An early summer (blog) vacation

It's gonna be quiet around here for a week or so. You have been warned!

May your early June be wonderful....

A Familiar Lament :-)

Another video for your pleasure, sure to be a hit with any author who's done a bookstore signing - Parnell Hall's Signing in the Waldenbooks (which I found courtesy of the talented and generous Sarah Laurenson):

The "Where's Greg?" Edition

Like Waldo, I've been flitting around from landscape to landscape... though I do not have a camera, a key, a dog, or wizards along with me. It's been fun and adventurous (well, sorta)... but unfortunately, one place I haven't been found much is right here. Ahhh, to be cloned!

One thing I've been doing on my journeys is starting to mull a year-end read-aloud. It's been a fabulous year, and I'd love to end it with a bang. If you know of any brilliant picture book to read to a slew of 2nd-3rd graders to finish off the library year, I hope you'll let me know.

Off to the next picture....

Worlds Collide... and Humor Happens

What happens when one of my favorite groups, Improv Everywhere, teams up with the wonderful New York Public Library? Good things!

When Do You Know?

We had an interesting conversation during #kidlitchat last night about how you know when you've written or read a "winner" of a manuscript. Is it hook? Voice? Something else?

My take on reading from agents, editors, and fellow writers is that there's really an emotional reaction of some sort that lets you know - you want to tell everyone about it; writing scenes makes you laugh or cry (as appropriate!); your characters have a life of their own and you like spending time with them; you miss your subway stop to keep reading. There's also a difference between thinking you've written something fantastic and getting validation from others that proves the point - validation that usually produces an emotional reaction!

It was interesting for me, as I don't know that I'd ever spent time thinking about the question before, and it's hard to come up with a concrete answer. It really is kinda "I'll know it when I see it" situation.


You can find all the #kidlitchat transcripts here (including last night's, May 18th). I found it really interesting to see the different perspectives of what would let you know. And feel free to add yours to the mix, here, too!

Foods That Scare - a scary food poem, a lunch poem

This poem first appeared here at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup, where it looks fabulous! The same post has a recipe of my grandmother's and some quite entertaining comments. You should go see it. I repost the poem here just cuz I can.

Foods That Scare
by
Gregory K.

Beware of foods with names like "hash."
You can't know what's put in it.
And still don't trust a succotash
If you see the cook begin it.
Have fear of soups if they contain
Mysterious cooked greens.
Also have most great disdain
Of salads called "Five Beans."
A casserole can hide so much.
It's quite a frightening thing.
If there's one food you should not touch,
It's Chicken ala King.
Everybody knows that gruel
Is not a food to munch.
All this is why, when you're in school,
Be sure to bring your lunch.


This week's Poetry Friday roundup is also over at Jama's Alphabet Soup. My word, her posts are so scrumptious it's almost cruel. Go check it out!

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!

Cutting Libraries?

I no longer recall where I saw that image first, but you can get it here, and use it under a creative commons license if you'd like. I agree with the sentiments, I must say....

Book Report on the Thesaurus - a homework poem/a thesaurus poem

Book Report on the Thesaurus
by
Gregory K.

Words? There were lots, very many, a ton.
Plot? There was zero, zilch, zip, nada, none.
I found it enjoyable, likable, fun...
But was glad when it finished, completed, was done.


I'd call this poem a companion (or partner or kissing cousin or... or... or) to my poem Book Report on the Dictionary. What can I say? Reference books inspire me....

This week's Poetry Friday roundup is over at Random Noodling. Head on over and see what else is going on poetically today (including Fibonacci poems by some talented kindergarteners).

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!

Collecting

When I was a kid, I collected a lot of different things - baseball cards, bottle caps, buttons (the kind with slogans on them, not clothing buttons), and stamps among them.

Now, here I am as an adult, and I realize that the only thing I seem to be collecting is poetry books. Okay... maybe I'm just accumulating them, rather than truly collecting (it's not curated nor do I ever try to trade for missing titles). Still, the increase over the years is noticeable.

Here's where being a volunteer librarian is great, however - I get to share my collections. And, I'd like to think, new collections will be borne from it. But if not, hey, I'm a happy guy anyway.

And you? Been collecting these days?

Poetry (and the web) = Family Finders?

I hope you've all seen Susan Taylor Brown's post How poetry, Google, and Craigslist helped me find the family I never knew I had. It's a wonderful read about the power of poetry and the web and without a doubt my favorite National Poetry Month story.

The word "wow" comes up a lot in the comments over there. For once, I think it's deserved.

Go on over and check it out. I predict you'll be glad you did!

Thirty Poets/One Day - The 2010 Wrap Up

Sigh. Once again, 30 Poets/30 Days has come to an end. Still, it's been a great month here, so no regrets.

Now, just for fun, here's a review of all the previously unpublished poetry we saw during April:

Alice Schertle - Triolets That Trouble My Sleep
Joseph Bruchac - Bear Path
Laura Purdie Salas - Anaconda
Calef Brown - Re: Me
Carole Boston Weatherford - Move Out!
Jorge Argueta - Cancion De Mango/Mango Song
Susan Marie Swanson - Wonders
Ralph Fletcher - Weeds
Alan Katz - Ch-ch-ch-check, Please
Carmen T. Bernier-Grand - Dancing Fingers
Charles Waters - I Love Being Me
Kathi Appelt - The Ouija
Kurt Cyrus - The Big Snore
Arthur A. Levine - These rules are here for your protection
Eileen Spinelli - Praying Mantis
Bobbi Katz - Lesson
James Carter - Clouds Like Us
Elaine Magliaro - Things To Do If You Are King Kong
David L. Harrison - Lookit!
Brad Bogart - Personification
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer - Cousins of Clouds
Heidi Mordhorst - Smaller Than I Thought
Charles R. Smith, Jr. - I Speak
Georgia Heard - Ars Poetica
George Ella Lyon - Trying to Get Out of My Tree
Jacqueline Woodson - One of the Many Stories
Graham Denton - Sounds Delightful
Francisco X. Alarcón - Listen/Escucha
Liz Garton Scanlon - Reflecting
Walter Dean Myers - Walking

There are many people to thank in regards to 30 Poets/30 Days, but I'll try to be brief. First off, I must thank the generosity of this year's 30 poets - without them, you'd've seen 30 blank pages! I tip my hat again to last year's 30 poets for making the event possible at all, as well as for their suggestions, encouragement, and support this year, too. Truly, the children's literature community never ceases to amaze.

I want to give a shout-out to the amazing bloggers of the Kidlitosphere for their enthusiasm and talent. What an amazing bunch! To Bonnie Adamson for the logos and the extra #kidlitchat support this month? You rock! To all the folks who linked here or tweeted about the project or the poems or used Facebook or left comments... I tip my virtual hat to you once more. And finally... to all of you who read and shared the poetry this month, yay!

I think I can speak for everyone on this year and last year's list when I say that poetry is a year round thing, not just April. I look forward to more poems and poets here in the months ahead... and I hope you stick around. More will be coming soon, but now? Now, I gotta book.

Walter Dean Myers - Walking

Walking
by
Walter Dean Myers

How come my feet know how to meet
The sidewalk as I walk?
          “Because of your brain, my love.”
How come my lips don’t ever slip
As I begin to talk?
          “Your lovely brain, my pet”
How come my knees fly through the breeze
As I race along?
          “Did I mention your B-R-A-I-N?”
How come my ears know what to hear
When I listen to a song?
          “They’re connected to your brain!”
How come my eyes can judge the size
Of everything they see?
          “Your brain, dummy!”
How come my wrists know how to twist
A knob or turn a key?
          “BRAIN! BRAIN! BRAIN! Use it!”
And how come my belly button just sits there in the middle of my stomach without doing one little bit of work, gets these little lint things in it, and feels funny if I touch it?

          “Err…beats me.”

© Walter Dean Myers. All rights reserved.

---

Walter Dean Myers has won five (FIVE!!!) Coretta Scott King Awards, had a pair of Newbery Honor books, won the very first Michael L. Printz award, and won YALSA's Margaret A. Edwards Award, an award which recognizes an author's body of work, back in 1994... and just look at what he's done since! He writes fiction, non-fiction, novels, picture books and poetry. And as if he doesn't do enough for children's literature by himself, he's a character in and one of his poems is central to Sharon Creech's Love That Dog, which I mention here in part because 1) it is why in my head he is often "Mr. Walter Dean Myers" and 2) I can link you to the fabulous video of him, Sharon Creech, Sarah Weeks, and Avi performing Love That Dog.

For me, Walking is a wonderful way to close out this month of poetry here at GottaBook. It's fun, adds up to more than you expect, shows those skills great poets have of capturing a voice and putting a fresh spin on a situation, and, well, it makes me laugh. Plus, I love the seeing the brain get its due... though I do wish the poem offered an answer to the final question because it's always flummoxed me, too! Ah well. Even though he didn't give us the answer, I am totally thrilled to have Walter Dean Myers here to bring the 2010 edition of 30 Poets/30 Days to a close.

It's Poetry Friday (a year round tradition!), so why not head on over to Great Kid Books for the roundup of poetry related posts?

Yesterday brought us Reflecting by Liz Garton Scanlon. Tomorrow... a final wrap up.

Liz Garton Scanlon - Reflecting

Reflecting
by
Liz Garton Scanlon

I’m your moody friend with a changing face
looking out from deep in space.

I’m peppermint candy, cold but sweet,
and lantern light on a sleepy street.

I’m not afraid of howling dogs,
I cut through morning’s thickest fogs.

I brighten baby’s lullaby
with a twinkle in my eye.


I conduct the ocean tides
and set the stage for midnight rides.

A calendar for keeping time –
sharp as a sword, round as a dime.

I tempt the astronauts each night
while I rob Sun of extra light.

Golden as an apple pie,
but twice as big and twice as high.


Waxing now but soon I’ll wane,
then always come around again.

Friend to possums, hungry bats,
spotlight for the prowling cats,

I share my shine, for what it’s worth,
with everyone upon the earth.

I’m your companion in the sky
but do you know me? Who am I?

© 2010 Liz Garton Scanlon. All rights reserved.

---

Liz Garton Scanlon teaches, writes poetry and picture books, and blogs (including a haiku a day this April to celebrate National Poetry Month) among other things. Her book All the World - for which illustrator Marla Frazee received a Caldecott Honor - came out last year and has ended up on, by my count, a skadillion end of the year/best book/award lists... and counting. And, if you've read it or heard it read aloud, you know why - it's a wonderful poem on its own yet it also serves as an incredible picture book text (a different beast entirely!). And it's wonderfully illustrated to boot. Yes, you should buy it. Of course! Give it to someone you love.

I noticed, as All the World was getting acclaim, that everywhere I looked - Twitter, the blogosphere, Facebook, email lists, etc. - people were really, genuinely happy for Liz. I mean, like really happy in a way that is more than just "good for you!" And I realized that felt it too... even though I was just a blog reader and one time co-Cybils judge who barely knew Liz. My theory is that it's because if you read her blog or All the World or her poetry, you're confronted with a love of life, family, nature, and constant dollops of hope. It's infectious in the best way, says my theory, and you root for more of it. Whatever it may be, I also love her writing - her observations (look at how many ways she could describe the moon!), her use of language, her sense of humor. All that is why I can state as a fact, not a theory, that I'm thrilled to have Liz Garton Scanlon here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday, we saw Listen/Escucha by Francisco X. Alarcón. Tomorrow... Walking by Walter Dean Myers! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Francisco X. Alarcón - Listen/Escucha

Listen/Escucha
by
Francisco X. Alarcón

Listen “listen, mijito we are never really alone” whispers my grandma to my ear like a flapping hummingbird in the dark “the wind the stars the sea never stop speaking to each of us”

Escucha “escucha, mijito nunca estamos solos en realidad” me susurra mi abuelita como colibrí aleteando junto a mi oído en la oscuridad “el viento las estrellas el mar a cada uno no nos dejan de hablar”

© 2010 Francisco X. Alarcón. All rights reserved.

---

Francisco X. Alarcón is an award winning poet, a college professor, and someone who can write his poetry in either English or Spanish (or both), for either children or adults (or both), and about whimsical topics or pressing issues of the day (or both and everything in between!).  Please check out the Poetry Makers profile at the Miss Rumphius Effect for more insights into his writing process and poetry. I'll wait here, because I have a story to tell. You're back? Great!

When I first started gathering books for the school library I've helped build, I got a large donation from a couple that was closing a school they'd been running. One of the books I got was Bellybutton of the Moon (illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez), and it became a favorite of mine on reading number one. On reading three, I happened to notice that it was signed to the couple's son, so I got in touch to see if this was really something they'd intended to give me or if their son might, in fact, want it back. Of course he wanted it! I mean, I wanted it already, so I was not surprised. I mailed it back then went on my own quest to get a copy for the library... where it was one of the very first books I shelved. So for that reason, as well as the fact that I'm just plain old a fan, I must say I'm absolutely thrilled to have Francisco X. Alarcón here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday, we saw Sounds Delightful by Graham Denton. Tomorrow... Reflecting by Liz Garton Scanlon! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Graham Denton - Sounds Delightful

Sounds Delightful
by
Graham Denton

Sounds of scary night-time creatures:
howling wolves and screeching bats,
wailing witches, cackling demons,
giggling goblins, keening cats;
ghostly sounds to make one shiver:
haunting screams and ghastly groans;
rattling chains and shrieks of horror—
noises that will chill the bones;
creaking floorboards, footsteps creeping,
voices from beyond the grave...
when they’re having trouble sleeping
that’s what infant monsters crave!

©2010 Graham Denton. All rights reserved.

---

Graham Denton writes poetry (which often makes me laugh), anthologizes poetry (in collections that often make me laugh), and has even sent me email that makes me laugh. Then again, he sent an email that made things difficult for me, too - for 30 Poets/30 Days, he sent me around 20 poems and asked me to pick! My process went something like this: read first one and say "Aha! This one!" then read the next and say "No, wait - this one!" then read the next one and change my mind again and so on and so on and so on.

It is not true that I made my final choice by playing a game of chance. Instead, I chose Sounds Delightful because I love the point of view and absolutely had a blast reading it aloud. Try it yourself and see. Fun, yes? Now try it with kids present and listen to them laugh at the turn around in the last sentence and, depending on their age, see them giggle or squirm before then. Good times, indeed, and a poetic skill which is just one of the reasons I'm thrilled to have Graham Denton here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday, Jacqueline Woodson gave us One of the Many Stories. Tomorrow, Listen/Escucha by Francisco X. Alarcón! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Jacqueline Woodson - One of the Many Stories

One of the Many Stories
by
Jacqueline Woodson

When the puppy in the road was
mine, life didn't stop
for the driver. That evening perhaps
he read his son one of many stories
grownups write for children
about dogs. Perhaps
this one found its way
Home. The End. Then kissed his child
center crown as always, the meat
his wife was roasting, nearly done
by the time the vet pronounced
Bella dead at four months, one half
hour before my daughter, at six, discovered
a new way tomorrow could get here
tears to whimpering then finally sleep
a plastic bone beneath her pillow from this moment on,
safe still from towers burning, a car moving fast
against traffic as the children inside squeal
themselves to death. A pan of oil too close
to an open flame     She Is, I think
safe still from other stories.

Night and the driver
couldn't see a black puppy bolting
Didn't know
that deep in her German Shepherd blood
was a desire for the only story she knew
Let's call it "Home"

so when the door was cracked
she saw the promise of black night
caught scent of her recent journey
thought she knew the way
back to us
One half mile away from where I stood
packing, now pondering black linen shorts
now folding a Mama For Obama t-shirt into my bag
now smiling over our daughter's first
pink bikini as our dogsitters searched and found
our number. Already, our trip
to the Caribbean was becoming another story
of another almost-thing, puppy-blood warm
freezing fast for us into
On the corner of Pacific and Bond that February

©2010 Jacqueline Woodson. All rights reserved.

---

Jacqueline Woodson has received three (three!) Newbery Honors, the Coretta Scott King Award, been nominated for the National Book Award and been an NBA finalist, ended up on numerous book of the year lists and, most importantly of all, writes picture books and novels that resonate with children (and adults) who read them. No surprise, really - she writes honestly and powerfully about issues and emotions small and large (as her poem here today is testament). There's no manipulation in her work, simply connection.

I love her novel-in-poems Locomotion, but it was with Show Way (illustrated by Hudson Talbott) that I had my own personal "Woodson-epiphany" or something like that. That wonderfully poetic book is autobiographical, about the maternal line in her family. Yet it's so pitch perfect that this white male dad could read it aloud in front of a group of kids and feel completely natural giving voice to the story. It guided me along and kept me totally connected (via family traditions? parent-child issues? loss? All of the above?) despite the differences. To quote the text but turning it about the book itself: "I loved that baby up." Indeed I did (and do). In case it's not clear, I'm a fan... and I'm totally thrilled to have Jacqueline Woodson here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday, we saw George Ella Lyon's Trying To Get Out of My Tree. Tomorrow... Sounds Delightful by Graham Denton. For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

George Ella Lyon - Trying To Get Out Of My Tree

TRYING TO GET OUT OF MY TREE
by
George Ella Lyon
(according to the Celtic Tree Calendar
my birthday makes me a Willow)

How about a willow
         that doesn’t weep
that spikes her green tresses
         and carries on sturdy
like some punk oak

or gets that groovy bark
         like a hackberry

O willow
what if I don’t want to be
weeping
or witched
what if I want to be

royal like the oak
strong enough to be a ship

or abloom with love
like the apple

or sacred like the pine?

Am I stuck here
by the water
enchanted against my own
willowy
will?

©2010 George Ella Lyon. All rights reserved.

---

George Ella Lyon writes everything from picture books to plays to novels to poetry (for children and adults) plus she teaches, sings, and loves caramel icing. Does there need to be more? But there is - her books have won bunches of awards and been "best book" listed numerous times, and she's managed to write about everything from creating poems to lullabies to trucks and more. Plus... today's her birthday!

I love the layers and textures of Trying to Get Out of My Tree, the perfect mixing human nature and mother nature. Besides appreciating the poem on its own, it also inspired me to try and write a "tree poem" and to experiment with other perspectives, too. In other words... it showed me a new way to view a part of the world, something I find much of my favorite poetry does. So, happy birthday to George Ella Lyon... a poet I'm thrilled to have here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday, brought us Ars Poetica by Georgia Heard. Tomorrow... One of the Many Stories by Jacqueline Woodson! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Georgia Heard - Ars Poetica

Ars Poetica
by
Georgia Heard

In September, small poems lay
still and silent inside your hearts.
If you listened carefully,
you might have heard
the quivering of wings.

In January, from the corner
of your eye, you could have spied
a flutter or two –
poems slowly unfolding,
delicate silken wings.

In April, poems began to appear everywhere!
Rainbow wings beating, flapping,
hovering over desks, hanging
from the ceiling, tips of noses, tops of heads.
It was difficult to get any work done!

Now, your butterfly poems
fly free. You fold the memory
into your hearts. Poems --
small butterflies raised, watched,
let loose into the world.

©2010 Georgia Heard. All rights reserved.

---

Georgia Heard is a poet, a teacher, and an incredible advocate for including the writing and reading of poetry in the classroom. For that work alone - and you can learn more about both her poetry and her work with educators in her Poetry Makers profile at The Miss Rumphius Effect - we should all give three cheers. (I'll pause here while you cheer. Thanks!).We should also cheer for the collections she's put together, including This Place I Know - an amazing work made in response to 9/11 but which works for anyone, not just kids, seeking comfort.

Finally, we should cheer for her poetry itself. Did I mention yet that I'm a sucker for poems about poetry? I should amend that, really: I like the poems of that ilk that fill me with joy, make me tingle, give me a new way to view something I love. Ars Poetica does all that - it makes poetry take wing - and makes me very happy, indeed. And you know what? I'll give one extra cheer, just as I did when Georgia Heard said yes to being here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday brought us I Speak by Charles R. Smith, Jr. Tomorrow... Trying to Get Out of My Tree by George Ella Lyon! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

Charles R. Smith, Jr. - I Speak

I Speak
By
Charles R. Smith, Jr.

I
speak
for those who are meek,
for those who cover ears
to silence sirens and shrieks
shouted from mothers
with mascara-stained cheeks
sobbing over souls
slain in the streets
leaving generation gaps,
so
I speak.

I speak
for those living in silence,
quieted by criminals
with a history of violence,
for those whose lives
were changed by the demise
of loved ones lost
right before their own eyes,
for them,
I speak.

I
speak
for young eyes that see
bruises branded by daddy’s
fists on mommy,
battering her body
scarring her soul
turning her children’s
warm hearts cold
forcing their faces
to hide and seek
shelter from rage
for them
I speak.

I speak
for the illiterate and weak,
those who slip through the cracks
and fall on the streets
and scratch for salvation
without food, shelter or heat,
for those who are lost,
for them,
I speak.

These words that I say,
these words that I speak
give voice to the silent,
scared and weak.

These words that I speak,
these words that I say
challenge everyone
to listen
everyday.

©2009 Charles R. Smith, Jr. All rights reserved.

---

Charles R. Smith, Jr. is a poet, novelist, photographer and winner of the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration for My People (where his photos and Langston Hughes' poetry combine to utterly fantastic effect). I first ran into his work when I was looking for sports poetry for a few kids I thought would really connect with, well, sports poetry. His books, forgive me for saying this but it's an accurate description, were a home run.

Also a big hit for me, I Speak is a poem that demands to be read aloud. In fact, I want to do a little experiment. I want to shoo you all out to Charles' website where you can listen to him reading a number of his poems. Then come back and read I Speak again, and, if you're like me, I bet you can hear him reading it aloud in your head. I know I could. And then read it aloud yourself. Feels good, doesn't it? And if there's anyone around you, I bet they listen to the words you speak. Good stuff, indeed, and just one reason I'm thrilled to have Charles R. Smith, Jr. here at GottaBook as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

It's Poetry Friday once again (seems to happen every week!), and the roundup of posts is over at Anastasia Suen's Picture Book of the Day. Enjoy!

Yesterday, Heidi Mordhorst gave us an Earth Day (and every day) poem, Smaller Than I Thought. Tomorrow, Ars Poetica by Georgia Heard! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

A Poem by Me, and....

This will mark the first April since I started blogging that I won't have at least one of my own poems here on GottaBook. Heck, for three years, I had an original a day in April (all now linked over on the right hand side o' the blog, by the way), so it's a big change.

Luckily for me, Jama Rattigan was having a potluck over at her alphabet soup blog, and I've got an original poem called Foods That Scare over there as part of the fun. I hope you'll go on by and check it out (and the recipe for my grandmother's chicken paprikash, too!).

Jama's blog has been a blast all month, as have so many others in the Kidlitosphere. It's a lot to keep up with, though Elaine Magliaro has been putting up weekly roundups to some (though certainly not all) of the fun.

I hope you've been having as much poetry fun this month as I have! More soon, but now I gotta book....