picture books! She is brilliant, funny, and nice, to boot, and I'm thrilled for her (and for the kids who'll read her).
An overdue hat tip to School Library Journal and Rocco Staino for their 30 Poets/30 Days article in the Extra Helping newsletter that helped kick us off in style. And to all the other bloggers, librarians, and schools that are helping spread the word... thanks! (Extra applause for the largehearted boy blog for putting poetry for children right in there with Springsteen, U2, and a zombie book giveaway!)
Marilyn Singer's In the Museum is up soon... but now I gotta book!
Jaime Adoff - Rock n Roll Dad
Rock n Roll Dad
by
Jaime Adoff
Rock n Roll Dad cooks
in the kitchen
radio blasts
always on ten!!
It's so LOUD, I have to shout,
"WHEN ARE WE GOING TO EAT!?"
Dad yells,
"SOOOOOON!"
Dancing past me with his spoon.
Pots shake,
pans vibrate.
Mom screams:
"It's an earthquake!"
"What?" Dad yells back.
I roll my eyes.
Mom shakes her head.
Rock n Roll Dad is a little deaf.
"A lot." Mom says.
"Too many years playing drums." Rock n Roll Dad shouts, twirling his sticks and stirring the sauce.
"Can I go to the club with you tonight?" I ask Dad.
"You're not old enough yet." He answers back.
"I want to go. I'm eight years old. I’m old enough to Rock n Roll."
. . . One day I'm gonna play the drums too.
My hands will fly so fast
my sticks will break the speed of sound.
I'll be the best drummer in town.
I play the plates with my carrot stick-sticks.
Splashing salsa cymbals with my rock n roll chips . . .
©2009 Jaime Adoff. All rights reserved.
Excerpt taken from "Rock n Roll Dad" to be published by Disney-Hyperion
Jaime Adoff rocks. Seriously - he fronted his own band for eight years. And the thing is, his writing rocks, too. In his award winning debut, the poetry collection The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth, and moving to his novel-in-verse Jimi & Me then to his upcoming picture book, Rock n Roll Dad, music is both a part of what he writes and how he writes it: to me, his poetry begs to be performed not just read. And that's true no matter his subject matter....
In his work for teens, Jaime's tackled a range of complex issues, never shying away, as he says, from the good stuff, the bad stuff, the fun stuff, or the tough stuff. He brings that same attitude and vibrancy to his work for younger kids, too, and 30 Poets/30 Days is mighty happy to be bouncing along to his beat today.
Yesterday gave us Owl by Ann Whitford Paul. Tomorrow... In the Museum by Marilyn Singer.
by
Jaime Adoff
Rock n Roll Dad cooks
in the kitchen
radio blasts
always on ten!!
It's so LOUD, I have to shout,
"WHEN ARE WE GOING TO EAT!?"
Dad yells,
"SOOOOOON!"
Dancing past me with his spoon.
Pots shake,
pans vibrate.
Mom screams:
"It's an earthquake!"
"What?" Dad yells back.
I roll my eyes.
Mom shakes her head.
Rock n Roll Dad is a little deaf.
"A lot." Mom says.
"Too many years playing drums." Rock n Roll Dad shouts, twirling his sticks and stirring the sauce.
"Can I go to the club with you tonight?" I ask Dad.
"You're not old enough yet." He answers back.
"I want to go. I'm eight years old. I’m old enough to Rock n Roll."
. . . One day I'm gonna play the drums too.
My hands will fly so fast
my sticks will break the speed of sound.
I'll be the best drummer in town.
I play the plates with my carrot stick-sticks.
Splashing salsa cymbals with my rock n roll chips . . .
©2009 Jaime Adoff. All rights reserved.
Excerpt taken from "Rock n Roll Dad" to be published by Disney-Hyperion
Jaime Adoff rocks. Seriously - he fronted his own band for eight years. And the thing is, his writing rocks, too. In his award winning debut, the poetry collection The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth, and moving to his novel-in-verse Jimi & Me then to his upcoming picture book, Rock n Roll Dad, music is both a part of what he writes and how he writes it: to me, his poetry begs to be performed not just read. And that's true no matter his subject matter....
In his work for teens, Jaime's tackled a range of complex issues, never shying away, as he says, from the good stuff, the bad stuff, the fun stuff, or the tough stuff. He brings that same attitude and vibrancy to his work for younger kids, too, and 30 Poets/30 Days is mighty happy to be bouncing along to his beat today.
Yesterday gave us Owl by Ann Whitford Paul. Tomorrow... In the Museum by Marilyn Singer.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Ann Whitford Paul - Owl
OWL
by
Ann Whitford Paul
Who-oo, Who-oo.
Owl takes off,
whispering long,
low, hooting vowels.
Who-oo, Who-oo!
down they float,
soft as feathers,
but Mouse and Mole
are not fooled.
They hide, knowing
behind Owl's vowels lurks
the hard consonant crack
of his hooked beak.
©2009 Ann Whitford Paul. All rights reserved.
Ann Whitford Paul can write soft and lyrical or sharp and strong or, well, anything she wants, I suspect. The range of feelings and images created in just the 40 words of Owl knocks my socks off. We're all lucky that Ann has three books out this Spring, and they further show her range: Tortuga in Trouble (illustrated by Ethan Long) is a Little Red Riding Hood riff (with Spanish, too), Word Builder (illustrated by Kurt Cyrus) began life as a poem in a Lee Bennett Hopkins anthology and is now a picture book all about "building" a book, and Writing Picture Books allows everyone to sample her remarkable teaching abilities.
Now, if you have not been checking out the Poetry Makers series at the Miss Rumphius Effect, you've been missing great, great stuff... including a wonderful interview (and more!) with Ann Whitford Paul. It's really worth a read... as is any Ann Whitford Paul poem you can get your hands on!
X.J. Kennedy's Ladder to the Moon was yesterday's treat. Tomorrow brings us Jaime Adoff and Rock n Roll Dad.
by
Ann Whitford Paul
Who-oo, Who-oo.
Owl takes off,
whispering long,
low, hooting vowels.
Who-oo, Who-oo!
down they float,
soft as feathers,
but Mouse and Mole
are not fooled.
They hide, knowing
behind Owl's vowels lurks
the hard consonant crack
of his hooked beak.
©2009 Ann Whitford Paul. All rights reserved.
Ann Whitford Paul can write soft and lyrical or sharp and strong or, well, anything she wants, I suspect. The range of feelings and images created in just the 40 words of Owl knocks my socks off. We're all lucky that Ann has three books out this Spring, and they further show her range: Tortuga in Trouble (illustrated by Ethan Long) is a Little Red Riding Hood riff (with Spanish, too), Word Builder (illustrated by Kurt Cyrus) began life as a poem in a Lee Bennett Hopkins anthology and is now a picture book all about "building" a book, and Writing Picture Books allows everyone to sample her remarkable teaching abilities.
Now, if you have not been checking out the Poetry Makers series at the Miss Rumphius Effect, you've been missing great, great stuff... including a wonderful interview (and more!) with Ann Whitford Paul. It's really worth a read... as is any Ann Whitford Paul poem you can get your hands on!
X.J. Kennedy's Ladder to the Moon was yesterday's treat. Tomorrow brings us Jaime Adoff and Rock n Roll Dad.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
X. J. Kennedy - Ladder to the Moon
Ladder to the Moon
by
X. J. Kennedy
If I had a ladder that reached to the moon
Up its trillions of rungs I'd go,
Higher than ever the clouds can fly
Till the earth was a ball below.
I'd put on my warm wool winter coat
And my long scarlet scarf in case
While I climbed my ladder straight up to the moon
It started to snow in space.
I'd sidestep a couple of shooting stars
And stand on the steepest hill
At the top of my ladder to the moon
If only the moon stood still.
©2009 X. J. Kennedy. All rights reserved.
If you'll allow me to be a fan-boy for a second, I just have to repeat what I said when I looked in my inbox not terribly long ago -- "X.J. Kennedy sent a poem!!!!!!" That was before I opened the mail, mind you, but I couldn't believe I was gonna get to read something new from him. Then after I had opened it, I wanted to go out and read his poem to every child (and adult) I could find.
Ladder to the Moon is definitely not the first time I've felt that he had captured and given voice to how I viewed the world as a child (okay... fine... and still do). His poetry for children, from the light to darker verse like Brats, just plain old clicks with me... and since X.J. Kennedy has been awarded everything from a Guggenheim fellowship to the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children with many other awards and honors for his poetry (for adults and children both) along the way, I'm clearly not alone in my appreciation. But appreciate, I do, and I'm thrilled to have X. J. Kennedy as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
Yesterday brought A Poem Is... by Charles Ghigna. Tomorrow brings Owl by Ann Whitford Paul.
by
X. J. Kennedy
If I had a ladder that reached to the moon
Up its trillions of rungs I'd go,
Higher than ever the clouds can fly
Till the earth was a ball below.
I'd put on my warm wool winter coat
And my long scarlet scarf in case
While I climbed my ladder straight up to the moon
It started to snow in space.
I'd sidestep a couple of shooting stars
And stand on the steepest hill
At the top of my ladder to the moon
If only the moon stood still.
©2009 X. J. Kennedy. All rights reserved.
If you'll allow me to be a fan-boy for a second, I just have to repeat what I said when I looked in my inbox not terribly long ago -- "X.J. Kennedy sent a poem!!!!!!" That was before I opened the mail, mind you, but I couldn't believe I was gonna get to read something new from him. Then after I had opened it, I wanted to go out and read his poem to every child (and adult) I could find.
Ladder to the Moon is definitely not the first time I've felt that he had captured and given voice to how I viewed the world as a child (okay... fine... and still do). His poetry for children, from the light to darker verse like Brats, just plain old clicks with me... and since X.J. Kennedy has been awarded everything from a Guggenheim fellowship to the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children with many other awards and honors for his poetry (for adults and children both) along the way, I'm clearly not alone in my appreciation. But appreciate, I do, and I'm thrilled to have X. J. Kennedy as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
Yesterday brought A Poem Is... by Charles Ghigna. Tomorrow brings Owl by Ann Whitford Paul.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Poetry, poetry, poetry!
First off, another big thanks to all of you who have been coming on by and reading... and extra thanks to those who've left comments, linked in, told friends, sent me email, and in general made the last three days a blast.
I want to urge you all again to go check out the Poetry Friday roundup hosted over at Amy Planchak Graves' ayuddha.net. I had said I'd be talking about other poetry fun going on in the Kidlitosphere, and I will... but that roundup post will keep you (and me!) busy all weekend! Yowza.
Outside of the children and teen poetry realm, there's also a ton going on, of course. I wanted to point out 30 in 30 - a collection of Canadian poets reading their work aloud. I really love the use of podcasting as another way of getting poems out there. So if you like poetry for adults, too, go on and check it out.
It's going to be a great, poetic weekend here, and I'll see you shortly with an X. J. Kennedy poem for your Saturday (and beyond!)
I want to urge you all again to go check out the Poetry Friday roundup hosted over at Amy Planchak Graves' ayuddha.net. I had said I'd be talking about other poetry fun going on in the Kidlitosphere, and I will... but that roundup post will keep you (and me!) busy all weekend! Yowza.
Outside of the children and teen poetry realm, there's also a ton going on, of course. I wanted to point out 30 in 30 - a collection of Canadian poets reading their work aloud. I really love the use of podcasting as another way of getting poems out there. So if you like poetry for adults, too, go on and check it out.
It's going to be a great, poetic weekend here, and I'll see you shortly with an X. J. Kennedy poem for your Saturday (and beyond!)
Charles Ghigna - A Poem Is...
A Poem Is...
-a poem cycle-
by
Charles Ghigna
A Poem Is A Spider Web
A poem is a spider web
Spun with words of wonder,
Woven lace held in place
By whispers made of thunder.
What's A Poem?
A whisper,
a shout,
thoughts turned
inside out.
A laugh,
a sigh,
an echo
passing by.
A rhythm,
a rhyme,
a moment
caught in time.
A moon,
a star,
a glimpse
of who you are.
A Poem Is A Little Path
A poem is a little path
That leads you through the trees.
It takes you to the cliffs and shores,
To anywhere you please.
Follow it and trust your way
With mind and heart as one,
And when the journey's over,
You'll find you’ve just begun.
©2009 Charles Ghigna. All rights reserved.
When Charles Ghigna, who's also known as Father Goose, sent me A Poem Is..., I started reading and just couldn't believe it. You see, that version of A Poem Is... contained 14 poems, each of which was wonderful and different and could stand alone like the three you see above, but all of which worked together perfectly in cumulatively describing what a poem “is.” Each time I read one, I thought "well, he can’t come up with another new way to describe a poem." Each time, I was wrong.
Once we decided the entire cycle was too long for a blog post, I played around and came up with, well, at least 18 different variations of three poems that I'd like to run. Luckily for me, he suggested the above three... which matched one of my choices exactly. Whew. Oh, and by the way… there are more than 14 poems in the whole work, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest, believe me. I suspect it will be a standalone book some day. It sure should be….
Today is Poetry Friday! For folks new to the Kidlitosphere, Poetry Friday is perfect for exploring what's out there. Here's a link to the "roundup" of folks talking poetry today (hosted at Amy Planchak Graves' ayuddha.net where there's also mighty fine reading to be done beyond the roundup). Go on and check it out!
Yesterday gave us Midnight Stray by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Coming up tomorrow, X. J. Kennedy - Ladder to the Moon.
-a poem cycle-
by
Charles Ghigna
A Poem Is A Spider Web
A poem is a spider web
Spun with words of wonder,
Woven lace held in place
By whispers made of thunder.
What's A Poem?
A whisper,
a shout,
thoughts turned
inside out.
A laugh,
a sigh,
an echo
passing by.
A rhythm,
a rhyme,
a moment
caught in time.
A moon,
a star,
a glimpse
of who you are.
A Poem Is A Little Path
A poem is a little path
That leads you through the trees.
It takes you to the cliffs and shores,
To anywhere you please.
Follow it and trust your way
With mind and heart as one,
And when the journey's over,
You'll find you’ve just begun.
©2009 Charles Ghigna. All rights reserved.
When Charles Ghigna, who's also known as Father Goose, sent me A Poem Is..., I started reading and just couldn't believe it. You see, that version of A Poem Is... contained 14 poems, each of which was wonderful and different and could stand alone like the three you see above, but all of which worked together perfectly in cumulatively describing what a poem “is.” Each time I read one, I thought "well, he can’t come up with another new way to describe a poem." Each time, I was wrong.
Once we decided the entire cycle was too long for a blog post, I played around and came up with, well, at least 18 different variations of three poems that I'd like to run. Luckily for me, he suggested the above three... which matched one of my choices exactly. Whew. Oh, and by the way… there are more than 14 poems in the whole work, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest, believe me. I suspect it will be a standalone book some day. It sure should be….
Today is Poetry Friday! For folks new to the Kidlitosphere, Poetry Friday is perfect for exploring what's out there. Here's a link to the "roundup" of folks talking poetry today (hosted at Amy Planchak Graves' ayuddha.net where there's also mighty fine reading to be done beyond the roundup). Go on and check it out!
Yesterday gave us Midnight Stray by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Coming up tomorrow, X. J. Kennedy - Ladder to the Moon.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Rebecca Kai Dotlich - Midnight Stray
MIDNIGHT STRAY
by
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
She stared at me from where she sat,
one matted lump of fragile cat
who wore a grayish tattered ear --
she heard me whisper cat, come here.
A squint, a lick, a paw so small,
she did not move or purr at all --
just skin and bones and stars above her.
And that is how I came to love her.
©2009 Rebecca Kai Dotlich. All rights reserved.
Used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
Rebecca Kai Dotlich's poetry just flat out wows me. Maybe you've seen her poems in anthologies or in her own collections, but if you haven't... leave the computer now and go find them (or go to her website where you can peak inside some of her books). She packs so much oomph into her words… so much emotion… such a clear point of view. Suffice to say, I'm a huge fan… as are the many, many kids who've heard me read Rebecca’s work aloud to them or taken a book out of my hands and read it on their own.
Rebecca is the subject of today’s Poetry Makers post at the Miss Rumphius Effect. Head on over there and read a great Q+A, see another poem, and learn a lot about what makes this poet tick. Then take a peak at her picture book Bella & Bean (illustrated by Aileen Leijten) about a moody, obsessed poet mouse! And then go find her poems… and read.
Yesterday was "A Little Poem For Poetry Month" by Jack Prelutsky. Coming up tomorrow, “A Poem Is…” by Charles Ghigna.
by
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
She stared at me from where she sat,
one matted lump of fragile cat
who wore a grayish tattered ear --
she heard me whisper cat, come here.
A squint, a lick, a paw so small,
she did not move or purr at all --
just skin and bones and stars above her.
And that is how I came to love her.
©2009 Rebecca Kai Dotlich. All rights reserved.
Used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
Rebecca Kai Dotlich's poetry just flat out wows me. Maybe you've seen her poems in anthologies or in her own collections, but if you haven't... leave the computer now and go find them (or go to her website where you can peak inside some of her books). She packs so much oomph into her words… so much emotion… such a clear point of view. Suffice to say, I'm a huge fan… as are the many, many kids who've heard me read Rebecca’s work aloud to them or taken a book out of my hands and read it on their own.
Rebecca is the subject of today’s Poetry Makers post at the Miss Rumphius Effect. Head on over there and read a great Q+A, see another poem, and learn a lot about what makes this poet tick. Then take a peak at her picture book Bella & Bean (illustrated by Aileen Leijten) about a moody, obsessed poet mouse! And then go find her poems… and read.
Yesterday was "A Little Poem For Poetry Month" by Jack Prelutsky. Coming up tomorrow, “A Poem Is…” by Charles Ghigna.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Thanks! Day one of 30 Poets/30 Days was...
... a rousing success! Extra thanks to those who commented at the blog, sent email, linked in, and Twittered #poetry and #kidlit, and super extra thanks to all those who shared Jack Prelutsky's poem with a child! It's really such a thrill to see thousands of people come read poetry. So to all of you who have helped spread the word... I think I can speak on behalf of all the poets in 30 Poets/30 Days in saying "thanks!"
Did I mention how fun it is to see people talking poetry? It is! Whether it's at EducationWorld.com or at Elaine's always fabulous Wild Rose Reader, you can find links to so much information... and at Elaine's blog you can WIN POETRY BOOKS during April. I won a J. Patrick Lewis book last year from Elaine, and I hope to win again this year.
There is so much more going on in the Kidlitosphere, too, including one very different type of poetry project -- at Lynn Hazen's Imaginary Blog, they're talking bad poetry. Say what? Go check it out. I mean really... any poetry contest that has National Book Award Winner M. T. Anderson as one of the past winners and has Fuse #8 Betsy Bird in the hot seat now simply has to be worth a look.
I could link all night, but I gotta book. Coming up soon... Rebecca Kai Dotlich's Midnight Stray! See ya then.
Did I mention how fun it is to see people talking poetry? It is! Whether it's at EducationWorld.com or at Elaine's always fabulous Wild Rose Reader, you can find links to so much information... and at Elaine's blog you can WIN POETRY BOOKS during April. I won a J. Patrick Lewis book last year from Elaine, and I hope to win again this year.
There is so much more going on in the Kidlitosphere, too, including one very different type of poetry project -- at Lynn Hazen's Imaginary Blog, they're talking bad poetry. Say what? Go check it out. I mean really... any poetry contest that has National Book Award Winner M. T. Anderson as one of the past winners and has Fuse #8 Betsy Bird in the hot seat now simply has to be worth a look.
I could link all night, but I gotta book. Coming up soon... Rebecca Kai Dotlich's Midnight Stray! See ya then.
Jack Prelutsky - A Little Poem For Poetry Month
A Little Poem For Poetry Month
by
Jack Prelutsky
I’m glad we have a Poetry Month,
But still, I wonder why
They chose a month with thirty days—
Were months in short supply?
I wish that they’d selected
A longer month, like May.
I’m certain I’d appreciate
That extra poetry day.
Of course, if they’d picked February,
I would be aghast,
For February’s very short
And passes far too fast.
But April’s not as short as that,
So I don’t hesitate
To say I’m glad it’s Poetry Month.
Hooray! Let’s celebrate.
Copyright ©2009 by Jack Prelutsky. All rights reserved.
Jack Prelutsky went from being a kid who couldn’t stand poetry to being named by the Poetry Foundation as their first Children’s Poet Laureate. I could give you biographical information galore, but you can find that at his website or at the Academy of American Poets’ site or many other places.
Instead, I want to encourage each of you to grab a Jack Prelutsky poetry book and a child (or 10!) and mix 'em together to see what happens. Pick a collection like A Pizza the Size of the Sun or this March’s The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems from Beyond the Solar System and read a few poems aloud. Watch the reaction of your "audience." See them delight in the rhythms, the words, the images. Depending on the poems you’ve chosen, you might get laughs or "ooohs" or both (and you might react the same way!). But once you’ve done this, I think you’ll understand exactly why Jack Prelutsky is beloved by so many kids -- and teachers and parents and librarians. Try it yourself and see!
I know I’m absolutely thrilled to have Jack Prelutsky kicking off 30 Poets/30 Days… and I’m looking forward to Midnight Stray by Rebecca Kai Dotlich tomorrow!
by
Jack Prelutsky
I’m glad we have a Poetry Month,
But still, I wonder why
They chose a month with thirty days—
Were months in short supply?
I wish that they’d selected
A longer month, like May.
I’m certain I’d appreciate
That extra poetry day.
Of course, if they’d picked February,
I would be aghast,
For February’s very short
And passes far too fast.
But April’s not as short as that,
So I don’t hesitate
To say I’m glad it’s Poetry Month.
Hooray! Let’s celebrate.
Copyright ©2009 by Jack Prelutsky. All rights reserved.
Jack Prelutsky went from being a kid who couldn’t stand poetry to being named by the Poetry Foundation as their first Children’s Poet Laureate. I could give you biographical information galore, but you can find that at his website or at the Academy of American Poets’ site or many other places.
Instead, I want to encourage each of you to grab a Jack Prelutsky poetry book and a child (or 10!) and mix 'em together to see what happens. Pick a collection like A Pizza the Size of the Sun or this March’s The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems from Beyond the Solar System and read a few poems aloud. Watch the reaction of your "audience." See them delight in the rhythms, the words, the images. Depending on the poems you’ve chosen, you might get laughs or "ooohs" or both (and you might react the same way!). But once you’ve done this, I think you’ll understand exactly why Jack Prelutsky is beloved by so many kids -- and teachers and parents and librarians. Try it yourself and see!
I know I’m absolutely thrilled to have Jack Prelutsky kicking off 30 Poets/30 Days… and I’m looking forward to Midnight Stray by Rebecca Kai Dotlich tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
#poetry!
There’s no question I’m excited about 30 Poets/30 Days kicking off tomorrow along with National Poetry Month. And there’s also no question I’m excited about using Twitter as a way for us fans of poetry (and children’s literature) to find each other and have fun talking about what we love… and maybe broaden our community to include others who love what we love. They’re out there on Twitter -- I’m sure of it.
I posted before about using the #poetry and #kidlit hashtags so we can all find each other and others can find us. Now here are some poetry specific ideas about what to tweet about, just in case you want to jump in:
Tweet a link to any National Poetry Month event or news story… to your favorite poet’s website… to a blog where people are talking about poetry.
Tweet short poetry – create Twitter verse for the Twitterverse! Haiku, Fibs, tetractys all should fit fine, and #haiku is already being used. Maybe #poetwee should be the catch all?
Find poetry lovers on Twitter and re-tweet their tweets of interest.
Tweet about poets you love… and why. Create a conversation!
The goal here is to have fun, with us all tweeting about what we’re passionate about. For me that includes #kidlit and #poetry. Will I be tweeting about 30 Poets/30 Days? Of course! But I’m looking forward to much, much more than that.
Here’s a link to a search of everyone talking #poetry and #kidlit on Twitter. You can modify the search to find one or the other… or whatever else you’re interested in. Have fun… and hope to see you there!
You can follow me on Twitter at@GottaBook or follow @30poets30days for a purer #poetry experience.
I posted before about using the #poetry and #kidlit hashtags so we can all find each other and others can find us. Now here are some poetry specific ideas about what to tweet about, just in case you want to jump in:
Tweet a link to any National Poetry Month event or news story… to your favorite poet’s website… to a blog where people are talking about poetry.
Tweet short poetry – create Twitter verse for the Twitterverse! Haiku, Fibs, tetractys all should fit fine, and #haiku is already being used. Maybe #poetwee should be the catch all?
Find poetry lovers on Twitter and re-tweet their tweets of interest.
Tweet about poets you love… and why. Create a conversation!
The goal here is to have fun, with us all tweeting about what we’re passionate about. For me that includes #kidlit and #poetry. Will I be tweeting about 30 Poets/30 Days? Of course! But I’m looking forward to much, much more than that.
Here’s a link to a search of everyone talking #poetry and #kidlit on Twitter. You can modify the search to find one or the other… or whatever else you’re interested in. Have fun… and hope to see you there!
You can follow me on Twitter at@GottaBook or follow @30poets30days for a purer #poetry experience.
Tomorrow's the big day!
Yes, tomorrow launches the first ever 30 Poets/30 Days, and I'm pretty darn excited about that. It also launches National Poetry Month, Mathematics Awareness Month, and is April Fools' Day. And...
For Kenn Nesbitt (a 30 Poets participant and the man behind the fab Poetry4Kids), April 1 also happens to be the launch date of his new book, My Hippo Has the Hiccups: And Other Poems I Totally Made Up! I hope you find a way to help him celebrate his big day. Maybe follow him on Twitter and say "congrats!"
Looking forward to tomorrow and a new Jack Prelutsky poem to kick things off hereabouts. Hope to see you then!
For Kenn Nesbitt (a 30 Poets participant and the man behind the fab Poetry4Kids), April 1 also happens to be the launch date of his new book, My Hippo Has the Hiccups: And Other Poems I Totally Made Up! I hope you find a way to help him celebrate his big day. Maybe follow him on Twitter and say "congrats!"
Looking forward to tomorrow and a new Jack Prelutsky poem to kick things off hereabouts. Hope to see you then!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Talking 30 Poets/30 Days (and more) on Just One More Book, plus....
I've talked about the joy that is the Just One More Book podcast before since it's my single favorite podcast around... so you can imagine my excitement at being asked to be on it. You can hear the results here on their episode 550. While I'm super excited about 30 Poets/30 Days, I'm also incredibly looking forward to their Rock Stars of Reading video series which starts tomorrow.
I also wanted to thank Jennifer at 5 Minutes for Books for letting me write an On Reading column at their site about my love of children's poetry.
Another hat tip to my compatriots in the Kidlitosphere for all their help. I encourage y'all to go check out the most recent Carnival of Children's Literature being hosted at Jenny's Wonderland of Books to get a little idea of what's going on in the children's literature blogosphere.
In barely under 36 hours, we'll be kicking off 30 Poets/30 Days with a new Jack Prelutsky poem... and I'm incredibly excited. Thanks again for all your support. I'll have more later, but right now I gotta book!
I also wanted to thank Jennifer at 5 Minutes for Books for letting me write an On Reading column at their site about my love of children's poetry.
Another hat tip to my compatriots in the Kidlitosphere for all their help. I encourage y'all to go check out the most recent Carnival of Children's Literature being hosted at Jenny's Wonderland of Books to get a little idea of what's going on in the children's literature blogosphere.
In barely under 36 hours, we'll be kicking off 30 Poets/30 Days with a new Jack Prelutsky poem... and I'm incredibly excited. Thanks again for all your support. I'll have more later, but right now I gotta book!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
A 30 Poets/30 Days welcome to...
... all the folks getting here to GottaBook via the Choice Literacy newsletter! I'm glad you've come to see what we're up to here in April... and I hope you come join us (and keep spreading the word, too).
One of the great things for me about this whole project has been that as I've surfed the web looking for places I thought might be interested in what we're doing here, I've ended up discovering so many great informative and entertaining sites. I've certainly spent more time reading online and emailing people links than I have anything else during the last few weeks! Go figure.
It's only four more days until 30 Poets/30 Days kicks off, and guess what? I'm excited... and looking forward to seeing you all next month!
One of the great things for me about this whole project has been that as I've surfed the web looking for places I thought might be interested in what we're doing here, I've ended up discovering so many great informative and entertaining sites. I've certainly spent more time reading online and emailing people links than I have anything else during the last few weeks! Go figure.
It's only four more days until 30 Poets/30 Days kicks off, and guess what? I'm excited... and looking forward to seeing you all next month!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Twitter, #poetry, #kidlit... and an invitation!
It’s Poetry Friday again, with this week’s roundup at The Drift Record, the blog of Julie Larios -- one of the participants in 30 Poets/30 Days! But before you head over there, why not stick around a minute while I talk a little about Twitter (and poetry!)?
Twitter is a fast growing social network where folks “tweet” messages of 140 characters or less to each other. To make conversations trackable, people can categorize what they say by the use of the # sign (called a hashtag) within a tweet. For example, if you include #poetry in your tweet, folks can find your comment (and other people talking #poetry) by searching Twitter for the hashtag.
There are millions of users of Twitter (including President Obama), but only a few of them are tweeting about #poetry and #kidlit. National Poetry Month seems like a good time to change the former, and Poetry Friday, all the great children's poetry blog projects this month, and the growing Kidlitosphere make it a great time to change the latter, too. But why? Well...
One thing I re-learned when Fibs were spreading around the web is that there are poetry lovers in every walk of life. They may not write or read poems regularly, but they love to be reminded of it… and get re-invigorated. They’re on Twitter. Parents are on Twitter, too, maybe not spending enough time thinking about kids' books... or maybe looking for information. You don’t go on Twitter and say “buy my book!!!” of course, but if we start using #kidlit even just talking among ourselves, I'm pretty sure before long we'll meet all sorts of fascinating people who share our love of children's literature.
So my invitation to you is to join me in April, tweeting away about #kidlit and #poetry. We can share ideas and resources. We can make some poetic noise. And really, now… doesn’t that sound like fun?
You can find me on Twitter as GottaBook and also get updates from 30poems30days. I'll have more detailed information (including ideas about what to tweet to get you started) next week. I'm soooo looking forward to April here on the blog... and I'll see you in the Twitterverse, too!
Twitter is a fast growing social network where folks “tweet” messages of 140 characters or less to each other. To make conversations trackable, people can categorize what they say by the use of the # sign (called a hashtag) within a tweet. For example, if you include #poetry in your tweet, folks can find your comment (and other people talking #poetry) by searching Twitter for the hashtag.
There are millions of users of Twitter (including President Obama), but only a few of them are tweeting about #poetry and #kidlit. National Poetry Month seems like a good time to change the former, and Poetry Friday, all the great children's poetry blog projects this month, and the growing Kidlitosphere make it a great time to change the latter, too. But why? Well...
One thing I re-learned when Fibs were spreading around the web is that there are poetry lovers in every walk of life. They may not write or read poems regularly, but they love to be reminded of it… and get re-invigorated. They’re on Twitter. Parents are on Twitter, too, maybe not spending enough time thinking about kids' books... or maybe looking for information. You don’t go on Twitter and say “buy my book!!!” of course, but if we start using #kidlit even just talking among ourselves, I'm pretty sure before long we'll meet all sorts of fascinating people who share our love of children's literature.
So my invitation to you is to join me in April, tweeting away about #kidlit and #poetry. We can share ideas and resources. We can make some poetic noise. And really, now… doesn’t that sound like fun?
You can find me on Twitter as GottaBook and also get updates from 30poems30days. I'll have more detailed information (including ideas about what to tweet to get you started) next week. I'm soooo looking forward to April here on the blog... and I'll see you in the Twitterverse, too!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
30 Poets/Countless Thanks... and more!
It's been a fun couple days for me since the 30 Poets/30 Days announcement, I must say. Besides enjoying the fact that I no longer had to keep quiet about the event, it's also been really gratifying to see that other people are as excited as I am about how much fun April is going to be (throughout the Kidlitosphere!).
I want to take another opportunity to thank all the poets for jumping into this with me, and I also want to thank all of you who have been helping spread the word about this fun, freeeee project via links on blogs and by emailing me ideas. I've had a great time reading some blogs that were totally new to me (Mental Multivitamin, for example) and spent hours clicking around blogrolls. I've once again wondered how Melissa Wiley has time to blog so wonderfully, write books, parent her brood, AND coin the word Kidlitosphere. I've again been inspired to write poetry by Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides. And I can't wait to read Tricia's Poetry Makers series. (Perhaps I can bribe her with a Lee Bennett Hopkins or Linda Sue Park or Jack Prelutsky poem???)
There are many more folks to thank (Camille! Sondra! Adrienne! Cheryl R.! Cheryl K.! Lee!), and I'll be doing so all month, I'm sure. And I'm so excited about the days to come... but for now, I gotta book.
I want to take another opportunity to thank all the poets for jumping into this with me, and I also want to thank all of you who have been helping spread the word about this fun, freeeee project via links on blogs and by emailing me ideas. I've had a great time reading some blogs that were totally new to me (Mental Multivitamin, for example) and spent hours clicking around blogrolls. I've once again wondered how Melissa Wiley has time to blog so wonderfully, write books, parent her brood, AND coin the word Kidlitosphere. I've again been inspired to write poetry by Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides. And I can't wait to read Tricia's Poetry Makers series. (Perhaps I can bribe her with a Lee Bennett Hopkins or Linda Sue Park or Jack Prelutsky poem???)
There are many more folks to thank (Camille! Sondra! Adrienne! Cheryl R.! Cheryl K.! Lee!), and I'll be doing so all month, I'm sure. And I'm so excited about the days to come... but for now, I gotta book.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Announcing 30 Poets/30 Days!
I'm incredibly excited to announce the first annual 30 Poets/30 Days, a celebration of children's poetry taking place here at GottaBook during National Poetry Month.
(You can CLICK HERE to see all the 2009 poems and poets.)
(There is also a 2010 edition of 30 Poets/30 Days!)
(There is also now a 2011 edition of 30 Poets/30 Days!)
Every day in April, I'll be posting a previously unpublished poem by a different poet. Here's the alphabetical list of who's participating:
Arnold Adoff, Jaime Adoff, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Douglas Florian, Betsy Franco, Kristine O'Connell George, Charles Ghigna, Nikki Giovanni, Joan Bransfield Graham, Nikki Grimes, Avis Harley, Mary Ann Hoberman, Lee Bennett Hopkins, X. J. Kennedy, Bruce Lansky, Julie Larios, J. Patrick Lewis, Pat Mora, Kenn Nesbitt, Linda Sue Park, Ann Whitford Paul, Gregory K. Pincus, Jack Prelutsky, Adam Rex, Jon Scieszka, Joyce Sidman, Marilyn Singer, April Halprin Wayland, Janet Wong, and Jane Yolen.
We'll launch on Tuesday, April 1, with former Children's Poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky's new “A Little Poem For Poetry Month.” We’ll end April 30th with “Books & Me” by Pat Mora to help celebrate El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day). And every day in between will bring something new. You can follow along here and via 30poets30days on Twitter.
There will be a lot of other poetry related fun going on in the Kidlitosphere during April, including...
- at the Miss Rumphius Effect, Tricia has a great series called Poetry Makers featuring interviews with 36 (!!!) poets.
- at Poetry For Children, Sylvia Vardell will be reviewing a new children's poetry book every day.
- at the Pencil Talk blog, Anastasia Suen will be collecting school poems written by children throughout April... and posting one each day.
- and of course there's Poetry Friday every week... plus much, much more, so look for updates here at the blog throughout the month.
I want to thank all the poets for their generosity and enthusiasm, and I particularly want to single out J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt for going above and beyond the call in helping me put this event together. Also, special thanks to my brother Jon and all the folks who've given me ideas and support along the way. If there has been any frustration in organizing this event at all, it's only that there are so many other wonderfully talented people writing poetry for kids and it was hard not to invite them all. But that's why I plan to make this an annual celebration.
I'm really looking forward to April. I hope you'll all come join the fun!
(Again, the poetry has begun! If you click here, it will take you to the top of the blog where the day's poem will most likely be the first post you see. If it's not, just scroll down a little and it'll be there. After today, if you keep scrolling down, you'll see the whole month's worth of poems to date. Enjoy!)
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