
I’ve shared my son’s poetry here before, but today I want to share with you a poem written by a friend of his, who happens to be a few years older and suffers from ADHD.
He wrote a poem about ADHD and submitted it to his school’s literary magazine – and was thrilled to discover they decided to publish it! And for good reason, too. It’s an incredible insight into the life and thoughts of a young person dealing with this troublesome condition. I asked him if he’d mind if I shared it here, and he was more than agreeable!
So I present it to you, directly from the school’s journal:
One can sense the anxiety, confusion, and frustration that comes with ADHD, and it’s my hope that more people can get a better sense of what it’s like to deal with ADHD on a daily basis by reading this young man’s words.
For today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup, head over to my friend Catherine’s blog, Reading to the Core, for a special end-of-school-year poem for all the teachers out there!
By the way, this upcoming July 5 will mark the 10-year anniversary of me leaving full-time employment to be a stay at home dad and begin my journey towards publication in children’s literature. Ten years!
I had been working nearly 50 hours a week in radio – both on-air and in production – and eventually realized I was netting $150 a month. It just didn’t make sense to be employed! So I took a huge leap of faith (and honestly, my wife took that leap along with me) and now here I am with five books out and at least six more on the way, and more than 30 poems published in various anthologies and magazines.
You can understand, then, why I’m so thrilled that our local indie bookstore is offering a special “Book Bundle” of all my books – for ONE DAY ONLY! Just go to MainStreetBookEnds.com and you’ll find a specially-priced package of all five of my books – and shipping is only five dollars! Plus, they can all be individually, personally signed, so if you have five different kids you want them signed to, I can do that very easily.
Ten years. I think that’s even more surprising to me than the fact I turn 55 today. Ten years! I still can’t get over that.
This special package sale is only available July 5, but you can pre-order right now!
Learn more about my journey and the sale here:
And a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been part of this journey with me! I couldn’t have made it this far without your support, and I truly appreciate it.

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Be sure to PRE-ORDER my upcoming new creative nonfiction picture book,
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BEING HUMAN (Beaming Books, Oct. 2022)!
Order a PERSONALLY-SIGNED copy of my latest picture book, I AM TODAY (POW! Kids Books),
or ANY of my books from my local independent bookstore!



















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I’m now a part of the BOOKROO family!

Create an account to add books to wishlists and be notified of special deals and dates…create custom collections…and discover and follow your favorite authors & illustrators!
Find out more about BOOKROO here!
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I continue adding to my “Wit & Wordplay” videos ! These videos were created for parents and educators (along with their kids) to learn how to write poetry, appreciate it, and have fun with it. From alliteration and iambs to free verse and spine poetry, I’m pretty sure there’s something in these videos you’ll find surprising! You can view them all on my YouTube channel, and if you have young kids looking for something to keep busy with, I also have several downloadable activity sheets at my website.
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Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Click any of the covers below to order!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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Thank you to everyone for your support!
FLASHLIGHT NIGHT:
- NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
- KIRKUS Starred review!
- Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Books!
- “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers
- Finalist, 2019 New Hampshire Literary Awards
- Positive reviews from Horn Book, School Library Connection, School Library Connection, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and Shelf-Awareness!
DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR:
- “Rollicking rhyme!” – Booklist
- “A wild romp!” – Parenting NH Magazine
- “Cute…intriguing…4 out of 5 stars” – Tulsa Book Review
- “Rhythmic…funny and informative” – Unleashing Readers
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