Poetry Friday: A 9th grader’s ADHD poem and Matt’s ‘Book Bundle’!”

I’ve shared my son’s poetry here before, but today I want to share with you a poem written by a friend of his, who happens to be a few years older and suffers from ADHD.

He wrote a poem about ADHD and submitted it to his school’s literary magazine – and was thrilled to discover they decided to publish it! And for good reason, too. It’s an incredible insight into the life and thoughts of a young person dealing with this troublesome condition. I asked him if he’d mind if I shared it here, and he was more than agreeable!

So I present it to you, directly from the school’s journal:

^{(click to enlarge)}

One can sense the anxiety, confusion, and frustration that comes with ADHD, and it’s my hope that more people can get a better sense of what it’s like to deal with ADHD on a daily basis by reading this young man’s words.

For today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup, head over to my friend Catherine’s blog, Reading to the Core, for a special end-of-school-year poem for all the teachers out there!

^{The First Five! (click to enlarge)}

By the way, this upcoming July 5 will mark the 10-year anniversary of me leaving full-time employment to be a stay at home dad and begin my journey towards publication in children’s literature. Ten years!

I had been working nearly 50 hours a week in radio – both on-air and in production – and eventually realized I was netting $150 a month. It just didn’t make sense to be employed! So I took a huge leap of faith (and honestly, my wife took that leap along with me) and now here I am with five books out and at least six more on the way, and more than 30 poems published in various anthologies and magazines.

You can understand, then, why I’m so thrilled that our local indie bookstore is offering a special “Book Bundle” of all my books – for ONE DAY ONLY! Just go to MainStreetBookEnds.com and you’ll find a specially-priced package of all five of my books – and shipping is only five dollars! Plus, they can all be individually, personally signed, so if you have five different kids you want them signed to, I can do that very easily.

Ten years. I think that’s even more surprising to me than the fact I turn 55 today. Ten years! I still can’t get over that.

This special package sale is only available July 5, but you can pre-order right now!

Learn more about my journey and the sale here:

And a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been part of this journey with me! I couldn’t have made it this far without your support, and I truly appreciate it.

^{Be sure to check out all the cool new picture books arriving this year from my PB22Peekaboo partners!}

=====================================================

Be sure to PRE-ORDER my upcoming new creative nonfiction picture book,
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BEING HUMAN (Beaming Books, Oct. 2022)!

Order a PERSONALLY-SIGNED copy of my latest picture book, I AM TODAY (POW! Kids Books),
or ANY of my books from my local independent bookstore!

=====================================================

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!

======================================================

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?)

======================================================

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

======================================================

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!

Poetry Friday: A couple of favorite poems from Poetry Out Loud

Last Friday night, the NH State Poetry Out Loud state championship took place, and I was very honored to be one of the judges!

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation competition where students are judged on a number of criteria including stage presence, vocal clarity, dramatic interpretation, etc. I’ve been a judge for the state regionals for several years, but last week was the first time I had been asked to judge the state finals, which take place at the New Hampshire state house.

Students recited a wide array of poems, from Gary Soto’s “Self-Inquiry before the Job Interview” and Padma Venkatraman’s “Whenever You See a Tree” to classics like “The Charge of Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson and my all-time favorite poem: “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. (Be sure to check out the link for the text of the poem as well as background information on its subject and poet)

Inside the state house, past the Hall of Flags, into Representatives Hall…we were treated to amazing recitations of some incredible poetry. Representatives Hall, I should mention, is a significant and important part of history – and not simply because it is where the state’s laws are created.

You see, the NH state house is the oldest state house in the country where legislators continue to conduct business in their original chambers. Construction was completed in 1819, and state legislators still meet there to this day.

But that’s not all. Our House of Representatives, at 400 members, is also the FOURTH-LARGEST lower house in the English-speaking world, outranked only by the United States House of Representatives, Lok Sabha in India, and the UK’s House of Commons. Yep, we take governance seriously up here.

So now that social studies is done, let’s move on to English. Today’s poem is one of the poems recited at last week’s Poetry Out Loud competition, and I wanted to share it because it was written by someone with whom you may not be familiar: former National Youth Poet Laureate Kara Jackson, a 20-year-old with the wisdom and talent of someone twice her age, at least. Check out a portion of her Poetry Out Loud poem:

the world is about to end and my grandparents are in love

……….still, living like they orbit one another,
my grandfather, the planet, & grandma, his moon assigned
by some gravitational pull. they have loved long enough
for a working man to retire. grandma says she’s not tired,

she wears her husband like a coat that survives every season,
talks about him the way my parents talk about vinyl—
the subject salvaged by the tent of their tongues.
grandma returns to her love like a hymn, marks it with a color…

– continue reading HERE

– originally published in ‘Poetry’ (March 2021), all rights reserved

Thanks for stopping by – and thank you so much to everyone who has been sharing their kind words of support for my new picture book, I Am Today (POW! Kids Books)! For all of today’s Poetry Friday links and fun, head over to There is No Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town where Ruth is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup – and attempting to settle into her new Paraguayan surroundings!

^{Be sure to check out all the cool new picture books arriving this year from my PB22Peekaboo partners!}

=====================================================

Order a PERSONALLY-SIGNED copy of my newest picture book, I AM TODAY (POW! Kids Books),
from my local independent bookstore!

=====================================================

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!

======================================================

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?)

======================================================

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

======================================================

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!

Poetry Friday: A 7th grader’s “lost” poetry is found

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.

^{© 2008 Katherine B. Esenwine, all rights reserved}

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!)

The Blog Tour:

• 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. 24: Maria C. Marshall’s “Perfect Picture Book Friday”
• Jan. 4: Future Bookworms (Instagram) / The Momma Spot (blog)
• NEW!! Jan. 19: PB22Peekaboo!

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!}

=====================================================

=====================================================

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!

======================================================

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?)

======================================================

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

======================================================

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!

A National Flashlight Day GIVEAWAY- and the I AM TODAY Blog Tour rolls on!

Believe it or not, National Flashlight Day is a real thing, celebrated annually on the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year, and therefore a good reason to celebrate flashlights).

And I’m sure you can understand why I love flashlights.

I’d also like to thank Kathy at Celebrate Picture Books for featuring my book Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) on her blog! She celebrates National Flashlight Day with a review of the book, and I’m extremely grateful for her support.

Tell you what…leave a comment below and/or share this blog post on Twitter (and be sure to tag me @MattForrestVW) and at 7pm on the night before Christmas Eve I’ll pick a winner of a FREE, PERSONALLY-SIGNED copy of Flashlight Night!

In other news…the I Am Today blog tour continues rolling along! Yesterday my good friend Maria Marshall posted an interview she did with both me and illustrator Patricia Pessoa at her blog, the Picture Book Buzz.

^{Illustrator Patricia Pessoa}

It was fun being able to be part of an interview with both of us, and learning a little about each other (we both want kids to feel like thyey have a voice, we both love raspberry jam, and we’re both cat people!)

Be sure to check out Maria’s blog post HERE – and many thanks to all the bloggers who are sharing interviews, reviews, and giveaways! Later today, Debbie at Future Bookworms on IG and the Momma Spot blog will be sharing her review, so I hope you’ll follow her and learn her thoughts on the book.

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. 24: Maria C. Marshall’s “Perfect Picture Book Friday”

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 ANY of my books and have them in the mail usually within 12-24 hours!

More details in the video:

=====================================================

=====================================================

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!

======================================================

I’d love to visit with you or your child!
Learn more by clicking the graphic!

======================================================

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!

^{rriving 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?)

======================================================

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

======================================================

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!

Poetry Friday: A “perfect sort of Christmas tree” – and a blog tour rolls on without its book!

You know how they say “third time’s the charm?”

Well, for me, I’m hoping it’s the fourth time that’s the charm – because that’s how many times we’ve had to reschedule the publication of my next picture book!

The official blog tour for I Am Today (POW! Kids Books) continues to roll on, despite the fact that the only ones who have actually held a copy of the book in their hands are the bloggers – even I haven’t seen a copy, and I’m the guy who wrote the thing!

^{The book is available for pre-orders everywhere…but if you order from my local indie bookstore, MainStreet BookEnds of Warner, NH, you can request a PERSONALLY-SIGNED copy!}

In case you hadn’t heard, due to that supply chain crisis here in the U.S you’ve probably been hearing about, the original publication date was delayed from Oct. 5 to Nov. 30…then that publication date was moved to Dec. 21.

Well, guess what? We’ve had to push it back another month! The good news is the books have arrived from the printer and are waiting in port; the bad news is, the publisher has no idea when they’ll be picked up and delivered to the warehouse. They anticipate it will be at some point around year’s-end, but since they can’t be sure, they felt that Jan. 24 is a pretty safe bet.

And so we continue hoping for pre-orders, which can benefit an author in more than one way. Yes, they contribute to sales numbers, but they can also help booksellers to gauge the popularity of a book, how many copies they might need to order, and how many copies of an author’s OTHER books they might want to stock, as well.

Many thanks to all the bloggers who are participating by interviewing me, reviewing the book, and giving away free copies:

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 any of my books and have them in the mail usually within 12-24 hours! Try doing that on Amazon!

The poem I’m sharing today is one I wrote several years ago but never posted here. I figured it would be appropriate toay not only because Christmas is coming soon, but because of a little event happening now in our little town called the Festival of Trees.

Many communities around the country sponsor Festivals of Trees, which usually takes place at a town hall or other large venue where local organizations and businesses display Christmas trees for the enjoyment of the local townspeople. Here in Warner, NH, the annual Festival of Trees at the town hall includes a tree representing our local independent bookstore, MainStreet BookEnds, which features features the book covers of all the town’s authors and illustrators of children’s literature:

• Maxine Kumin
• David Elliott
• True Kelley & Steven Lindblom
• Lucinda McQueen & Jeremy Guitar
• Sandy Steen Bartholomew
• Yours Truly

So without any further ado, here’s today’s poem!

Red Pine

The red pine tree,
it seems to me,
is a perfect sort
of Christmas tree.
Its dark green needles
cradle snow;
red suit-trunk,
when gale winds blow,
never sways to and fro
but stands there strong –
its bag of cones
filled with treats
for squirrels below.

All it needs
is a ho-ho-ho.

– © 2014 Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

Cathy at Merely Day by Day is hosting the complete Poetry Friday roundup, so head on over to see all of today’s links and fun!

And if you’d like to learn more about our bookstore’s Christmas tree – and how 8 people have somehow managed to create nearly 70 children’s books – I hope you’ll check out this video!

=====================================================

=====================================================

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!

======================================================

I’d love to visit with you or your child!
Learn more by clicking the graphic!

======================================================

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!

^{rriving 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?)

======================================================

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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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!

The “I Am Today” blog tour is officially underway! Now if only we had the book…

I have to tell you something: no matter how many books one publishes, it’s ALWAYS exciting!

That said, the official blog tour for my upcoming picture book, I Am Today (POW! Kids Books), is underway – even though the book isn’t even out yet. In case you missed my explanation a couple of Fridays ago, the publication date has been delayed until Dec. 21 due to that nasty shipping/supply chain crisis you keep hearing about. So instead of the orginal date of Oct. 5, it got pushed out til Nov. 30…and then that publication date got pushed out!

Yet, even though the new publication date is Dec. 21 it is, unfortunately, still tenuous – because the publisher is at the mercy of the distribution network. We’re HOPING it’s out Dec. 21, and just crossing our fingers until it happens. This is why we’re trying to push pre-orders; not only to try to sell the book, naturally, but to build awareness of the book among booksellers, as well as to increase their awareness of me, as an author.

So we’re celebrating the release of a book that’s not here yet! The blog tour is fully underway because we didn’t want all the wonderful participants to have to change their schedules. Moreover, pre-orders can be very helpful for an author, and not just because it helps increase sales. (for a little more explanation on why publishers like pre-orders, check out my previous post)

Just who is part of this cavalcade of kidlit excitement?

When I first looked at this list, I felt that this was probably the longest-running blog tour ever for a picture book! At nearly a month-and-a-half, it’s like the tour that never ends…but we were fortunate that some bloggers were able to move their post dates to later in December. This way we can share the news early on for those pre-orders I was talking about, and also celebrate the actual release of the book when it happens (hopefully) later in the month.

Kelle Moye kicked things off a couple of weeks ago when she featured a guest post from Yours Truly at her blog, Unleashing Readers. I shared with her readers the unusual method I employed for coming up with the book’s title – and the entire theme of the book, by extension – and suggested ways teachers can do the same thing as writing prompts. I hope you’ll check it out!

Yesterday, the incredible team of Brenna Jeanneret and Josh Monken at the You May Contribute a Verse podcast posted an interview we had a couple of weeks ago. We cover everything from my process of writing picture books to submitting without an agent to why I chose to leave a perfectly good fulltime job to try and make a go of this whole writing thing.

And today, Brian Gehrlein places I Am Today in his Picture Book Spotlight with an in-depth interview with me about the inspiration behind the book (kids muddling through a pandemic), my unusual process of creating it (sticking non-grammatical words together to see what happens), and why I love writing picture books that don’t follow standard, traditional narratives (I call them story skeletons).

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)
  Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme!
• Dec. 24: Maria C. Marshall’s “Perfect Picture Book Friday”

And even though she’s not an official part of the blog tour, I need to give a special shout-out to Little BookWorm Club for the fantastic support and kind words posted yesterday on her Instagram account!

^{Click here to be whisked away to a complete list of all my books!}

Remember, 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. Books always make special gifts – but a personally-signed book is something extra-special, wouldn’t you say?

I hope you check out all the blogs and websites involved in our blog post! And if you can’t afford to buy a book (whether it’s one of mine or anyone else’s), leaving a review at Amazon or Goodreads is a GREAT way to support an author or illustrator. Reviews really do matter, so even just a positive sentence or two is all it takes to help out someone whose creative work you enjoy.

Happy holidays, and fingers crossed we don’t get delayed again!

Arriving in stores Dec. 21 – we hope!

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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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I’d love to visit with you or your child!
Learn more by clicking the graphic!

======================================================

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!

^{rriving 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?)

======================================================

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

======================================================

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!

Poetry Friday: Not the post I’d planned…

The plan, you see, was for me to tease the official blog tour for my next picture book, I Am Today (POW! Kids Books), which was scheduled for publication on Nov. 30.

However…if we’ve learned anything from this pandemic, it’s to never count on anything as being a sure thing. Sigh.

Yesterday I learned from my I Am Today editor that its publication date is unfortunately being pushed out – again. It was originally supposed to be out Oct. 5 but got pushed out til Nov. 30 due to the whole global shipping / supply chain issue…but now we’ve learned the books are still not going to be available by the end of the month.

So the new & improved publication date is now Dec. 21. We’re hoping to get some last-minute holiday sales, although it’s going to be tight. And yes, it’s disappointing, but disruptions like this are part of the business and something you just have to roll with.

Pre-orders – and why authors love them

For now, we’re trying to push pre-orders, because they are so important for sales numbers…but they are also important for another reason. Folks who aren’t involved in publishing think publishers push pre-orders simply to sell books – which is true – however, pre-orders also help booksellers gauge how popular a book might be, how many copies they might need to order, and how many other books of that particular author they might want to consider stocking, as well.

^{Click here to be whisked away to a complete list of all my books!}

If you like an author and have any plans to get their book(s), then pre-ordering, rather than waiting until it’s available on the shelf, is a great way to help. And although I Am Today is available for pre-orders everywhere books are sold, please remember that if you order from my local indie bookstore here in town, I can personally-sign your book (or any of my books) and have them in the mail usually within 24 hours.

(Seriously – it’s a 20-minute walk from my house to the bookstore! They call me up, I run down and sign it, they put it in the mail…often in less than 12 hours!)

World Children’s Day

Today’s going to be busy for me, as I’ll be visiting with several schools across the country to celebrate World Children’s Day, which is officially tomorrow, Sat. Nov. 20. I’ll be sharing I Am Today with students so they can have a first-peek at this book about a little girl who decides she doesn’t need to wait to be “the Future” to make a difference in her world.

Each school will also receive a FREE COPY of the book – once it’s finally here, of course!

Oh, and since it’s Poetry Friday…

I thought I’d share a poem I wrote way back in 2012, when I was still learning the ropes about the children’s lit world and honing my writing skills. I like this poem, although if I were to write it today it would probably be a bit more polished. But since I wrote it specifically for one of my daughters, it’s staying exactly how it was when I first completed it.

“More Than We Are (for Katherine)”

An astronaut’s an astronaut,
but might be someone’s dad
who takes his daughter fishing
when she feels a little sad.
A banker is a banker
but could be a mom, as well,
who shows her son the alphabet
and helps him learn to spell.

A teacher is a teacher
but might be a singer, too.
The janitor at school…

(You can read the rest of it HERE)

For the complete Poetry Friday roundup, check out Carol’s beautiful “Bedecked in Autumn” gallery of poems and pictures at Beyond Literacy Link!

=====================================================

=====================================================

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!

======================================================

I’d love to visit with you or your child!
Learn more by clicking the graphic!

======================================================

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!

^{rriving 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?)

======================================================

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

======================================================

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!

Poetry Friday: “The Child Who”

Today’s poem came about while I was putting together my newest picture book, I Am Today (POW! Kids Books), which officially arrives Nov. 30.

While it doesn’t show up anywhere in the book, the poem’s words helped me focus on what the book was about – namely, showing kids they have the ability to affect change now, rather than waiting to be “The Future,” as we grown-ups often tell them.

As it turns out, the poem is very fitting, as POW! Kids Books and I have put together a special opportunity for schools, libraries, and home school groups to get to learn more about the book on the day before World Children’s Day (Nov. 20):

^{Feel free to copy & share this graphic!}

.

The Child Who

…seeks the truth.
The child who lends a hand.
The child who shares concern.
The child who takes a stand.

The child who knows their strength.
The child who knows their worth.
These are the ones to forge
their paths upon the Earth.

– © 2021 Matt F. Esenwine, all rights reserved

I hope you like the poem, and if you or someone you know wants to take advantage of this opportunity, please contact me as soon as possible! For today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup, head over to wee words for wee ones, where Bridget Magee is getting a lot of atTENtion with her very first poetry anthology, 10•10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 Different Ways!

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