Flying Happily Here and There

Dear Friends,

Today I do not have one of my own poems to share, but instead, I would like to invite you to visit the book release party I just held for for EVERY DAY BIRDS.  

The birthday for this, my second book, was on Tuesday evening, February 23, and here is you can see some pictures from the event.  I wish that you could all have been there, but here's a window into our little celebration here in East Aurora, New York.   

If you would like to see more about the book, you can do so at my website or on Tuesday's Poem Farm post where I am also giving away three copies of the book to commenters.  Simply leave a comment (on that post, not this one) by tonight (Friday, February 26), and I will announce the three winners on Saturday.

Now, the best way to celebrate is to invite guests, right?

Well...

I am so pleased to welcome second grade teacher Juliette Awua-Kyeremanten and her students from Lincoln Community School in Accra, Ghana - West Africa. 

My new friends had sent me some of their Valentine's poems earlier this month, and last week, I asked them about the birds they see outside their windows in Accra, the capital city of Ghana.

Click to Enlarge & Find Accra, Ghana on this Map

Google Maps

To my happy surprise, this class generously responded with a congratulations note about EVERY DAY BIRDS, two photos of pigeons on wires that Ms. Awua-Kyeremanten had taken for her own writing inspiration, and a group poem about birds that live so very far away from where I live.  Some are the same, but some are quite different.

I am now thinking about what fun it would be to connect this class of young writers with another class of young writers - perhaps on a joint bird research project? Hmmm....I am getting some ideas.

Pigeons Together in Accra, Ghana

Photo by Juliette Awua-Kyeremanten

Pigeons Resting on Wires in Accra, Ghana

Photo by Juliette Awua-Kyeremanten

Thank you very much to these students and their teacher for sharing their daily birds with us! 

What birds do you see outside your window?

Today I am tickled to visit my dear friend Irene's blog for her birthday!  Visit Live Your Poem to have a piece of cheesecake with Irene, to hear a little bit more about EVERY DAY BIRDS, and to read a beautiful poem by the birthday girl.

This month I am grateful to host Jenna Kersten over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks.  If you have not done so, don't miss reading about how Jenna keeps her notebooks.  And there's a giveaway over there too, for a great book about writing.

Liz is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Elizabeth Steinglass.  All are welcome to come on by to check out this week's poetry offerings.

Please share a comment below if you wish.