It’s clear that this chick is not a loon at all. She is a duckling, who takes to her loon parents’ ways like … a duck to water!
Poems about animals
Thursday, 2 February 2023
Thursday, 6 January 2022
Happy first Poetry Friday of 2022! Today, I’m featuring my favorite middle grade book of 2021 — the brilliant (and hilarious, and sad) climate emergency satire, ONE SMALL HOP by Madelyn Rosenberg. Here is an abbreviated description of the story from Goodreads: Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen’s classic Hoot, this humorous adventure story set in […]
Thursday, 24 June 2021
I usually keep this blog focused on three things: poetry, children’s books, and arts education. But every now and then, I come across an adult book that begs to be shared. This week, that book is Griffin’s Heart: Mourning Your Pet with No Apologies, by actor Reagan J. Pasternak. As most of you know, our […]
Thursday, 1 October 2020
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, […]
Tuesday, 14 April 2020
It’s Day 24 of our #WaterPoemProject — 30 days of water-themed poetry prompts from your favorite children’s authors. If you’re looking for National Poetry Month writing prompts, we’ve got you covered. Start with Day 1 and you’ll have poetry prompts from now through the end of April. New to this project? Please read the Introduction and FAQ. Or you can watch this video of […]
Thursday, 17 October 2019
Happy Poetry Friday, everyone. This week, I have an original poem inspired by one of my new neighbors. This spider decided it was Guardian of the Mailbox. I found it there, sometimes on the handle, sometimes inside the box itself, for a few days in a row. I wondered, what would a spider be waiting […]
Thursday, 10 October 2019
I’ve been out of blogging commission for some weeks. Most of you know the reason why.
But first, a reminder: If you’re coming to the NCTE Conference in Baltimore next month, you are invited to a Poets of KidLit dinner. It will be on Wednesday, November 20, 7 pm. Location TBA (probably Nick’s Fish House). Our special guest will be Kat Apel!
So … why haven’t I been blogging lately? On September 30, my husband and I moved out of our home of 20 years. We downsized a bit and moved from the suburbs to the country.
Thursday, 29 August 2019
Greetings, Poetry Friday friends. I have been absent from blogging this summer as we prepare for a big change: we are moving to a new home in a few weeks! More details to come, but I hear that there is a resident tortoise living in the back garden. Meanwhile, I’d like to invite you all […]
Thursday, 27 December 2018
I am a dog mom. Sam the Schnauzer is my best furry friend. But three years ago, our family decided (with much convincing) that 8-year-old Sam needed a brother. Not a puppy. An older dog. A calm dog to show our very barky, anxious guy the joys of being chilled out. I went to the […]
Friday, 19 October 2018
Happy Poetry Friday, readers! It’s good to be back after a long hiatus. In September, I visited the Florida Keys on a book research trip with writing friends. One of them, author and science educator Timanda Wertz, suggested that we visit the Sea Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida. I learned so much about sea turtles. […]
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.
