hotTEAs of Children’s Poetry: Marilyn Singer

April 19, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 6 Comments

Marilyn Singer is the author of more than 100 books in many genres, but poetry is her favorite thing to write. Winner of the 2015 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry, she co-hosts the ALA Poetry Blast at the annual conference. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY and Washington, CT with her husband and pets. (Photo by Steve Aronson)

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: Tea, tea, tea, especially Yunnan and various oolongs. I love the fact that I can take my time and drink a cup slowly, while chatting, watching TV, reading, writing, or just ruminating.

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES: My most recent book is Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths (Dial, 2016), illustrated by Josee Masse. Coming this fall are several books that mention or deal with food: Miss Muffet, Or What Came After (Clarion, September 2016), illustrated by David Litchfield; and What’s an Apple? and What’s a Banana? (Abrams, August 2016), illustrated by Greg Pizzoli.

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOK: I adored Sydney Taylor’s All-of-A-Kind Family books, in part because of the yummy descriptions of Jewish food in them: pickles, sweet potatoes, hot chick peas, chicken soup, rye bread, etc. Here’s a blog that delves into the food in the series: http://www.suannelaqueur.com/great-food-great-books-all-kind-family/

☕ Visit Marilyn Singer’s Official Website.

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: A poem from The Superheroes Employment Agency (Clarion, 2012), illustrated by Noah Z. Jones!

WEATHERGIRL (AKA CYCLONE)

From up in space to down in Hades,

there are villains who are ladies.

They wear white gloves and fancy hats.

They like to knit. They’re fond of cats.

They’re always planning something sinister

against a monarch or prime minister

over cake and cups of tea.

But then they have to deal with me,

a welcome guest, one of their ilk,

spooning sugar, pouring milk,

until my powers spoil their plot.

I raise a storm in their teapot.

Before they even utter, “Darn,”

I wrap them tightly in their yarn.

Then, whoosh, I blow each one away,

still sopping wet from their Earl Grey.

☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: Marilyn is the April Spotlight Author at Today’s Little Ditty. Read her wonderful interview with Michelle Barnes and then take this month’s challenge by writing your own poem(s).

☕☕☕☕ STILL THIRSTY: Marilyn is also Chicago Public Library’s Author of the Month. Enjoy this short video where she explains what a reverso is and reads a poem from Echo Echo. There’s also a written interview at the CPL site.

☕☕☕☕☕ JUST ONE LAST SIP FOR THE ROAD: Check out Marilyn’s post about writing reverso poetry at Brightly!

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[review + recipe + giveaway] Will’s Words by Jane Sutcliffe and John Shelley

April 15, 2016April 6, 2024 ~ jama ~ 53 Comments

Back in my salad days, I crushed on Will Shakespeare. In high school I swooned over Romeo, in college I hissed at Iago’s villainous schemes, and as a starry-eyed rookie teacher did my best to convince my students that when it came to reading and studying the Bard of Avon, their labours of love were never lost.

I wish there had been a book like Will’s Words (Charlesbridge, 2016) to share with them then. The naysayers who struggled with and questioned the practical value of Shakespeare’s seemingly antiquated language could have seen (much to their amazement), how Will’s words weren’t so archaic or esoteric after all. In fact, many phrases have since become household words, regularly popping up in modern everyday speech. I like to think Will Shakespeare has made poets of us all. 🙂

Author Jane Sutcliffe begins by confessing to the reader that she fully intended to write a book, in her own words, about the Globe Theatre and Shakespeare’s wordsmithing and storytelling genius in penning “the most brilliant and moving plays ever written.” But aye, there’s the rub: no matter how hard she tried, Shakespeare’s words kept bumping into hers — they were simply everywhere and impossible to ignore. So she did the next best thing: wrote a marvelous book cleverly incorporating Will’s colorful turns of phrase in her narrative. As an added treat — since when it comes to Will’s words it’s impossible to have too much of a good thing — she explains what his phrases mean and cites the plays in which they appear.

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hotTEAs of Children’s Poetry: Joyce Sidman

April 5, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 12 Comments

Joyce Sidman, winner of a Newbery Honor and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry, lives in Minnesota, where she greets the changing seasons every day with her irrepressible dog Watson. She loves poetry, chocolate, and using her macro lens to capture tiny moments of beauty. (Pictured here with her favorite thistle mug from Crail, Scotland)

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: I start out the day with a mug of organic fermented Pu-erh tea, which makes me feel like Popeye drinking his spinach: strong and healthy! Then I switch to my husband’s delicious coffee, which he makes before he leaves the house. It keeps me alert through my writing session.

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESS: My most recent book is Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold, illustrated by Rick Allen (HMH, 2014). Forthcoming: Before Morning, illustrated by Beth Krommes (HMH, October 2016).

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOK: My favorite food related book is Jam: A True Story, by Margaret Mahy. I discovered it when my kids were small, and still love it. Very funny. It’s about canning!

☕ Visit Joyce Sidman’s Official Website.

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Check out this marvelous interview by Mackin Educational Resources. Joyce talks about her books and shares some of her beautiful nature photography.

☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: Enjoy this video of Joyce reading “The Ants,” which is from her book Ubiquitous.

☕☕☕☕ STILL THIRSTY: You must watch this excellent video, “Winter Bees: Beyond the Book,” in which Joyce, illustrator Rick Allen, and editor Ann Rider discuss the process behind the creation of this beautiful multiple award-winning picture book. Love the winter walk with Joyce’s dog Watson, watching Joyce create a winter poem with a group of children, and seeing how Rick makes his wood engravings (masterful work!). And there’s cookies and cocoa. . . :).

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[Review + Author Chat + Giveaway] When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano and Julie Morstad

April 1, 2016September 1, 2017 ~ jama ~ 74 Comments

march 20

from a snow-covered tree
one bird singing
each tweet poking
a tiny hole
through the edge of winter
and landing carefully
balancing gently
on the tip of spring

march 22

just like a tiny, blue hello
a crocus blooming
in the snow

I can’t think of a better way to kick off National Poetry Month and celebrate Spring than with these beautiful poems by Julie Fogliano, the first two in her brand new book, When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons (Roaring Brook Press, 2016), illustrated by Julie Morstad.

She pretty much had me at “each tweet poking/a tiny hole/through the edge of winter,” and I continued to swoon as I carefully made my way through the entire book, which features about a dozen enchanting poems for each season, presented as dated entries in a nature journal, beginning and ending with March 20, the Spring equinox.

These spare and lyrical free verse observations are told in an intimate, conversational voice, describing subtle and not-so-subtle seasonal changes with regard to wind, rain, earth, sky, and many green and colorful growing things. From a child’s perspective, small things can be everything, and if you stand or sit still long enough, wonder will reveal itself: flowers “lean and bend toward the light/wide open as if singing/their voices (silent but everywhere)/fill up the daytime/a song much more than purple/and beyond every red.”

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hotTEAs of Children’s Literature: Brian Rock

March 31, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 2 Comments

I confess that I don’t like too many hot drinks (not even coffee!) But I do enjoy hot chocolate on snowy days. I have five published picture books, one of them is even food themed! I think getting kids excited about reading and creating is about the best job a person could ever have!

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: Williams & Sonoma Classic Hot Chocolate. It’s rich, robust and loved by children everywhere (it’s everything I want to be!).

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESS: Martian Mustache Mischief, illustrated by Joshua Dawson (First Light Publishing, August 2015).

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOK: I love the way food is played with in Alice in Wonderland and how it’s used as a metaphor in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I love how it’s used to define and motivate Winnie the Pooh. But since I’m a picture book guy, I’m going to go with The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems (Disney-Hyperion, 2004). The story is even more delicious than the hot dog!

☕ Visit Brian Rock’s Official Website

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Listen to Brian read The Deductive Detective, illustrated by Sherry Rogers (Sylvan Dell, 2013).