A Box of Books (Poem & More)

Forgive me, but I am going to set this poem up for you. Two years ago, I was waiting for my special delivery books to arrive for the Rochester Children's Book Festival held early in November every year. I couldn't wait to open the box and bring the self-published poems to the festival the next day. Lori Aman (painter/ cartoonist/artist/friend) had drawn wonderful sketches for each poem. At best, previous readers had compared PICTURE POETRY ON PARADE! to the work of Shel Silverstein. We hoped they thought the same for WAITING TO SEE THE PRINCIPAL AND OTHER POEMS.

I was going nuts waiting because there was a chance they wouldn't come, and I would have no new book. So to curb my insanity I took out a yellow legal pad and a pencil, and I started to write about my ordeal of waiting. I purposely made it long because I remember a very long poem in Marlo Thomas' FREE TO BE YOU AND ME about "Housework" that I thought was delightfully long and boring, just like housework. And I used the "and" numerous times in the following poem to drag it out in what I  hope is a pleasant way. Some writers might even say I used that monster word "a lot" of times.

My books did come, and I signed and sold 40 of them at the book festival the next day, but you probably already guessed that. Here's the poem...

A Box of Books

~ Joe Sottile

A box of books will arrive today.

The air is cold and crisp.

The skies are sunny and clear.

But it’s below 50 degrees.

I rake and rake because…

A box of books will arrive today

and I must keep busy-busy so that

I don’t spend every second dwelling

on the contents of that box

that the UPS truck will bring.

A box of books will arrive today

with a feeling of Christmas tucked inside

and gifts galore from floor to ceiling,

but this box contains the same present

again and again, 25 in all.

A box of books will arrive today

and I can’t wait to rip open the box

and run my fingers over each one.

I just hope the truck isn’t late

and day doesn’t turn into night.

A box of books will arrive today

if I am patient and steadfast.

And then I'll be ready for the book festival

at the local community college

with 48 illustrators and authors.

A box of books will arrive today,

and there will be more than 400 books to browse

at the College Center, including mine,

if only it arrives on time.

I am patiently waiting, patiently waiting.

A box of books will arrive today,

which will be my golden key

to the Rochester Children’s Book Festival

and all of the amazing hands-on events.

I want my picture with Clifford's Big Red Dog.

A box of books will arrive today.

It is getting kind of late.

The kid inside of me is worried.

The sun Is sinking into the horizon.

Where is that Big Brown Truck?

A box of books will arrive today,

but I am in the bathroom getting stomach medicine

instead of creating stacks of colorful leaves.

What is that I hear rumbling up the driveway?

To the window I run! To window I run!

A box of books has arrived today!

“Hurrah!”

“Hurrah!”

“Hurrah!”

“Thank God! Thank God!"

I will get my books.

I will hug this man.

I will thank him for his speedy delivery.

Now I have a new book for my readers!

A new book! A new book! Hurrah!

Where Is Your Haven?

Where is your escape from the real world? Your shelter? Your retreat? Your piece of heaven? Your personal haven?

I know where my wife’s haven is? It actually has two addresses. One is in Orlando Florida, and the other is Oak Island, North Carolina. She loves Disney World. Marilyn feels like a little kid there, full of wonder and excitement for all that’s there—from the colorful characters to the fireworks that light up the sky at night. That’s her idea of a vacation, or the real world at home where the laundry gathers and bills mount. She even likes to take me with her on excursions to Disney. Even though Tigger is rather hyperactive, I don’t mind taking a picture with Tigger and my happy wife.

If she can’t be at Disney World, then the next best place is Oak Island. The first time we stayed at Oak Island it was at a “cottage” that was right on the ocean. The land itself had to be worth over a million dollars. We felt “rich” staying there. We had lots of room, sunlight, and ocean. Our five grandkids visited us for part of our stay. We all had a grand time. We treasured our time together and took lots of photos, but I will spare you the family album. But the time certainly flew by at the sea.

Where’s my haven? My haven has a number of different addresses—performing poetry for kids at schools and libraries; golfing on my favorite golf course; biking on my road bike along the Erie Canal; eating my bluffin at Hess Express; sitting in my den near the gas stove; writing in my den while time flies; being part of a lively writing workshop or book festival; reclining on my recliner; watching a fascinating TV drama; digging into a slippery bucket of salty popcorn at Tinseltown, and watching events unfold on the big screen.

Where was Charles Dickens’ haven? (I thought you would never ask.) It was in Cowsville. I kid you not. He admitted that “Cows are my passion. What I have ever sighed for has been to retreat to a Swiss farm, and live entirely surrounded by cows and china.”

So where is your haven beyond daily chores and worries? Please tell my readers in the comment space. I sure would like to know. I'll leave you with a photo of our first beach house that we stayed at...

Kids on An Instant Vacation with Silly Sottile

The above photo was taken on the cafeteria floor at Florence Brasser Elementary School in Chili, New York. The kids are enjoying an instant vacation with "Silly Sottile." What's an instant vacation?

Milton Berle said that “Laugher is an instant vacation.” I think he’s right. And according to www.SimpleTruths.com, we need to laugh at least 12 times a day to remain healthy. Here are a few laughs from one of their clever books, Laughter Is An Instant Vacation…

“Insanity doesn’t run In my family. It gallops.” –Cary Grant

As a parent, my wife and I have one thing in common. We’re both afraid of our children.”—Bill Cosy

“I am not going to vacuum until Sears has one that I can ride.”—Roseanne Barr

“Guests, like fish begin to smell after three days.”—Ben Franklin

“All mothers have intuition. The great ones have radar.”—Kathy Guisewite

Write a Caption for Silly Sottile?!?

On Tuesday of this week I had the honor of recording three of my poems at the WXXI Radio Station. Poems and stories by various authors in the Rochester Area Children's Writers and Illustrators group (RACWI) are being used to promote the November 7th's book festival at MCC. It was fun and exciting to record poetry in front of a big microphone, eight stories up in downtown Rochester. The view behind me was amazing--highways, bridges, skyscrappers, and distant walkways.

So how did my little photo shoot turn out. Well, you can be the judge of the above one. Give it a caption in the comment section. It's okay to be funny, silly, serious, sarcastic, or whatever. I have one that I thought was a riot, but I don't want to influence you. Go ahead, take a shot at it! Thanks ahead of time!

Just A Moment

Some short poems are like snapshots that capture moments in time. This poem is like a short video that carries the viewer down a school hall around noon, and it's true as written...

Just A Moment

While carrying copies of our latest poetry book

to my colleague and illustrator,

I race down the hall to the back of the school,

hoping that she’s eating lunch in her room.



My heart is pounding with delight,

my visitor’s tag is flapping in the breeze.

Sweat is beading on my forehead,

and rolling into my left eye. It burns.



I cannot wait to show this gifted artist

how well her illustrations turned out

in our third poetry book for kids.

I know that she will be ecstatic.



But I slow down as I approach her room

and peek into another teacher’s room—

one whom I admired for her teaching ideas,

zest in teaching, and sensitivity to others.



Some would call her a “mover and shaker.”

I call her passionate, professional, and perky.

Some kids near the door are chanting repeatedly,

“Someone is at the door! Someone is at the door!”



As I open the door and stroll through,

I say, “Someone silly is here”—hoping the kids

will laugh and enjoy the moment.

And I take a close look at Ms. Perky.



I see this former cheerleader, valedictorian,

and 3rd grade team member hunched over her desk,

looking shorter than I used to remember her.

Retirement is not too far off for her.



Suddenly I am blinded by the reasons I left

teaching public school—teaching for the test,

test mandates, district goals, building goals, and

personal goals that were not that personal.



I stumble toward Ms. Perky who is rooted

at her desk with one student seated nearby,

while the rest of the class pretends to do math,

as they eyeball me clutching ten poetry books.



She tells me that her son’s college roommate

had me in elementary school as a teacher

(in this same room that we are in now),

and he discovered the love of writing here.



I am surprised by this wonderful compliment

that seems to have come out of leftfield.

So I simply say, “Invite me in to do poetry.”

Winking I add, “Give yourself a poetry break.”



I don’t hear cheers for a poetry visit

from a tired and gray Ms. Perky,

but the boy at the table says,

“How much is your book?”



Ms. Perky launches instant dart eyes at him,

yet they bounce off of his rubber face

and he says, “I have money in my lunch bag.”

Ms. Perky ignores the outspoken student.



She says, “Yes, I should.” But she won’t.

Poetry is a marginal activity.

And there are tests to be taken,

and benchmarks to be met.

A Poem

I feel a rush of joy when I discover a poem that speaks to me. I especially like quotations or poems about the writing process. Here’s one that I recently discovered…




A Poem                                          


By John Travers Moore

A poem must be waited,

Not sought after,

Enjoyed,

Not worried about,

Written spontaneously,

Not over-worked,

But built with enthusiasm,

Not despair,

Created for self

Not neighbor

Filled with music

Not studied cadence—

It makes its own rules

By it is own right

Whether in a pattern

Or on a new trail.

But a above all,

A poem must be demanded by itself.



Copyright 1971 from Poems: On Writing Poetry


Libra Publishers, Inc, page 19


John Travers Moore's poetry has appeared in the New York Times, Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, Horn Book, Child Life, among other publications.

A Must-Have-Book!

My friend is out with a new book. Read all about it!!!

If They Don’t Learn the Way You Teach, Teach Them the Way They Learn is a must-read book for all elementary teachers. It is written for teachers and by a terrific teacher. If you were fortunate enough to have Mrs. Mc Taggart as a teacher, she would have brought out the best in you as a learner and as a person. As you read the book, which is chockfull of suggestions, encouragement, recommendations, and real life teaching stories, Mrs. Mc Taggart’s gifts as a teacher become rather apparent. And if you couldn’t have her for a teacher, I can see you begging the principal in June to assign your child to her class. Fortunately, she is able to write about her role as dynamic teacher in a way that is informative and entertaining.


Mrs. Mc Taggart is retired from everyday classroom activities after forty-two glorious years in the classroom. She is now an advocate for increasing literacy wherever she goes. Her major goal is to transform reluctant readers into avid readers. She does this by operating an interactive Website; mentoring educators; conducting reading and writing workshops, and speaking at IRA conferences.

Now she has created a book about teaching that offers hands-on activities—from “chair bags” to graphic novels--that will encourage kids to become more active readers. I love Chapter 7, “Just One More Chapter—Please!” When you have kids begging that you read more to them, you know that you are doing something right in the classroom. It reminded me my days as a teacher reading Judy Blume’s TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE NOTHING to my class. My students always wanted another chapter, and they would be “extra good” if I rewarded them at the end of the day with one more chapter. Of course, this book is on Mrs. Mc Taggart’s reading list (page 115) for you with many other gems.

Mrs. Mc Taggart doesn’t let grass grow under her feet. She keeps abreast with changing tides of educational trends through magazines, newspapers, and most importantly by meeting hundreds of teachers at conferences and in schools who “keep me up to date on new materials, new Websites and new methods.”

So here you have a book that will inspire kids to read and write more as they journey from one grade level to the next. And best of all, Mrs. Mc Taggart will make you laugh aloud along the way with her sense of humor and non-pretentiousness. Mrs. Mc Taggart has retired, but she has not loss her class.