Poetry Friday: Kicking off National Poetry Month with a Giveaway Winner (ALSO: the NEA Read Across America Book of the Month)

Last Friday, we celebrated the release of Vikram Madan’s brand-new children’s poetry collection, ‘A HATFUL OF DRAGONS’ (Wordsong, 2020), which officially arrives in April. Out of all the folks who left comments to enter a drawing to win a free copy, the one name that was selected at random was…

MARGARET SIMON!

Congratulations, Margaret! Be sure to email me your mailing address so the good folks at Boyds Mills & Kane can send you your copy. And thank you so much for visiting the ol’ Triple-R!

(If you didn’t get a chance to check out my interview with Vikram, you can still find it HERE)

Now, for today’s poem…I was looking through the National Education Association’s list of “Books of the Month” that they are using to promote their Read Across America initiative when I came across this cover, for April:

Former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis edited this third book in National Geographic’s series of poetry/photography coffee table books, and I was so proud to contribute to this book when it came out two years ago, I felt I had to share my poem here…

And yes, Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’ kept going through my mind while I thought about the Nevada sands, giant structures, and my blank verse sonnet…so I had to give a tip of the hat at the very end. What a book for National Poetry Month! I’m so honored to be included in a book that contains poetry from such diverse people as Robert Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye, Jane Yolen, and so many others.

(By the way, if you’d like to learn more about some of the attractions I make reference to in the poem, check out “The Strat”‘s official website!)

Since it’s Poetry Friday, you’ll probably want to check out all the other links and fun, so head over to My Juicy Little Universe where Heidi Mordhorst is handling her hosting with aplomb (we need more plombs, no that I think about it) and sharing two poems – one from H.D. (aka, Hilda Doolittle, an incredible American poet with whom you may be unfamiliar) and one from Billy Collins!

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For some time now I’ve been wanting to help my educator and parent friends with educational videos geared to understanding poetry, and now my “Wit & Wordplay” videos, as I call them, are available on my YouTube channel! These videos focus on poetry: how to write it, how to appreciate it, and tips on having fun with it. There are several ready for viewing, and more are on the way – so be sure to subscribe or check back often!

You can view them all on my YouTube channel, and I also have several downloadable activity sheets at my website. If you think any of this information might be useful for someone you know, I hope you’ll share.

What is Talkabook? Details coming soon!

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Pre-orders are available now!

In stores Aug. 18, 2020!

I’ve teamed up with several other children’s authors to promote our upcoming books this year! And there are a LOT of them, too – including SEVEN in March!

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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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Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!