Happy Book Birthday to READ! READ! READ!

My Family's Deacon's Bench

Photo by Amy LV

Students - When I was a little girl, my mom would regularly take my sister Heidi and me to the Vestal Public Library. We loved selecting our own books, and sometimes we even checked out sculptures, displaying them in our home for a week or two. (I distinctly remember the bunny sculpture...we checked it out several times.)  Sometimes Mom would go to the library without us, to refresh our book stock, and when she did, she'd pile up our books - one pile for Heidi, one pile for me - on this bench which lived in our front hall.

Today's book birthday celebration poem is about an object.  We are always surrounded by objects - inside and outside.  If you ever feel stuck for a writing idea, just pick one of those objects you see - I do this often. Follow your mind. If you wait, something will always show up on your page.

This bench you see above now lives in our home in Holland, NY.  I giggled as I filled it with my copies of my new book with talented illustrator Ryan O'Rourke for today's birthday of READ! READ! READ!  Back when I was a girl, I never would have imagined that this dream would come true, that I would write a book that lived on library shelves.  I never imagined that I'd have the opportunity to dedicate a book to a son, the little brother of our home...

Dedication Page of READ! READ! READ!

(Click to Enlarge)

Yes, children turn into grown-ups...and I did too.  And it's true that we never know what the days and years will bring. Yet I have learned this - if we hang on dearly to what we love doing and making, we learn about ourselves, and sometimes we have chances to share what we learn. I feel lucky to share these poems, to have been part of a team with amazing editor Rebecca Davis, fabulous illustrator Ryan O'Rourke, and all of the completely wonderful people at Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.  Thank you to my best-ever agent Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown Ltd.  Thank you, all! 

To read more about our new book, please visit these bloggers who have posted about READ! READ! READ!  Much gratitude, friends, for these kind posts.

Tara Smith at a Teaching Life

Irene Latham at Live Your Poem

Linda Baie at TeacherDance

Lorraine Magee at Miss Magee's Reads

Boyds Mills Press (donating books) and I (signing and shipping books) are holding a giveaway for this book, joyfully illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke. This giveaway runs through tomorrow, September 20, and there will be five winners of one signed book each.  You may enter HERE.

Thank you so much for stopping by to celebrate with me...today and on all of the days that we share poems together.  I am very grateful for you, my poemfriends, and never more than on a day of celebration.

xo,
Amy

Amazing Book Cookie by MamaSeuffertSweets

Photo by Amy LV

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

Writers Find Inspiration in Music

Buffalo Philharmonic Poster

Click to Enlarge

Students - I was thrilled this past July when Robin Parkinson, Director of Education and Community Engagement of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra asked if I would be interested in writing for the BPO.  I said, "Yes, please!" 

Robin explained the project, answered my many questions, and I wrote a series of poems for the 2017-2018 Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's MUSIC FOR YOUTH Concert Series.  The poems go along with Benjamin Britten's beautiful THE YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO THE ORCHESTRA, and they will be read aloud during each concert, between the different musical variations.

It was new for me to write poems to go along with short pieces of gorgeous music.  I listened and listened to the variations over and over again.  I consulted the list of musical terms provided by Robin and asked the members of the BPO as well as musician friends on Facebook and Twitter to share words they would use to describe the sounds of various orchestral instruments.

I read and consulted the following books:

Click to Enlarge

I wrote and listened, wrote and listened.  Wrote and listened and revised, revised, revised.  And I learned so very much. This project was a gift to me, a person who never played an orchestral instrument...and a person who always wanted to learn more about the orchestra.  I did!  

Here is an article about the project and the concert from the Fall 2017 BPO Education Newsletter:

Excerpt from the BPO Fall Education Newsletter

Click to Enlarge

One never knows what any day will bring.  This was a surprise project, and I adored it. Thank you, Robin.  Thank you, BPO.  Thank you, music teachers who recommended me.  I hope you enjoy the poems...all HERE. I certainly love Britten's music.

Music provides endless inspiration.  If you ever find yourself unsure of what to write, try listening to music.  Close your eyes, and let your mind see images connected to what you hear.  Music can help you see new pictures in your head, can help you find new thoughts to write.

In other news, I am grateful to announce that there were two winners of my author visit auction item through KidLit Cares to benefit Harvey Relief.  Thank you to Kate Messner for holding this important auction.  Thank you to Tom Marshall and Helen Khanji of Stony Lane Elementary in Paramus, NJ and to Kristie Miner of Tioughnioga Riverside Academy in Whitney Point, NY for bidding. Together we raised $1125 for the Global Giving for Harvey Relief Fund.  And the whole auction has raised over $93,000.

Boyds Mills Press (donating books) and I (signing and shipping books) are holding a giveaway for my forthcoming READ! READ! READ!, joyfully illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke.

Poems About Reading

This giveaway runs through September 19, and there will be five winners of one signed book each.  You may enter HERE.

Matt Forrest Esenwine is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme. Please stop by to check out all of the poetry links for this week and to celebrate his new picture book FLASHLIGHT NIGHT, illustrated by Fred Koehler. And please know....Poetry Friday is for everyone.  We welcome you every single week!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

Day 26 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Welcome to Day 26 of this Year's Poem Farm Project!

Find the Complete April 2015 Poem and Song List Here

First, I would like to welcome all old and new friends to The Poem Farm this April. Spring is a busy time on all farms, and this one is no exception.  Each April, many poets and bloggers take on special poetry projects, and I'm doing so too.  You can learn all about Sing That Poem! and how to play on my April 1st post, where you will also find the list of the whole month's poems and tunes as I write and share them.  If you'd like to print out a matching game page for yourself, you can find one here, and during April 2015, you'll be able to see the song list right over there in the left hand sidebar.

Yesterday's poem was Life's Door.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?

And here, below, is today's poem.  Look at the song list in the sidebar or on your matching form to see if you can puzzle out which tune matches this one.

Slice of Bookshelf

Photo by Amy LV

Students - As you may have figured out, I adore books.  In fact, my next poetry collection is titled READ! READ! READ! and will be illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke and published by Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press in the fall of 2017.  

Today I was thinking once again about how many places a book can take a person.  I remembered hearing Gary Paulsen tell a crowd how books helped him through difficulties in his childhood, and I know how different and good I feel when I am in the middle of a great book.  So this poem is just one more celebration of books!  

What do you wish to celebrate today?

Below you can see how I worked on the meter of this poem.  Each dot represents an unstressed syllable, and each slash represents a stressed syllable.  The straight up line shows where lines 3 and 4 each end, and the arrow indicates go back to the beginning.  This may help you puzzle out which tune matches today's words.

Meter Play

by Amy LV

Speaking of books and bookstores, today I am happy to welcome young poet Ada Bastedo, who shared her baseball poem at last Thursday's annual poetry reading at Monkey See, Monkey Do Bookstore in Clarence, NY.  I am always grateful to be a part of this beautiful and cozy evening, and too, I am thankful that Ada offered to share her poem here.  In the spirit of baseball and good sportsmanship, enjoy!

Monkey See, Monkey Do Bookstore

Photo by Amy LV

The Baseball Rules

When you are in a ballgame,

You should make it a fair play 

All throughout the innings

Even when it's not going your way.

When your turn is called

And you are up to bat, 

And you miss three swings.

Please oh please don't throw your hat

For alone in the dugout 

You will have to sit,

So try not to be tempted,

please don't throw a fit.

Just look at pro ballplayers,

When three strikes call them out.

They don't throw a hissy fit

Or cry, or yell, or pout. 

For when the game is over

You may leave in glory or shame,

But you will always want to hear

Your game was so well played. 

by Ada Bastedo, age 9

Warm wishes to all in this last week of National Poetry Month!  

Please share a comment below if you wish.