Frosty Heart & Happy News

Thor & Me, 1971
Photo by George or Debby Ludwig

Students - Today's poem is a love poem, a remembering love poem.  I wrote it because of an event and a conversation from this week: some dear friends are missing their dog who was hit by a car, and I had a talk with a young man about the dog he loved and still misses.  Even after loss, love lives on inside of us, and sometimes writing a poem or reading a poem can help us hold onto and remember a loving time.  Let poems be there for you, all the time, in the reading and in the writing.

When I think of old pets, like Thor in the picture above, I think of Miller Williams' poem, Animals.  Each new and loved animal begins a new chapter in my life.

And now, a little bit of happy news!  Each year, the Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) are announced on Valentine's Day, with one winner in each category chosen from several nominees.  I am honored to share that my book with Robbin Gourley, FOREST HAS A SONG, was chosen as the 2013 Cybils poetry winner.  

Much gratitude to Laura Purdie Salas for the nomination, and to the judges for your kind words and for believing in our book.  My husband woke me up this morning, laptop in hand, to tell me tell me that FOREST had won!

Round One Judges:

Ed deCaria, Think, Kid, Think!

Kelly Fineman, Writing and Ruminating

Jone MacCulloch, Check It Out

Anastasia Suen, Poet! Poet!

Sylvia Vardell, Poetry for Children

April Halprin Wayland, Teaching Authors

Bridget Wilson, What is Bridget Reading?

Round Two Judges:

Linda Baie, TeacherDance

Matt Esenwine, Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme

Renee La Tulippe, No Water River

Julie Larios, The Drift Record

Irene Latham, Live Your Poem

Linda is hosting today's special Valentine's Day Poetry Friday over at TeacherDance.  Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Poetry Friday both...may your whole weekend be full of love.  xo

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Little Yellow - A Story Poem

Buses and Car

Photo by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - My lesson for today is, "Keep your eyes peeled for strange and wonderful things!" Yesterday, I was leaving Iroquois Intermediate School in Elma, NY, and I saw the scene that you see above. Doesn't that little yellow car look like it is hoping to grow up to be a bus?

As I drove out of the school parking lot, I thought, "Hmmm...that's so cute" and kept driving. Then I thought, "Hey! I want a picture of that." So I stopped at the stop sign, parked my car (no one was behind me) and snapped this shot. I knew immediately that I would write about the dreams of one little yellow car.

Have you ever written a make believe story poem? It's great fun. Sometimes I love writing about what I know lots about, but sometimes I love noodling around the unknown, poking about the attic in this old noggin o'mine. Who would have thought that a little yellow car has been parked up there for 41 years, just trying to drive itself out into a poem? And who can know what else is up there? What might lurk in every noggin of every person reading this sentence right now?

There is only one way to find out. Pick up a pen or a pencil or some paints...and free your own strange and wonderful. And keep your eyes open.

Sometimes we can trace back our ideas to others' work. And I am quite sure that part of the fun I had in writing this poem grew from one of my favorite picture books, James Howe's I WISH I WERE A BUTTERFLY, so beautifully illustrated by Ed Young. The message of Howe's book is that we all have gifts, and sometimes it just takes a little while to realize our own gifts. It's a book I try to carry with me in my heart.

And now for some very exciting news....I am allowed to share the cover of FOREST HAS A SONG, to be published by Clarion. This, my first book, will be out next year, on March 19, and I could not feel more joyous over Robbin Gourley's whimsical, natural, and soulful watercolors. Here is the cover!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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Poem #287 says, "Listen to Your Shoes!"

My "New" Goodwill Shoes

Photo by Amy LV

Once again, today's poem comes from Tricia's Monday Poetry Stretch over at The Miss Rumphius Effect.  It's fun to see what other writers post given the same nudge.  

Students - Oh, what fun it is to make inanimate objects talk!  To me it does seem as if every thing in the world has feelings and secrets, and my daughter Hope has this same sense.  Yesterday morning I found her hugging our Christmas tree to say goodbye, something I used to (and still) do.

To open yourself to this way of thinking, spend an afternoon asking yourself, "Hmmm...what would that clock say?  I wonder what my pencil is thinking..." and on and on.  You may discover a secret door into an interesting poem or story.

Somewhere during the past few weeks, I read a poem about how shoes have many body part names: eye, heel, sole, tongue.  Unfortunately, I cannot remember the poem, but surely it also provided inspiration for today's poem.  If you know which poem I'm talking about, please leave its title in the comments.

Today I am tickled to announce the illustrator of my forthcoming poetry book with Clarion Books.  It is talented watercolorist Robbin Gourley, full of whimsical joy and realism too.  I could not feel luckier.

Today is also my first interview ever.  Toby Speed, of The Writer's Armchair, graciously invited me to her blog for tea and a chat about The Poem Farm.  If you're interested in learning the history of this craziness, please visit.

If you did not see yesterday's ALA winners, here they are at The American Libraries magazine.  Congratulations to all!  Please note that Joyce Sidman's poetry book, THE DARK EMPEROR, won a Newbery Honor.

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Today's date is 1/1/11.  By day's end, Charles Ghigna and I hope to post the collaborative poem contributed to by so many - "1/11/11."  Happy one one one one one day!

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