Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
I have been reading aloud Kate DiCamillo’s new book Ferris. I’m a huge fan of Kate’s books. I stood in a long line to get a copy signed by her at the Mississippi Book Festival in the fall.
Pinky, Ferris’s sister, is an outlaw.
I’m reading the book to my combination 5th and 6th grade gifted class. Two of my girls got together and decided to create a sort of classroom game.
First Kailyn drew a poster of Pinky, Ferris’s crazy younger sister.
Marifaye made a wanted poster.
Together they made “aura” bucks.
They put me in charge of hiding her.
There is a list of rules, of course.
So far this game has been going on for two days. They’ve had to make a new rule that if you find Pinky, you can’t tell anyone (or even make gestures).
Pinky hid behind a photograph.
Today I put her in between books on the shelf.
So far no harm has come from this game and most of my students are playing along.
I don’t think I could have single-handedly come up with a better plan for engaging my class in a read aloud. I highly recommend Ferris. The basic theme that repeats throughout is “every good story is a love story.” With a sprinkle of Kate DiCamillo magic, my students are falling in love with this book.
Author Phil Russotti with his granddaughter Stella.
Phil Russotti sent me copies of his 3 Stella books because I am the grandmother of a girl named Stella. It was quite a coincidence to find out while reading his books that his character, Stella, has a brother named Leo. How can that be? When I read the books to Stella, my 4 year old granddaughter, she decided to change all the names to match her friends’ names. I think she believed the story was about her. And why not? In the books, the character Stella does all kinds of magical and fun things with her family, friends, and magic wand. She can even fly on her pet bluebird. The books are full of fun fantasy. My Stella feels special that she has books with her name in it.
Phil co-wrote the books with his granddaughter. I imagine doing that someday with my grandson, Leo, who is becoming quite the artist. This grandfather/granddaughter duo took the extra hard step to publication. I was curious about the process, so I sent Phil some questions.
Tell us about the book:
The first book “Stella in Paris” was conceived by Stella and myself during the Pandemic. We were living together for safety reasons when one day Stella said to me, “Grandpa I was thinking that I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and waved my Magic Wand and the virus went away all over the World. “
I said that was a wonderful thought and a great idea for a story and we started developing the book. It was her idea that she got the Magic Wand from the Tooth Fairy and that she flew to the top of the Eiffel Tower on her pet bird, Mr. Tweet Tweet, her trusted companion. We then decided that Stella could do more helpful things and conceived of the London and New York books.
Why did you write it?
Stella’s initial idea was born out of her reaction of fear and incomprehension of what was happening with the spreading virus. Which I assume all children had. But her solution had a positive and powerful message of empowerment that I realized could serve as a lesson for young girls that they could conquer any problem if they put their minds to it. We then ventured to other locales to show how a young girl could solve problems all by herself and help people.
Tell us about the writing process or collaboration. Did you discover anything new about yourself as a writer?
The collaborative process was accomplished by me coming up with the basic story (ie. saving a whale that got caught in the River Thames) and asking Stella questions to which she supplied the answers to flush out the story. Such as “Where should the next book be based?” and she came up with London. I asked why would she go to London and she said that once the pandemic was over, people would want to travel, and it would be natural for someone in Paris to travel to London. So she went to London to meet new friends. When I asked if she took the Chunnel from Paris to London, she said, “No, I would go with Mr. Tweet Tweet.” We just proceeded from there, question by question and she filled in the details.
I discovered that I could engage in fiction writing, which is something I had never done, and in fact, I didn’t read fiction. It was a growing experience for me to help create stories.
Who was the book written for?
The books are written for young girls to see how powerful they can be and how they can solve any problem they put their minds to. They are books of empowerment.
Could you share an example or excerpt for the audience?
In London when the whale inadvertently broke her Magic Wand, Stella had to figure out how to fix it. She came up with asking another woman, the Queen of England. When she met the Queen, she bowed and then said, “You’re welcome, but please Your Majesty can you fix my Magic Wand?” The Queen exclaimed ,”I’d be happy to”, and told Stella to hold the pieces together. The Queen then picked up her giant scepter and waved it over the wand saying, “Whippety, whoopity, whopp, Wand Wand come together!” and the wand was fixed better than ever. Two women solving the big problem together!
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Who among us doesn’t love a good book festival? This weekend my husband, my hero, offered to drive on Friday after work so that we could attend the Mississippi Book Festival in my home town of Jackson, MS. We had plans to visit my mother, but the book festival started at 9 AM, driving late into Friday evening was necessary.
It was so worth it! I was able to see an interview with Kate DiCamillo who is always a delight. With Ellen Hunter Ruffin, who is a hoot in her own right, they bantered and kept the audience laughing. Kate was introduced by none other than Ann Patchet, who later joined her on a panel about friendship and narrative.
When a teacher in the audience asked Kate about themes in her books, she said, “I have no idea what the themes are. Forgiveness and family seem to be my preoccupations. Those things are in there unwittingly. The only way to tell a story well is to let your guard down. Be vulnerable.”
As a teacher, a standard that I hit my head on constantly is “identify the theme.” It is so interesting to me that theme is the last thing an author thinks about when writing, if at all.
Kate is a cheerleader for reading aloud. I’ve started reading her new book Ferris to my students. They can’t wait to read more.
Kate DiCamillo after signing hundreds of books. We could be best friends.
Authors are real people. They struggle, as we do, to make sense of the world and to do their best to mold and shape the lives of children.
I ran into a new children’s book author who I had met at the Fay B. Kaigler book festival in April. She joined me and Irene Latham for dinner one night, and we hit it off immediately. Fate and this festival brought us back together. Her new book is Trunk Goes Thunk: A Woodland Tale of Opposites. She was on a panel of children’s book authors. They talked about who they were and where their ideas came from. Heather was enthralled by a live cam video of a fallen log. She wanted to write a book about all the animals that travel the log bridge which ultimately leads from separate to together. If you collect children’s books, be on the lookout. It’s coming out soon.
Author Heather Morris and me at the Mississippi Book Festival.
On Saturday, early in the morning, I set up a booth with two of my regional SCBWI friends. We offered our books for sale and some fun crafty activities for kids at the Lafayette Farmers & Artisans Market.
Rainbow paper is magical.Me with Mamere dollMy only sale of the day!
Middle grade novels and poetry books are not best sellers in this market. My friends who have picture books sold more than I did. But I didn’t care. It was a beautiful day!
When I saw a middle grade girl, I asked her if she would like to write a poem. She looked eager, so I gave her a card with a prompt from Bayou Song, a Things to Do poem. She did it! I told her she was the poet of the month and posted it on Facebook. Her mother recognized immediately that we were all teachers and said, “This is a magical space.” That comment and her daughter’s poem made every minute worth it.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
On Sunday afternoon, the rain had stopped, the air was a perfect 70 degrees, and my house was full. Full of people with great admiration for my mother-in-law, Anne Simon, who once served as a district judge in a three parish area of Louisiana. She was not holding court, but the respect and honor was present. Minga (her grandmother name given by my oldest daughter) was signing her 5th book. Her first book Blood in the Cane Field came out in 2014. She has only been a writer for 10 years. She is 92 years old.
Actually, Anne has been working on being an author for a long time. She graduated from Wellesley and was the token woman chosen from her class to attend Yale Law School. Mona Lisa Smile was a movie based on her Wellesley class. At Yale, “They didn’t even have female bathrooms,” she told me. At Yale, she met Jerry Simon, a young man from an exotic place, New Iberia, Louisiana. In 1956, she was the only woman law school graduate in her class at LSU Law School. Jerry had swept her away from Yale to plant her firmly in Louisiana soil. From 1956-1984, Anne and Jerry practiced together as partners in a law firm. My husband Jeff joined the practice in 1981. In 1985, Anne ran for District Judge and became the first woman to hold that office. In her retirement, she served as an ad hoc judge for the Louisiana Supreme Court. All that time, she collected stories.
On Sunday, Anne told the group gathered in our home about how she came to write this latest novel, Blue, Gray, and Black Blood: The Civil War in the Bayou Country. She was interested in Civil War history. In her studies, she found that farm boys from western Massachusetts volunteered for the Union Army. She knew this area of the country well (Wellesley is located in Massachusetts) and imagined that they might have crossed paths with French speaking African Americans in Acadiana.
This photo shows Anne talking with Phebe Hayes, a historian and founder of the Iberia African American Society. Phebe was studying her family’s genealogy when she had lunch with me and Anne on the back porch of Anne’s house. I was there when the two discussed Phebe’s discoveries about her ancestry. Her ancestors were French speaking Creoles who joined the 52nd Massachusetts volunteers heading west. Through Anne’s thorough research, she wrote a historical fiction book “so you could imagine what it would have been like to live during that time.”
Phebe Hayes, left, and Anne Simon, right, celebrate the publication of a book that shares their history.
“We need to know every group’s history, not just our own. They intersect and we understand more when we know more,” said Anne to the crowd gathered. I was honored to be able to provide my home for the book signing. And many thanks to the people who helped with the event.
I was introduced to Jessica Whipple by my friend Irene Latham. What a delight to read her new picture book “Enough is” illustrated by Nicole Wong. Enough was my One Little Word for 2022. When I need to remind myself that I am enough and I have enough, I wear the bracelet that bears the word. Jessica took this idea and stretched it into love in a picture book. “Somewhere between a little and a lot, there is Enough.”
The child character is learning about enough. “Enough isn’t a number,” so she wonders, what is enough? She comes to the profound conclusion that when you have enough, it’s easy to share.
I asked Jessica to answer some questions about her author’s journey to publication. Her book Enough Is published this week.
How would you describe your journey as a writer?
My journey as a writer began as an experiment! I’m a “try it and see what happens” kind of person. In short, I had an idea (out of which came my first book, ENOUGH IS…), and then the question “I wonder if I can write a picture book?” And soon after, “What does it take to publish a picture book?” I was a young-ish mom, so picture books were starting to fill my consciousness! And I have a degree in communications, and so writing has been part of my make-up for some time. Four, maybe five years later, here I am and I never expected to answer my first two questions in such a delightfully surprising and satisfying way.
How does writing poetry help when writing a picture book? How are they different?
There are similarities in form between a free verse poem and a picture book, and of course a rhyming PB and a rhyming poem. There tend to be short lines in both forms, economical language, a set “flow,” lyricism, introspection, toying with reader expectations…I could go on! In fact, I am working on a virtual or in-person presentation for poetry-loving highschoolers about this topic. Shameless plug: I would love to speak to your student literary magazine or English class!
Is Enough a concept you feel young children have a hard time with? What is your experience with this concept?
Very much, yes! And my own experience is that I have a hard time with it as an adult, even! As a child, I remember the sadness that came after, say, a back-to-school shopping trip and how conflicted I was with the realization it was all just “stuff,” yet somehow I wanted more of it. And now, without limits, I’ll simply keep eating chocolate chips out of the bag if I don’t remind myself that I wrote a book about this very thing! “Enough” is hard because it’s uncomfortable. We want…things, friends, happiness, you name it…so the more we help each other learn contentment, the easier it is to feel comfortable with having enough.
What part of the publishing journey is your favorite? Your least favorite?
Oh man I love querying! And now that I have an agent, Emily Keyes of Keyes Agency, I don’t get to do that anymore! I love the process of doing the same thing over and over again trying for a good result. But I suppose I can keep doing that as I work to promote my books… In terms of my least favorite part of the publishing journey, definitely the waiting!
Do you have any writing rituals that others may find helpful in their own writing?
I wouldn’t say this is a ritual, more of a mindset, perhaps: It doesn’t hurt to ask! For anything! As long as you are respectful, polite, and grateful, by all means, ASK. THE. QUESTION! Maybe it’s, “Is my manuscript still being considered?” Great one! As long as you’ve minded submission guidelines, send a brief email and ASK! Or are you seeking a blurb from an author you love? Say why you admire that author and ASK! I can’t tell you the many times putting myself out there and advocating for myself–not aggressively, but confidently–has led to positive results.
Welcome Jessica to Poetry Friday with your comments. Don’t forget to follow the Kidlit Progressive Poem to Sarah Grace Tuttle’s site today.
And because it’s National Poetry Month and I am writing a poem each day, I have a Zeno about the word Enough. J. Patrick Lewis invented the form using a mathematical pattern of 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1 in which the one syllables rhyme. I’ve been watching ruby-throated hummingbirds fighting over the feeder.
Enough
When I am down, worried about having enough, God sends me hummingbirds flit- flapping free, messengers of “Enough, See!”
Poetry Friday is hosted today by my new poet-friend, Marcie. She is a master at haiku and sends me a beautiful photo with haiku card each month. Here is the latest one:
out of tree crumbs– tiny mushrooms stake their umbrellas haiku and photo by Marcie Flinchum Atkins
I was inspired to write about Bubbles because my grandkids love to play with bubbles. Aren’t they fascinating? Kim Douillard granted permission for this photo to be included in the book. She takes photos on the beaches of San Diego, California. There is a bubble person who creates amazing bubbles on the beach. I love how she captures the wonder of a huge bubble in her photos.
Photo by Kim Douillard
I want to share my Fib poem. The Fib poem form was created by Greg Pincus using the Fibonacci series for syllable count: 1. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8,…
Blow Big Sturdy Flexible Shape-shifting whispers Large enough for you to ride on.
(c) Margaret Simon, 2023
Consider ordering a copy of this book full of fun poem forms and fibs: Click here.
My friend, poet Buffy Silverman is releasing a new word-blooming picture book, On a Gold-Blooming Day coming September 6, 2022. This rhythmic, rhyming, all-about-fall book is enchanting from start to finish. You will be transported to the season through words and images.
From On a Gold-Blooming Day, photos by Buffy Silverman
I asked Buffy to tell us how she is inspired to write.
I have been fascinated with the natural world for as long as I can remember. When I was six I collected a jar full of grasshoppers from an empty lot to keep as pets in the garage. I learned the hard way that insects need oxygen! I spent hours perched in the branches of our maple tree as a kid, watching the world below.
I still search out the small animals that share our habitat. We are lucky to live at the swampy end of a small lake, with frogs, turtles, birds, and woods as neighbors. We stopped mowing most of our backyard about twenty years ago, and a meadow has grown in its place, attracting a variety of insects. Now I collect critters with my camera instead of in a jar, and try to share what I see through my writing. My hound keeps me walking every day, no matter what the weather or season, so I get plenty of opportunity to make new discoveries!
I hope that my words might inspire a young person to look more closely at and fall in love with the world around them. The world desperately needs a generation of environmentalists, and I think that is most likely to happen if children spend time outdoors, make their own discoveries, and fall in love as I did with nature.
Buffy Silverman
From On A Gold-Blooming Day by Buffy Silverman
This golden glowing book is for preschool through 3rd graders. The back matter provides more information about the animals and plants mentioned in the text and images. A glossary of new words helps developing readers. Add this book to your fall reading list. Buffy’s website is here.
I met Allan Wolf years ago when he visited and presented in our area. He’s incredibly entertaining in real life. He is also one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. So when an opportunity appeared to get an ARC of his latest book of poems, along with an interview, I jumped at it.
Behold our Magical Garden is full of poems that take us into a school garden. You can jump in without getting dirty. The poems are lyrical, funny, and informative. They beg to be read aloud. Behold Our Magical Garden was released on March 8. Please enjoy this delightful interview with Allan.
Allan Wolf is a member of the species Poemo sapien. He often vocalizes in verse from atop chairs. He spends many hours alone sitting at his nest using his imagination to make things. Although he is 59 years old and 5’8” in height, he imagines himself much younger and much taller. He is a writer of poetry, novels, and picture books, and a serious believer in the healing powers of poetry. His latest collection of poems is Behold Our Magical Garden: Poems Fresh from a School Garden, illustrated by Daniel Duncan.
What inspires your writing?
Reading is a big inspiration. Listening to music. Watching performances of all kinds. Observing and experiencing any creative expression that resonates and moves me. While I certainly am a writer, I am more specifically a creator. I have an urge to create. We all have these urges to create life from the clay of our imaginations. And in that respect, we are all amateur gods. Writing and poetry is my default medium.
Why poetry?
Since I first discovered rhythm when I was four years old (I remember it as if it was yesterday!), my thought process has lent itself well to poetry, metaphorical thought, rhythms, rhymes, music, story. And most importantly, my brain is something of a non-linear array of constellations of thought bubbles, with observations flying in and out, unbidden as birds.
Words give a poem sense, while the space between the words give it resonance. Poets can arrange words based on craft, style, and clarity, just as prose writers do. But poets don’t have to stop there. Poets can arrange words based on prescribed patterns . . . or not. Poets can even arrange words wherever the words instruct them too. Space is key. Space between words. Space between lines. You can even remove a word, like you would remove a superfluous wisdom tooth. Line-breaks can be purposefully clunky or smooth. When a line breaks, the words turn. The poem’s rhythm may also turn. The poem’s pace may turn as well. The reader’s eyes, heartbeat, and attention all turn. (Bonus Fact: The word “verse” comes from the Latin, verso, to turn.)
The poet chooses
where
the lines break.
Three things you love?
One) I love juggling (just juggling balls, not clubs, or rubber chickens, or chainsaws! Well, maybe I would love to juggle rubber chickens. That would be really funny!)
Two) I love making music, playing the guitar and the drums, singing, and making up songs.
Three) I love being an author of books! There is such a feeling of closure to have your thoughts and ideas and words and revelations enshrined within a book that is widely available to all. It is a sense of relief, that my words will continue to live and to speak, long after I’ve stopped doing either one.
Oh and, Four) Puppets! Let’s not forget puppets. I love puppets.
During the pandemic, how did you keep creating?
Like many of my writing colleagues, I was surprised how hard it was to keep creating new work, even with two years of mandatory “free time.” I had already been reassessing my work, even before the pandemic. At that time the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements were already in full swing. As a white male writer, I felt like it was more a time to listen than to speak. Then the pandemic, with its forced stay-at-home quarantine, provided the necessary Petri dish to amplify the whole conversation. During that time, I temporarily set aside my most pressing novel, the one I’m back at work on now. It has taken me all this time away from it to reassess what I was trying to say. So much has changed. Meanwhile, throughout my writer’s block, I was actually writing poetry and picture books, which can be a little easier to carry around in your head without going nuts. I also made a lot of videos and I organized my private journals (which I’ve been keeping since I was 12 years old).
What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of my wife and my children, Simon, Ethan, and James. As for writing, it’s hard to say. I’m proud of the Iceberg character/narrator in The Watch that Ends the Night. That character’s voice is written in iambic pentameter that gradually melts to tetrameter, trimeter, dimeter, and finally, monometer. The Iceberg’s last two spoken words, “I am,” are actually an iamb!
Do you have a writing activity to pass along? (I’d like to challenge my readers and my students to respond.)
What’s In a Name?
ONE) Begin by generating a list of all the “names” you are known by. General Names, like son, daughter, best friend, hero, helper, athlete, or alchemist. And Specific Names like Elizabeth, LaQuesha, Darius, or David. And Nicknames like Doodle, Tutu, Junior, or Jack.
TWO) Choose one example from your list. Using informal prose write “the story of your name.”
THREE) After you’re done, circle (or highlight) five to ten words or phrases that seem integral to your story. Next, use those chosen words or phrases as the building blocks of a poem.
Note to readers: If you do Allan’s challenge, add your poem to this padlet.
Laura Purdie Salas is our Poetry Friday hostess and a favorite author in my gifted classroom. Her lyrical, poetic language sings. We love to read her words again and again. Laura graciously sent me an F&G of her latest book, We Belong.
Check out this video where Laura talks about how it came to be.
There are so many things to love about this book. I love that it’s full of literary elements that make writing stronger. When we read good writing, we become better writers. The theme is set up by the title, but inside, the book is full of surprises. You can be quiet or loud, short or tall, and still you belong.
Maybe you’re happy. A fun magic trick.
A sprinkler rainbow. A kitten’s rough lick.
Maybe you’re sad. A cloud. A small cave.
Maybe you’re trying your best to be brave.
Laura Purdie Salas, We Belong
The illustrations by Carlos Vélez Aguilera introduce us to a group of kids who are not alike, but they join together to play and welcome new friends in. We Belong reminds us that we’re alike and different and that’s not good or bad, it’s just what is true. And concludes with my One Little Word “You are Good. You’re enough.”
Laura’s rhyming verse refreshes the age-old message of I’m Ok. You’re OK. Let’s join hands and hearts and make what is true Sing!
Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. She is a retired elementary gifted teacher who writes poetry and children's books. Welcome to a space of peace, poetry, and personal reflection. Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 