Aside from my picture book review of HI, KOO, last Friday, I haven’t been very active in poetry month this year. Before May is upon us, I wanted to rectify this and highlight a poet on the blog. Today’s interview … Continue reading
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By: JOANNA MARPLE,
on 4/28/2014
Blog: Miss Marple's Musings (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children, Interview, children's books, poetry, adults, Cancer, children's poetry, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis, Dorothy Parker, Job Loss, Kane Press, Donna Marie Merritt, poet interview, A Caregiver's View, A Fury of Motion by Charles Ghigna, A Journey in Poetry, Byrd's Books, Carl Sandberg, Her House and Other Poems, Hickory Stick Bookshop, Job Loss; Cancer, Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, Robert Hayden, Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins, Stairwell Books, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Too Tall Tina, What's Wrong with Ordinary? Poems to Celebrate Life, Add a tag
By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/27/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/25/2012
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/24/2012
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By: JOANNA MARPLE,
on 4/28/2014
Blog: Miss Marple's Musings (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children, Interview, children's books, poetry, adults, Cancer, children's poetry, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis, Dorothy Parker, Job Loss, Kane Press, Donna Marie Merritt, poet interview, A Caregiver's View, A Fury of Motion by Charles Ghigna, A Journey in Poetry, Byrd's Books, Carl Sandberg, Her House and Other Poems, Hickory Stick Bookshop, Job Loss; Cancer, Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, Robert Hayden, Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins, Stairwell Books, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Too Tall Tina, What's Wrong with Ordinary? Poems to Celebrate Life, Add a tag
By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/27/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Our 5Q Poet Interview series for National Poetry Month concludes with this interview with Jane Yolen about her new book, Bug Off Creepy, Crawly Poems. Graduate student Lisa Cockrell offers this interview (plus) with Jane.
Jane Yolen
Jane Yolen is a poet and author of many great books. She has been writing poetry since she was in preschool, although she recites her first poem stating that it was not good. But she could rhyme! Her experience in writing includes newspaper work, music lyrics, novels, and of course, poetry. Currently the number of books she has authored is more than 300. She has obviously influenced her children as well - two of the three are also authors. Her third child, her son Jason, has illustrated many books with his magnificent photography, including some of Jane’s books. This incredibly talented author is a positive model of how writing can be learned and honed by anyone who is willing to practice and put in the time. Ms. Yolen has authored books, such as Owl Moon, that are in children’s collections nation-wide. Most of us are probably familiar with her work, but may not be aware that this author has written so many good works in a variety of formats and for so many audiences.
There are many online sources for reading or watching interviews and biographies about Jane Yolen including:
Biographies
http://janeyolen.com/
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/jane-yolen
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/jane-yolen-aya/
http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Jane-Yolen/1294707/biography
Video interviews
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/yolen/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRoCh-bSVnM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0utGKwbRbA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng_o7XTGM68
Reviews
Jane Yolen has a new poetry book that will be published this spring. Bug Off Creepy, Crawly Poems is a delightful book with fantastic photographs as illustrations. Poem subjects include flies, the praying mantis, butterflies, ants, honey bees, love bugs, spiders, and even tics! Many more insects and bugs are included in this great collection of poems that are geared toward children. Two professional reviews praise this new collection to Yolen’s work.
Kirkus Reviews (March 15, 2012) said, “Mother and son collabor
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/25/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Our 5Q Poet Interview series for National Poetry Month continues with this interview with Amy Sklansky about her new book, Out of This World: Poems and Facts About Space. Graduate student Garra Ballinger offers this interview (plus) with Amy.
All About the Author Amy E. Sklansky
Greetings Earthlings! My latest mission took me high into the sky, straight into Outer Space, where I met up with a wonderful children’s book author, Amy E. Sklansky. Amy has always enjoyed reading and books and began her career working as an editor at HarperCollins. She spent many years editing other people’s books and one day decided to take a try at writing some of her own. Her first book in the genre of poetry explored those four legged creatures some call man’s best friend. Written from a dog’s perspective, From the Doghouse: Poems to Chew On was a huge success, so Amy continued writing and has since published a poetry book about Halloween, several fiction books, and a nonfiction book about the life cycle of a chick. Her success has continued with her latest publication, Out of This World: Poems and Facts About Space, which I will be spotlighting for you. For more information about Amy and to check out her books visit her website. Here you can get a sneak peek inside all of her books and also find some great information on ways to use the books in the classroom with her “Teacher Features.”
Amy Sklansky’s website: http://www.amysklansky.com/
Summary of Out of This World: Poems and Facts About Space
If you are ready to blast off with some incredible space themed poetry you need to check out what Amy Sklansky has created for readers in her newest collection, Out of This World: Poems and Facts About Space. This book seems to bring out the astronaut in us all, as readers embark on their own space mission of both poetry and facts all about space. There is so much to explore in this grand book about space; planets, stars, rockets, the moon, satellites, and there is even a poem about a space suit…you can’t get to space without one of these! Sklansky really brings science to life with this collection of poems and coupled with the facts children are sure to be engaged and learning the whole time they are reading. Readers everywhere agree, this book is truly out of this world!
Check out these reviews:
Publisher’s Weekly says, “Sklansky contrasts light verse about the universe with facts about outer space in this gentle collection. An evocative mix of the whimsical and the scientific.”
St. Louis Examiner says, “Color-soaked pages carry twenty simple poems with sidebars of interesting tidbits about the mysteries and science of space.”
School Library Journal
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/24/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Our 5Q Poet Interview series for National Poetry Month continues with this second interview with Marilyn Singer -- this time about her new book, The Superheroes Employment Agency. Graduate student Carrie Martin offers this interview (plus) with Marilyn.
About Marilyn Singer
Marilyn Singer was born in New York and lived most of her young adult life there. She attended Queens College in New York and later Reading University in England. She graduated with a B.A. in English from Queens College and a M.A. in Communications from New York University. For several years Singer taught high school English, but in 1974 her writing career began. She started small by doing teaching guides on film and filmstrips, and writing poetry, some of which was published. However, her writing career truly began when she was inspired to write a story that featured talking insect characters that she had made up when she was a young girl. With the positive responses she got and with her husband’s encouragement she continued to write and had her first book The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn’t published in 1976. Today she is known as an award-winning author that has published over ninety books for children and young adults in a variety of genres that include poetry, picture books, non-fiction, fiction for young adults, and novels for children. In interviews she states that her favorite genre to write is poetry.
For more information about Marilyn Singer, visit her website:
http://www.marilynsinger.net
Other Interviews and Videos featuring Marilyn Singer:
http://davidlharrison.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/marilyn-singer-2/
http://marilynsinger.net/marilyn/reading-rocketsa-video-interview-with-marilyn-singer/
The Superheroes Employment Agency
Book Summary
The Superheroes Employment Agency features a collection of twenty-two humorous poems told in Marilyn Singer’s witty verse that describe not-average storybook superheroes. Through poetry readers learn what the Superheroes Employment Agency does and on each page are introduced to B-list superheroes such as Blunder Woman, The Cajoler, Stuporman, and The Bulk, who come to the rescue in the most unique ways. Each poem is illustrated to look like a cartoon or comic strip as we learn about the newly employed superheroes and discover their unique talents or powers.
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/23/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Our 5Q Poet Interview series for National Poetry Month continues with this interview with Marilyn Singer about her new book, Every Day's a Dog's Day: A Year in Poems. Graduate student Liseth Martin offers this interview (plus) with Marilyn.
About Marilyn Singer
Marilyn Singer was born in 1948 and grew up in Long Island, NY. She was an English high school teacher for four years and then decided to pursue writing. After writing film notes and teacher’s guides, she wrote the book The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn’t, which was published in 1976. Excited with its success, she was propelled into writing many more books.
Inspired by her Romanian grandmother who told her folk and fairy tales, her mother who read books to her and her father who sang songs to her, author Marilyn Singer has written over ninety books. Singer writes various genres: nonfiction, fiction for young adults, novels for children and poetry. She likes to challenge herself as well as reflect the different parts of her personality, which have a many ways of expressing themselves.
Her favorite form of writing is poetry. She feels that poetry’s rhythm and rhyme are very appealing. Poetry has the ability to surprise in ways that prose can’t. She believes that with poetry you are able to capture a moment or emotion and say a lot in a very small amount of words. Also, poems can relate to many different subjects. Singer created a poetry form called reverso, which she featured in the Bluebonnet Award nominee Mirror Mirror.
Singer is a versatile and talented author who has won many awards. Her book Every Day’s a Dog’s Day: A Year in Poems is a great addition to her repertoire.
Websites
• Marilyn Singer’s webpage:
http://marilynsinger.net/
• This link on her website features many interviews, including one on David Harrison’s blog:
http://marilynsinger.net/category/marilyn/interviews/
• Something About the Author Volumes 80 and 125 “Sidelights Sketch” by J. Sidney Jones can also be found on her website:
http://marilynsinger.net/marilyn/something-about-the-author/
• Reading Rockets interview and transcript:
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/singer/
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/singer/transcript/
The same interview is available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8XGh5mmXhI
Book Summary
Singer, Marilyn, 2012. Every Day's a Dog's Day: A Year in Poems.
Dial Books for Young Readers. Il
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/19/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Our 5Q Poet Interview series for National Poetry Month continues with this interview with Lesléa Newman about her new book, October Mourning. Graduate student Brittany Snyder offers this interview (plus) with Lesléa.
Meet Lesléa Newman
Lesléa Newman is an award winning author/poet who has written over sixty books for audiences of all ages. She is not only well respected among adults, but has the ability to captivate children and young adults as well. With such topics as lesbianism, discrimination and prejudice- Lesléa’s work provides foundations for thought provoking discussions, emotional connections, and lasting change. Newman has provided her expertise to various college campuses and has watched one of her most well-known works, A Letter to Harvey Milk, come to life on the big screen. Her most recent work to be published is: A Sweet Passover in spring of 2012 and October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard in Fall of 2012.
Official Website: http://www.lesleanewman.com/index.htm
More Information: http://wordswimmer.blogspot.com/2011/09/one-writers-process-leslea-newman.html 
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard
This novel in verse takes readers back to the cold, unforgiving night of October 7th 1998. Shortly after midnight, twenty-one year old Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten, tied to a fence and left to die. Matthew was discovered more than eighteen hours later by a bicyclist. Judged for being different, Matthew was a victim of a crime so full of hate that over a decade later his story continues to touch lives and send a message. Not only will the city of Laramie, Wyoming forever be changed, but our country too as it is constantly reminded of the importance of acceptance and compassion.
Lesléa Newman brings to life the objects of this horrific night in this beautifully written verse novel. For example, the stars that were watching over Matthew, the fence post to which he was tied, and the deer that happened to see the whole murder are given a voice to be heard. Readers will revisit the night of October 7th with an entirely new, insightful perspective through Leslea’s creativity and vocabulary. This novel is sure to reach new audiences to encourage and advocate for acceptance, open-mindedness and compassion.
Interviewing Lesléa New
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/18/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Our 5Q Poet Interview series for National Poetry Month continues with this interview with Timothy P. McLaughlin about his new book, Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School. Graduate student Stephanie Cacciavillani offers this interview (plus) with Tim.
Background on Timothy P. McLaughlin
I had the wonderful privilege of interviewing teacher and poet Timothy P. McLaughlin. Timothy just recently got his first work published titled, Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School. His book is a collection of writings by students who attended Red Cloud Indian School. Timothy’s students have won numerous awards including first place in the South Dakota State Media Fair in 1999 and 2000, New Mexico State Champion of the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and multiple first, second and third place prizes in the US Office of Indian Education Student Artist Competition in 2008, 2009, 2010.
McLaughlin is the founding director of the Santa Fe Indian School Spoken Word Program (SFIS). Under Timothy’s leadership, the SFIS Spoken Word Team participated in the Brave New Voices National Youth Poetry Festival as Team Santa Fe from 2007 to 2010. He has been teaching and coaching in Native communities since 1997, beginning at Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, then at Arlee High School on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, and now at SFIS in New Mexico.
McLaughlin received his B.A. in English and French Languages from the University of Virginia in 1997 and his M.A. in Integrated Arts and Education from the University of Montana in 2003. In 2007, Timothy was named the University of Virginia Madison House Alumni of the Year for his outstanding dedication to community service. In 2008, Timothy was presented the Gonzaga DC Classic Pedro Arrupe Service Award for exemplifying the Jesuit motto “man for others.”
Timothy has also received a Writing Residency Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation in 2011. He also performs his poetry regularly and is featured on the album Return to the River by Madi Sato. He lives with his wife, Julie and their daughter, Anjamora, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School
Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School is an anthology of poetry written by Lakota students in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The poems allow readers to learn about the different lives and hardships of students growing up in the circumstances and cultures on a reservation.
Simon
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/17/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Our 5Q Poet Interview series for National Poetry Month continues with this second interview with both J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen about their second collaboration this year, Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs. Graduate student Tammy Reed offers this interview (plus) with the pair.
Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs
Illustrated by: Jeffrey Stewart Timmins
ISBN: 978-1-58089-260-5
Release Date: July 1, 2012
Target Age: 7-10
Jane Yolen
Jane Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City. She received her BA from Smith College in 1960. After college, she became an editor in New York City and practiced her craft during her lunch breaks. She sold her first children's book, Pirates in Petticoats, at the age of 22. Since then, she has written over 300 books won numerous awards and has received six honorary doctorate degrees.
Jane Yolen website: http://www.janeyolen.com/
Videos featuring Jane Yolen
Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKqBS8eJAec
Reciting her own work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRoCh-bSVnM&feature=related
J. Patrick Lewis
J. Patrick Lewis was born May 5, 1942 in Gary, Indiana. He earned a BA from Saint Josephs College, a MA at Indiana University and a PhD at Ohio State University. The author of more than 75 children's books, with more than 50 of those being dedicated to poetry, has earned Lewis the title of Children’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.
J. Patrick Lewis website: http://www.jpatricklewis.com/
Videos Featuring J. Patrick Lewis
Introduction of J. Patrick Lewis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyfhw7GwVJo
Reciting his own work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuELHyZHYAE
Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs by J. Partick Lewis and Jane Yolen
J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen team up in an animal version of Patrick’s Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses (2006). The title of this joint effort, Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs, lets the reader know right away that wit and humor lie between the covers as creatures share their last moments before their, often untimely, demise.
Each poem, ranging in length from 1 to 18 sentences, is an epitaph told in a darkly humorous style. Grouped by animal type (poultry, bovine, fish), each posthumous poem is full of talented wordplay that will appeal to children and adults alike.
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By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 4/13/2012
Blog: Poetry for Children (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Our 5Q Poet Interview series for National Poetry Month continues with this interview with Dana Jensen about his new book, A Meal of the Stars. I interviewed Dana the old fashioned way-- on the telephone. We had a lovely chat and I look forward to hosting him next week at the 8th annual Poetry Round up at the annual Texas Library Association conference. Meanwhile, here's Dana.
Dana Jensen
Dana Jensen both writes poetry and teaches it to children. He has taught poetry with the Twin Cities' COMPAS Writers and Artists in the School's program for many years. It was fellow Minnesota resident Joyce Sidman who connected him with her editor who worked with him on A Meal of the Stars, his first book for young readers.
About this inspiration for this collection, he writes: "The roots of these poems go way back to an early appreciation for the work of Robert Creeley, the brevity of his lines, moving down the page rather than across, and the intensity of his imagery. That concision surrounded by the openness of the page appealed to me. For some time I had been familiar with Shel Silverstein's "Lazy Jane" and a poem called "Raindrops" by Sally Burrows, both of which have lines one word long and play with the idea of the words representing rain falling down. Okay, then how about poems of that same structure, but moving up the paper as well? After that, the poems just came one after another."
A
Meal of the Stars: Poems Up and Down includes 15 poems about a range of kid-friendly topics with a fresh, terse approach. Young readers will enjoy the verticality of the poems in this tall, skinny book, particularly the challenge of figuring out whether to read each one from the top down or the bottom up. Illustrator Tricia Tusa's lively cartoon art and watercolor scenes provide context and energy for the elegant poem columns.
Reviews of A Meal of the Stars
"Imaginative and accessible, these verses show how the most ordinary of pleasures can pique a child's or a pair of friends' curiosity to explore the natural and urban worlds."--Booklist
"This quiet, thoughtful collection shows that not all poetry is meant to be read in a straightforward manner."--School Library Journal
"Words and pictures pull readers along in a visceral reading experience."--Publishers Weekly
Dana Jensen In
terview
1 Comments on 5Q Poet Interview Series: Dana Jensen, last added: 4/15/2012
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These collaborations between Jane Yolen and son Jason Stemple are so stunning - this one is sure to be another hit. I look forward to reading it and enjoying the amazing photographs, even if a little creepy.... Thanks for the post and interview!