When I first came upon this video – based on a poem by my friend Georgia Heard and produced by another friend, Moe Phillips – I knew I had to share it here. Considering everything going on the world these days, and our country in particular, it felt like sharing something heartfelt and universal such as this was the most appropriate thing to do.
Hope you enjoy it.
I’m still trying to unpack, organize, and distill the events of this week, and hope to be able to share a few thoughts on Monday or Tuesday. Until then, for more poetry, head on over to Reflections on the Teche, where Margaret Simon is hosting today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup with a poetic letter to her students.
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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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Looking for a complete list of all the poetry coming out this year for young people? Then visit Sylvia Vardell’s blog! Also, I’ve teamed up with several other children’s authors to promote our upcoming books this year – and there are a LOT of them!
Coming Spring 2021! Pre-orders are available:
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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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Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
Matt, you brightened my morning with this amazing poem by Georgia. Many thanks for sharing it.
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You’re welcome! Thank YOU for sharing it, as well!
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Thank you for sharing this, Matt. It is so beautiful!
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You’re welcome, Rose!
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Georgia is a talented poet and generous person. What a lovely poem and reading. Thank you for sharing this.
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You’re welcome, Janice, thank you!
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This video and poem are amazing and so apt on this day at the end of an exhausting week of hatred. Thanks! I’m posting this on my Facebook feed. A breath of goodness and dazzling light.
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Glad you enjoyed it, Margaret!
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So beautifully done—I’m glad Georgia poem was given star treatment. Thanks for sharing, Matt! Take care.
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Her poem has been really raised up. Thanks for visiting, Michelle!
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Fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
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Glad you enjoyed it!
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I saw it earlier and now love it all over again, Matt. it is wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
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You’re welcome, Linda – thanks for stopping by!
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Thank you for sharing this, Matt. I saw it on Facebook, but it’s worth watching again and again. Moe’s video elevates Georgia’s words to a new level. “We dazzle” is exactly right.
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Thanks, Catherine! I smile every time I watch this.
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I love this poem! It was read aloud (by someone else) at the CLA Breakfast at NCTE last fall. So stunning. Will watch the video in a few minutes.
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That’s right! I kept thinking it sounded familiar, and I couldn’t recall having read it before…it was at the breakfast we went to. Thanks for reminding me!
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