More Support Needed for Children's Poetry

An interesting article...


http://www.thebookseller.com/news/lbf-more-l

Thank You, Debra Ross! Editor & KOA Chief

I want to thank Debra Ross, editor and creator of www.KidsOutAndAbout.com, for publishing my essay about encouraging toddlers to enjoy poetry during National Poetry Month. (If interested, the essay site is below the poem that follows.)



The way the essay appears on the page is excellent with its easy to read print, graphics, and edits. I consider Debra an amazing friend who inspires many in the Rochester area and beyond to explore life doing healthy family activities. She makes a difference for Rochester, thanks to her weekly newsletter and other positive activities. And I consider her my friend. This poem is for her by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: 


Friendship


I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.


http://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/content/ten-ways-celebrate-national-poetry-month-toddler

Steven Kellogg Comes to Town! (Part One) Steven!

If you don't already know, Steven Kellogg is my all-time favorite children's author. He has illustrated/published over 90 books. I first met him when he was a young author at the first school that I taught at in 1978. As the years rolled by, I bought a number of his books and shared them with my class and two daughters. It all started with The Island of the Skog for us. And I was smart enough as an elementary teacher to read picture books to my students, no matter what grade I was teaching that year—from grades 2-6.


Steven Kellogg defined a “magic book” as when the text combines with the illustrations in a way that was totally balanced, woven together like a magical carpet which sweeps the reader away on an imaginative journey. His books did that for my students, children, and many others.

So it was great fun seeing him at the 2009 Rochester Children’s Book Festival meeting people and signing books. He actually drew, as per usual, a mini-picture on every book he signed and smiled cheerfully at each person he met. I can only imagine what kind of cramps he had in his writing hand after that. He signed books for six straight hours with one major "break." He did a show for 30 minutes where he drew poster board illustrations of his latest book for an adoring audience!

Did we get a chance to talk? I briefly talked to him before he started signing books, when the crowd hadn’t yet formed. I happily asked a passerby to take the photo which is posted with this blog.

His face has "weathered" the years, but he looks like a Greek god to me. Just add the robe. What do you think?