In a recent blog post, poet Janet Wong wrote: Find your voice, people say. Your voice, as if you have only one. The problem with most writers is that we have several voices shouting in our heads. The silly voice? The sad voice? Dr. Seuss or Sylvia Plath? Which one to choose? For a writer… Read more »
Dianne White
Won Ton and Chopstick
Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw and Eugene Yelchin (Henry Holt and Company 2015), is the charming companion book to the award-winning Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. As the sequel begins, Won Ton – a former shelter cat – has settled nicely into his new routines. It’s a fine life,… Read more »
The “Things” Of Poetry
Over the past ten years, Paul Janeczko and Chris Raschka have collaborated on four poetry anthologies for young and not-so-young readers. Each collection has focused on a different aspect of poetry: A Poke in the I is a collection of concrete poems; A Kick in the Head explores different poetic forms, such as Haiku, Triolet, Limericks,… Read more »
Poetry Begins Here
If you’ve somehow missed or misunderstood all the goodness that is poetry, don’t wait a moment longer! Discover again, or perhaps for the first time, the lyrical language and rhythm of poetry rhymes. Start by introducing yourself and the young ones in your life to the wonderful world of words found in the following books for the… Read more »
Tales from Deckawoo Drive
LEROY NINKER SADDLES UP is a brand new series by Kate DiCamillo – a spin-off of the very popular and New York Times best-selling Mercy Watson books. In this first book in the series, Leroy Ninker has everything a cowboy could want – a hat, lasso, and boots. What he doesn’t have… what he needs most of all… Read more »
Princess Posey, First Grader
Since Princess Posey’s debut in PRINCESS POSEY and the FIRST GRADE PARADE, I’ve been in love with this series. I’ve happily read the books aloud and shared them with many classes of students who feel as I do. Posey, with her sweet, but fiercely honest and earnest nature, feels like one of us. Her problems at school… Read more »
Dooby Dooby Moo…Shh!
DOOBY DOOBY MOO by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006) When farm animals make their way into a picture book, you can usually be certain that good fun’s ahead. When those animals happen to be the notorious Duck, Sheep, and Cows from Cronin and Lewin’s CLICK, CLACK, MOO: Cows That Type, you can be assured… Read more »
