If you’ve not heard, the official blog tour for my upcoming picture book, I Am Today (POW! Kids Books), is underway! Due to supply chain / shipping issues, the publication date has been delayed from an original date of Oct. 5 to Nov. 30…and now that publication date has been moved to Dec. 21! (Read a more detailed explanation HERE)
While we’re hoping the third time’s the charm, we’re also hoping for more pre-orders, which are really important and can benefit an author in more than one way.
I do have to say I’m so grateful to all the bloggers who are participating and sharing their thoughts about the book; there are interviews, reviews, podcasts, and giveaway!
Kelle Moye kicked things off a couple of weeks ago when she featured a guest post from Yours Truly at her blog, Unleashing Readers. Earlier this week, Brenna Jeanneret and Josh Monken at the You May Contribute a Verse podcast shared a conversation we had about everything from picture books to poetry to submissions. And yesterday, Brian Gehrlein at the Picture Book Spotlight posted an in-depth interview with me about the inspiration behind I Am Today, the odd way I went about coming up with the concept (they don’t teach you this is workshops!), and why I love writing picture books with non-traditional narratives.
Which brings us to TODAY! Kathy at Celebrate Picture Books offers her review of I Am Today – and I am completely blown away by her kind words and effusive support. I really hope you’ll check it out to learn more about the book and how Patricai Pessoa’s narrative (via her illustrations) and my text work together.
The complete list:
- Nov. 14: Unleashing Readers
- Nov. 29: You May Contribute a Verse
- Nov. 30: Picture Book Spotlight
- Dec. 2: Celebrate Picture Books
- Dec. 3: Beyond Literacy Link
- Dec. 4: Vivian Kirkfield’s “Will Write for Cookies”
- Dec. 7: Writer’s Rumpus
- Dec. 20: Maria C. Marshall’s “Picture Book Buzz”
- Dec. 21: Future Bookworms (Instagram) / The Momma Spot (blog)
- Dec. 21: Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme!
- Dec. 24: Maria C. Marshall’s “Perfect Picture Book Friday”
I Am Today is available for pre-orders everywhere books are sold – but if you order from my local indie bookstore, I can personally-sign your book (or any of my books) and have them in the mail usually within 24 hours!
ALSO: If you’re in the NH area this weekend, I hope you’ll stop by Innisfree Bookshop in Meredith! The entire Mill Falls Marketplace is having their annual Holiday Open House, and the book store has invited me to stop by for my first in-person author signing event since the shutdown – I’m so excited!
For today’s poem, I thought I’d share something I originally posted a mere year ago – but it was so much fun writing it, I just had to share it again! The irony is that it’s a Christmas poem (well, sort of) that I wrote in April 2020, right after Covid had shut everything down. Inspiration pops up whenever it wants to, I guess.
Christmas Cookie Favorites
Peanut butter,
triple-chip,
biscotti with
a candy dip,
gingersnap,
Christmas crinkles,
cut-out stars
with lots of sprinkles,
pinwheels, thumbprints,
candy cane,
oatmeal, Linzer,
multi-grain,
snickerdoodles,
snowballs, spritz,
corned-beef jumbles
filled with grits…
– © 2020 Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved
(read the rest of it HERE – but trust me, it doesn’t end the way you think it will!)
For more poetry, please visit Michelle Kogan, who is hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup with an original holiday poem about embracing other cultures and traditions along with a couple of other short poems.
Happy holidays, and keep in touch!
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I’m now a part of the BOOKROO family!
Create an account to add books to wishlists and be notified of special deals and dates…create custom collections…and discover and follow your favorite authors & illustrators!
Find out more about BOOKROO here!
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Learn more by clicking the graphic!
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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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Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Click any of the covers below to order!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (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!
FLASHLIGHT NIGHT:
- 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!
DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR:
- “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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Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme 
Good luck with those supply chain issues! Congratulations on another book! That’s wonderful. I love your poem, the list, ending in a savory treat, different from the rest. A surprise.
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Thanks, Janice! If you click the link to read the rest of the poem, it definitely doesn’t end with just “savory”…ha! 😀
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Best wishes with your book sales, Matt. This supply thing is crazy. Also, I love the cookie poem. Corned beef & grits… hahaha!
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Thanks, Karen! Did you click the link to continue the poem? It doesn’t end with grits… 😉
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The poem is so much fun to read through. I left a comment at the end of it. Give me five more minutes to add Michelle’s name to the blog post as PF host and the post will fly into the Twittersphere and social media world.
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Thanks again, Carol – I really appreciate it.
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I hope third time’s he charm for you, Matt! Your cookie poem is a fun read aloud!
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Thanks so much, Rose!
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Nice twist in your cookie poem Matt, sounds like a happy dog! I hope the supply chain issue disappears and your books reach many readers. I’m presently waiting on a printer that was due a few days ago, hoping and trying to be patient—Thanks!
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Thanks, Michelle…it’s so hard sitting on this when I want folks to see it. Even I haven’t held a copy yet!
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Matt, I’m sorry about the painfully-delayed I AM TODAY (apparently I AM DECEMBER 21st instead!). It’s fitting that an early stop on the blog tour for this book is at “Unleashing Readers,” since that’s essentially the theme of this book and your dinosaur story over at Carol’s blog. This idea that kids should not have to wait to take charge, make change–this can only happen if we adults are truly willing to give up power and control, and this is super-hard, *even when we think we want to.* So often we say “Yes, you are today,” and then we show our true colors in what we do–“you’re not ready today.”
do this in my classroom too–I *think* that I want my 4yos to take the lead, and then I plan each day down to the minute and forget to leave time for them to actually TAKE THE LEAD. (District and curriculum expectations, don’t you know.) Thanks for helping me reflect on the challenge this book presents to us, the adults in the room! Here’s something I came across yesterday that resonates…https://education-reimagined.org/declaration-of-a-learner-centered-future/
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Thank you, Heidi! Yes, I think we need to pay more atention to what we, as adults say and do in regards to helping kids take ownership in their lives and – dare I say – their future. Love the link you shared, especially the definion of success! I fully believe that.
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Hahahaha! Funny Christmas cookie poem. I’m slightly pickier than a dog. I at least require sugar in my cookies! I AM TODAY looks wonderful==can’t wait to read it!
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Ha, thanks, Laura! You’ll notice I left out any mention of chocolate…wouldn’t want my furry friend to get sick. 😉
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