Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

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.

Win a Copy of The Late Bird!

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?

Hooray for the Cybils Winners!

Today is Cybils day - this year's winners have been announced!

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....

Did I Really Say That?

Yes, I did! In fact, I said a whole bunch of stuff over in an interview at my friend Jone's blog.

Plus, as a heads up, there's a Late Bird giveaway coming up on Jone's blog later this week. Just sayin'.

Following the NYC SCBWI Conference....

Once again, the NYC SCBWI Conference is going on without me! What is with that???? Sigh.

Still, I'm following along via the handy, dandy, fab SCBWI Conference Blog and the tweets via the #ny13scbwi hashtag.

I wish I was there with all my friends and colleagues... but I'm grateful to everyone for their posting and tweeting. Thanks, y'all!

My Method For Tying Shoes - a poem

My Method For Tying Shoes
by
Greg Pincus

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."

It's Poetry Friday, and the roundup is at the fantabulous Teaching Authors site. Go on over and 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!

Me!! Poetry!! And A Great Project...

My friend Brad has a Kickstarter project called Read Me a Story that only has 4 days left to reach its goal. I think it's a cool project in a very Reading Rainbow kinda way. We need projects like this. Truly.

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....




I hope you'll go check his project out!

ALA Awards... and a #kidlitchat plug!

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!

Careerhymes, you say? (With a Dentist Poem!)

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.

Got a careerhyme? Join the fun and share away!

Cybils Finalists, 2012!

The 2012 Cybils finalists are up!

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!

January 2nd Speaks - a non-holiday poem

January 2nd Speaks
by
Greg Pincus

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!

A Prompt Resolution - a resolution poem/a procrastination poem

A Prompt Resolution
by
Greg Pincus

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:

Oh, Well - a perspective poem

Oh, Well
by
Greg Pincus

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!

It's Poetry Friday, and you can check out a Solstice-themed roundup over at My Juicy Little Universe.

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!

Untitled, 12/16/12

Untitled, 12/16/12
Greg Pincus

Sing, dance, quilt, make art
Share the work that's in your heart
Sculpt, act, paint, and write
Answer dark with waves of light

(These were the words I woke up with this morning, 12/16/12)

Octoproblem - Kenn Nesbitt

Octoproblem
by
Kenn Nesbitt
(from The Armpit of Doom: Funny Poems for Kids)

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."

Also, it's Poetry Friday, and you can see the roundup of goodies over at Jama's Alphabet Soup.

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!

And as always... thanks for sharing, Kenn!

Give Books!

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 :-)

Poetry Re-issue: The Day After Thanksgiving

The Day After Thanksgiving
by
Greg Pincus

Yesterday my grandpa pinched my cheek and said I’d grown.
I heard my uncle’s lousy jokes and held back every moan.
I had to watch the football games instead of what I like.
I had to watch my cousins all take turns on my new bike.
I had to take a taste of Auntie’s tofu bean sprout "stuff."
I didn’t get the apple crisp – Mom didn’t make enough!
The table got so messy that I had to clear it twice.
I couldn’t wear my comfy clothes since Dad said, "Please dress nice."
All day I heard my grandma say how crazy my dog drove her.
Today I’m thankful we’re alone ‘cause I’ve got zilch left over.

This poem was originally posted here at GottaBook two years ago. I'd be willing to bet it's as relevant today as it was then or decades ago, too.

This week's Poetry Friday roundup is over at A Year of Reading. I'm thankful for everyone who shares poetry on Fridays... as well as Saturdays through Thursdays, too!

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!

Me! For Charity!

I don't talk much here at GottaBook about my social media consulting work. I mean, I send out subliminal hints that you should all hire me, of course, but beyond that....

 Except today, I want to direct you to the KidLit Cares auction where you can bid on two hours of my services with your whole donation/bid going to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. You get me... and support charity. It's a win-win.

 If you don't want to bid on little old me, you really gotta poke around over there: amazing Skype visits, autographed books/signed art, manuscript critiques, and much more are up for auction. Great deals, great cause, great stuff!

Oddaptation: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

For those of you new to my Oddaptations, they're kinda Spark Notes meets Shrinklits for picture books, usually in rhyme and always with attitude.

So, for example, they go like this....


Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
by Mo Willems
Oddaptation by
Greg Pincus

The Pigeon wants to drive the bus.
How to stop his whine? His fuss?
Saying "No!" is not a winner...
Here's a thought: try squab for dinner.

It's been some time since I posted a new Oddaptation, so if you've not even seen 'em before, you can check out a bunch over on the right hand side of the blog (or by clicking this handy Oddaptation link here). Heck, you can check 'em out even if you have seen them before.

And if you want to get all my poems emailed to you for freeee as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe!

Etto's Voice - an etymology poem/a music poem

Etto's Voice
by
Greg Pincus

Etto had the deepest voice.
He boomed out his words, and it wasn’t a choice.
So when he tried singing as high as a bird,
“False Etto!” was yelled...
And we got a new word.

For what it's worth, I had originally called this poem "Ettomology." Should I change it back?

The Poetry Friday roundup is over at Ed DeCaria's Think Kid, Think! today. Which is nice, as I started on the word "falsetto" due to his March Madness competition. Anyway, head on over and check out his effort to make the Poetry Friday roundup even more fun and relevant for YOU. Yes, for YOU.

And if you want to get all my poems emailed to you for freeee as they hit the blog, enter your email address in the box below then click subscribe!