It’s October, Poetry Friday friends. Poet Irene Latham is on my mind this week. I hosted a stop on her THIS POEM IS A NEST blog tour, and even tried writing a nestling. You can read that post here. It’s October first as I write this, and Irene + Octo = her wonderful book, Love, […]
Laura's Blog
Thursday, 1 October 2020
Tuesday, 29 September 2020
Happy book birthday to Irene Latham! Yesterday was the release date for poet and children’s author (and my dear friend) Irene’s latest collection, This Poem Is a Nest. This book of poems has an exciting concept to wrap your brain around! “We poets spend much of our time nest-building,” Irene explains in the book’s introduction. […]
Thursday, 24 September 2020
Hi, Poetry Friday friends. Jone Rush MacCulloch is hosting us this week at her new blog! Please click through to find poetry posts from around the kidlitosphere. I am guest posting at Ethical ELA this week with a food poetry prompt. Thanks to Sarah Donovan and to all of the educators — including a few […]
Thursday, 17 September 2020
Happy Poetry Friday and Shana Tovah! This evening marks the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The greeting “Shana Tovah” means “good year.” If you’re curious, you can read more about this phrase and the significance of Rosh Hashanah in Jewish culture in this article. It wouldn’t be a festival without special foods. […]
Thursday, 10 September 2020
Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Now that A PLACE AT THE TABLE has launched, I am working on a new middle grade novel. This one is in verse (at least for now). The floods that destroyed the historic street near our old house is part of this book’s story. Also incorporated into my WIP — memories […]
Friday, 7 August 2020
Starting a Conversation With Elders Who Moved Here From Another Country Excerpted from We Need Diverse Books, May, 2020 By Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan This summer, our middle-grade novel A Place at the Table, will be out in time for the back to school season. It is the story of two girls who meet in […]
Thursday, 6 August 2020
Happy Poetry Friday, friends and readers. Next Tuesday, August 11, Saadia Faruqi and I celebrate the launch of our co-authored middle grade novel, A PLACE AT THE TABLE. During one of our *many* conversations about the book (before, during, and after we wrote it), Saadia and I discussed a poem called “My Best Friend Is […]
Friday, 24 July 2020
I missed National Doughnut Day this year. It’s celebrated on the first Friday in June. Doughnuts are not my favorite sweet (that honor goes to the lowly cookie), but they play a significant role in two of my middle grade books. In TAKEDOWN, Mickey’s family tradition is to go out for donuts when she or […]
Tuesday, 21 July 2020
The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary An award-winning, big-hearted time capsule of one class’s poems during a transformative school year. “Entertaining . . . Shovan skillfully employs different poetic forms and styles…Characters… will inspire readers as they find the courage to save their school and make their voices heard, both as a united front […]
Monday, 20 July 2020
Welcome, readers and eaters. While there was only room to print one recipe in the back of A Place at the Table, my co-author Saadia Faruqi and I didn’t want to disappoint potential chefs. Scroll down to find three printable recipe cards featuring foods from the book. (Cards designed by Mary Zadroga of Steel Toe […]
Laura Shovan is the author of the award-winning middle grade novel, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. Her second book, Takedown, is a Junior Library Guild and PJ Our Way selection. Look for A Place at the Table, co-written with Saadia Faruqi, in 2020. Laura is a poet-in-the-schools Maryland.
