"Dear Milkweed
by Monarch Butterfly
As an egg
I stuck to your leaf.
When I hatched
I ate it.
As a caterpillar
I ate more,
more,
more.
And now I float
flower to flower
hour by hour
sipping your nectar
laying my eggs.
I have wings now.
I can soar.
You knew me before.
Thank you."
If one of your kids at home, or at school, love animals and poetry, this is the book for them. The poems are written to celebrate A Poem in Your Pocket Day and will be much appreciated when they are shared. 21 poems were written for the collection; two are by the author as narrator, and the other 21 are credited to, and voiced by an assortment of animals.
A young child imagines what poem each of the animals might write to carry in its pocket as it celebrates this special day. In doing so, they reveal information about themselves. There is much to discover.
"Bath Time
by Short-Tailed Chinchilla
I take my bath without a splash.
I wash in old volcanic ash.
To look and feel my best I must
spin and twist in ancient dust.
Dusty, fluffy, dense, and fine -
no fur on earth is soft as mine."
First-person voice has real impact for young readers. Here, they are sure to learn more about animals they recognize and those that are not familiar to them. Poems have a way of making kids see the world in a new light. They evoke memories, make us laugh, inspire conversation, and show us the power of words to make a difference in all the best ways.
A lot of research was required to pen the many animals who have a place of importance in this collection. I can only imagine the joy found in learning about the animals whose voices Amy VanDerwalter pens here. Paring down what is learned is the gift a poet brings to the process - saying what needs to be said in well-chosen, feels-right text. Emma Virjan captures the settings, the movements and the beauty of each animal using graphite sketches painted digitally.
Thank you very much for featuring our book here. You are right...it was a delight to do the research and tricky to choose which most essential facts to include. We had a great science reader who proofed everything, and I learned a lot there too. There are few writing-things as much fun as writing in others' voices! Happy National Poetry Month!
ReplyDelete