This post was originally published on July 13, 2018. My family and I spent our annual vacation back at York Beach this week, so my brain is still full of sunshine and sea spray. I thought I’d bring this favorite of mine back this week, since I’m doing my best to not work. 😉
Janice Scully has today’s Poetry Friday roundup at her blog, Salt City Verse!
My wife captured this photo during the last week of June, while we were staying at a friend’s cottage along York Beach, Maine. We were walking along the shore around 6pm or so, and after a brief rainfall, we noticed the sky attempting to display three separate rainbows. Alas, they were only pieces, but I’ve had this image stuck in my head for some time now, and wanted to find a few words to accompany it. Finally did!
By the way, if you missed my little “tip of the hat” to elementary school teachers, you’ll find a mid-summer poem HERE – along with links to a few of the summer reading lists that include Flashlight Night (Boyds Mills Press, 2017)! Of course, if you’re still hungry for more poetry, you’ll find all of today’s links at Poetry for Children, where Sylvia Vardell is hosting Poetry Friday.
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
(coming Sept. 25, 2018!)
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 for you, and then they’ll ship it. 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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day)
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been busy working on some new picture book manuscripts and a couple of new poetry collection proposals, but I couldn’t let this month go by without celebrating – so I thought it was about time I brought back a popular little writing contest that hasn’t seen the light of day in FOUR years!
That’s right, the last PoetryCUBED contest was way back in April 2018, to celebrate the publication of what was my second picture book at the time, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (POW! Kids Books). I’m not sure how or why it never returned, but there’s no time like the present right?
If you’re unfamiliar with PoetryCUBED, it’s based on the premise of The Food Network’s popular show, “Chopped!”
In this reality-TV game show, chefs battle each other by trying creating the best dishes they can using specific ingredients given to them in a special basket. For example, one round might have the chefs cooking with canned chicken, jelly beans, and arugula. The next round might include novalox, puff pastry, and durian. (Trust me, you don’t want to cook with durian). But really, the ingredients are very often that bizarre.
The dishes are then critiqued by a panel of judges and the chef with the least appealing dish is “chopped.” The remaining chefs then move on to the followings rounds until all but one are eliminated and the final chef gets to claim victory.
So for this contest, I’ve applied this premise to poetry – but without the sliced index fingers and broken dreams. I call it “PoetryCUBED!” Here’s how it works:
Use the 3 images (“cubed,” get it??) below as inspiration to write a poem.
The poem can be any form, any number of lines, rhyming or not.
The only hitch is that you need to include a reference to all three images in the poem – either via concrete imagery or something more abstract.
Then email your poem to me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com and I’ll share them here throughout the month – and at the end of April, one name will be drawn at random to receive a free, personally-signed copy of any of my books,your choice!
A dog, tomatoes, and a stone. What the heck are you gonna do with these, eh???
Well, to get things rolling, here’s a haiku (actually, a senryu, to those of you keeping score) I wrote using these three images as inspiration – and I didn’t spend a whole lot of time on it. 15 minutes, max. PoetryCUBED is simply a creative way to have fun writing and find new, unusual connections (this is poetry, after all!), so please don’t fret if the poem isn’t as perfect as you’d like! (Big words coming from Perfectionist Me)
sweet acidity washes over eager tongue silent, love blushes .
You’ll notice references to all three photos in these three short lines: the taste of the tomatoes as well as their blushes, the heart-shaped stone, and a tongue. So it doesn’t have to be a long poem and the references don’t always have to be obvious – just have fun with it! And be sure to send them to me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com so I can share them here and enter you in the contest!
And be watching for a special interview I have planned later this month with my friend Leslie Bulion, whose brand-new picture book Serengeti: Plains of Grass (Peachtree Publishing) came out March 1 – the same day as my I Am Today (POW! Kids Books)! She’ll be here to talk about the book and the craft of writing on April 15, when I host the Poetry Friday roundup!
Speaking of Poetry Friday…for all of today’s links and fun, be sure to visit Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe, where she is very busy celebrating a book birthday, a human birthday, some National Poetry Month traditions, and a brand-new poem of her own!
Be sure to check out all the cool new picture books arriving this year from my PB22Peekaboo partners!
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!
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.
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!
Available now!
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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
Last Friday, I shared a poem written by a 6th grader – aka, my son – who has always said he didn’t like poetry. I found it surprisingly good, which is why I wanted to share it here.
Then I got back to business – the business of moving my office/studio from our upstairs loft area to an actual office space downstairs, in a former spare bedroom. Having been working from home for nearly 10 years, it’s a slow-going project, as I’m constantly finding papers and correspondence I’d set aside for safe-keeping and am only now rediscovering.
As luck would have it, in the midst of moving papers and books and folders and equipment, I discovered a poetry project my son’s older sister had written several years ago, when she was only one year older than he is now. And one poem in particular caught my attention.
It was written while my daughter was in middle school and going through a big change: her mom and I had divorced one year before and I was now engaged to the woman who would become my second wife.
This sort of emotional upheaval is difficult for anyone, let alone a young girl barely into her teens. She was trying to sort out her feelings and this book of poetry was what helped her get through it.
She wrote several poems for this little books of hers, more senryu than haiku, but they were heartfelt and honest and earnest and I had to take a moment and sit down and read each one.
I then texted her to let her know I’d found it, and she told me she’d let me share the poem, but that she’d be confiscating the book the next time she visited! I said, fair enough.
During the divorce, I had told my daughter and her older sisters that although it wasn’t very much fun, they would likely soon realize that, as far as divorces go, ours would not be a terribly bad one; we had both been friends since 3rd grade and were fortunately able to remain friends through the divorce and up to this day.
My ex even caught the bouquet!
Anyhoo…this is all to say that my daughter’s fears and worries and concerns, while valid, were somewhat abated once she learned how well her parents – all of us – got along with each other. We put the well-being of family first, which made it easier for her and her siblings.
Looking back at this poem, I’m glad we all got through what could have been a much more difficult situation. And even though, eight years ago, she told me that she was officially handing over the title of “Daddy’s Little Girl” to her new baby sister, I told her there was no need to do that; I was pretty sure there was no limit to how many “Little Girls” one daddy could have.
I Am Today (POW! Kids Books) is available for pre-orders everywhere books are sold – but if you order from my local indie bookstore, I can personally-sign it and have them in the mail within 12-24 hours!
In advance of the official publication of my newest picture book, I Am Today (POW! Kids Books) on Feb. 8, we’re all keeping fingers crossed it actually happens! (What’s that? You hadn’t heard it’s been delayed a FIFTH time? Yep, it’s true!)
THIS COMING TUESDAY, Feb. 1, my friends at KidLitTV will host the official national COVER REVEAL of my NEXT picture book, The Beginner’s Guide to Being Human (Beaming Books), which comes out this October! I can’t wait for you to see it!
.
Only a few days left!
How’s THIS for irony (or is it coincidence?): Irene Latham is hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup at her blog, Live Your Poem, where she is celebrating the importance of the virtue of Patience – which just happens to be the name of my ex-wife, who I was just telling you about!
Weird how things come together sometimes, eh?
From Connecticut to Calgary…next Wednesday is going to be a busy day for me!
Very excited to be part of my new 2022 picture book marketing team!
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!
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.
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!
Arriving Jan. 25, 2022! Pre-order now!
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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
With poems and illustrations by more than 60 New England authors and illustrators like Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Peter H. Reynolds, Jodie Apeseche, Josh Funk, Bob Thibeault, Lynda Mullaly-Hunt, and many others (including Yours Truly), the book clocks in at a solid 70 pages!
The book is especially dear to my heart, because I didn’t just contribute 3 poems; editors Kristen Wixted and Heather Kelly asked author Kip Wilson and I to judge all the submissions, to determine which were the best and which needed some revision. It was quite the time-intensive task (a little consonance there, for you poetry fans), but we had a lot of fun doing it – and were glad we were able to help others in polishing their poems for publication (a little aliteration, as well, just to keep you on your toes).
You can read my interview with Wixted & Kelly HERE and learn about how they came up with the idea, how they navigated the process, and how they managed to pull it all off during a nationwide shutdown!
One of the most impressive spreads in the book features a beautiful illustration by Leanne Leutkemeyer with a poem by Amanda Smith:
And since I’ve shared my “Goblin Shark” pantoum and “Unmoored” cherita in past blog posts, I thought I’d share my third poem, a haiku:
I love variety (I’m the kind of guy who orders the appetizer sampler at a restaurant because I don’t want to miss out on anything!), so I wanted to make sure each poem I submitted was very different in style and form. I figured pantoum/cherita/haiku was a pretty good mix.
If you are new to Friends & Anemones: Ocean Poems for Children, I hope you’ll consider picking up a copy – at 70 pages, it’s hefty, so you’re defintely getting your money’s worth. Of course you can order it from Amazon and B&N, but if you purchase it from my hometown indie bookstore, I’d be happy to sign it!
And by the way…if you’ve not heard about this company, you need to check them out! Products are made from recycled ocean plastic, and funds go to help continue ocean cleanup and the preservation of ocean life.
Since it is Poetry Friday, I’m very proud to be hosting the festivities – so you need go no further for today’s offical round up! Just leave your links in the comments below and I’ll round them up throughout the day, old school-style!
Denise Krebs shares a beautiful wedding gift: a pantoum!
The autumn season inspired Michelle Kogan to write two haiku.
Also in a fall mood, Carol Varsalona reviews Ashley Wolff’s new picture book, How to Help a Pumpkin Grow.
Carmela Martino features a creative NF book about the American Revolution along with one of her 3 contributions to Bridget Magee’s new release, 10.10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 Different Ways.
Poetry is all about finding new, interesting connections, and Linda Baie connects Daylight Savings Time with poet Ted Kooser.
One of the reasons I love poetry is because it can cram a lot of imagery and emotion into a tight space…and Alan J. Wright is doing just that today with some short, witty light verse!
Molly Hogan is stepping outside of her “comfort zone” by sharing two very personal, emotional poems.
Our Aussie friend Kathryn Apel, along with our other Aussie friend, Sally Murphy, recently helped the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature develop the Australian Verse Novel Resource, a fantastic idea that I hope catches on stateside!
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is contemplating change – trees, leaves, bees – and offers a thoughtful poem, “Circles.”
The great artist Vincent Van Gogh once said that he would “never stand for anything of importance”…but Tabatha Yeatts is in with an original poem to prove otherwise.
Linda Mitchell has news of a poetry contest and an original award-winning poem about sisters and sibling love.
Tim Gels has much to be thankful for, and since this is the perfect month to show thankfulness he shares 3 tankas about thanks.
Have you ever considered making poetry out of trash? Susan Thomsen does just that, with blackout poetry from an old book!
Heidi Mordhorst shares a n/ode to autumn today – and no, that’s not a misprint!
Gratiku: I love that word! Ruth shares a haiku about gratitude, this time about the importance of tea and the comfort it provides.
There’s something about this time of year that gets folks in a haiku/tanka mood, and Christie Wyman joins in with a beautiful autumnal poem.
Irene Latham‘s latest latest ArtSpeak: Four Seasons poem is inspired by fog and friendship.
It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t love pizza, in one way, shape, or form – and Jama Rattigan reviews a brand-new children’s book, We Love Pizza, by Elenia Beretta.
Mary Lee Hahn takes a look at what it means to “persevere” and shares an incredibly powerful original poem.
Yesterday was spent raking and leaf-blowing with my kids…and Karen Eastlund was apparently doing the same thing, as she offers a short fall poem she is still working on, but which is coming along nicely.
Margaret Simon is prepping for a poetry reading with some esteeemed company, and shares a few student poems from the Poet-Tree!
Janice Scully is offering a positive, inspirational poem she wrote about the climate crisis.
In honor of Veterans Day, Linda Kulp Trout (an Air Force veteran herself) shares a poem she wrote to thank veterans for their work and sacrifice, which originally appeared in the Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations (Poemlo Books, 2015)..
Carol Labuzzetta has been dealing with seasonal, personal, and literary challenges this past week, and shares an update – along with an original autumn poem.
What do you do when a home you love…is no longer recognizable? Catherine Flynn explores that difficult situation with an original poem.
Laura Purdie Salas has rounded up several short poems for fall, that originally appeared in her e-newsletter for educators.
Mary Cronin spotlights a new biographical verse novel, The Traveling Camera: Lewis Hine and the Fight to End Child Labor, by Alexandra Hinrichs.
Almost-last but definitely not least, we have TWO different post about the incredibly talented Janet Wong, who is receiving the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children at NCTE’s annual (virtual) convention next week! Her friend and Pomelo Books co-hort, Dr. Sylvia Vardell, shares a fun video interview with Janet you have to see…while Jone MacCulloch shares part II of her online interview with Janet.
And finally, a perfect way to put a big red bow on our Poetry Friday celebration: Leigh Anne Eck says “tanka you” with a beautiful original tanka!
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!
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.
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!
Arriving Nov. 30, 2021! Pre-order now!
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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
First of all, let me say thank you to everyone who has sent me warm wishes and thoughts regarding the passing of my mom two weeks ago. Last Friday, I posted the poem I wrote for her and dad, and have had numerous folks asking if they could share it – and by all means, please feel free to do so! It’s a wonderful way to keep her spirit alive, connecting others with what I have to imagine is a universal theme.
And although it has been a sad, melancholy time, it turned quite jubilant two days ago when I saw this had been officially announced in Publisher’s Weekly:
You read that correctly – it’s scheduled for THIS FALL, which is lightning-fast in this business. Illustrations are already underway, and I can’t wait to tell you more as we get closer to launch date!
So between the highs and lows that 2021 has kicked off with, today I wanted to share a post from someone else’s blog! I recently enjoyed the privelege of being interviewed by Rhode Island author Linda Crotta Brennan, for her blog, Lupine Seeds, and am so happy to be able to share that interview with you here!
It was great fun sharing my thoughts on writing poetry, publishing poetry, and understanding poetry – and how I’ve managed to transfer my love and knowledge of the genre to picture books. She also asked me about my collaborations, like Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (POW! Kids Books, 2018), co-authored with Deborah Bruss, and my upcoming book with Charles Ghigna, Once Upon Another Time (Beaming Books, March, 2021), which were a lot of fun to write. I do hope you’ll check it out!
In the interview, I offer a few suggestions for poetry books you might consider reading, if you want to learn more about writing or reading poetry, particularly children’s poetry. So I thought I’d share one of the poems Laura Purdie Salas published a few years ago in her book, Catch Your Breath: Writing Poignant Poetry (Capstone, 2015), the perfect book for teens who are just starting to get their feet wet writing poetry:
Abandonment (haiku)
sparrow sweetly sings melancholy melody; her mate, on the ground.
Laura had wanted a poem that showcased alliteration, assonance, and consonance – so I gave her as short a poem as I could, ha! Today, Margaret Simon is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup at her blog, Reflections on the Teche, with some nestling poems (found poems created from within another poem) she crafted from Richard Blanco’s One Today.
You can 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!
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.
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!
Click any of the following covers to order!
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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
Yes, SEVENTY PAGES, filled with poems and illustrations by more than 60 New England-based authors and illustrators, including Jane Yolen (with whom I share a spread), Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Peter H. Reynolds, Josh Funk, Lynda Mullaly-Hunt, Kip Wilson, Priscilla Alpaugh, and Yours Truly along with many others.
If you follow the folks at KidLit411, you will likely see the book’s trailer premiere today, if you haven’t already. We also have a virtual book launch planned for Peter Reynold’s book store (see below) – but I thought I’d give you an inside look at a spread featuring one of my three poems:
(click to enlarge)
And no, you’re not seeing things…if you’re trying to orient yourself, this is one of a few spreads that was designed to be held sideways, so the top of the spread is actually the left side of the book, and the bottom is the right side.
There are a number of different poetic forms in this book; my poem, “Unmoored,” is a cherita, “The Lowest Peak” and “Stormy” (the latter of which was written by the spread’s illustrator, Suwin Chan) are both haiku, and “Giant Squid” is rhyming verse made up of double couplets. And as I mentioned in last week’s post, I’m also very proud to have been asked by Heather and Kristen if I would join Kip Wilson in judging all the submitted poems – so it’s gratifying to see the poems we selected in print!
VIRTUAL BOOK LAUNCH THIS SUNDAY!
Peter H. Reynolds, author of such popular books as The Dot, The Word Collector, and I Am Human, is a member of The Writer’s Loft and operates The Blue Bunny Bookstore in Dedham, Mass, just outside of Boston. That’s where we’ll be hosting the official virtual book launch for Friends & Anemomes this Sunday, Nov. 15…so I hope you’ll join us for the celebration and a sneak peek inside the book with several of the contributors!
You can 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!
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.
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!
Click any of the following covers to order!
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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
Between home-schooling two young kids, trying to keep up with household chores, and trying to take care of my folks’ health and financial needs (they are both in a nursing home)…I’ve barely had any time to write or send out submissions. In fact, I question how much longer I can keep saying I’m “working from home” when I feel like I’m hardly working at all!
Be that as it may, I actually have some cool news to share, which I’ll likely do next week. (The irony is that this good news took surprisingly little time to materialize – which, considering my aforementioned schedule, is quite a
fortuitous development) Thanks for popping by today, and for more poetry offerings, be sure to visit Bridget Magee at Wee Words for Wee Ones, where she is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup!
You can 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!
Did you know that Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme is one of the TOP 20 children’s poetry blogs, according to FEEDSPOT? That’s right – I’m scratching my head, too! FEEDSPOT is an app that allows you to combine all your favorite news feeds, podcasts, YouTube channels, etc. into ONE newsletter. Be sure to check it out!
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.
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!
Click any of the following covers to order!
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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
I took this photo yesterday morning as I was walking outside, across the street from our house. When I saw the sun glinting off the ice-touched trees, I knew I had to capture it – and of course, write something to go along with it!
In case you haven’t heard, we have a cover reveal coming for that picture book written with Charles Ghigna (aka, Father Goose®)! We were so thrilled when editor Naomi Krueger at Beaming Books contacted us last year to tell us she wanted to sign a contract! The book comes out August 18, and illustrator Andrés F. Landazábal’s soft, colorful imagery is beautiful. Tara Lazar, world-famous picture book wunderkind and children’s lit cheerleader, will be hosting the official cover reveal on her blog Feb. 10, as soon as she wraps up this year’s Storystorm – so don’t miss it!
What do school kids and possums have in common? Poetry Friday! My friend Kathryn Apel is hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup at her blog, Kat’s Whiskers, and shares two poems about each of those subjects!
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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day)
As soon as I saw this photo my wife had taken of the brook that runs behind our property (alternately known as Willow Brook or Tory Brook), I knew I had to write something to go along with it. I hope you’re enjoying your autumn…it’s hard to believe we’re already nearly a month into the season already!
For more poetry, be sure to check out today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup at Alphabet Soup, where Jama is spotlighting the newest book from my Once Upon Another Time collaborator, the wonderful Charles Ghigna – aka, Father Goose®!
(more details coming soon!)
Very proud to be a first-round judge in the CYBILS Poetry category, once again!
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 for you, and then they’ll ship it. 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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day)
Before we get to all the found poetry that’s been pouring in – and before we announce our winner of a free book! – I have some exciting news to share…
Click the cover to vote!
Thursday afternoon I was astounded to learn that Flashlight Night (Boyds Mills & Kane, 2017) has been shortlisted as a finalist for the New Hampshire Literary Awards – and voting for the Reader’s Choice Awards ends in TWO DAYS, Sat. night Sept. 28, at midnight! So if you’re a NH resident and you feel my little book is worthy, I’d appreciate you clicking THIS LINK and voting. Thank you!
It really is an honor simply to be included on a list with other Granite State authors and poets like Eric Pinder, Jessica Purdy, former NH Poet Laureate Patricia Fargnoli, and fellow BM&K author Sandra Neil Wallace. So please vote for your favorites!
And boy, oh boy, a lot of people are hoping to be that lucky winner!
All one needed to do to enter the giveaway was share a found poem based her poem, “Collecting Stars:”
A “found poem” is simply a poem that uses the words from one source – like a magazine, newspaper, book, etc. – to create a poem. So in this case, readers took the words from Michelle’s poem and re-created them into new poems of their own. I shared several of the poems last Friday, so here are the newest ones:
Around the Yard
flashes in darkness
the dance of starlight
floats free
– Kathy Mazurowski
.
untitled
sparks dance
and beckon
embers glow
sparks float
free
good-bye
– Kathleen L. Armstrong
.
Embers
Specks of light
spark and dance
I watch them float free
when darkness deepens
– Michelle Heidenrich Barnes
.
untitled
darkness deepens
purple sky
sparks of starlight
way up high
sky festooned with
dancing light
colors pulsing
dazzling sight
– Cheriee Weichel
.
Star Collecting *
They come
When darkness deepens
A reminder to share
My own
Sparks of starlight
With tender care
Absorb, release them
to the night
Heart-carry
into morning’s light.
– Linda Trott Dickman
* (Matt’s note: while not a ‘found poem’ by definition, it still gets an “A” and an entry!)
According to the trusty Random.org website, our completely randomly-selected winner is…
LINDA BAIE!
Congratulations, Linda! Thanks so much for submitting your poem last week, and I’ll be sure to get your book in the mail asap. In the meantime, if anyone is still looking for more poetry (and who isn’t?) Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link has today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup!
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 for you, and then they’ll ship it. 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?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day)
reading lists that include Flashlight Night (Boyds Mills Press, 2017)! Of course, if you’re still hungry for more poetry, you’ll find all of today’s links at Poetry for Children, where Sylvia Vardell is hosting Poetry Friday.
(coming Sept. 25, 2018!)
Thank you to everyone for your support!
Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme 