
I admit, two days before St. Patrick’s Day is a bit late to be posting a January poem… but we’ve had 3 winter storms in less than 2 weeks here in New Hampshire, and a fourth is expected to hit us Tuesday! It couldn’t possibly feel less like spring right now. And since this photo has been hanging around since I took it two months ago, inspiration finally struck and I thought I’d share what came of it.
If you’re looking for more poetry, my friend Linda Baie is hosting Poetry Friday today – and celebrating Spring! – at her blog, Teacher Dance. (But something tells me she wasn’t expecting my icy photo to interrupt her reverie…)
By the way, the Madness! Poetry competition is still underway, so be sure to vote for your favorite poems!
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SCHOOL PEOPLE are here…and the DINOSAURS are on their way!
DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR hits bookshelves April 17!
New dates continue to be added to the Dinosaur Tour! Don’t Ask a Dinosaur co-author Deborah Bruss and I have quite a busy schedule planned:
- Sat., April 14, 11am: Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
- Sat., April 14, 2pm: Toadstool Bookshop, Keene, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
- Tue., April 17, 7pm: Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur Dual National Launch Party!! (with Holly Thompson, One Wave at a Time reading/signing/discussion)
- Thur., April 26, 10:30am: Pillsbury Free Library, Warner, NH, Dinosaur Storytime with Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People!
- Sat., April 28, 10:30am: Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
- Sat., April 28, 2pm: Barnes & Noble, Framingham, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur reading/signing (with Sara Levine, Fossil by Fossil: Comparing Dinosaur Bones reading/signing)
- Sun., April 29, 2pm: MainStreet BookEnds, Warner, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing and discussion
- Sat., May 5, 10am: Barnes & Noble, Burlington, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
- Sat., May 5, 1pm: Barnes & Noble, Nashua, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
- Sat., May 12, 11am: Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
- Wed., May 16, 12pm: Concord Hospital Gift Shop, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People signing
- Sat., May 19, 11:30am-3pm: Barnes & Noble, Salem, NH, National Storytime at 11am, followed by Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
- To be scheduled: Books-A-Million, Concord, NH
- MORE DATES to be added!
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Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!”
NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
- KIRKUS Starred review!
- Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
- “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers
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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?)
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Ha! I understand why the January poem, but guess it is also a March one, too. I think we could all use a bit of evenness in our weather lately. I love your small rhyme, Matt, despite the storms, it celebrates where you find “bliss”. Nice!
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Thanks, Linda – and thanks for hosting today!
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Sweet poem, for those crystal kisses. Beautiful picture. And yes, I can’t even look at the spring images on other pages. Looking forward to more shovels blossoming here next week!
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Yep, same here. Thanks, Donna!
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Brrrrrr! I don’t envy all the storms up your way (we’ve been so lucky down here). Love the ice crystal kisses — very evocative poem! Hope you thaw out soon . . .
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Thank you, Jama! I could use a little Hawaiian holiday… 😉
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Hi Matt,
What a beautiful photo you posted. I love the orange sky–but tomorrow I must not admit to that. Your poem’s lovely, too. It’s a perfect fit for the image. Happy St.Patricks Day to you. All the best, Leslie Skimmings
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Leslie! So good to see you back again! Thank you for stopping by. The photo was taken on the south-facing side of our yard, facing east, and I was quite surprised how nicely it came out!
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Gorgeous poem, Matt. The silence, the thaw, the blissful kiss… wonderful.
Surely they’ll be wrong about one of these storms… soon, I hope. Friends around here are just getting power after the last one.
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There have been massive outages here in NH, too, although fortunately we have been spared. Our poor wood stove is still cranking out the heat, 5 days before spring!
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Matt, I think your old wood stove wants to tell its story through your storyteller voice.
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What a stunning photo and a great accompanying poem, Matt. I was so engaged with observing every part of your photo that I decided to capture it for my gallery. I hope you don’t mind. It looks great and I did not have to resize it. Thanks for always providing inspiration.
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Thank you, Carol – and yes, by all means feel free to use it! I was actually thinking of you & your gallery while I was formatting it, and was hoping you’d like it. And who knows…the stove may get its own poem soon! I’ll have to think on that….
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Kissing ice crystals that’s kinda fun Matt! Lovely image and moving poem, I hope if the next storm does hit it moves on quickly!
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Thank you, Michelle! It looks like the storm they were calling for this week is going to stay well enough to our south that we may only get an inch or two at most…so I’m grateful for that. I’ve had to reschedule a school visit THREE TIMES this month because we keep getting nor’easters, but I’m confident I’ll make it there tomorrow!
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It seems the weather pays no attention to the calendar when it comes to the changing seasons. That is a stunning photo and a lovely poem to go with it. Stay warm and toasty through the winter storms
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Thanks so much, Kay!
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Spring is officially here and the daffodils are blooming, so what would be more natural than a couple more inches of snow here tonight/tomorrow?!!? ARGHH!!!
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I have yet to see daffodils, crocuses (croci??), or any sort of greenery yet…oh, how I long for spring! And yes – they’re expecting 4-8 inches here in NH. sigh…
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