Perfect Picture Book Friday: Bunny Braves the Day

Today I’m participating in Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday. Be sure to check it out here.

Title: Bunny Braves the Day

Author: Suzanne Bloom

Illustrator: Suzanne Bloom

Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, 2020

Audience: Ages 4-8

Themes: First day of school; siblings

Favorite lines: It’s hard to feel jittery when you’re glittery.

                        Sometimes you just feel like crying before you feel like trying.

Synopsis: (adapted from Amazon) It’s the first day of school, and little Bunny feels like something is flip-flopping in his belly. He won’t know anyone. He doesn’t know how to tie his shoes or how to read. And what if no one likes him? Bunny’s sister steps in to offer advice and convince him that everything will turn out fine. In the process, Bunny realizes his own unique qualities.  

Why I Like This Book: While there are many first day of school books on the market, this one stands out because it is also a sibling story and is told in alternating dialogue. Bunny gets advice from an older sister and is helped to recognize his own extraordinary talents. Suzanne Bloom perfectly captures the voice of a child and her illustrations, as always, are a perfect complement. The expressions on the characters’ faces expertly convey their feelings. Finding courage to do new things is a universal theme that can be applied to all ages, even adults.

For Susanna’s complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Posted in Picture Book Friday | 5 Comments

Poetry Friday: Morning Walk

I’ve been pouring over Irene Latham’s This Poem Is a Nest for days. Irene started with an original poem, “Nest,” as her source poem, then went on to create 161 nestling poems from the original words. Nestling poems are found poems taken from an existing poem and used to create new poems, or “nestlings.” The words or word parts must be used in the same order as they appear in the original poem. The title does not need to be part of the original.

This is such an incredible book! Irene even provides a Table of Contents and an Index.

Of course I had to give it a go. I used the third section, Autumn, from Irene’s original “Nest” to create my nestling. My morning walk inspired me to think of the possibilities I might find along the trail.

Morning Walk

leaves flood
deer swerve
turtle splashes
clouds still
faith hums

For more poetry fun, head over to Wee Words for Wee Ones where you’ll find today’s Poetry Friday roundup from Bridget Magee.

Posted in Poems, Poetry Friday | 13 Comments

Fall Writing Frenzy: The Flower That Grew in My Garden

This is the second year of the Fall Writing Frenzy hosted by Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis. My entry was inspired by a cumulative poem by Nicola Davies, “The Loaf That Jack Baked,” in Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature and this image:

Image 14 courtesy of Susan Kaye Leopold

The Flower That Grew in My Garden
by Rose Cappelli

This is the flower, wild and free,
that grew in my garden.

This is the bee, all fuzzy and buzzy,
that carried the spores
to the flower that grew in my garden.

This is the blossom, yellow and full,
that beckoned the bee
to the flower that grew in my garden.

This is the bud, as green as a pea,
that fashioned the blossom
that beckoned the bee
to the flower that grew in my garden.

This is the shoot, with heart-shaped leaves,
that produced the bud
that fashioned the blossom
that beckoned the bee
to the flower that grew in my garden.

This is the seed, so striped and ripe,
that sprouted the shoot
that produced the bud
that fashioned the blossom
that beckoned the bee
to the flower that grew in my garden.

This is the dog with the fur, dark and dense,
that shimmied and shook and scattered the seed
that sprouted the shoot
that produced the bud
that fashioned the blossom
that beckoned the bee
to the flower that grew…

Wild and free!

Posted in Poems, Poetry Friday | 29 Comments

Taking Action

It was a perfect storm, so to speak, a sign that I was meant to take action.

Earlier this week a friend sent me information about Vote Forward, a nonprofit organization of volunteers dedicated to helping citizens register to vote, and encouraging them to vote if they are already registered. It is a letter writing campaign that doesn’t take a great deal of time but has proven to be effective. I made a few excuses in my head about not being sure I had the time, one more thing, etc. and basically put it on the back burner.

Then…I heard the devastating news about the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Her thoughtful dedication to upholding the law and fighting against discrimination have been front and center in the news, a reminder to everyone of what must continue to be done to put and keep our country on a path of equality.

Then…I read about the publication of a new picture book later this month: The Teachers March! How Selma’s Teachers Changed History by investigative journalists Sandra Neil Wallace and Rick Wallace, illustrated by Charly Palmer. It recounts the march by teachers in 1965 that led to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

I logged into Vote Forward and signed up. My letters are printed, ready to be put in envelopes and sent on the designated day. I knew I could no longer make excuses. It is time to take action, however small. It is time to do something.

Posted in Slices | 5 Comments

Poetry Friday: One Rabbit

Last week I had the opportunity to attend an Unworkshop at the Highlights Foundation while taking one of their online courses. It was a wonderful three days of writing, learning, and thinking, full of inspiration. If you ever have the opportunity to be there, don’t think twice about it. There is magic in the air.

On my first morning I noticed a rabbit nibbling on the grass in front of the cabin.  She didn’t seem bothered at all if I moved slightly or even got up to get something from inside. When she returned the next morning I struck up a conversation (very one-sided). I decided she must be my muse, so I wrote about her.

One Rabbit

One rabbit nibbles
delightedly,
contentedly
on one patch of grass,
the caviar of clover.

How wonderful
to live among the muses.
She fills her body,
then retreats to fill her soul –
to write
delightedly,
contentedly.

Matt Esenwine has the poetry round up today at Radio, Rhythm, & Rhyme. Be sure to stop by to read an original poem from Lee Bennett Hopkins as well as links to lots of other poems and a giveaway.

Posted in Poetry Friday | 11 Comments