Poetry Friday: A holiday surprise from Nikki Grimes

Christmas may be weeks behind us and even Epiphany, aka “Little Christmas,” was five days ago…but I’m grateful to poet Nikki Grimes for keeping the holiday alive just a little longer.

Pepparkakor!

You see, back in December she had mentioned on Facebook how she missed eating pepparkakor cookies, thin, spicy cookies similar to ginger snap cut-outs, when she had visited Scandinavia some years back. So, since pepparkakor are a tradition here at the house, and since I had just finished baking about 8 dozen of them, I offered to send her some!

She thanked me, and I was glad she enjoyed them.

That was that.

Until I received a small package in the mail yesterday…

Hmmm…what could this be??

From the return address I could see it was from Nikki, but couldn’t imagine what it was. I wasn’t expecting anything, certainly…but whatever it was, was beautifully packaged! So I untied the bow, and what did I discover inside?

A half-dozen of Nikki’s handmade cards, using her own beautiful photos, along with a special handmade card (upper right) thanking me. Homemade cookies = handmade cards! What a wonderful gift! And included with these cards, an original poem:

Longing for light,
we wade through the darkness,
hands outstretched.
One glimpse of the North Star,
and we lift our voices:
“O, Holy Night!”

– © 2019, Nikki Grimes

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Now, what’s especially special about this (if I can put those two words together), is that “O, Holy Night” is my favorite Christmas song, hands down…Nikki had no idea, either, which made this even more surprising and touching. So thank you again, Nikki! I’m so grateful for your support, as well as for the words you share with us all through your novels, poems – and Christmas cards!

The Poetry Friday roundup is being hosted “down under” today with Sally Murphy, who reassures us that she & fellow children’s author Kathryn Apel are both safe, despite the horrors of the Australia wildfires. She’s sharing a sneak peek at her new upcoming book AND a seaside poem that is just perfect for those of us in the middle of a frigid northeast winter.

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Ordering personalized signed copies online?
Oh, yes, you can!

     

You can purchase personalized signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Boyds Mills Press, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly ALL of the books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH a note requesting the signature and to whom I should make it out to. (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!

• 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!
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  • “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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