Just a short little ditty I came up with after sliding with my kids at our neighbor’s place the other day. Watching them fly down on their tubes while trying to bump each other once they got to the bottom, I started thinking…
Arctic Recreation
Ice and snow spray faces cold
as winter winds go swirling.
Some folks call it tubing – me?
I call it human curling.
– © 2017 Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

I hope you’re enjoying the holiday break, as they call it; we’ve had single-digit daytime highs and overnight wind chills near -30° which means the kids have been stuck inside all week! But at least we have some poetry with which to amuse ourselves – and today, my poet/blogger friend Heidi Mordhorst is celebrating trees and hosting Poetry Friday at My Juicy Little Universe.
Today my son turns 8, Sunday we’ll be visiting my sister-in-law and her family, and Monday begins a brand-new year of possibilities – so have a great weekend, and I wish you all the best for a successful, happy, and healthy 2018!
=========================================================
Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!
In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new way to purchase personalized signed copies of not only Flashlight Night, but ANY of my books or anthologies I’ve been part of!
I’ve teamed up with the good folks MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH to present an option for people who would love to have a signed copy of one of my books but don’t live anywhere near me. MainStreet BookEnds has ALL but one of my books available for ordering…and the best part is, you can get them personalized!
Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and they will get it to me to sign and send it off to you. Try doing that with those big online booksellers! (Plus, you’ll be helping to support local book-selling – and wouldn’t that make you feel good?)
=========================================================
NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017!”
.
- KIRKUS Starred review!
. - Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
Thank you so much to all who have enjoyed “Flashlight Night” enough to write about it:
- “Delicious language…ingenious metamorphoses” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)
- “The verse is incantatory…a simple idea that’s engagingly executed” – School Library Journal
- An old fashioned, rip-roaring imaginary adventure” – The Horn Book
- “[Esenwine and Koehler] don’t just lobby for children to read—they show how readers play” – Publisher’s Weekly
- “Imaginative…fantastical” – Booklist
- “Favorably recalls Where the Wild Things Are” – Shelf Awareness
- “Readers, you must share ‘Flashlight Night’…as often as you can” – Margie Myers-Culver, Librarian’s Quest
- “Begs to be read over and over” – Michelle Knott, Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook/Goodreads
- “A poetic and engaging journey” – Cynthia Alaniz, Librarian In Cute Shoes
- “Illuminates the power of imagination” – Kellee Moye, Unleashing Readers
- “Readers will be inspired to…create their own journey” – Alyson Beecher, Kidlit Frenzy
- “Beautiful words and stunning illustrations” – Jason Lewis, 5th grade teacher at Tyngsboro Elementary School, Tyngsboro, MA
========================================================
Love it, Matt! I don’t envy you those frigid temps! Stay warm and much New Year cheer to you and your family!
LikeLike
Thanks, BJ – Happy New Year to you, as well!
LikeLike
The temps are indeed Arctic! I’m glad that you’ve managed to nourish some creative sparks in these swirling winds. Have fun with your family during break and best wishes for a wonderful 2018!
LikeLike
Thanks, Molly – I hope you have a great 2018, too!
LikeLike
Human curling! Ha! Great ditty. Love it. Stay safe and hopefully, you can carve out some writing time even with the kids stuck inside. I know it’s tough…I’m up early for my time.
LikeLike
Thanks, Linda!
LikeLike
Brrrrrr! It’s certainly been a frigid week here in New England, hasn’t it? That’s quite a hill for tubing, a.k.a human curling. Love that! I was just thinking about curling the other day as I prepped a Padlet about the upcoming Winter Olympics for Wonderopolis, for whom I am a Wonder Lead Ambassador — https://padlet.com/wymanc/rwnh207i4p73. It really is a fascinating, but crazy sport! Sending warm thoughts for a happy new year up to NH!
LikeLike
Thanks – and that’s so cool that you’re helping spread the news about this year’s Winter Olympics, Christie! Although I think even many of the athletes would agree that -20 wind chills are too cold!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ve got the cold but not quite enough snow for tubing or sledding. It looks like you and your kids had lots of fun. Human curling sounds like a spot on description.
LikeLike
Thanks, Kay…I wish the video I’d taken had come out better, because it was pretty funny watching them bounce into each other like bumper cars!
LikeLike
Happy Birthday to your son and great pix. Human curling, too funny.
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Brenda!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cute poem. That’s another take on curling! You could call it ‘curling freestyle.”
LikeLike
Freestyle, indeed – because after these pics were taken, the snowboards came out!
LikeLike
So funny, Matt, “curling” your kids! Happy New Year to you, and Happy Birthday to your son! We had cold over Christmas day, now warm again, then snow Sunday. It’s the strangest weather!
LikeLike
Happy New Year to you, too, Linda! It’s been single digits all week, and should remain so at least through next Tuesday…hoping we get a reprieve soon.
LikeLike
Happy 2018, Matt! This cold is supposed to last until Mid-January. It may last, but I have doubts about me!
LikeLike
Yes, I’ve heard it’s supposed to be a cold start to 2018. I was thinking earlier today how odd it would be for the temps to get up to 20, and it’ll feel like the January Thaw!
LikeLike
Delightful and fun tubing poem Matt!
We’re having very cold weather here in Chicago too. I’m happy I have a warm home to retreat to, makes one appreciate simple things. Happy New Year!
LikeLike
Thanks, Michelle!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy birth-day to you and your wife (your wife, especially…she did all the work!). Eight is a pretty magical year! Yes, I agree that your tubers were actually human curlers!
LikeLike
Thanks, Mary Lee – and yes, I give most of the credit to my wife!
LikeLike
Ha–human curling! Happy Birthday, happy winter break (you must be exhausted along with exhilarated), and all merry and bright for your 2018!
LikeLike
Thanks, Heidi – have a great 2018, as well!
LikeLike
Happy New Year, Matt. I did enjoy seeing the photos of your children tubing and would love to showcase your poem and photos in my Children’s Corner of my next gallery: #WinterWonderland18❄️. I can easily capture what you placed in the blog and this way you will not have to add anything.
LikeLike
Oh, thank you, Carol – that would be nice! I’m glad you liked it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I left you the digitized/winterized image poem set in your DM, Matt.
LikeLike
Great, thank you, Carol!
LikeLike