Laura Shovan's Blog, page 18

Bullet Journal Your Revision Notebook

Writing is a messy process. For an organized person like me, revising a novel can feel overwhelming.

There is so much to do: Develop flat characters, adjust the plot, review feedback from critique partners, check for overused words (“just” is my bugaboo). Not to mention detail work! If a character is described as wearing braces, how often do the braces have to be mentioned throughout the book? Should that detail be cut?! Her bands are red and black in Chapter 3, but purple in Chapter 12. Ack!!

A moleskin journal wasn’t going to do the trick for this revision! I used a great big 5 subject notebook. Having sections helped keep me organized.

This describes my state of mind in February, when I started a major rewrite of my next middle grade novel. The whole project like too much.

Then, inspiration struck. For a few months, I’d swapped out my personal to-do lists for a bullet journal. And while I didn’t follow #bujo techniques to the letter, the journal was cutting back on my list-writing time and helping me stay organized. Why not apply these techniques to my revision notebook?

This Saturday, I’m running a workshop for our local SCBWI chapter, “Bullet Journaling Your Revision Notebook.” You can find details and RSVP here.

My colored pencils and markers are packed. I’ve got stickers and rulers. I’m super-excited to share ideas with other authors.

This workshop and the resources in this post are for everyone, whether you:

have never heard of bullet journals;
are #bujo curious;
use a bullet journal for day-to-day, but haven’t tried one for writing;
or you’re are a literary bullet journal master.

My favorite YouTube videos for simple bullet journals:

How to Bullet Journal

*Short explanation from bullet journal system creator Ryder Carroll

A Dude’s Bullet Journal Walk-through

*Great for the basics

Easy Ways to Decorate Your Bullet Journal

*If you want to learn simple hand-lettering technqiues and embellishments

Bullet Journal for Writers

*Not for perfectionists! I love this bullet journaler’s inspiration page based on Lord of the Rings.

Check out these website and blog posts about bullet journals, especially for writers:

BulletJournal.Com

*Where the whole craze started

Something Delicious, “Bullet Journaling for Fiction Writers”

*Lists collection ideas for WIPs (Works in Progress)

BoHo Berry, “NaNoWriMo Bullet Journal”

*Ideas for setting up a new project

Writer’s Edit, “The Complete Guide to Bullet Journaling for Writers”

*Includes tips on tracking submissions and feedback from publishers

Page Flutter, “Inside My Writing Journal: The Ultimate Study in Craft”

*Our local SCBWI events coordinator, Sarah Maynard, found this amazing resource. Includes photos and explanations of color coding, and great journal page ideas/spreads for writers: 7 Key Elements of Fiction, The Hero’s Journey, and Three Act Structure.

The biggest tip I can share is this: Do what works for you.

My favorite bullet journaling tool is the Index.

I had a three-week window to complete my revision and turn it in to my editor.

My revision journal is profoundly lacking in calligraphy, embellishments, and colorful flourishes. But it has an index (the single most helpful bullet journal tool) and helped keep my thoughts organized as I was re-writing.

 

 

 

 

 

Daily word-count goals don’t work for me. I found it was easiest to list the chapter numbers and cross off each one as I revised. This page also has a simple to-do list.

My everyday bullet journal has a few pages dedicated to book notes, including this one, decorated with a doodle.

POST UPDATE

Thanks to everyone who came out to the bullet journaling workshop. We shared a lot of information and ideas for how to organize your writing with a bullet journal.

This post update includes more details on bullet journaling techniques, ideas for “collections” (notebook sections) for your writing project, and a list of writing-related pages that the workshop attendees brainstormed.

 

Bullet Journaling Techniques

Many bullet journalers use a system of symbols. If you try this method, be sure to include a Key page in your journal.

Ryder Carroll’s bullet journal technique includes a coding system, organizing items by symbols for TASK, NOTE, EVENT, COMPLETE, and MIGRATE. This allows for “rapid logging” of to do items.

I prefer to organize by priority, so I skip these symbols. Instead, I color code: RED for high priority tasks, ORANGE for medium priority, and YELLOW for things I’ll do if I have time.

Another useful bullet journal suggestion is scanning. Quickly review pages for open tasks, then assess them. Are they still worth your time? If not, cross them out. If so, either migrate them to a current task list, or schedule them for later.

A  new tool to me is threading. (I mistakenly called this “channeling” during the workshop — sorry, all!) Threading is a way to group similar pages, e.g. all of your pages with plot ideas, so you can find and review them quickly. There’s a great explanation at Tiny Ray of Sunshine.

2. Setting up a 5 section notebook.

If you’re revising a whole novel, you might need a bigger, sloppier notebook with lots of space to explore and create.

Once you’ve set aside several pages for an index, the next step is deciding what will go in each of the five notebook sections. In this way, you’re organizing first, then plugging in notes.

Our workshop group came up with a list of suggested sections for an author’s revision notebook. In #bujo-speak, these sections or grouped pages are called collections. When you’re setting up your notebook, choose the 5 that work best for your story.

Setting

If you’re working on SF/F or historical fiction, you may need an entire section for setting.
General Notes and Themes

I found it helpful to have a catch-all section in my revision notebook.
Main Characters
Minor Characters

If your book has more than a handful of minor characters, this section could have a page dedicated to each person.
Research
Plot
Feedback

I liked having one section set aside for notes from my critique partners and suggestions from my editor.

3. Ideas for individual pages

Now that you’ve got your notebook sections set up, think about some specific pages that might be helpful. Here are the ones we came up with.

Note: I added pages to my revision notebook as I went along/as needed. That worked well for me.

Setting

World building

Magic System

Settings brainstorm
General Notes and Themes

Overused words

Word count tracker or log

Character archetypes

Brain dump

Inspirational quotes

Mind maps

Problems to fix/To-do list
Main Characters

Character arcs

Character motivations

Character profiles or interviews
Minor Characters

Ideas for names
Research

Food in this world, era, or culture

Books read/Research sources

Project TBR

Author/book spread for comparables, with quotes, ideas, and notes

Resources
Plot

Chapter by chapter plot overview from antagonist’s POV

Elevator pitch

What ifs/”out there” ideas

Calendar of events

For picture books, 32 thumbnail layout

Scene by scene work tracker
Not Writing-specific, but helpful!

Gratitude log

Wins for the week

Lessons learned

And here are a few last, non-bullet-journal, resources shared by the group.

Best writing blog: Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds (High tolerance for adult language required)
Best craft book: The Emotion Thesaurus, by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Another blog to check out: Modern Mrs. Darcy
TBR: OCDaniel, by Wesley King (middle grade, Edgar Award winner)Have you tried using a bullet journal? How has it helped your writing process? Leave a comment!


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School Poetry Workshop: Poetry Celebration!

Thanks to Buffy Silverman for hosting Poetry Friday this week. Stop by Buffy’s Blog for all of this week’s poetry links.

Happy Poetry Friday! I’m saying goodbye to Northfield Elementary School this week. For the past month, I’ve been conducting a poetry residency with the school’s third grade.

At the bottom of this post, I’m sharing a gallery of some of the poetry displays. The kids outdid themselves this year!

Our final workshop was on persona poems. You’ll find lesson details in my recent posts, linked at the bottom of this page. Let’s get straight to the poetry!

In Erin’s poem, I see an imaginative leap when an unexpected character enters the poem, adding tension to the story.

Poet: Erin A.

Hello, my name is Bob. I am

47 years old. I live in Florida

and love lamb. Today, I got a promotion

and raise. My family will be so

happy. I have two boys, a wife,

and a pet puppy. My family was

very happy, even my puppy.

It went better

than I expected.

We went outside

for dinner.

But suddenly,

my big brother came.

I knew

he was going

to make fun

of me. But

he didn’t. He said

very good things

about me. Right

at that moment

I felt really special.

*

Here is the updated poem, on display at our celebration.

Eva’s poem also has a moment where something unexpected happens.

Poet: Eva L.

Spring Day

It was a new spring day

on the field, many dandelions on the ground.

A little boy ran to the field.

He picked up a full dandelion.

He was thinking, let me make more

seeds for spring.

Maybe if I do that will I be a

spring hero.

The boy went to blow the dandelion.

Then a big wind just blew the dandelion.

The little boy worried the dandelion

is not blown by him.

Will he be a spring hero?

Or dandelion seeds not grow?

All will see in the next spring.

*

Alex wrote our only non-human persona poem this year. This one made me laugh! Wow — that’s some clever use of onomatopoeia.

Poet: Alex K.

I am a cat.

I have brown and black fur.

Hands pick me up!

Save me—ow!

My eyes glisten with unhappiness!

Put me down!

Get away.

You’re licking me!

Weird lady, get away!

She puts me down.

I scramble to hide.

Where do I hide?

An empty bowl?

I get in it and wait

‘til she finds me.

*

Miah’s poem is has an air of mystery. I feel sad for the character she created, who loves to play with friends, but seems to be struggling at home.

Poet: Miah A.

A child playing with friends,

laughing and active.

Playing until the moon meets.

Feeling happiness in all the other children.

Always active,

never resting.

Loudness disturbs Mom’s quiet time.

Waves goodbye, in her blue eyes,

they shine today, with the friendship.

But Jessie couldn’t do her homework.

Mom did not rest. They got mad,

but I just smiled.

*

I had a chance to hear Claire perform this poem for visitors today. She did a great job imagining what it might feel like to be a college student.

Poet: Claire D.

I like my friends Sarah,

Stella, and Lisa in college.

They are so kind. But especially I love…

MY UNIVERSITY! It’s beautiful.

It has good education and kind teachers.

When I read the books in the library

I feel I am part of the story.

But when I feel the potions

in Chemistry, it feels tickly on my fingers.

But I just love the people. They wave. They laugh,

which makes me feel like I belong.

*

Now for a quick photo gallery!

Haiku by Kevin Z.

Food poem by Abby W.

Thanks again to the Northfield 3rd grade team and families for giving me permission to share students’ persona poems.

*

Check out the previous posts in this School Poetry Workshop series:

School Poetry Workshop: Haiku Hike, May 12, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: Food and the Five Senses, May 19, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: A Second Helping of Food Poems, May 25, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: Persona Poems, May 30, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: Creating a Character, June 1, 2017

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School Poetry Workshop: Creating a Character

Today is the poetry open house at Northfield Elementary, where I’ve been in residence for the past month. I haven’t seen the third grade poets since our revision day. It’s always exciting to read their poems again and see how they have developed.

Let’s look more closely at persona poems.

When we’re creating a character, whether it’s in a poem or in prose, how do we move away from our own thoughts and experiences and begin to imagine the internal life of another person?

I’ve shared that I use images of people — postcards and magazine cut-outs — to give young poets a concrete starting place. Layering imagination onto a picture of a stranger can be a challenging task.

Over the years, and with the help of classroom teachers, this is the brainstorming sheet I’ve developed. It helps students dig into the personas they are creating for their poems. Feel free to use this worksheet. As always, if you share it, please acknowledge or link back to me.

Laura’s Persona Poem/Character Development brainstorming sheet.

Feelings: How does your person feel in this moment or about his or her situation?

Thoughts: What is he or she thinking?

What happens next?: Imagine that the picture is a TV or movie screen, with the action on pause. If you hit the “Play” button, what’s the next thing that would happen?

Maybe: Any other possibilities or ideas you have about this person’s life or situation.

You can read a full description of how to run this workshop at Today’s Little Ditty. I often use Shonto Begay’s poem “Down Highway 163” as a mentor text.

Persona Poem Workshop post at Today’s Little Ditty.

Persona Poem mentor text, “Down Highway 163” by Shonto Begay.

Thanks to the Northfield 3rd grade team and families for giving me permission to share students’ persona poems. This writing prompt is a great way to teach voice.

Sophia’s poem is all about capturing tone. Each item in the image adds to the feeling of loneliness.

Poet: Sophia B.

The girl looks

sad and lonely. She is alone.

She stands out against

the black wall and

brown curtains.

She’s eating apples

in a blue dress.

A lonely five year old

girl sitting at the table

all alone.

*

Isabella’s poem creates an entire family! The speaker’s happiness and love for her husband and daughter shines through this poem.

Poet: Isabella C.

I Am Outside

 

With my husband and daughter.

We are getting ready to play ball.

My daughter’s having fun with Dad.

They make me smile.

I love you, is what I think

she is trying to say.

She is one. She loves to play.

I named her Kali. I love her

and my name is Mara.

My husband’s name is Juston.

My family is one of a kind,

but I love that.

We have a dog named Lucky.

We named him that

because they were getting ready to put him down.

Then Juston and me bought him.

I love my family.

*

Who hasn’t imagined what a baby might be thinking? I love the tactile images in Shalisa’s sweet poem. And the clasped hands at the end — wow!

 

Poet: Shalisa I.

 

I am a baby.

Even though I can’t speak full sentences

I have them in my head

and this is what I can speak,

Goo goo gaa gaa.

Anyways, I am about to go outside.

It is windy, but it’s divine.

The breeze ruffles through my hair.

My mommy puts me gently on the grass.

It tickles my toes.

I suddenly feel like

I am rising from below

and I am on my mother’s toes.

Soon I say, Goo gaa,

which means “Yay! This is fun!”

I am swinging and rocking.

My mom is smiling at me

and I smile back.

Her loves makes me happy

and so does her smile too.

We put our hands together.

My hands are the key

and her  hands are the lock.

This is my favorite thing to do

with me and my mommy.

*

 

This is Mark’s updated draft, with an illustration. Isn’t it cool?!

Listen to the sounds and rhythms in Mark’s exciting poem. “Sparkle in the dark” — wonderful wordplay!

Poet: Mark G.

Places! Places!

The show will start.

The show must go on!

On you go, the crowd

won’t wait. If

there was no show,

I would hate!

We will have effects.

the costumes will

sparkle in the dark.

The music will sound like

it’s from Broadway!

*

I like the way that Mounira captures a specific moment in her character’s life and walks us through it slowly, so we can experience all of this person’s emotions.

Poet: Mounira H.

 

First!

 

Feeling nervous as I walk

to a stall. I don’t wanna

try to swim, it’s scary.

Get to a stall and put my

bathing suit on. I know

I have gear I can float

in, but I’m scared.

Mom takes a picture. I try

to look happy for her.

I feel weird with everything

on me. I wish it wasn’t

my first time swimming.

Finally, I get out

of the stall and put my foot

in the water. I feels nice

in the water. My swimming

teacher comes over and

says, “Ready to swim?

I say Yes and

five minutes later

I am swimming

for the first time.

*

Look for the final set of Northfield persona poems tomorrow, Poetry Friday. I hope you’ll stop by and visit with these wonderful third grade poets.

*

Check out the previous posts in this School Poetry Workshop series:

School Poetry Workshop: Haiku Hike, May 12, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: Food and the Five Senses, May 19, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: A Second Helping of Food Poems, May 25, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: Persona Poems, May 30, 2017

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School Poetry Workshop: Persona Poems

June is almost here! This week, the Northfield 3rd Grade poets, their teachers, and families, will be celebrating poetry at our annual open house. It’s a great time to recognize how hard the students have worked on their poems.

 

I’ve shared the poets’ haiku and food poems. Today, I am posting the third graders’ persona poems. You can read about how to run this workshop at Today’s Little Ditty. I often use Shonto Begay’s poem “Down Highway 163” as a mentor text for persona poems. This powerful poem brings up social justice and empathy issues, even for young readers. Sharing it together always prompts a fascinating discussion.

 

Persona Poem Workshop post at Today’s Little Ditty.

Persona Poem mentor text, “Down Highway 163” by Shonto Begay.

 

With this group, we used magazine cut-outs for our writing prompts. The students will make a display of the cut-outs paired with their response poems. I’m looking forward to seeing those at the open house!

 

Thanks to the Northfield 3rd grade team and families for giving me permission to share students’ persona poems. This writing prompt is a great way to teach voice.

 

There is great detail in Moyo’s poem. Check out her use of narrative elements. This is a poetic story with a beginning, middle, and end.

 

Poet: Moyo A.

 

Art Contest

 

There are butterflies in my stomach.

I’m so nervous.

I feel my heart pounding.

Boom boom boom!

Today is my art contest.

The winner gets to meet

a famous artist.

And I signed up myself!

 

We arrive at the art gallery.

There is a table and seats all

set up for the artists.

We have half an hour

to draw anything we want.

Your time starts now.

Beep, the timer’s up.

 

The judges critique our drawings.

I hear the judges murmur.

I smell/taste victory.

“The results are in…

The winner is Moyo!”

“What?”

I see the certificate and confetti.

I’m now in tears of JOY!

 

My kids love fishing with their grandparents, so Ava’s poem spoke to me. I love how she captures the excitement of the catch.

 

Poet: Ava W.

 

My Fishing Poem

 

Dad, could I cast the rod?

“Yes you can.” I cast the rod. Oh, oh.

I got something, so I reeled it in.

O.M.G. I caught a catfish. I think

we know what dinner is going to be.

Yay, the rapids are here. Bounce

up and down we go, down the river.

A huge wave is coming. Come on.

It hits me and not you!

It’s 8:30, we’re heading back.

 

Part of the persona poetry workshop is to list all of the facts of the image, the things we can see. We use those facts as the foundation for imagining the speaker’s thoughts, feelings, and life details. Emily uses details from her magazine cut-out and then jumps into some creative ideas.

Poet: Emily J.

 

My family is rich.

I have a fancy blue dress and hat

I got for my birthday.

Once I was walking

through the forest, going hiking.

While I was walking, I found

a bottle that said, “Drink me.”

I bent down and picked it up.

The top was still tight so I

knew nobody else had drank it.

I popped the top off

and gulped.

It smelled of pepper.

A spicy taste filled my mouth.

I ran until I found clean water

to drink.

I put that bottle

in the stream to drift away

never to be found.

I love poems that capture energy in their word choice and rhythm. Evan’s last line reminds me of a   famous poem by e.e. cummings.

Poet: Evan L.

In the spring

at the basketball hoop

a girl smiling, happily doing

a cartwheel, maybe she

kicks her dad.

It’s spring!

Kjell put a lot more work into this poem on revision day, but even the first draft has beautiful poetic moments. Listen to the sounds in the fourth line!

Poet: Kjell t.

There was a family so

happy as could be. They

went on a camping trip. In

the deep heap of forest leaves.

They smile. It’s like a sun in

the happy sky.

I’ll be posting persona poems all week. I hope you’ll stop by and visit with these wonderful third grade poets.

Check out the previous posts in this School Poetry Workshop series:

School Poetry Workshop: Haiku Hike, May 12, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: Food and the Five Senses, May 19, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: A Second Helping of Food Poems, May 25, 2017

 

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School Poetry Workshops: A Second Helping of Food Poems

Last weekend, I visited my home state for NerdCampNJ. (Hey, Jersey! Looking good.) There’s no better way to spend a rainy Saturday than surrounded by educators, authors, and super readers.

At NerdCampNJ with members of the Sweet 16s debut author group (L to R): Isabel Bandeira (Bookishly Ever After, YA), Kristy Acevedo (Consider, YA), Melanie Conklin (Counting Thyme, MG), me with my button-covered lanyard, and Kathy MacMillan (Sword and Verse, YA).

One of the highlights of my day was co-leading a workshop: Building Literacy with Poetry and Books in Verse. You can find notes from the workshop here.

I met two wonderful poet/authors.

Beth Ain’s new verse novel is IZZY KLINE HAS BUTTERFLIES. It’s a great book for kids who enjoyed reading THE LAST FIFTH GRADE. It has an upper elementary school setting and an inviting voice. Izzy is working through real life problems with humor and thoughtfulness. (Beth has a very cool writing activity that supports developing emotional intelligence. There’s more info at her Instagram account.)

Available July, 2017.

Emma Otheguy’s debut picture book in verse is MARTI’S SONG FOR FREEDOM a biography of poet and activist José Martí. You can read more about Emma’s book here. I’m a huge fan of picture book biographies and this book is gorgeous. The story is told in Spanish/English poems by historian Otheguy.

I still had a taste for food poems, since my Northfield 3rd Grade poets described their favorite delicacies so well. That’s why, for my part of the NerdCampNJ workshop, I walked teachers through the Mystery Food exercise (find it here) and shared the mentor text, “Good Hotdogs,” by Sandra Cisneros.

Stop by Margaret Simon’s blog, Reflections on the Teche, for more Poetry Friday poems, reviews, and posts.

Thanks to the Northfield 3rd grade team and families for giving me permission to share students’ food poems with our Poetry Friday community. Let’s read more poems focusing on using imagery of the five senses.

 

 

Kelly’s poem is filled with tactile details about chocolate.

Poet: Kelly J.

Chocolate

Brown and smooth

Comes in different tasty flavors

With sweet smells

And chewy sounds

It’s crunchy and juicy

With it mostly hard

Sometimes there are bumps

Sometimes there are cracks

They don’t taste as delicious

If they are all melted.

The milky bites in my mouth

Remind me of cake

Chocolate cake is

Creamy and

All mushy.

 

Can you hear the rhythm and near-rhymes that Benjamin plays with in this fun poem?

Poet: Benjamin W.

Bubble Gum

Stretchy fun blow a bubble

When it pops blow again

Lost its taste get another

Ran out buy another

Any kind, get some color

Crank it up, taste the sugar

Add some mint, make it smell good

Hear the sound when it pops

Change the color, blue green pink

 

I like the pet cameo at the end of Zola’s poem about chocolate.

Poet: Zola G.

Chocolate

On the shelf at Aldi’s

Milk chocolate

Just waiting to be

Bought.

After my dinner of

Potatoes, broccoli, and sausage,

I ask the sometimes

Devastating question

“Can I have a chocolate bar?”

“Yes, of course. You

Ate real good.”

I run over to our candy cupboard

Which some people think

Looks like Mr. Willy Wonka’s

Factory!

I grab my chocolate and

Sit down to eat.

The sweet, creamy taste

Is awesome on my tongue.

Gnocchi looks up at me and

Then the chocolate.

It’s poison for dogs!

I won’t give her any! All for me.

 

Annchi’s poem tells a whole story. Have you ever gone fishing for your dinner? I have.

Poet: Annchi L.

Fried Fish

A rock around

On the bank, I sit

Only me and Dad

My hand holds a fishing pole

The bait is worms.

I can feel the worms squirm in my hand

As I put them on the hook.

Holding the fishing pole I swing my arm

Plop!

I sit there waiting, talking with my dad

Suddenly, something pulls and tugs.

I pull the string with all my might

Beads of sweat doll down

There I battle with the fish

Like playing tug-of-war with my friends

My dad helps, with one tug

The fish gives up.

Two against one.

I bolted back to home.

My mother fried it,

Sizzling in the pan,

I gobbled it up, a meaty flavor

I spit out all the prickly things

At my brother.

I run back to the bank, wanting for more!

 

Isabella’s poem had me drooling.

Poet: Isabella H.

Chocolate Peach Crêpe

In Canada, we go snow tubing.

Me, my cousins, grandparents, Mom, and Dad.

Afterwards, we eat the perfect French

Delight. Cling, cling, go the coins. I watch

The baker place the batter on the pan.

She spreads it flat and talks to us.

She plops on the big, juicy peaches,

Drizzles on the chocolate, scoops on

The ice cream, and rolls it up. When I see

The plate, it is white and plain…

Until she adds the crêpe. It’s thin,

Soft and creamy. Oops. It’s gone.

I gobbled it down.

 

I like the way that Nieve listened closely to the mentor text and incorporated ideas  from “Good Hotdogs” into this poem.

Poet: Nieve T.

Pizza

Cheesy golden brown saucy

Two dollars for a piece

We arrive to the shop

Cheesy, crunch

Crust is golden brown

“Crunch, crunch, crunch”

Smells like olives and cheese

Grease dripping down

I hum

We drive home.

I save none for my sister

Golden brown crust.

Yum! That pizza was so good.

 

Max and I had a good chat about our favorite hamentashen flavors. This cookie is a traditional Jewish food, enjoyed during the spring festival of Purim. Haman is the villain in the story of Esther, which is retold and acted out at Purim celebrations.

Poet: Max S.

Hamentashen

Flatten that dough

Circled out

Put some Nutella in the circle

Folded into a triangle

Hardened and heated

Yummy cookie and Nutella!

We eat Haman’s hat.

Bad Haman.

Smooth brown Nutella

In Haman’s hat.

 

This is another poem with great energy. Kali shares the anticipation of waiting for a favorite food.

Poet: Kali L.

Papa’s Special Pasta!

Every summer

Once a year

Saucy, sweet

Red sauce

Boiling water

Come, come on

Everyone it’s here

I can smell it

Come on

Five people here

Waiting on two

Come on Come

on

Our last workshop at Northfield will be persona poems. Look for those next week.

Check out the previous posts in this School Poetry Workshop series:

School Poetry Workshop: Haiku Hike, May 12, 2017

School Poetry Workshop: Food and the Five Senses, May 19, 2017

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School Poetry Workshop: Food and the 5 Senses

Poetry Friday is at Kiesha’s Whispers from the Ridge. Click through to find more delectable poetry posts from the kidlitosphere.

It’s Poetry Friday! Welcome back to Northfield Elementary, where the third grade poets are using their five senses to write about food.

When I’m working with young writers on food poems, I want to guide them away from catch-all words: delicious, yummy, tasty, good, disgusting. Pizza and ice cream are both delicious, but they don’t taste anything alike (unless you visit this LA restaurant.)

Here’s a quick cooperative writing game/exercise you can use to help students focus on specific, descriptive language.

Mystery Food

Goal: Get the class to guess your mystery food in three words.

Make a set of small cards with the name of a food on each one. I use half an index card. The foods I use are: ice cream, bubble gum, tacos, hamburger, pizza, apple, chocolate, orange, celery, spinach.
Give groups of four-six students one card each. Don’t read the card aloud (we don’t want our classmates to hear), but pass it around the group.
The group has 5 minutes to come up with the three adjectives that are so descriptive, the class will be able to figure out the food in one guess.
Each group take turns reading their three words. The rest of the class tries to guess the food.

My students have a great time with this one. The classroom teacher and I do walk around, reminding them that they can use color, shape, texture, flavor, and other descriptors.

Our mentor text for the food poems workshop is “Good Hotdogs” by Sandra Cisneros.

Thanks to the Northfield 3rd grade team and families for giving me permission to share the students’ poems. Today, we were focusing on using imagery of the five senses.

Poet: Ayesha A.

Popsicle

Going outside

In the warm sunshine.

You run behind me.

Something’s in your hand.

You yell, “Wait!”

I turn around, something plops in

My hand.

I rip open the foil

And see all the types

Of colors. I take a bite

And out leaks the juicy

Cherry flavor. When I’m done there’s

A stick left behind.

I then say thanks and then

I leave. Yum.

Poet: Will Y.

Sushi

Waiting ‘til Friday

Hearing a ding

Going to the door, meeting

The sushi man

Pizza, sushi, and video games

End of the week, tired

California roll, sweet crab, soft avocado

I think it is tasty

Poet: Celia V.

Pepperoni Pizza

As I taste the spicy pepperoni

Smell the cheese at the tip

Of my tongue, see the cheesy

Pizza, hear the likes of

My mouth, ready to eat it

Up, I touch the hotness of

My pizza.

Poet: Tanishka H.

S’mores

Out in the dark

We sit in the pitch black.

Mom and Dad

Shout surprise! Out come

Hershey bars, marshmallows

Honeylicious graham crackers.

Mom and Dad light up the fire.

I see marshmallows

On a stick soft, crispy,

And looks yummy! First goes

The cracker, then goes toasty

Marshmallows and sweet

Hershey piece and another

Honeylicious graham

Cracker on top. We take

A s’more. We smell sweet crisps

Of marshmallow burns.

We take a bite. “Yum,” we say. Chewy

Squishy marshmallows in our mouths.

S’mores we all love.

Poet: Ava R.

Warm Drinks in the Winter

I hear the coffee machine dispenses warm liquid.

I feel the warm cup against my cold fingers.

I smell the hot chocolatey air.

I see the marshmallows melt into the hot chocolate.

I hear the sound of the whipped cream

Squirt out of the can into the hot chocolate.

It tastes as if I got it from heaven.

The warm liquid swishes in my mouth.

Swish, swash, gulp!

Still hungry? I’ll post more Northfield food poems next week.

Check out the previous posts in this School Poetry Workshop series:

School Poetry Workshop: Haiku Hike, May 12, 2017

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School Poetry Workshop: Haiku Hike

Thank you for hosting today’s Poetry Friday link up, Tara Smith! You’ll find a list of today’s poetry posts at Tara’s blog, A Teaching Life.

Happy Poetry Friday, Readers.

It’s May, my month to serve as poet-in-residence at Northfield Elementary School. This is my longest running residency through the Maryland State Arts Council. 11 years!

When I had my orientation meeting with third grade educators this year, they had important information for me. This year’s 3rd graders are active. They need to move! How could we adapt the poetry lessons to meet this need?

We decided to kick off our series of poetry workshops with a haiku hike, inspired by the book HAIKU HIKE from Scholastic. This book won the 2005 “Kids Are Authors” award. It’s a great introduction to haiku and inspired us to go outdoors and gather images for our poems.

Find it at ABE books.

Haiku poems have a rich history, steeped in Japanese culture. We talked about a few quick things before we went outside.

Japanese is read from top to bottom, not left to right like English. The 5-7-5 syllable count isn’t a rule, but an attempt to recreate the rhythm of a Japanese haiku. I encourage students to write three lines — short-long-short — or even two lines for their haiku. (We looked at a traditional haiku, in Japanese, from a page in the book WABI SABI, by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young.)
The book HAIKU HIKE introduces the concept of kigo, a word in the haiku that symbolizes the season.
In some classes, we discussed the difference between haiku and senryu.

Then we were ready for our hike.

Each of the five third grade classes went outside for about 10-15 minutes on a series of sunny, very windy days. Wow! They student poets were so observant, paying attention to details small and large.

The wind was so chilly, students lay on the warm blacktop while they wrote down observations.

 

Thanks to the Northfield 3rd grade team and families for giving me permission to share the students’ poems.

Poet: Jessica M.

Leaves whispering quietly

My name in the breeze

Come outside with me

Modeling for students: flowers in our path/ buttercup turns our chins yellow/ on a haiku hike

Poet: A.J. H.

Itchy eyes

Acorns on the tips of trees

Millions of grass

Poet: Jameson I.

Running in grass

Brown pine cone in our path

Sappy hands

Poet: Sarah B.

On a sunny day

Spring flowers start to bloom

Then I do too

 

Poet: Sarena D.

Scratch, dirt creaks and crack

Under tree, all alone, far away from home

No movement, no tossing

Poet: Kate A.

Cute little creatures

Scurrying through green tree tops

Eating lots of nuts

Poet: Lucas B.

Shooting star

Some people make a wish

Others just watch

Poet: Milie S.

Shh, the leaves go

Rustled by the spring wind

Nature’s librarian

Poet: Jackson A.

Furious wind

Trees swaying and branches battling

Spring wind war

Then, this happened. (Haiku by Ms. Shovan)

windy spring day

student papers take flight

haiku blizzard

Inspired by the wonderful haiku by Northfield third graders, I’ve been working on my own haiku poems this week.

During one of my walks, I took photos instead of notes, then came home and wrote haiku like this one.

May walk

Sun puddles on pavement

Watch your step!

Want to try this lesson with your students? This is the frame I used. Feel free to borrow.

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NPM 2017: 5 Questions for the Verse Novelist, Featuring Holly Thompson

National Poetry Month 2017 has flown by in a blur of words. I’ve asked poet and author Holly Thompson to close out my NPM17 series of interviews with verse novelists. You’ll find links to each interview at the bottom of this post.

Holly has published many books–including a picture book, MG, YA, and new adult novels–but two of my favorite are her verse novels ORCHARDS and THE LANGUAGE INSIDE. We met years ago at an SCBWI conference and connected over poetry (what else?!) As I was working on my own novel-in-verse, Holly read early drafts. I am grateful for her feedback and her willingness to mentor a pre-published author.

Find it at Indiebound.

Happy National Poetry Month, Holly!

Tell us about your most recent verse novel. What is it about the story and characters that led you to write the book as poetry?

My third and most recent verse novel Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth confronts school bullying in Japan. As with my verse novel Orchards, and sections of The Language Inside, Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth is set in Japan. Bullying, or ijime, is a chronic social problem in Japan. Incidents of bullying and intimidation are on the rise in U.S. schools as well, but in Japanese schools, bullying tends to be a group phenomenon. My children’s experiences as outsiders in Japanese schools and the experiences and struggles of many other intercultural children I have come to know in my years of living in Japan led me to write this story. Main character Jason, a non-Japanese boy attending a Japanese school, has so much bottled up inside him as he copes with bullying—yet he confides to no one. Writing this story in a spare free verse style enabled me to tap into his struggles—and his valiant efforts to overcome his problems.

Does your story spin on one central event and how it impacts the characters in the book? If so, how did you incorporate poetic elements such as metaphor and symbolism to show the echoes of that event through the novel? Would you share an example of this from your book?

In Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth, Jason is an outsider and a year older than his classmates, and when the classroom han groups are changed, Jason finds himself placed with five of the most aggressive members of the class. He knows he will be with seated with this han for many weeks—in homeroom for most classes, at lunch, and during unsupervised school cleaning periods. His friends at school are sympathetic but remain passive bystanders, urging Jason to just go along with the bullies and not make waves. Jason tries to find confidence and balance through his practice of the martial art aikido as aggressions escalate.

The following are two of five “page poems” in an early chapter of Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth called “Centering.”

You can see the correct formatting of the poems on the page in this photo.

_____

at the dojo

you bow to enter

and on the mats

you kneel, you meditate

you hold your one-point center

even when Yamada-sensei

pushes your forehead to test you

you chant, you stretch

you roll

across

the mats

forward

and back

you bow to your opponent

you practice holds and moves

you take your opponent’s energy

and turn it to overcome him

or her

and what matters most

through every move and fall

is you keep firm

you stay in control

you hold your center

_____

in aikido

we practice protecting

we imagine attackers

we use mind and body together

our ki energy

to keep calm

perform our best

so we can dare to face

an enemy of millions

but today I picture real attackers

so while entering and turning

and receiving strikes

I’m thinking of

Shunta

Gō

Yuki

Naho

and Mika

I focus hard

make no mistakes

calm and action

as one

_____

Have you ever written a full or partial draft of one of your verse novels in prose (or vice versa), only to decide to switch? How did you go about making that change? What were some of your clues that you needed to rethink the form?

Before setting out to complete a full draft, I always play with scenes in both prose and poetry, and listen to the narrative voice closely to test and confirm that verse is the appropriate form for the novel. One scene of Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth had first existed as a prose short story, but that storytelling mode felt too distant. For a character enduring ongoing harassment in a society like Japan that emphasizes conformity and where the standard survival mechanism is to do anything to blend in and gaman—persevere stoically, I felt that free verse enabled an interiority that was critical in this book. In verse, you can pare the language down to reach the core of an episode, which can make the experience of a scene more visceral. With this interiority, and with pages that don’t overwhelm with details, verse can also enable readers to enter a world they may not know and to experience a situation in a first-hand sort of way.

I see a similarity between the poems in novels-in-verse and dramatic monologues. Each poem in a verse novel has a character communicating his or her emotions and observations. There is often a realization or shift in thinking that happens in both monologues and in a verse novel’s poems. What do you think about the overlap between a speech for the stage and a poem in a verse novel?

In my three verse novels so far, I’ve written in chapter poems that are composed of “page poems” or “sub poems.” These page poems are not titled, and rarely can they stand alone, but they are broken deliberately for page turns that affect the pacing in the novel. As a result, some chapters may resemble dramatic monologues. Or, a series of page poems from a subplot that spans multiple chapters may cumulatively serve as a dramatic monologue. I was pleased to learn that students sometimes perform dramatic interpretations for speech contests using my excerpts from my verse novels.

Most of the middle grade and YA verse novels I have read are contemporary or historical. I’d love to see a fantasy or science fiction novel-in-verse for kids. Do you think the form is flexible enough to stretch into other genres of fiction? Why or why not?

I think any genre of story can be told with poetry. There are so many ways to write poetry, and limitless possibilities for using poetry to propel a narrative, so I think we’ll be seeing many style, structural and genre variations in verse novels in the future. Why not a fantasy novel? Why not sci-fi? Poetry can do anything, and verse novels are a completely malleable form. I look forward to future verse novels!

I agree. With poetry, anything is possible. Thank for visiting, Holly!

Holly Thompson (www.hatbooks.com) is a longtime resident of Japan and author of the verse novels Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth, The Language Inside, and Orchards. She edited Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories, and she writes poetry, fiction and nonfiction for children, teens and adults and teaches writing in Japan, the U.S. and internationally.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of  interviews with verse novelists. Thanks to all of the authors who took the time to share insights in their writing.

Here is the full list of posts:

4/3 Jeannine Atkins, STONE MIRRORS: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis (Find the post here.)

4/6 Caroline Starr Rose, BLUE BIRDS (Find the post here.)

4/10 Leza Lowitz, UP FROM THE SEA (Find the post here.)

4/13 Shari Green, MACY McMILLAN AND THE RAINBOW GODDESS (Find the post here.)

4/17 Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu, SOMEWHERE AMONG (Find the post here.)

4/20 Ellie Terry, FORGET ME NOT (Find the post here.)

4/24 Margarita Engle, MORNING STAR HORSE and FOREST WORLD (Find the post here.)

4/25 Tamera Will Wissinger, GONE CAMPING (Find the post here.)

4/27 Debut novelist Amanda Rawson-Hill (Find the post here.)

4/30 Holly Thompson, FALLING INTO THE DRAGON’S MOUTH

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NPM 2017: 5 Questions for the Verse Novelist, Featuring Amanda Rawson Hill

It’s the Poetry Friday of National Poetry Month. We’re down to the last two author interviews of my NPM17 series on verse novelists.

Thanks to April Halprin Wayland for hosting Poetry Friday this week. You’ll find April and all of this week’s poetry links at Teaching Authors.

I have something and someone different to share with you today:  A verse novelist in the making! Meet Amanda Hill, a debut prose-novelist who just finished polishing up a novel-in-verse with her agent. The working title of that book is THE HOPE OF ELEPHANTS.

Amanda interviewed me about writing verse novels a few months ago. (Read part one of that interview here.) I’m happy to include her in this months verse novelist series.

Tell us about the verse novel you’re working on, Amanda. What is it about the story and characters that led you to write the book as poetry?

The verse novel is an MG/YA crossover about a girl who finds out she has a 50/50 chance of having the same cancer gene that is killing her father.

I knew it was in verse almost from the very beginning, simply because that is how the character started speaking to me before I even wrote anything down. It took me a couple minutes of listening to her words and hearing the rhythm of them before I said, “I think she’s talking in free verse.”

Sure enough. She was. And it’s a good thing, too. Because the idea in the story of something being 50/50 and having two different paths one can possibly take in life is something that I was able to actually illustrate in form using poetry.

Does your story spin on one central event and how it impacts the characters in the book? If so, how did you incorporate poetic elements such as metaphor and symbolism to show the echoes of that event through the novel? Would you share an example of this from your book?

My story spins on this idea of the character wondering, “Am I living or dying?” while simultaneously watching her father die. So, this idea of death and what it means to die is echoed a lot through my book, especially through the last half. Although, I very rarely talk about it outright. I use a lot of symbolism. One poem says death is like finishing a really good book. Another compares terminal illness and death to waiting in an airport and then getting on a plane. The very last poem is left up to the reader as to whether it is another metaphor for dying, or simply something that truly happened, and it’s about crossing a bridge.

Your debut is a prose novel. How was the experience of working on this book different from writing prose fiction? What made you turn to poetry as the backbone of how you tell a story?

Writing a verse novel felt harder to me. First of all, the number of words I could get onto the page in an hour was totally different. When I’m writing prose, I can do 1000 easy. With a verse novel, my max was about 400. After that, I would feel so drained mentally, that I just couldn’t do anymore. It was also different in how the story was told. While there were still scenes, I had to tell them in glimpses. Each poem feels more like telling a story through snapshots. A certain feeling or symbol or focus for each poem all adding up to a greater whole and story. It was hard to train my brain to think in snapshots instead of narration, if that makes sense. It still took several rounds of revision to realize that I didn’t need so many poems for one scene. That I was still trying to narrate some things, instead of just giving a glimpse.

That makes perfect sense. My brain tends to think in those snapshots. Even when I’m writing in prose, it’s scene by scene. The narration, the glue between moments, comes later.

Most of the middle grade and YA verse novels I have read are contemporary or historical. I’d love to see a fantasy or science fiction novel-in-verse for kids. Do you think the form is flexible enough to stretch into other genres of fiction? Why or why not?

That’s a good question! I think it definitely could, but probably with limitations. I don’t know if you could do a real epic or high fantasy that needs a ton of world building because I think that would either bog down the poetry, or not be effectively communicated. But I think a light fantasy or a contemporary fantasy with familiar characters like werewolves, vampires, fairy tale characters, etc. could definitely be done well. So I say, Yes…with limits.

Imagine one of your favorite poets has just written his or her first verse novel for children or teens. Which poet is it? Why do you think this person would be a great fit for a kidlit novel-in-verse? Any guesses as to what the book might be about?

I have lots of favorite poets. But when I think about which one could write a great novel in verse for kids, I’m going to have to go with Maya Angelou. I just think MG lit is all about finding hope and starting to figure out how the world works. I think those themes and ideas are really exemplified in some of her poetry. I can totally see an MG character saying, “I rise, I rise, I rise.” Or, “Nobody, but nobody, can make it out here alone.”

As to what it would be about, I think it would follow in the tradition of Nikki Grimes and Janice N. Harrington. a beautiful, family-centered story with a black main character finding their voice.

I’m excited to read your prose novel, Amanda — and happy to have  you in the verse novelist community too.

Amanda Hill grew up in southwest Wyoming, with a library right out her back gate (which accounts a lot for how she turned out.) She attended Brigham Young University, where she earned her bachelor’s in chemistry. From there, Amanda has lived all over the country with her husband and family. She now resides in central California, where she enjoys homeschooling her children, gardening, working with refugees, and, of course, writing. She is represented by Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown and has a debut novel  being published in 2018.

We wrap up my series of National Poetry Month interviews with verse novelists on Sunday. Holly Thompson will be here to talk about her MG verse novel, FALLING INTO THE DRAGON’S MOUTH.

Here is the full schedule of posts:

4/3 Jeannine Atkins, STONE MIRRORS: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis (Find the post here.)

4/6 Caroline Starr Rose, BLUE BIRDS (Find the post here.)

4/10 Leza Lowitz, UP FROM THE SEA (Find the post here.)

4/13 Shari Green, MACY McMILLAN AND THE RAINBOW GODDESS (Find the post here.)

4/17 Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu, SOMEWHERE AMONG (Find the post here.)

4/20 Ellie Terry, FORGET ME NOT (Find the post here.)

4/24 Margarita Engle, MORNING STAR HORSE and FOREST WORLD (Find the post here.)

4/25 Tamera Will Wissinger, GONE CAMPING (Find the post here.)

4/27 Debut novelist Amanda Rawson-Hill

4/30 Holly Thompson, FALLING INTO THE DRAGON’S MOUTH

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NPM 2017: 5 Questions (+1) for the Verse Novelist, Featuring Tamera Will Wissinger

It’s the last week of National Poetry Month. I’ve got three more author interviews lined up for us. They’re part of my NPM17 series on verse novelists.

Find it at Indiebound.

I met Tamera Will Wissinger last year, at the 2016 ALA conference. We were both in the audience–and both of us were totally fangirling–when Marilyn Singer  hosted a wonderful reading by kidlit poets.

I’m a big fan of Tamera’s debut novel-in-verse, Gone Fishing. And I’m thrilled to welcome her to my blog today.

Tell us about the most recent verse novel. What is it about the story and characters that led you to write the book as poetry?

Gone Camping is a companion book to my first verse novel, Gone Fishing. I enjoyed that process of poetry story telling so much that I decided to try again. For me it was trickier writing a follow up than the original. The story line, setting, and characters needed to be familiar but not the same – a delicate balance. The poetry aspect was actually easier than getting the story line just right. Since forms are fixed, it’s a matter of selecting those styles that best help tell the story.

Does your story spin on one central event and how it impacts the characters in the book? If so, how did you incorporate poetic elements such as metaphor and symbolism to show the echoes of that event through the novel? Would you share an example of this from your book?

There are actually two central events – the setting and plotline are built around a camping trip, and there is also an emotional arc of one of the character’s fear of staying overnight in the tent. Incorporating poetry elements seemed like a natural way to echo the fears that Lucy has from early in the story. I like to use repetitions, refrains, and strong rhythm and end rhyme to drive home those fears, and how Lucy overcomes her fears. One example is in a poem called “To Noises in the Night”. In it Lucy talks directly to Spookiness, Shadows, and Strange Noises, which is personification. Since the whole poem is done in this way it’s a poem of address. I also threw in anaphora, the repetition of a phrase, because it echoes a chant from a favorite story from my childhood. (More on that below.)

TO NOISES IN THE NIGHT 

Poem of Address

Spookiness, Shadows, Strange Noises: Beware.

I’m not so little or easy to scare.

Spookiness, Shadows, Strange Noises: Behave.

I am ferocious: I’m Lucy the Brave.

My shield is this pillow, my sword – this flashlight.

Spookiness, Shadows, Strange Noises: GOODNIGHT.

Illustrations by Matthew Cordell.

 

Have you ever written a full or partial draft of one of your verse novels in prose (or vice versa), only to decide to switch? How did you go about making that change? What were some of your clues that you needed to rethink the form?

Yes. I have a full prose novel that I’m rewriting as a verse novel. The topic is sort of heavy for young readers and the prose also felt heavy, so I’m hoping that the switch will give it balance. It’s more free verse than I usually use, so it’s very liberating to give it a try.

I see a similarity between the poems in novels-in-verse and dramatic monologues. Each poem in a verse novel has a character communicating his or her emotions and observations. There is often a realization or shift in thinking that happens in both monologues and in a verse novel’s poems. What do you think about the overlap between a speech for the stage and a poem in a verse novel?

It’s interesting and not something I had thought of before, but I like it and think it makes sense. I have tended to think about musical theater – a sister to dramatic monologues – for my inspiration. If you look at the sample poem above, there is a link to a certain L. Frank Baum-based musical film chant from the 1930s involving Lions and Tigers and…(oh my!)

Most of the middle grade and YA verse novels I have read are contemporary or historical. I’d love to see a fantasy or science fiction novel-in-verse for kids. Do you think the form is flexible enough to stretch into other genres of fiction? Why or why not?

Yes! I would love to see the form expand to any genre that authors and readers may be interested in writing and reading. It’s probably not that simple, though. Since prose is the standard storytelling format and other forms such as poetry or epistolary add a literary constraint beyond sentences, paragraphs and chapters, it’s not something that everyone is interested in writing. Also, fantasy and sci-fi have the world building aspect which is another constraint that is more integral to the story for those particular genres, than a format choice. If someone does take on all those challenges, though, I will eagerly read it and I bet there are many others who will, too.

Imagine one of your favorite poets has just written his or her first verse novel for children or teens. Which poet is it? Why do you think this person would be a great fit for a kidlit novel-in-verse? Any guesses as to what the book might be about?

Ooh, this is fun! I would choose Samuel Taylor Coleridge because he has a strong grasp of poetic storytelling and he also understands poetic forms: “What is an Epigram? A dwarfish whole, / It’s body brevity, and wit its soul.” I would guess it might be a ballad of some sort, maybe about something or someone at sea, with a boat, maybe fish…

Thank you for including me in your National Poetry Month verse novelist feature, Laura. What fun!

Thank you, Tamera. It was fun to catch up with you!

Tamera Will Wissinger writes poetry and stories for children. She earned her B.A. degree in English from Sioux Falls College (now the University of Sioux Falls, and her M.F.A. degree in Writing from Hamline University. She is the author of GONE FISHING: A Novel in Verse, GONE CAMPING: A Novel in Verse, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers) THIS OLD BAND and THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO GOBBLED A SKINK (Sky Pony Press).

My series of National Poetry Month interviews with verse novelists continues on Thursday with Amanda Rawson-Hill, who will tell us about her debut verse novel!

Here is the full schedule of posts:

4/3 Jeannine Atkins, STONE MIRRORS: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis (Find the post here.)

4/6 Caroline Starr Rose, BLUE BIRDS (Find the post here.)

4/10 Leza Lowitz, UP FROM THE SEA (Find the post here.)

4/13 Shari Green, MACY McMILLAN AND THE RAINBOW GODDESS (Find the post here.)

4/17 Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu, SOMEWHERE AMONG (Find the post here.)

4/20 Ellie Terry, FORGET ME NOT (Find the post here.)

4/24 Margarita Engle, MORNING STAR HORSE and FOREST WORLD (Find the post here.)

4/25 Tamera Will Wissinger, GONE CAMPING

4/27 Debut novelist Amanda Rawson-Hill

4/30 Holly Thompson, FALLING INTO THE DRAGON’S MOUTH

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