Poetry Friday: “Flashlight Night,” reading lists, and mentor text!

Well, at this point, I’m guessing all the kids are out of school.

I say “guess” because I know some who – because of the long, rough winter – didn’t get out until the last week of June! But the first day of summer is well behind us now and we’ve had temps in the 90s all this week, which means the season is in full effect…and I couldn’t be happier to discover that a little book you might have heard about is showing up on summer reading lists across the country:

Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Books

We Are Teachers

Orange County (CA) Pubic Libraries

Contra Costa County Library (CA)

Cannon School (NH)

Newton Free Library (MA)

These are just a few, of course, but I have to tell you how honored and thrilled I am to see Flashlight Night alongside titles from such talented and varied authors & illustrators as Dan Santat, Dr. Seuss, Brian Selznick, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Margarita Engle, Mo Willems, and my neighbor, David Elliott.

Both Flashlight Night and Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018) are available everywhere books are sold…and if you’d like to order a personalized signed copy, just click the links and you’ll be taken to our local bookstore, which will let me know! I’ll run down and sign it, then they’ll ship it off to you – how cool is that?

And although I discovered this 3 months late, I have to thank Jen Betton at ReFoReMo for using the book as a mentor text back in March, to show how illustrators (in Flashlight‘s case, Fred Koehler) develop pacing and plot using sparse, lyrical text. I was humbled that Jen chose our book; doubly so, because the other book she used was Joyce Sidman’s poetic Before Morning (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2016), illustrated by fellow New Hampshire resident, Beth Krommes.

Speaking of poetry, a little something for my teacher friends…
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Standing at the Door, Mid-Summer

Cries of laughter, shouts of glee,
letters sung and questions raised.
19 names hung from a tree.
Work displayed; efforts, praised.

Heartbeats echoed loud and strong –
now life has left this barren womb.
In its place, a silent song
and bitter scent of an empty room.

– © 2018 Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

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For more poetry, please visit Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect for today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup!
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COMING SEPT. 25, 2018!

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, you can!

You can now purchase personalized signed copies of Flashlight Night, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur, and ANY of the books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

Just log onto my website and 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. 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?)

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Poetry Friday: “More Than We Are”

This post was originally published 5 years ago, on June 14, 2013. Considering all the graduations taking place this past week, I thought it might be a good idea to re-post it. (You also may also be inclined to check out my message to graduates, which was posted that same week)

=========================================================Where does the time go? One minute your kids are starting kindergarten and the next thing you know, they’re heading off to prom and graduation and the rest of their life.

Whew, that was quick.

My youngest daughter, Katherine, is graduating high school this weekend, so there was no question for me as to what poem I should share today.  Katherine is a very talented young woman, whose photography has graced more than a few blog posts here. She was selected as a New Hampshire Scholar for her above-average course load while in high school, and I’m very proud of her.

I wrote this a little over a year ago – and although it’s not really ‘about’ her, the message was created with her, her two older sisters, and all young people in mind.

(Good grief, I just used the phrase “young people.” That makes me think I might not be one of them anymore.)

“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 may wish
he ran the local zoo.
His son might be a doctor
who is saving someone’s life;
the lady at the store today
might be the doctor’s wife.

Each homeless person on the street,
each writer of a song,
each boy or girl you chance to meet
has somewhere they belong.
There’s always more than what we see,
and as we learn and grow,
we’re all more than we seem to be –

and you’re more than you know.
.

– © 2012, Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

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For today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup, please visit illustrator & wordsmith Michelle Kogan’s blog – where you’ll also find her review of Margaret Simon’s brand-new poetry collection, Bayou Song (University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2018)!

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

“DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR”
& “FLASHLIGHT NIGHT”
are available everywhere!

It’s another signing – this time, in New Hampshire’s beautiful Lakes Region! I won’t be able to be there, unfortunately, but Dinosaur‘s co-author, Deb Bruss will be – so I hope you’ll stop by if you’re in the area.

• Sat., June 23, 1-3pm: Innisfree Bookshop, Meredith, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur reading/signing

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

You can now purchase personalized signed copies of Flashlight Night, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur, and ANY of the books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH will let me know, 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?)

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Poetry Friday: The Summer Shindig is Here!

(click to enlarge)

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Just look at those blue skies…a perfect day for a cookout, wouldn’t you say?

Well, that’s just what we’re doing here at the ol’ Triple-R!

A number of years ago, David L. Harrison began hosting a little summertime get-together at his blog, and Joy “The Poetry Princess” Acey and I had so much fun we offered to move it to one of our blogs this year, so David could just sit back and enjoy his burger and an ice-cold adult beverage without the worry of cooking or cleaning up.

By the way, David’s a busy fellow – in addition to his newest poetry collection, Crawly School for Bugs (Wordsong, 2018), he also has a chapter in a new book co-published by the ILA, the cover of which you can see to your right. (Congratulations, David!) If you’d like to lern more about the book, you can visit this blog post.

I also have some good publishing news, too, which I shared a couple weeks ago here. Another picture book contract! I’ll be sure to keep you posted as we move forward.

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

So please grab a bench or lawn chair and relax! We don’t have a pool, but you’re welcome to take a dip in the stream in back, or in the pond across the street – or we can just spray each other with the hose.

Can I get you some deviled eggs or some ribs? Perhaps some barbecued eggplant or blueberry-corn salad for the vegans And don’t worry, there’s plenty of Moxie! (I always keep a supply)

Since poetry is all about observation, I thought the above photo – taken here in town the other day – was a perfect opportunity for us to observe. My 4-year-old daughter and I spent a good 15 minutes trying to see what we could find in the clouds; I was quite impressed that she was able to pick out a dog, an alligator, and a velociraptor, among other things. In this photo, I spy a mirror-image Italy, a profile of a person with a large nose, and a cat chasing a mouse, while my wife spotted a dove in flight – not as part of the clouds, but in the blue sky. What do YOU see?

Oh, and let’s not forget a little poetry…

Speaking of clouds, I thought I’d re-share this poem I wrote almost exactly 2 years ago. I took the photo while walking home from our town library and knew I had to come up with some words to go with it!

I hope you’ll join in and leave a line or two about your favorite part of summer, or share a favorite summer poem or song! And for today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup, be sure to head over to Karen Edmisten’s little home on the web!

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

“DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR” & “FLASHLIGHT NIGHT”
are available everywhere!

What’s this? Another signing! This time, it’s in New Hampshire’s beautiful Lakes Region! I won’t be able to be there, unfortunately, but Dinosaur‘s co-author, Deb Bruss will be – so I hope you’ll stop by if you’re in the area.

• Sat., June 23, 1-3pm: Innisfree Bookshop, Meredith, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur reading/signing

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

You can now purchase personalized signed copies of Flashlight Night, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur, and ANY of the books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH will let me know, 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?)

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Poetry Friday: “The Ballad of Doodle Chicken”

The Ballad of Doodle Chicken

Doodle chicken heaved a sigh…
longed to leave her home and fly.
Dreamed each day of sweet ascension –
stuck, alas, in two dimension.

One day, struck with inspiration,
she fulfilled her aspiration:
folded up into a plane
and rode the wind.
Until the rain.

– © 2018 Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

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My 4-year-old daughter drew this a couple of week ago, and I’ve been trying to think of what to do with it. Finally, last night, an idea popped into my head! Hope you like it.

For today’s complete, unfettered, unabridged, and unbelievable Poetry Friday roundup, visit Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche…where you’ll find all of today’s poetry links a well as a beautiful sandpiper sonnet from Margaret, herself.

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“DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR” is available everywhere!

Only one more confirmed signing lined up right now – although there are a couple of others in the works, which I’ll share as soon as we nail down the details. If you are ever in the Southern NH-Eastern MA area, I hope you’ll stop by wherever I am and say hi!

• Sat., June 2, 1-3pm: Books-A-Million, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new way to purchase personalized signed copies of not only Flashlight Night, but ANY of my books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

I’ve teamed up with the good folks MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH to present an option for people who would love to have a signed copy of one of my books but don’t live anywhere near me. MainStreet BookEnds has ALL but one of my books available for ordering…and the best part is, you can get them personalized!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and they will get it to me to sign and send it off to you. 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?)

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Poetry Friday / National Teacher Appreciation Week: “Teacher”

(click to enlarge)

Happy National Teacher Appreciation Week!

As we’re winding down and heading into the weekend, I wanted to share not only a little appreciation for teachers across the country (see above), but also my appreciation for folks like teacher/librarian Jone MacCulloch, who inspire students everyday to read and write poetry.

Each spring, Jone offers to send a postcard from one of her students to any of us in the Poetry Friday community who would like one…and a few days ago, I discovered this in my mailbox:

(click to enlarge)

There’s something about the name, “Journiful John Horse” I just want to keep saying over and over. I’m so intrigued by this legendary tale, a true classic piece of Americana – that little Avery just created!

For all of today’s Poetry Friday links, please head on over to Jama’s Alphabet Soup – for bluebirds, blueberry muffins, and the complete poetry roundup. And if you have not had a chance to check out my recap of the recent NESCBWI Spring Conference, I hope you will!

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“DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR” is now available everywhere!

I’m looking forward to heading to Concord, NH tomorrow for a signing at Gibson’s Bookstore, one of the nation’s top indie bookstores!

• Sat., May 12, 11am:  Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Tue., May 15, 12pm (National Dinosaur Day – for real!!): Concord Hospital Gift Shop, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People signing
• Wed., May 16, 3pm: Water Street Books, Exeter, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur signing
• Sat., May 19, 11:30am-3pm: Barnes & Noble, Salem, NH, National Storytime at 11am, followed by Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., June 2, 1-3pm: Books-A-Million, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing

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

The Dinosaur Tour blog tour continues through the end of the month! My thanks to all these bloggers for their support:

April 6:       Michelle H. Barnes (Interview w/month-long writing prompt & giveaway)
April 8:       Kate Narita (Book trailer & activity sheet spotlight)
April 11:     Deborah Kalb (Interview w/Matt & Deb)
April 13:     Yours Truly! (Interview w/illustrator Louie Chin)
April 16:     KidLit Exchange (Blog post re: process of illustration)
April 17:     Momma’s Bacon (DAAD review)
April 17:     Yours Truly! (DAAD book birthday news & giveaway)
April 18:     Bonnie Ferrante (DAAD review)
April 19:     KidLit Exchange (DAAD review)
April 19:     Brenda Davis Harsham (DAAD micro review)
April 25:     Bonnie Ferrante (Interview w/Matt & Deb)
May 2:        Unleashing Readers (DAAD review)
May 30:      Bookseedstudio (DAAD review/interview) 

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new way to purchase personalized signed copies of not only Flashlight Night, but ANY of my books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

I’ve teamed up with the good folks MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH to present an option for people who would love to have a signed copy of one of my books but don’t live anywhere near me. MainStreet BookEnds has ALL but one of my books available for ordering…and the best part is, you can get them personalized!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and they will get it to me to sign and send it off to you. 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?)

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Hooray, Book Birthday, Today! “Don’t Ask a Dinosaur” is officially EVERYWHERE – with a Giveaway!

The wait is over!

The day has finally come: Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books) is now available online and in bookstores across the land!

My co-author, Deborah Bruss, and I kicked off the The Dinosaur Tour book tour at Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough, NH and Toadstool Bookshop, Keene, NH this past Saturday. (That’s right: two signings in one day, and the book hadn’t even been officially released yet!)

The folks at Toadstool were celebrating Children’s Author Day, and we were joined by local illustrator Ryan O’Rourke, who was celebrating the release of Alphabet Boats (Charlesbridge) by Samantha Vamos – which is also officially out today. And as you can see in the first pic below, I also shared the new poetry anthology School People (Wordsong), of which I am one of 14 contributors, and Flashlight Night (Boyds Mills Press, 2017).

 

 

The Dinosaur Tour blog tour is rolling full-steam ahead! As part of our book’s kickoff, several kidlit bloggers are sharing DAAD reviews, interviews, and contests. I want to thank Momma’s Bacon for reviewing our book today – and for a list of all the bloggers participating, you can check out this list:

April 6:       Michelle H. Barnes (Interview w/month-long writing prompt)
April 8:       Kate Narita (Book trailer & activity sheet spotlight)
April 11:     Deborah Kalb (Interview w/Matt & Deb)
April 13:     Yours Truly! (Interview w/illustrator Louie Chin)
April 16:     KidLit Exchange (Blog post re: process of illustration)
April 17:     Jama’s Alphabet Soup (Even though she’s not an “official” part of the blog tour, I wanted to thank her for giving DAAD some Book Birthday love on her blog today!)
April 17:     Momma’s Bacon (DAAD review)
April 17:     Yours Truly!
April 18:     Bonnie Ferrante (DAAD review)
April 19:     KidLit Exchange (DAAD review)
April 19:     Brenda Davis Harsham (DAAD micro review)
April 25:     Bonnie Ferrante (Interview w/Matt & Deb)
May 2:        Unleashing Readers (DAAD review)
May 30:      Bookseedstudio (DAAD review/interview) 

Both images from “Don’t Ask a Dinosaur,” © 2018 Pow! Kids Books, used with permission, all rights reserved (click to enlarge)

Tonight, Deb and I will be celebrating the National Book Launch for DAAD just outside of Boston, at Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA. It’s a Dual National Launch Party, as we’ll be there with author/poet Holly Thompson, who will be reading and discussing her new picture book, One Wave at a Time (Albert Whitman & Co.), a thoughtful, touching story about loss and healing.

If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll join us at 7pm for lots of fun, plenty of books, and…

…cake!

That’s my homemade vegan chocolate cake – the best chocolate cake you’ve ever tasted – baked in Deb Bruss’ dinosaur pan and hand-decorated by my step-daughter, Jessica. Imagine the overwhelming sense of melancholy that will befall you, knowing what you missed out on, should you decide not to attend.

(HEY MATT, DON’T FORGET TO MENTION THE GIVEAWAY.)

Oh, that’s right – the GIVEAWAY! In addition to my Poetry Cubed contest and Michelle H. Barnes’ month-long “TLD” writing prompt, I have yet another way for you to win a signed copy of Don’t Ask a Dinosaur:

Share the news!

It’s simple, really – you can do any one of the following:

1. Comment on this post, below
2. Share this post via Facebook or Twitter
3. Share my interview with illustrator Louie Chin from last Friday
4. Share the book trailer and activity sheets featured at Kate Narita’s blog
5. Do all four!

Each one of these counts as an entry, which means you could have as many as four entries…and if you add in the other 2 contests, that’s SIX different opportunities to win THREE copies! Just be sure to tag me when you share these links, so I can count you. I’ll draw ONE NAME at the end of the month. Good luck, and thank you!

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

“DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR”
is now available everywhere!

The Dinosaur Tour book tour is underway! Here’s the most up-to-date schedule:

• TONIGHT 7pm:  Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur Dual National Launch Party!! (with Holly Thompson, One Wave at a Time reading/signing/discussion)
• Thur., April 26, 10:30am:  Pillsbury Free Library, Warner, NH, Dinosaur Storytime with Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People!
• Sat., April 28, 10:30am: Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., April 28, 2pm: Barnes & Noble, Framingham, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur reading/signing (with Sara Levine, Fossil by Fossil: Comparing Dinosaur Bones reading/signing)
• Sun., April 29, 2pm:  MainStreet BookEnds, Warner, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing and discussion
• Sat., May 5, 10am: Barnes & Noble, Burlington, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 5, 1pm:  Barnes & Noble, Nashua, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and Flashlight Night reading/signing
• Sat., May 12, 11am:  Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Wed., May 16, 12pm: Concord Hospital Gift Shop, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People signing
• Sat., May 19, 11:30am-3pm: Barnes & Noble, Salem, NH, National Storytime at 11am, followed by Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., June 2, 1-3pm: Books-A-Million, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new way to purchase personalized signed copies of not only Flashlight Night, but ANY of my books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

I’ve teamed up with the good folks MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH to present an option for people who would love to have a signed copy of one of my books but don’t live anywhere near me. MainStreet BookEnds has ALL but one of my books available for ordering…and the best part is, you can get them personalized!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and they will get it to me to sign and send it off to you. 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 twice a week – on 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

100 Book Trailers spotlights “Don’t Ask a Dinosaur” trailer & activity sheets!

The DINOSAUR TOUR Blog Tour rolls on today, courtesy of children’s author Kate Narita!

You know me…I rarely post anything on days other than Tuesday and Friday. And I NEVER post on a Sunday. But I needed to make an exception for this!

For the past several months, Kate has been featuring a different children’s book trailer each day, along with a short review and links to downloadable activity sheets that accompany the books. And today, coming in at #98, it’s Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids), which officially arrives in stores next Tuesday, April 17! My co-author, Deb Bruss, and I are so happy that Kate liked our book enough to share it with her followers. So please be sure to check out her post HERE, and download the free activity sheets for your kids!

Want to follow along on the tour? Here’s the complete list of blogs taking part in the DINOSAUR TOUR:

April 6:       Michelle H. Barnes (Interview w/month-long writing prompt)
April 8:       Kate Narita (Book trailer & activity sheet spotlight)
April 11:     Deborah Kalb (Interview w/Matt & Deb)
April 13:     Yours Truly! (Interview w/illustrator Louie Chin)
April 16:     KidLit Exchange (Blog post re: process of illustration)
April 17:     Momma’s Bacon (DAAD review)
April 17:     Yours Truly!  (I’ll be sharing a couple of spreads of the book right here – and gearing up for our National Book Launch that night in Cambridge, MA!)
April 18:     Bonnie Ferrante (DAAD review)
April 19:     Brenda Davis Harsham (DAAD micro review)
April 25:     Bonnie Ferrante (Interview w/Matt & Deb)
May 2:        Unleashing Readers (DAAD review)
TBD:           KidLit Exchange (DAAD review)
May 30:     Bookseedstudio (DAAD review/interview) 

I hope you’ll stop by these various blogs, as you’ll learn something new at each one, plus you’ll have multiple opportunities to win copies of Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!

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

The DINOSAURS are COMING!

“DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR” arrives in stores April 17!

New dates continue to be added to the Dinosaur Tour! Here’s the most up-to-date schedule:

• Sat., April 14, 11am:  Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
• Sat., April 14, 2pm:  Toadstool Bookshop, Keene, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
• Tue., April 17, 7pm:  Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur Dual National Launch Party!! (with Holly Thompson, One Wave at a Time reading/signing/discussion)
• Thur., April 26, 10:30am:  Pillsbury Free Library, Warner, NH, Dinosaur Storytime with Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People!
• Sat., April 28, 10:30am: Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., April 28, 2pm: Barnes & Noble, Framingham, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur reading/signing (with Sara Levine, Fossil by Fossil: Comparing Dinosaur Bones reading/signing)
• Sun., April 29, 2pm:  MainStreet BookEnds, Warner, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing and discussion
• Sat., May 5, 10am: Barnes & Noble, Burlington, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 5, 1pm:  Barnes & Noble, Nashua, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 12, 11am:  Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Wed., May 16, 12pm: Concord Hospital Gift Shop, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People signing
• Sat., May 19, 11:30am-3pm: Barnes & Noble, Salem, NH, National Storytime at 11am, followed by Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., June 2, 1-3pm: Books-A-Million, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new way to purchase personalized signed copies of not only Flashlight Night, but ANY of my books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

I’ve teamed up with the good folks MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH to present an option for people who would love to have a signed copy of one of my books but don’t live anywhere near me. MainStreet BookEnds has ALL but one of my books available for ordering…and the best part is, you can get them personalized!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and they will get it to me to sign and send it off to you. 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 twice a week – on 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Poetry Friday/National Poetry Month: A Dinosaur-sized interview/poetry prompt and “Poetry…Cubed!” First Entries

National Poetry Month is underway and there’s a lot going on here at the Triple-R Ranch: poetry, interviews, student writing, and a national book launch for my second picture book, among other things. First up, though: an interview with Michelle H. Barnes at Today’s Little Ditty!

At her blog today, Michelle is sharing the news about Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids), the picture book I’ve written with author Deborah Bruss. Deb and I had a lot of fun with her interview, and I encourage you to check it out HERE! (We also have a fun Ditty of the Month Challenge for you!)

Michelle’s blog post is also special in another way:  she is officially kicking off the “DINOSAUR TOUR” – a blog tour running throughout April and early May to celebrate this brand-new book! The complete list of blogs taking part in the DINOSAUR TOUR:

April 6:       Michelle H. Barnes (Interview w/month-long writing prompt)
April 8:       Kate Narita (Book trailer & activity sheet spotlight)
April 11:     Deborah Kalb (Interview w/Matt & Deb)
April 13:     Yours Truly! (Interview w/illustrator Louie Chin)
April 16:     KidLit Exchange (Blog post re: process of illustration)
April 17:     Momma’s Bacon (DAAD review)
April 17:     Yours Truly!  (I’ll be sharing a couple of spreads of the book right here – and gearing up for our National Book Launch that night in Cambridge, MA!)
April 18:     Bonnie Ferrante (DAAD review)
April 19:     Brenda Davis Harsham (DAAD micro review)
April 25:     Bonnie Ferrante (Interview w/Matt & Deb)
May 2:        Unleashing Readers (DAAD review)
TBD:           KidLit Exchange (DAAD review)
May 30:     Bookseedstudio (DAAD review/interview) 

I hope you’ll stop by these various blogs, as you’ll learn something new at each one, plus you’ll have multiple opportunities to win copies of Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!

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

“Poetry…Cubed! #5” entries are already pouring in!

Because a book launch does not make a person crazy-busy enough, I also thought National Poetry Month would be a good time to host another round of “Poetry…Cubed!” This time…with a little thematic element.

If you’ve ever seen “Chopped!” on The Food Network, you know that chefs try to outdo each other by creating dishes using specific and sometimes rather strange ingredients. So for this contest, I’ve taken the premise of the TV show and applied it to poetry – only without the bloody fingers and broken dreams. In case you’re new to this, here’s how it works:

• Use the 3 images below as inspiration to write a poem. (1 poem, to the 3rd power – “cubed!”)
  .
• The poem can be any form, any genre, any number of lines, rhyming or not. (Heck, I’ll accept a monoku, if you think you can do it!) But please remember: #WriteLikeNoOneIsReading! This is about having fun and being creative – unlike the “real” Chopped, which is all about skill, artistry, and a potential career-ending slip of the knife.
  .
• Be sure to include a reference to all three images in the one poem – either via concrete imagery or something more abstract. (And since this is poetry we’re talking about, we play fast and loose with this rule!)
  .
• Email your poem to me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com and I’ll share them here throughout the month. Out of all poems submitted, one writer will be chosen at random to receive a personally-signed copy of Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!

Keep in mind, I can only format poems to a small degree – so please try to refrain from lots of unusual breaks and text placement. I’ll do my best to format your poem per your wishes, but WordPress will only allow me to do so much.

Here are the three images (click on any to enlarge):

And yes…I’m indulging in a little shameless self-promotion with these – and the more you learn about Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and Flashlight Night (Boyds Mills Press, 2017), the more you’ll understand!

I’ve already had numerous entries come in since the contest began last Friday! Here are some of them:
.

Poetry

An entry to the world of numbers and words
Praises that describe, adorn, paint the brain so faint with vivid imagination.
Songs and praises that take my mind to the edge of ecstacy
Like a drug

It is so easy to play with words like dies,
Cubic shapes with dots or numbers that determine a win or lose
In words of breath I relate
I sing
I recite
I rotate

In my right mind I write
My mind is poetry
The power of poetry is to free the mind to think as you like
The power of poetry is “Power- to the third Power”

Poetry is imagination
Poetry…

– © 2018 Sandile Dlamiini, all rights reserved
.

Best Cake Ever

It’s party day! So much to do.
Shopping, baking, cleaning, too.

Make “Best Cake Ever!”
(Take a nap?)
No! Don’t you have some gifts to wrap?

Almost ready.
Yikes! They’re here!
Socks away! Hallways clear!

Presents? Thank you!
Games and laughter.
Best Cake Ever?
Only after…

Candles… Wish…
A song for you.
Blow them out! Let’s feed this crew.

CRASH! STOMP! ROAR!
Flail about!
SCREAM! HIDE!
“Wait… and don’t come out.”

Grope in darkness. Find a light.
Friends afraid, “but we’re all right.”

Look for clues. The wall… the floor…
the hall… a TAIL beneath a door?!?!

Trembling fingers, breathless pause:

Caught!
In the act!
With frosting claws!!

Faint.

No, RUN AWAY!
No more party here today!!

…

Peace and quiet.
Kitchen free.

Must be time for cake and tea.

– © 2018 Savannah Rogers, all rights reserved

(NOTE: Savannah tells me her Mom was the culprit, wearing a realistic dino suit!)

.
haiku

Frigid days clutch, claw
Snow clouds persist, block sun’s beams
Happy Midwest Spring!

– © 2018 Kimberly Hutmacher, all rights reserved

.

Amazing how three simple images can conjure such different reactions, isn’t it?? That’s why I love this little contest I devised. Send me your response to this challenge, and I’ll enter you in the drawing, too!

For today’s complete poetry roundup, please visit my friend Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm, where she is hosting Poetry Friday with another sample of her Poetry Month Project: 1 Subject, 30 Ways!

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

And in case you missed it…

I shared some 2nd-grader poetry earlier this week, written by students I visited at a local elementary school, and I also shared an interview an Australian ezine did with me, which they just published this week!

If you missed these posts, please check them out!

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

The 2018 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem!

A little seed is about to go on an adventure! The 2018 Progressive Poem is underway, and here’s a list of all the writers/bloggers participating – so you can follow along:

April 1 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
2 Jane at Raincity Librarian
3 Laura at Writing the World for Kids
4 Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty
5 Jan at bookseedstudio
6 Irene at Live Your Poem
7 Linda at TeacherDance
8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
9 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
10 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
13 Linda at A Word Edgewise
14 Heidi at my juicy little universe
15 Donna at Mainely Write
16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a Godforsaken town
18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
20 Linda at Write Time
21 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
22 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Buffy at Buffy’s Blog
28 Kat at Kat’s Whiskers
29 April at Teaching Authors
30 Doraine at Dori Reads

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

SCHOOL PEOPLE are here…and the DINOSAURS are on their way!

DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR hits bookshelves April 17!

New dates continue to be added to the Dinosaur Tour! Here’s the most up-to-date schedule:

• Sat., April 14, 11am:  Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
• Sat., April 14, 2pm:  Toadstool Bookshop, Keene, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
• Tue., April 17, 7pm:  Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur Dual National Launch Party!! (with Holly Thompson, One Wave at a Time reading/signing/discussion)
• Thur., April 26, 10:30am:  Pillsbury Free Library, Warner, NH, Dinosaur Storytime with Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People!
• Sat., April 28, 10:30am: Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., April 28, 2pm: Barnes & Noble, Framingham, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur reading/signing (with Sara Levine, Fossil by Fossil: Comparing Dinosaur Bones reading/signing)
• Sun., April 29, 2pm:  MainStreet BookEnds, Warner, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing and discussion
• Sat., May 5, 10am: Barnes & Noble, Burlington, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 5, 1pm:  Barnes & Noble, Nashua, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 12, 11am:  Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Wed., May 16, 12pm: Concord Hospital Gift Shop, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People signing
• Sat., May 19, 11:30am-3pm: Barnes & Noble, Salem, NH, National Storytime at 11am, followed by Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., June 2, 1-3pm: Books-A-Million, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new way to purchase personalized signed copies of not only Flashlight Night, but ANY of my books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

I’ve teamed up with the good folks MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH to present an option for people who would love to have a signed copy of one of my books but don’t live anywhere near me. MainStreet BookEnds has ALL but one of my books available for ordering…and the best part is, you can get them personalized!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and they will get it to me to sign and send it off to you. 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 twice a week – on 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

National Poetry Month 2018: 2nd-Graders discover poetry!

National Poetry Month is underway! To celebrate, I have quite a bit planned: an interview with Amy Losak about her late mother’s new children’s book H is for Haiku (Penny Candy Books, April 10, 2018); an interview with Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids, April 17, 2018) illustrator Louie Chin; Irene Latham’s 2018 Progressive Poem; and details about the “Dinosaur Tour” blog tour!

Today, I wanted to share a few poems written by some of the students at a local elementary school I visited a few weeks ago. After I read some of my published poems and spoke a little bit about what poetry is and why I enjoy writing it, I had them do some brainstorming with three images (which you may recognize from past “Poetry…Cubed!” contests!).

We talked about “re-naming” the objects, and what else the images might be or might represent, and then I departed – to let them work on their poems on their own. Here are the three images we used:
.

The kids really got into the brainstorming session – identifying images like the eye as “earth,” “marble,” and “curtains” (because of the lashes – how cool is that??) and the headlight as “glass,” “sparkle,” and “projector!” Here’s a sample of what these kids came up with…The Earth you know it
by your planet, the Sun
gives light. Our world
is a projector of life.

– Liam

 

Clouds cover the sky like a blanket.
The sky becomes gloomy and the wind blows
almost like it’s a bunch
of leaves flowing.

– Linnea

Sunset sunset, in the night,
sometimes you shine so, so bright.
A starry sky will come so soon,
I can’t wait for me tomorrow
to come up and bloom.

– Tucker

I am asleep, the sunset
down quiet and still in my tomb.
I will wake up, I know, I know.
So Much Z’s, we, we, we.
So much to dream at bedtime
for us. Good night.

– Walker

.
Don’t you love the styles and voices these kids are displaying? We start out with a little prose poetry from Liam, move on to some pastoral free verse from Linnea, Tucker goes for the rhyming verse, and Walker wraps it up with some deep introspection, likening his bed to a tomb! (Come on, that’s brilliant!)

I love seeing young kids thinking like this, stretching their creative muscles, and having fun doing it! My thanks to the students’ teacher, Ms. Smith, and the second grade team for hosting me, and I look forward to visiting them again.

By the way, if you are interested in having me visit your school to chat with the students about writing, poetry, and getting them to use their brains (all while keeping my presentations  aligned with Common Core Anchor Standards for Writing 3, 4, or 5!), please let me know! Email me at matt (at) mattforrest (dot) com and we can discuss rates and dates and times, oh my.

As for the Progressive Poem I mentioned earlier, a seed has awoken! To follow along with the story, here’s a list of all the folks who are participating – including Yours Truly:

April 1 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
2 Jane at Raincity Librarian
3 Laura at Writing the World for Kids
4 Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty
5 Jan at bookseedstudio
6 Irene at Live Your Poem
7 Linda at TeacherDance
8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
9 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
10 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
13 Linda at A Word Edgewise
14 Heidi at my juicy little universe
15 Donna at Mainely Write
16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a Godforsaken town
18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
20 Linda at Write Time
21 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
22 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Buffy at Buffy’s Blog
28 Kat at Kat’s Whiskers
29 April at Teaching Authors
30 Doraine at Dori Reads

Be sure to join me THIS FRIDAY as I share the first of this month’s Poetry…Cubed! entries, and I’ll also be sharing the link to the FIRST STOP on our DINOSAUR TOUR blog tour! (It’s going to be fun – and there’s a Challenge that goes along with it!)

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

SCHOOL PEOPLE are here…and the DINOSAURS are on their way!

DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR hits bookshelves April 17!

New dates continue to be added to the Dinosaur Tour! Here’s the most up-to-date schedule:

• Sat., April 14, 11am:  Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
• Sat., April 14, 2pm:  Toadstool Bookshop, Keene, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
• Tue., April 17, 7pm:  Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur Dual National Launch Party!! (with Holly Thompson, One Wave at a Time reading/signing/discussion)
• Thur., April 26, 10:30am:  Pillsbury Free Library, Warner, NH, Dinosaur Storytime with Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People!
• Sat., April 28, 10:30am: Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., April 28, 2pm: Barnes & Noble, Framingham, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur reading/signing (with Sara Levine, Fossil by Fossil: Comparing Dinosaur Bones reading/signing)
• Sun., April 29, 2pm:  MainStreet BookEnds, Warner, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing and discussion
• Sat., May 5, 10am: Barnes & Noble, Burlington, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 5, 1pm:  Barnes & Noble, Nashua, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 12, 11am:  Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Wed., May 16, 12pm: Concord Hospital Gift Shop, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People signing
• Sat., May 19, 11:30am-3pm: Barnes & Noble, Salem, NH, National Storytime at 11am, followed by Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., June 2, 1-3pm: Books-A-Million, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new way to purchase personalized signed copies of not only Flashlight Night, but ANY of my books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

I’ve teamed up with the good folks MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH to present an option for people who would love to have a signed copy of one of my books but don’t live anywhere near me. MainStreet BookEnds has ALL but one of my books available for ordering…and the best part is, you can get them personalized!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and they will get it to me to sign and send it off to you. 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 twice a week – on 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, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Poetry Friday: “None Like Me” & Don’t Ask a Dinosaur news!

 

THE DINOSAURS ARE COMING!
.

My box of author copies just arrived yesterday, along with a separate box of Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids) bookmarks! The book, co-authored with Deborah Bruss, arrives in stores everywhere April 17, and we’re planning a dinosaur-sized celebration including TWO launch parties, a special blog tour, an interview with illustrator Louie Chin, and a book giveaway!

If you’d like to pick up a signed copy, just scroll down a bit and you’ll see the complete schedule of where we’re going to be – or you can place your pre-orders now and have your copy personally signed!

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

(click to enlarge)

As for today’s poem, I took advantage of one of New England’s recent nor-easters by playing outside with my kids (a perk of being a stay-at-home parent and a luxury for a children’s writer), and my 4-year-old daughter and I put this fellow together:

After I took the photo, I realized a short little poem was in order!

None Like Me

I’m sure you’ve seen my relatives.
We’re very much the same:
white, round, sticks for arms,
afraid of open flames.
Some wear old hats or woolen scarves
to keep them looking fine,
but chances are you’ve never seen
a coiffure quite like mine.

– © 2018 Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

For more poetry, please visit my friend and fellow blogger/writer Laura Purdie Salas, who is hosting Poetry Friday today at her little spot on the web, Writing the World for Kids.

Also, the Madness! Poetry competition is down to the 4th round with only EIGHT challengers remaining, so be sure to log on and vote for your favorite poems!

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

SCHOOL PEOPLE are here…and the DINOSAURS are on their way!

DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR hits bookshelves April 17!

New dates continue to be added to the Dinosaur Tour! Here’s the most up-to-date schedule:

• Sat., April 14, 11am:  Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
• Sat., April 14, 2pm:  Toadstool Bookshop, Keene, NH, (Children’s Author Day with illustrator Ryan O’Rourke AND Local Book Launch for Don’t Ask a Dinosaur!)
• Tue., April 17, 7pm:  Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur Dual National Launch Party!! (with Holly Thompson, One Wave at a Time reading/signing/discussion)
• Thur., April 26, 10:30am:  Pillsbury Free Library, Warner, NH, Dinosaur Storytime with Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People!
• Sat., April 28, 10:30am: Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., April 28, 2pm: Barnes & Noble, Framingham, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur reading/signing (with Sara Levine, Fossil by Fossil: Comparing Dinosaur Bones reading/signing)
• Sun., April 29, 2pm:  MainStreet BookEnds, Warner, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing and discussion
• Sat., May 5, 10am: Barnes & Noble, Burlington, MA, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 5, 1pm:  Barnes & Noble, Nashua, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., May 12, 11am:  Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Wed., May 16, 12pm: Concord Hospital Gift Shop, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People signing
• Sat., May 19, 11:30am-3pm: Barnes & Noble, Salem, NH, National Storytime at 11am, followed by Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing
• Sat., June 2, 1-3pm: Books-A-Million, Concord, NH, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur and School People reading/signing

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

Thank you so much to all the librarians, bloggers, and parents who are still discovering “Flashlight Night!” 

• NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
• KIRKUS Starred review!
• Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
• “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers

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

Purchasing personalized signed copies ONLINE? Yes, it’s true!

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new way to purchase personalized signed copies of not only Flashlight Night, but ANY of my books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

I’ve teamed up with the good folks MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH to present an option for people who would love to have a signed copy of one of my books but don’t live anywhere near me. MainStreet BookEnds has ALL but one of my books available for ordering…and the best part is, you can get them personalized!

Just log onto my website and click the cover of whichever book you want, and they will get it to me to sign and send it off to you. 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?)

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