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

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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!  

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