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Science + Poetry = How popcorn pops

April 18, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Charaley Macias (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on “how popcorn pops” from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around how popcorn pops. The focus picture book is:
  • Popcorn!by Elaine Landau
Charaley chose two poems to match with this book: “Jack Be Nimble” by Bruce Lansky from My Dog Ate My Homework and “Hot Water” by Marilyn Singer from her book, Central Heating: Poems About Fire and Warmth.Below is a graphic featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poems “Hot Water” along with a "bonus" poem, “Microwave Oven” by Janet Wong from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!





Science of poetry graphics created by Charaley Macias

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Conservation and protecting the planet

April 19, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Tarri Miller (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on “conservation and protecting the planet” from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons"by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around conservation and protecting the planet.The focus picture book is:
  • The Three R's: Reuse, Reduce, Recycleby Nuria Roca and Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel
The poem that works perfectly with this book is “Jack Be Nimble” by Jan Peck and David Davis from their book, The Green Mother Goose.Below is a graphic featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “Recycling” by Susan Blackaby from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!





Science of poetry graphics created by Tarri Miller

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Observing seashells

April 20, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Christina Moncayo (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on “observing seashells” from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around observing seashells. The focus picture book pair is:
  • Next Time You See a Seashell by Emily Morgan  
  • A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
Christina featured an excerpt from A House for Hermit Crab as her featured poem to accompany the book pair. Below is a graphic featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “Mrs. Sepuka’s Classroom Pet” by Ken Slesarik from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!




Science of poetry graphics created by Christina Moncayo

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Butterfly life cycle

April 21, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Happy Earth Day, everyone!
Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Desiree Peden (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on“the butterfly life cycle” from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around the butterfly life cycle.The focus picture book trio is:
  • Houdini the Amazing Caterpillarby Janet Pedersen
  • From Caterpillar to Butterflyby Deborah Heiligman
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The poem that works perfectly with this book trio is “Inside the Chrysalis” by Tish Rabe from the book, My, Oh My—a Butterfly.Below is a graphic featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “Becoming Butterflies” by Jeannine Atkins from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!


Now head on over to Jama's Alphabet Soup where she has a gorgeous spread for Poetry Friday. See you there!

Next week, I'll be sharing nuggets from the 12th Annual Poetry Round Up at the annual conference of the Texas Library Association where my fabulous panel included Irene Latham, David L. Harrison, Janet Wong, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Stephen Swinburne, K. A. Holt, and Kwame Alexander. It was amazing!

Science of poetry graphics created by Desiree Peden


Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Properties of bubbles

April 22, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Susan Scholz (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on the “properties of bubbles” from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around the properties of bubbles. The focus picture book pair is:
  • Bubble, Bubbleby Mercer Mayer
  • Pop! A Book About Bubbles by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The poem that works perfectly with this book pair is “Water Droplets” by Celia Berrell from her book, Science Rhymes.Below is a graphic featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “Prism” by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!




Science of poetry graphics created by Susan Scholz

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Observe and infer

April 23, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Victoria Tamez (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on learning to “observe and infer” drawn from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around learning to observe and infer. The focus picture book pair is:
  • Dr. Xargle's Book of Earth Houndsby Jeanne Willis
  • Seven Blind Miceby Ed Young
The poem that works perfectly with this book pair is “To Look at Any Thing” by John Moffitt from the book, SpectacularScience compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins.Below is a graphic featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “For the Science Fair” by Ann Whitford Paul from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!




Science of poetry graphics created by Victoria Tamez

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Solids, liquids, freezing & melting

April 24, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Marianne Vadney (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on “solids, liquids, freezing & melting” from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons"by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around learning about solids, liquids, freezing & melting. The focus picture book pair is:
  • Wemberly’s Ice Cream Starby Kevin Henkes
  • Why Did My Ice Pop Melt? By Susan Korman
The poem that works perfectly with this book pair is “Ice Cycle” by Mary Ann Hoberman from the book, Once Upon Ice and Other Frozen Poems selected by Jane Yolen.Below is a graphic featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “Changes” by Janet Wong from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!





Science of poetry graphics created by Marianne Vadney

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Ben Franklin and the engineering design process

April 25, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Meghan Hunt (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on “Ben Franklin and the engineering design process”from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around learning about Ben Franklin and the engineering design process. The focus picture book pair is:
  • Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklinby Gene Barretta 
  • Build It: Invent New Structures and Contraptions by Tammy Enz
Meghan chose an excerpt from Dream, Invent, Create: Engineer the World for her featured poem.Below is a graphic featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “My Experiment” by Julie Larios from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!





Science of poetry graphics created by Meghan Hunt

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Motion and force

April 26, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Melissa Willardson (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on “motion and force” from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around learning about motion and force. The focus picture book is:
  • Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
The poem that works perfectly with this book is “Sledding (Uphill and Downhill)” by Karma Wilson from her book, Outside the Box.Below is a graphic featuring this book and others, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “Push Power” by Janet Wong from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!




Science of poetry graphics created by Melissa Willardson

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Classifying rocks

April 27, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is another installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Susan Williams (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on “classifying rocks” from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around learning about classifying rocks. The focus picture book pair is:
  • If You Find a Rock by Peggy Christian
  • Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth by Natalie M. Rosinky
Susan chose an excerpt from “If You Find a Rock” by Peggy Christian as the poem to accompany this pair of books.Below is a graphic featuring this book and others, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “My Rock” by Ken Slesarik from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!




Science of poetry graphics created by Susan Williams

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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Science + Poetry = Earthworms

April 28, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Here is the final installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Elizabeth Zelenak (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected thefocus on “earthworms”from the series of professional resource books,"Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around learning about earthworms. The focus picture book pair is:
  • Diary of a Wormby Doreen Cronin
  • Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer
The poem that works perfectly with this book is “Reliable, Pliable Worms” by Celia Warren from her book Don’t Poke a Worm till it Wriggles.Below is a graphic featuring this book pair and others, followed by the featured poem, and then the Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, “Soil Inventory” by Kate Coombs from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy! Also, don't forget to check out the rest of the Poetry Friday posts all hosted by Buffy at her blog here.















Science of poetry graphics created by Elizabeth Zelenak

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com
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El día de los niños/El día de los libros 20th anniversary

April 29, 2016, 10:30 pm
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Today is officially El día de los niños/El día de los libros, celebrated every April 30. And today is particularly special, since it’s the 20thanniversary of Día. This special celebration was conceived by and established by founder Pat Mora, author, poet, and literacy advocate. In March 1996, while being interviewed in Tucson, Arizona, she learned about the holiday El día de los niños celebrated in Mexico. Realizing that the United States had nothing similar, Pat proposed linking Children's Day, the celebration of childhood and children, with literacy and bilingualism, creating a new holiday: El día de los niños/El día de los libros.

Earlier this month, Pat also delivered the prestigious May Hill Arbuthnot Lecturein Santa Barbara, CA, “Bookjoy! Alegria en los Libros!” the Garvin Theatre at Santa Barbara City College. Fortunately, they recorded her talk and you can watch it in its entirety here: 

Meanwhile, here’s the official description of Día from the ALSC sponsor website: “El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), commonly known as Día, is a celebration every day of children, families, and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.”

Check out the ALA/ALSC website for free downloadable materials, tips for starting a book club, booklists, toolkits, and more. You can find even more info, help, and celebration videos at Pat’s website. Plus lesson plans here and even more resources here.

Share Pat’s celebratory picture book all about Día, Book Fiesta! and her poem about Día in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations (below) to celebrate this special anniversary of this special day.


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TGIPF: Thank Goodness It's Poetry Friday!

May 5, 2016, 9:05 am
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Welcome, poetry friends! I'm happy to host Poetry Friday once again right here. Jump to the bottom and link your post below courtesy of Mister Linky. Meanwhile, Mother's Dayis coming up, so I thought I might take a moment to share some poetry resources for celebrating the moms and grandmoms in our lives-- and other women who are special to us. So, in that spirit, here is a list of 10 of my favorite books of poetry about mothers. (You can find many more in my Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists. FYI)

Diverse Poetry Books about Mothers

What better tribute for a mother, aunt or grandmother than a well-chosen poem? Poets have given us words with which to honor the women in our lives in many poetry books in picture book form or in novels in verse or in anthologies of poems by many poets. 
  1. Atkins, Jeannine. 2010. Borrowed Names; Poems About Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters. Henry Holt.
  2. Grimes, Nikki. 2015. Poems in the Attic. Ill. by Elizabeth Zunon. New York: Lee & Low. 
  3. Holt, K. A. 2015. House Arrest. San Francisco: Chronicle.
  4. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2005. Vherses: A Celebration of Outstanding Women.Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.
  5. McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. 2011. Under the Mesquite. New York: Lee & Low.
  6. Mora, Pat. 2001. Ed. Love to Mamá: a Tribute to Mothers. New York: Lee & Low Books.
  7. Smith, Hope Anita. 2009. Mother: Poems. New York: Henry Holt.
  8. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2001. A Mother’s Love: Poems for us to Share.New York: Joanna Cotler.
  9. Wong. Janet S. 1999. The Rainbow Hand: Poems about Mothers and Children. New York: McElderry.
  10. Yolen, Jane and Heidi E.Y. Stemple. 2001. Dear Mother, Dear Daughter: Poems for Young People. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds.
Plus, I hope you'll also indulge a plug for the many poems about mothers in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, including the poem that Janet Wong wrote especially for Mother's Day. (And yes, that is my own mom holding me as a newborn in the photo!)

Now, let's see what poetry goodness awaits us at other lovely blogs! Mister Linky will gather all our posts below. Thanks for sharing!









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You Can Fly

May 13, 2016, 6:57 am
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It's no secret, I'm a big fan of Carole Boston Weatherford! 

She beautiful melds nonfiction and poetry in book after book after book, in addition to many collections of "just" poetry. Previously, I featured an excerpt from her poem,"I am the Bridge," in honor of President Obama's first inauguration here, plus an interview with her about her award winning book, Birmingham, 1963,on the 50th anniversary of the bombing in Birmingham here, as well as many other posts that reference her appearances at the ALA Poetry Blast, TLA Poetry Round Up, and her many other awards and honors. Plus, you can find Carole's "Poet to Poet" interview with Jacqueline Woodson about her National Book Award-winning, Brown Girl Dreaminghere.

Now, I am honored to participate in a blog tour featuring her new nonfiction book in verse, You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen (Simon & Schuster, 2016), which pairs her poems with the scratchboard illustrations created by her son, Jeffery Weatherford, their first collaboration as mother and son. It celebrates "the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, pioneering African American pilots who triumphed in the skies and past the color barrier." Carole and Jeffery were kind enough to agree to an interview-- asking each other questions about their collaboration.

JEFFERY: Why did you want to write this book?
CAROLE: My parents came of age in the 1940s, so I am nostalgic about that era. My father fought in WWII. The Tuskegee Airmen’s saga resonated with me. It is stirring—historically, politically and emotionally. As a children’s literature professor, I knew of an historical fiction picture book and of several informational books about the Tuskegee Airmen. I thought the narrative would work as a sequence of poems. 

CAROLE: What was your inspiration for the illustrations?
JEFFERY: My inspiration was documentary photographs from the Library of Congress. While researching picture references, I had some dreams of meeting Tuskegee Airmen. I also watched the movie Red Tails.

JEFFERY: The text is in second person. Whose voice is the narrator’s?
CAROLE: I’m not sure. I may have channeled First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt or abolitionist Frederick Douglass. After completing and titling You Can Fly, I was doing picture research and found an account of Mrs. Roosevelt’s flight with Tuskegee instructor Chief Anderson. Afterwards, the First Lady said, “You can fly.” Much later, I read Frederick Douglass’s Civil War editorial calling for African Americans to join the U.S. Colored Troops to end slavery. He urged black men to “fly to arms.” You can’t make this stuff up.

CAROLE: What is your favorite poem from the book?
JEFFERY: The first poem, “Head to the Clouds,” is my favorite. Another favorite is "The Fight Song." It is the actual fight song of the 99th Fighter Squadron.

JEFFERY: What is your favorite illustration from the book?
CAROLE: I can’t choose just one. I have three favorites: the portrait of an Airman, the picture of three planes and the picture of the boy who is lying in the grass and gazing at the sky. The Airman looks heroic, the picture of the boy resembles an etching, and the planes are straight out of a comic book.

CAROLE: How did you come to illustrate children's books?
JEFFERY: For my senior project in high school, I illustrated one of my mother’s manuscripts entitled Which Way to Dreamland? It’s based on a question that I once asked: How do dreams get in your head? After college graduation, my mom asked me to create some art samples for her manuscript You Can Fly.

JEFFERY: Share something about your experiences with planes or flying.
CAROLE: I loved planes as a girl. On Sundays, my family went to Baltimore’s Friendship Airport to watch planes take off and land. That was long before I ever boarded a plane.

More Resources
WWII by the numbers: Of nearly 1,000 Tuskegee pilots, half went overseas and fewer than 10 were captured or killed.

From the archives:
Tuskegee Airman Edward Gleed at air base in Italy.


Check out the comprehensive review at "The Children's War: A Guide to Books for Young Readers About World War II" available here.

Now watch the book trailer here:


Do not miss this powerful book of 33 poems and lots of heart and history, already getting starred reviews from Publishers Weekly ("wields the power of poetry to tell a gripping historical story") and Kirkus ("A masterful, inspiring evocation of an era"). 

Now head on over to Violet Nesdoly's place for more Poetry Friday news. 





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Celebrating Asian American Heritage Month

May 20, 2016, 5:54 am
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I didn't realize how many special occasions occurred in May until I worked on our Celebrations book with Janet Wong. Sure, it's the end of the semester and school year (in many places) and the home of Mother's Day and Memorial Day. But it's also National Photo Month, National Bike Month, National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, and the time we celebrate National Pet Week, National Teacher Appreciation Week, Children's Book Week, National Etiquette Week, as well as World Laughter Day, World Red Cross Day, and World Hunger Day (which is close to Red Nose Day also devoted to eliminating hunger). Wow. And of course there are many other occasions, once you start digging. My family teases me that I always find SOMETHING to celebrate!

Today I'd like to pause and celebrate Asian American Heritage Month and Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month-- with a poem of course! I posted this on Facebook and Twitter, so please forgive me if you've been inundated. I love this poem by my pal Janet Wong and what it says about celebrating Asian Americans, as well as our many diverse, blended, and intertwined roots in the U.S. 

And here are the Take 5 activities that accompany this poem in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations (Teacher/Librarian edition):

  1. If possible, display a map in the background that features Asia and Pacific Islands while you read the poem aloud, pausing between stanzas. One source is Google.com/Maps/@29,100,3z.
  2. Share the poem again with pauses so the children can join in on the key words Chinese, Korean, and plucots while you read the rest of the poem aloud.
  3. Talk about how new words are “coined” and how plucot is a combination of plum (plu) and apricot (cot), just as the plucot fruit is a hybrid combination of those two fruits. 
  4. Pair this poem with the picture book Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng (Lee & Low, 2000). And for more information about celebrating Asian Pacific Heritage Month, check out the resources at AsianPacificHeritage.gov.
  5. For another poem about a family with roots in more than one culture, look for “Our Family” by Kate Coombs (November, page 305) as well as poems in A Suitcase of Seaweed by Janet Wong(McElderry, 1996).
Plus, if you'd like even more poetry, here's a list from my book, The Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists.

Asian American Poetry for Young People

Asian and Asian American poetry for young people is not just haiku; there are many lovely, ancient and contemporary works to share with children. Here is a sampling of poetry for young people by Asian and Asian American poets.

Cheng, Andrea. 2005. Shanghai Messenger. New York: Lee & Low.
Ho, Minfong. 1996. Maples in the Mist: Poems for Children from the Tang Dynasty. New York: Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard.
Issa, Kobayashi. 2007. Today and Today. New York: Scholastic.
Izuki, Steven. 1994. Believers in America:  Poems about Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander Descent. Chicago, IL: Children’s Press.
Lai, Thanhha. 2011. Inside Out and Back Again. New York: HarperCollins.
Mak, Kam. 2001. My Chinatown: One Year in Poems. New York: HarperCollins.
Park, Linda Sue. 2007. Tap Dancing on the Roof; Sijo Poems. New York : Clarion.
Wong, Janet S. 1994. Good Luck Gold and Other Poems. New York: McElderry.
Wong, Janet S. 1996/2008. A Suitcase of Seaweed, and Other Poems. New York: Booksurge.
Wong, Janet S. 1999. Behind the Wheel:  Poems about Driving. New York: McElderry.
Wong, Janet S. 1999. The Rainbow Hand: Poems about Mothers and Children. New York: McElderry. 
Wong, Janet S. 2000. Night Garden:  Poems from the World of Dreams. New York: McElderry.
Wong, Janet S. 2003. Knock on Wood: Poems about Superstitions. New York: McElderry.

Wong, Janet S. 2003. Minn and Jake. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Wong, Janet S. 2007. Twist: Yoga Poems. New York: McElderry.
Wong, Janet. 2008. Minn and Jake’s Almost Terrible Summer. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 
Wong, Janet. 2011. Once Upon A Tiger; New Beginnings for Endangered Animals. OnceUponaTiger.com.
Wong, Janet. 2012. Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for  an Election Year. PoetrySuitcase.
Wong, Joyce Lee. 2006. Seeing Emily. New York: Abrams.
Yep, Laurence, ed. 1993. American Dragons: Twenty-five Asian American Voices.New York: HarperCollins.
Yu, Chin. 2005. Little Green; Growing Up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Now don't miss the rest of the Poetry Friday posts that Margaret is gathering over at Reflections on the Teche. See you there!
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GARVEY'S CHOICE by Nikki Grimes

June 10, 2016, 12:01 pm
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I'm happy to toot the horn for another new novel in verse by Nikki Grimesthat is perfect for the intermediate grades (grades 5-8), in particular. It's Garvey's Choice,the story of a nerdy boy whose father wants him to pursue sports rather than the sci fi he enjoys. Fortunately, the discovery of a mutual love of music helps them connect in the end. Plus, Garvey's mom and sister, as well as his old and new friend, round out this engaging story about being true to oneself while respecting the differences in others. Oh, and did I mention that the entire book is written in tanka poems?Very cool! Nikki was kind enough to share a bit of "back story" on the writing of Garvey's Choice for my blog. Enjoy!

GARVEY'S CHOICE: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
by Nikki Grimes

Most often in my work, form follows function, which is to say I begin with character and story, and then determine what form that story will take.  However, in this particular case, form came first.  I'm fascinated with tanka poetry and wondered if it would be possible to write an entire novel using that form.

The idea for the subject matter was easy to arrive at, because body-image is such a fixation in this culture.  You can't turn on the television without hearing commentary on, or seeing a PSA about obesity in general, and childhood obesity, in particular.  It's a growing problem, and the topic is unavoidable.  (This is the second time I've addressed this.  I first took on the topic in Halfway to Perfect, a Dyamonde Daniel chapter book.)

I knew, from the beginning, that I would tell this story from a boy's point of view, rather than a girl's.  Stories on this particular subject are, more often than not, told from a girl's perspective, and I wanted to flip that.

I began with a clear idea and tight focus on theme, rather than character and story, and there's a danger in that.  The first polished draft was a portrait of an overweight boy in which all you learned about him was his experience of being overweight. There needed to be much more to him, and to his story, but I was too close to the material to see that.  Thinking I'd pretty much nailed the topic, I sent the first draft off to one of my editors.  

As it happened, that editor was both the best and the worst person I could have chosen to share this manuscript with. This editor had been an overweight young person, and still keenly felt the wounds inflicted by childhood bullies, still flinched at the memories of body insecurity, and all that came with it.  In fact, the editor found the piece difficult to read, and impossible to edit.  This was hardly the response I had anticipated!  Suddenly worried my text might do readers more harm than good, I set it aside for a year or two and all but forgot about it.

I went on to write books like Planet Middle School and Words WithWings, and after the latter went into production, the editor of that novel-in-verse inquired whether I had any other projects we might work on together.  I thought about that for a few days, and suddenly remembered the tanka manuscript I'd filed away.  "You know," I told her,  "I do have one manuscript that needs some work.  I don't know if you'd be interested in it, but..." I went on to explain a bit about the story, and she invited me to submit it.  I'm glad I did.

Rebecca Davis, an editor I'd worked with for years, not only read the manuscript, but saw what it could be.  She recognized the narrowness of the story's focus, and suggested ways I might broaden the story, and shift its focus so that weight became part of Garvey's story, and not the whole of it.  She posed questions about the emotional life of the character, about his back-story, his family, his relationships, and she challenged me to draft a revision that answered some of those questions.  I looked them over carefully, gulped, and finally agreed.  I knew I had my work cut out for me.

Why did Garvey over-eat in the first place?  That was a key question that helped me shape the story that finally emerged.  I had to come up with a rational, plausible answer, and it was exploring that question that led me into the intricacies of Garvey's relationship with his father.  It was my editor who identified this as the heart of the story.  She was right.

I certainly know what it's like to have a disconnect with a parent.  From the time I was six years old, I dreamed of being a writer.  And yet, my mother did everything she could to dissuade me from pursuing that goal.  My father, on the other hand, both understood and supported my dream.  (In Garvey's Choice, I flip the roles, posing the mother as the supportive parent.) To be fundamentally misunderstood by a parent is very painful, and I was able to draw from my own experience of that pain as I wrote about Garvey's.  As they say, we write what we know.  I may not have grown up as an overweight boy, but I understood Garvey's heart.

Garvey's friendships were also important to his story, as mine were to my story. The friends we let into the inner sanctums of our lives and hearts help to influence the people we become.  In the case of Garvey, his friends not only encouraged him to love himself, but also challenged him to stretch and grow in ways that were good and healthy.  Each recognized potential in Garvey that he, himself, was unable to see.  Our best friends can do that for us.

Little by little, the larger story of Garvey began to come together.  There was a problem, though.   As the manuscript became more complex, writing it entirely in tanka became more difficult.

A five-line poem is not much space in which to convey a complex narrative.  For that reason, my editor suggested I weave in additional poetry forms.  Of course, I was far too stubborn to accept her advice.  I'd set out to write a novel in tanka, alone, and that's what I was committed to doing. For the more compound narrative threads, I decided to try linking two or more tanka poems together. I wasn't sure it would work, but I'm glad it did.  Whew!

In the end, Garvey's Choice stretched me as much as Garvey's journey stretched him.  I hope this story will inspire readers to dare to follow their own dreams, whether or not loved ones choose to go along for the ride.  When we choose to follow our dreams, we discover who we are on the inside, and find the strength to be who we want to be, on the outside. Just like Garvey.


Note from Sylvia: I was also lucky enough to get the assignment to create an educator's guide for Garvey's Choice and I'll share a few nuggets next week. 

Now head on over to Beyond LiteracyLink for the Poetry Friday party this week!
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Poetry for Summer

June 17, 2016, 10:05 am
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I just got back from a fun TASLA conference meeting with school library administrators from around Texas. What a fun group and productive meeting. I always enjoy being a "groupie" at their functions learning more about what school librarian leaders are doing-- always so innovative and engaging. I spoke about my experiences sharing poetry with students in Guam and debuted my new poetry dress-- photos to come. :-) They also loved the pocket poems I brought of Tricia Stohr Hunt's "Summer Melon" poem-- here-- and also available on Pinterest.

Meanwhile, it feels like summer has truly arrived with hot temperatures across the country. I know it doesn't officially begin till next week, but I thought I might share a handy list of summer-themed poems featured in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrationsas well as my list of poetry books about summer from my Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists.



And here's my list of poetry books about summer from my Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists.

Poetry Books about Summer

Summer time is the perfect time to catch up on all kinds of poetry reading of course, but we can kick off our summertime events and gatherings with poems written specifically about summer and typical summer activities. Here are a few examples to get us started.

Alarcón, Francisco X. 1998. From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems/Del Ombligo de la Luna y Otros Poemas de Verano. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press.
Appelt, Kathi. 2004. My Father’s Summers: A Daughter’s Memoirs. New York: Henry Holt.
Brown, Marc. 2013. Marc Brown’s Playtime Rhymes: A Treasury for Families to Learn and Play Together. New York: Little, Brown. 
Bruchac, Joseph. 1995. The Earth under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land. New York: Philomel Books.
Carlson, Lori M. Ed. 1998. Sol a Sol: Bilingual Poems. New York: Henry Holt. 
Dotlich: Rebecca Kai 1998. Lemonade Sun and Other Summer Poems Honesdale: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
Dotlich, Rebecca Kai. 2004. Over in the Pink House: New Jump Rope Rhymes. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
Esbensen, Barbara Juster. 1984. Cold Stars and Fireflies:  Poems of the Four Seasons. New York: Crowell. 
Fletcher, Ralph. 2001. Have You Been to the Beach Lately? New York: Orchard Books.
Florian, Douglas. 2002. Summersaults: Poems and Paintings New York: Greenwillow Books.
Fogliano, Julie. 2016. When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons. Macmillan/Roaring Brook/Porter.
Frank, John. 2007. How to Catch a Fish. New Milford: Roaring Brook Press.
George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems New York: Clarion Books.
Giovanni, Nikki. 1981. Vacation Time: Poems for Children. New York: Morrow.
Graham, Joan Bransfield. 1994. Splish Splash. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Grimes, Nikki. 2004. Tai Chi morning: Snapshots of China. Chicago: Cricket Books.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ed. 1993. Beat the Drum, Independence Day has Come: Poems for the Fourth of July. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ed. 2005. Days to Celebrate: A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More. New York: Greenwillow.
Hopkins, Lee. Bennett  Ed. 2010. Sharing the Seasons. Margaret McElderry.
Janeczko, Paul. Ed. 2014. Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
Katz, Alan. 2011. Mosquitoes Are Ruining My Summer! And Other Silly Dilly Camp Songs. New York: McElderry.
Lansky, Bruce. Ed. 2009. What I Did on My Summer Vacation: Kids' Favorite Funny Summer Vacation Poems. Minnetonka, MN: Meadowbrook Press.
Latham, Irene. 2016. Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmers' Market. Highlights/Wordsong.
Lessac, Frane. 2003. Camp Granada: Sing-Along Camp Songs New York: Holt.
Levy, Constance. 2002. Splash! Poems of Our Watery World. New York: Orchard.
Lewis, J. Patrick. 1994. July is a Mad Mosquito. New York: Atheneum.
Michelson, Richard. 2014. S is for Sea Glass: A Beach Alphabet. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. 
Mora, Pat. 1998. This Big Sky. New York: Scholastic.
Schnur, Steven. 2001. Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic. New York: Clarion.
Shaw, Alison, comp. 1995. Until I Saw the Sea: A Collection of Seashore Poems. New York: Henry Holt.
Siebert, Diane. 2006. Tour America: A Journey through Poems and Art. San Francisco: Chronicle.
Singer, Marilyn. 2000. Fireflies at Midnight. New York: Atheneum. 
Singer, Marilyn. 1992. In My Tent. New York: Macmillan. 
Singer, Marilyn. 1989. Turtle in July. New York: Macmillan.
Spinelli, Eileen. 2007. Summerhouse Time. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 
Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2001. Sidewalk Chalk; Poems of the City. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press. 
Wissinger, Tamera Will. 2013. Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Wong, Janet. 2008. Minn and Jake’s Almost Terrible Summer. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 
Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. 2005. Sketches from a Spy Tree. New York: Clarion.

Yolen, Jane. 2000. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press. 

Let the summer fun begin! 

See you over at Carol's Corner for a lovely gathering of Poetry Friday posts.
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ALA Poetry Blast

July 1, 2016, 6:37 pm
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Meeting the Berenstain Bears!
I just came back from the annual convention of the American Library Association in Orlando and what a great event-- as always! There's so much to love about these conferences-- running into great friends from across the country, meeting fascinating new people, learning-learning-learning (at sessions, events, exhibits, and EVERYWHERE), attending fun publisher previews, receptions and dinners, and reveling in the amazing Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder banquet. Wow! I'm probably forgetting a ton of other things-- all packed into 3-4 days of nonstop action. No wonder I always come home equal parts exhilarated and exhausted! 

Proud mom, daughter, and daughter's first book!
One of the highlights this year was attending ALA with my grown up daughter who is also a librarian-- although in the medical field. She's so much fun to travel with and I'm so proud of all her achievements too! She presented her poster on her new book about the Affordable Care Act for librarians.

Janet (Wong) and I also had a poster session featuring how to connect poetry and picture books and I was so pleased with all the traffic we had and all the social media buzz our visitors created! 





Check out my homemade "share poetry" dress which I was excited to debut here. I ordered this customized fabric (with a Groupon from PersonalizedFabric2) and then made it into a simple dress. So much fun! 

And of course I couldn't miss the Poetry Blast which was held Sunday afternoon, hosted by Marilyn Singer and Stephanie Bange and featured poets Robert L. Forbes (Beastly Feasts; Let's Have a Bite; Beast Friends Forever), Madeleine Kuderick (Kiss of Broken Glass), Ann E. Burg (Unbound), Lee Bennett Hopkins (Jumping Off Library Shelves; Amazing Places, Been to Yesterdays), Carole Boston Weatherford (Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement; You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen), and Marilyn Singer herself, of course (Miss Muffet, or What Came After; Echo Echo). I made tiny video clips of their readings and I tried to post them here, so you can catch some of the excitement we all felt there-- and get the scoop on some new, forthcoming poetry books, but neither Blogger nor YouTube is cooperating! Heck! Sorry! I'll keep trying and re-post, if I have more success. 
(L-R) Lee Bennett Hopkins, Carole Boston Weatherford, Ann E. Burg, Robert L. Forbes, Marilyn Singer & Madeleine Kuderick
Thanks to the sponsors for bringing poets and sponsoring the Poetry Blast: Candlewick Press, HarperCollins Children's Books; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers; Lee & Low Books; Scholastic Books, and Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.

Meanwhile, head on over to Tabatha's place, The Opposite of Indifference, where she has heaps of Poetry Friday goodies to share. See you there!
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My poetry decade

July 15, 2016, 7:35 am
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I can't believe it's been 10 years since I set up this blog and started posting! My goodness, that has flown by fast. I've been trying to decide what to do to celebrate, but have been so busy with fun summer stuff, I haven't had a moment. Isn't that how life (and blogging) goes? How do we maintain our social media life while actually LIVING our lives? So, I thought I might pause to ponder what I've learned in my last 10 years-- a glimpse at how poetry for young people has evolved in the last decade, filtered through my own tiny lens, of course. As it turns out, this is my 811th post-- which is the Dewey decimal number (811) for the poetry section at the library! (Only someone who works in the library field would love that serendipity as much as me!) Here we go.


1. Since posting on July 14, 2006, I have added blogging to my writing life and learned (some) discipline in posting--usually every Friday and daily for the month of April, National Poetry Month. This is the same year that Kelly Herold started "Poetry Friday"on her blog-- and it has definitely caught hold and gained popularity. I LOVE THAT! And in case you missed it, poet Janet Wong and I grabbed hold of that concept and have published several teaching anthologies with "Poetry Friday" at the center-- hoping people who don't already love poetry will give it a try on Friday.

2. I have learned about the work of so many poets in the last ten years-- met them, presented together, promoted their work, and continue expanding my own awareness of how many new writers are creating wonderful poetry for young readers. Just look at the list and links to 99 poets here in the sidebar on my blog-- and if I have missed some poets (who write for young people), please let me know. So many teachers, librarians, and parents only know the names of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky (both very popular and appealing, of course), and they have no idea that there are so many other great poets out there. I love surprising them with all the other great writers I know!

3. I hope I have helped connect poets with each other too! Poetry (and writing in general) can be a solitary business, so I really enjoy helping poets "meet" other poets-- a fantastic mutual admiration society.  I created a "Poet to Poet" series with regular installments (and more to come) in which one poet asks another poet questions about her/his new work. I find it so fascinating to see what authors ask each other about writing, poetry, form, process, etc. 


4. In ten years, I have read a LOT of poetry-- close to 1000 books of poetry published for young readers in the last decade. I try to keep a "sneak peek" list of poetry that will be published for children and teens and post that every January and then keep it updated all year long. You can find links to each of those lists in the sidebar of this blog and I hope it's a resource for finding poetry books on an ongoing basis.
5. Keeping this blog has helped me (mostly) keep current with technology too. I've learned how to use Blogger (and all its iterations) and add more visuals, links, video, etc. (I wish they offered a way to post audio only, but that has to be a third party post at this time-- at least I think so!) How has technology changed in 10 years? Ha! You can post from your cell phone now, link with Twitter,  Facebook, Instagram, and so many more outlets. People can comment and interact more (and I need to get better about that). It's amazing to me how this continues to become an essential part of our personal and professional lives. 
6. I love how blogging has helped me share my professional opportunities with a wider audience. As a university professor, I am expected to submit proposals, plan panels, and attend and present at professional conferences and conduct workshops and I really enjoy that. But I'm always a little sad that all that great work and energy of so many smart and interesting people is only shared with a small audience. So, I've been able to share a few nuggets, slides, and videoclips from those presentations here. Yay! Win-win!

7. Another expectation for me as an academic is to write for publication. (Interestingly enough, blogging is still not really valued in my academic community.) But keeping this blog has inspired so many other articles, columns, presentations, and books-- and I've been able to share nuggets from this publications HERE, so that a wider audience can benefit from those works. When you corral a group of people to write something, it's really nice if you can get their work out to the widest possible readership, right? Keeping this blog has led to writing the poetry column for Book Links magazine for the American Library Association which has been really gratifying, as well as my book, Poetry Aloud Here (my very first post was promoting that new book!) and my Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists, too. And of course, all four of The Poetry Friday Anthologies published in collaboration with Janet Wong and 100+ poets grew out of all this blogging too. And I'm so proud of those and have loved all that collaboration! 


8. Celebrating National Poetry Month every April has been so fun every year and I love how all the poetry bloggers come up with some new twist each year. It's wonderful to see the interwebs flooded with poetry every April-- I just wish I could read, process, and comment on ALL of it. I think it is certainly helping more people find poetry and share it with children and teens. It's only been since 1996 that we even recognized National Poetry Month, so we've come a long way already. And there's certainly more room for more...


9. There's so much more poetry "stuff"available now too-- and I have enjoyed learning about how to create more varied ways to promote and share poetry. I've made reader guides for poetry books so that more teachers feel confident about sharing poetry books with young people. I've created tons of postcards and visuals to catch the eye-- and get more people reading more poetry. I love making all the lists of poetry books (duh!), so that people see how many choices they have when they want a poetry book about dogs or school or family. And I love discovering new ideas and resources from all of YOU.


10. And that's the best of all-- connecting with YOU all readers-- with people who care about poetry and children and teens and making sure they get exposed to all the beautiful language, big heart, quiet moments, and spiritual/emotional lift that poetry can offer. We need that all now more than ever, don't you think? I so appreciate the comments, links, "shares," and connections that blogging has offered with you readers, poets, teachers, and fellow poetry lovers. When our lives are busy and our world is crazy, pausing for a poem has such power. I love that the Internet in the last decade has given us the ability to break down barriers and connect a bit more. It's not perfect, but it can be reassuring and empowering. Let's use that power for good!

Here's to the next ten years. More poetry! More connections! 
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Millersville Poetry Institute

July 22, 2016, 7:02 pm
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Our whole group-- with everyone holding a book of poetry!
Janet (Wong) and I just wrapped up a wonderful week at the Millersville University Poetry Institute (in Pennsylvania) led, planned, and coordinated by Dr. Lesley Colabucci. (Intro and info here.) 


What a fun week-- and what a great opportunity to work with 23 teachers (K-12) in helping them get comfortable and confident with sharing poetry in all kinds of creative ways. Lesley had several "celebrity" readers start each day by sharing a poem (including the University President), invited local experts who lead various poetry projects and initiatives, and had several other poet speakers too-- like Jacqueline Jules, Heidi Mordhorst, Marjorie Maddox, Sandy Asher, and Linda Oatman High. Teacger Maggie Bokelman spoke about teaching with poetry and Karla Schmit presented the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award. (Sorry I missed you, Karla!) And I'm probably missing other awesome speakers. 
Janet has the group in the palm of her hand!

It was so fun to watch my good friend Janet (Wong) do her thing, presenting an awesome day of activities and challenges. She even had us collaborate to create a poetry suitcase-- which turned out amazingly well! Plus, Janet and I were able to take time outside the Institute to work together on our next project-- more on that soon. Hope you enjoy a few photos and feel inspired to try some of the things we saw here too. 

My focus was on modeling the "Take 5" approach to sharing poetry and showing how we can bridge oral and written language, involve kids actively, integrate skill instruction, and make text-to-text connections, among other things. I had a ton of slides, examples, and handouts, so I'll just share one nugget here below.

Reading Poetry Aloud

    Rachel created a poem poster
For each poem, we provide suggestions for how to invite students to participate in reading the poem aloud. Often the poem itself will “show” you how to perform it if you study the lines and their arrangement on the page. And when you invite students to participate in poem performance, you will find that they will have ideas about how to try a poem this way or that way. Follow their lead! Here are some general guidelines for involving students in reading poetry out loud.
  • Take the lead, be the first to read the poem, and don’t be afraid to “ham it up.” Take the pressure off students by showing how the poem sounds, how words should be pronounced, how the meaning and emotion might be conveyed. Don’t ask them to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself.
Poetry suitcase with props
  • Use props whenever possible to make a concrete connection to the poem, focus attention, and add a bit of fun. Choose something suggested by the poem. It’s even worth planning ahead to have a good prop ready beforehand. Students can then use the props too as they volunteer to join in on reading the poem, taking the focus off of them and giving the audience something specific to look at while listening—the poetry prop.
  • Try using media to add another dimension to the poetry experience. Look for digital images or videos relevant to the poem to display without sound as a backdrop while reading the poem aloud, or find music or sound effects suggested by the poem to underscore the meaning or mood as you read the poem aloud. 
    Poems on the sidewalk
  • Offer choices as you invite students to join in on reading the poem aloud with you. They can choose a favorite line to chime in on or volunteer to read a line or stanza of their choice or ask a friend to join them in reading a portion aloud. The more say they have about how they participate in the poem reading, the more eager and comfortable they will be about volunteering.
  • Make connections between the poems and their lives and experiences, between one poem and another, and between poems and other genres like nonfiction, short stories, newspaper articles, and songs). We provide example questions and poem connections for each poem, but once you have established that pattern, be open to the connections the students themselves make first. 
    Creating a "found" poem
  • Be creative and use art, drama, and technology to present the poem and to engage students in participating in that presentation. Find relevant photos, draw quick Pictionary-style sketches, make word clouds, create graphic “novel” comic panels for poem lines, use American Sign Language for key words, pose in a dramatic “frozen” tableau, collaborate on a PowerPoint slide show, and so on. Look to share the poem in a way that is particularly meaningful for students. Or better yet, let them show you!
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