It’s Poetry Friday! Heidi has the round up today at my juicy little universe. Be sure to stop by for some fabulous art and poems by kids. It makes me think that our future is in good hands. Keeping up with my Call and Response: Picture Book and Poetry project, this week I read a new picture book, Small Things Mended, written by Casey Robinson and illustrated by Nancy Whitesides. In it we meet Cecil, a kind and elderly man who has recently suffered a loss. When his young neighbor is concerned that her treasured pocket watch is broken, Cecil offers to fix it. Soon other kids are bringing Cecil ..read more

The Kidlit Progressive Poem was started in 2012 by Irene Latham. In 2020, my first year of participation, Margaret Simon took over as organizer. Every year is a mystery as to what the subject will be and how the poem will unfold, but it’s always fun to share thoughts and ideas with fellow poets. Patricia Franz started us off this year with a lovely couplet, and everyone has followed that lead. The couplets are now organized by quatrains, so I kept that format. So far we are traveling with two brave children on an escape route. So many questions remain unanswered, but it is filled with emotion ..read more

Today is Poetry Friday! Jone has the round up today where she gives us two wonderful interviews. Part 1 is with Carol Labuzetta where we get a peek at her new book, Picture Perfect Poetry: An Anthology of Ekphrastic Nature Poetry for Children. Part 2 is with Liz Garton Scanlon and her new book, Everyone Starts Small, illustrated by Dominique Ramsey. This was a busy week, but I was able to keep up with my Call and Response: Picture Books and Poetry April Poetry Project. One of the books I read this week was City Feet written and illustrated by Aixa Pérez-Prado (2023 Reycraft). The rhyming text ..read more

It’s Poetry Friday! Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect has the roundup today where she shares a beautiful pantoum honoring her beloved Cooper. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness. My April Poetry project in 2022 was flowers from A-Z. I collected photos (mostly shot at Longwood Gardens), created a list of flowers, and crafted a poem to go with each one. Since today is Easter weekend, I’m offering this acrostic about the Easter Lily. Still trying to land on an idea for this April’s project, but I’m leaning to writing a small poem in response to a picture book. That will combine two ..read more

It’s Poetry Friday and I’m happy to be hosting today. Please add your link at the end of the post. This past Christmas, one of my presents was a bird feeder with a camera feed. We finally got around to installing it last week and it’s provided tons of bird watching fun. My first visitor was a tufted titmouse I named Captain. He was soon joined by a pair of bluebirds (Fred and Ginger), Redboy and Queenie (cardinals), chickadees, cowbirds, sparrows, and a host of finches. I name many of my birds, especially the ones I know make daily visits. Eventually I had to turn off the notifications becaus ..read more

It’s Poetry Friday and almost time to welcome spring. Of course with spring comes Daylight Saving Time. I enjoy the light lingering longer in the evening, but it’s still dark when I wake, at least for a few more weeks. I was thinking of the time change this week as I reread some poems in The Wonder of Small Things: Poems of Peace and Renewal edited by James Crews, looking for a line or image that might spark an idea. In “Listen Back” by Brooke McNamara I found the lines: “How many mornings have I woken like this, early and called to listen at the window of the unknown?” Then, very serendipito ..read more

It’s Poetry Friday! I wasn’t sure I would post today since I am at a writing retreat at The Highlights Foundation with fellow writers from Inked Voices. But when my preordered copy of Oskar’s Voyage arrived this week, I knew I had to celebrate, especially because Laura Purdie Salas is our host today. Oskar’s Voyage is a delightful story by Laura and illustrator Kayla Harren about an endearing chipmunk whose love of tomatoes causes him to become a stowaway on a Great Lakes freighter. It is full of fun, facts, and lots of emotion. And what better way to celebrate than with a poetryaction. A poe ..read more

Welcome to Poetry Friday! Today I’m celebrating the release of Issue 7 from Little Thoughts Press, Fabulous Facts. I am grateful to have a poem included in this publication and to have the opportunity to share it with all of you. When my grandson was much smaller, he greeted every day exuberantly. Rain, wind, snow, sun – it didn’t matter. To him, every day was a beautiful day. My poem started out as an idea for a picture book with information about each animal mentioned. I never quite finished it. So, when the opportunity to submit to Little Thoughts Press occurred, I rewrote some of the stan ..read more

It’s Poetry Friday, and I’m sending you a Valentine! The prompt for the Nevermores this week was to write an acrostic using a word related to love or Valentine’s Day. Acrostics can be tricky and not as easy as they appear. I chose the word “cherish” and wrote a few, then wrote this one specifically for you – all my Poetry Friday friends. Cherish cradle the words from my heart as I do yours for they explore the wonders and richness of life we hold dear inking our thoughts and sharing with friends here in this space Draft, 2024RoseCappelli Margaret has the roundup today at Reflections on the T ..read more

It’s Poetry Friday! All this week I’ve been thinking about a new picture book I want to write. I tend to do a lot of thinking, maybe some research, and almost always gathering of some books or poems I can use as mentor texts before I get started. It’s a process, but hidden in there somewhere is fear. Getting the first words out is the hardest part for me. Then, getting over the hump of deciding that what I’ve written is worth something. Writing takes courage, and especially in the beginning I need a lot of it. It was a bit of a coincidence this week when I also came across a poem I wrote in 2 ..read more