By: Kelly Link, Holly Black, and Cassandra Clare,
on 2/9/2015
[Kelly Link will be at Powell's City of Books for a reading on Wednesday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m. Click here for details.] In a joint social media call-out, authors Kelly Link, Holly Black, and Cassandra Clare invited readers to ask them anything they wanted. Below are some of those questions and responses. Q: Where [...]
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By: Kelly Hoeckelberg-Young,
on 3/3/2014
I came across this wonderful infographic by www.mamiverse.com and - in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America day - had to share it! My absolute favorite is #11 ... it's a keeper, and one to be passed along to my children!
Which one is your favorite? (You don't have to pick just one! :-)).
By: Kelly Hoeckelberg-Young,
on 3/5/2013
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 5/29/2010
Donald Pease, English professor at Dartmouth University, recounts the life of Theodor Geisel
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By: Sara Lewis Holmes,
on 2/26/2010
On Wednesday, I did my first Skype visit with a school, for their Book Fair and Literacy Night. My favorite part? When the kids came to the computer and asked me questions, things like: "What's your favorite Olympic sport?" and "Can you write a book in a day?" and "Are there really little green army men in your book?"
So much curiosity. So much energy. So much fun.
Which brings me to today's Poetry Friday selection.
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 3/2/2009
Today celebrates the 105th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Seuss.
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 11/5/2008
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 5/16/2008
Genuine Ford Parts & Service by DwightFrye (thanks to threemeninatub.blogspot.com)
I guess movie theaters could order these commercials. I found this ad at saturdaymorn.blogspot.com:
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 4/23/2008
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 4/4/2008
By: Tamra Wight,
on 2/1/2008
The school that I guest teach in, is celebrating the works of Dr. Seuss in February. Today was pajama day! Another Friday will be Wacky Friday, and still a third will be "dress as your favorite character" day.
Every year they have a "decorate your door" contest. Mrs. Daig left plans for me:
To lay out all her Dr Seuss books on the rug and talk about them to the kids . . .
Perhaps read a few if they weren't familiar with them . . .
then let the kids vote on which one they'd use for the door.
Sigh. Such a horrible, terrible task. No?
They voted to do The Lorax! The kids drew pictures, we put them in chronological order and taped them to the door, yesterday. Today, we added to it when a few more students, created a Lorax tree, and still another drew the Lorax to sit in it.
I wrote the most important passage of the story and we put it all up on the door today
But look what I did! I didn't even notice until I uploaded the pictures! 
Oh the horror!!
I'll have to pop by her room Monday morning and warn her. . .
Here's our special message:
By: David Elzey,
on 8/15/2007
by Andy Griffiths illustrations by Terry Denton Feiwel and Friends 2007 (Pan Macmillan, AU 2006) "From the author of The Day My Butt Went Psycho!" This book is just screaming for that kind of attention. Take one part Dr. Seuss, one part Edward Lear, place in a blender with a dash of Dav Pilkey and a bit of Cartoon Network juice, pulse until the blender begins to smoke and then breathe the
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 6/6/2007
This Dr. Seuss Beer Tray
This jpeg is lifted from David Goldin's archives, where you can see David's wonderful work.
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 3/12/2007
via The Children's Picturebook Price Guide:
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 2/22/2007
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 2/7/2007
From monstersinmotion.com --Price: $125.
In 1938 Dr. Seuss and his publisher sold wall trophies "From the BOBO ISLES." Price: $3.75 to $15. For "the Walls of your Game-Room, Nursery or Bar!” How’s that for versatility? 
Thanks to Charles D. Cohen, author of "Seuss, The Whole Seuss and Nothing but the Seuss"
I love that definition of poetry! Especially when it comes to poetry for kids. Serious play is what they engage in much of the time!
Yes yes yes, serious play! I like taking hair off heads too. :D
I love this article. Who wrote it? Some staffer at the site?
First, Naomi's quote is beautiful. (So is: "At that intersection of love and language is poetry." Ah.)
Secondly: It's so true that children love to play with language and are natural poets. Piper seems to EXTRA love words, too. For the longest time, for "yes," she'd say "yippodo," and now it's evolved these days into something like "yippodididodatdatdat," like a two-minute response to a simple question. I told her she was scatting her "yes"es anymore, as if a jazz artist. Anyway, my point: It's something that comes naturally to kids, as pointed out in the article. Love those teachers who take advantage of it.
Last (though it seems like I had more things to say): The point about children enjoying sophisticated poetry at a really young age. SO TRUE. Remember Liz's posts about her daughters learning Shakespeare at school? Oh how I wish all teachers did this. They can love it. They really can. Bravo to those teachers.
P.S. LOVE LOVE LOVE that you Skyped with those kids. I'm reading the ARC of a great new book that I think folks like you would like. I'll probably post about it soon. This: http://www.amazon.com/Spilling-Ink-Young-Writers-Handbook/dp/159643628X. It's great for adults even. Like Anne Lamott for kids. Sara, I think you'd be such a fabulous visiting author at a school, such an inspiration for teaching children about writing and poetry and the love of language. Anyway, this is a great book (and Matt Phelan's illustrations make it even better!)
Oh, I am ALL ABOUT serious play! My son is 10, and he still loves it when I read Dr. Seuss to him. Just last night we did Too Many Daves, a story I had just about forgotten. Love laughing with him over a book. And love your Skype questions too. Great kids! :)
If I can't play, then I can't get serious. Don't most poets play with words to get into a poem?
Laura Evans
Jules, I can't find who wrote that article either, but it's packed with great stuff. And I hope you do post about Spilling Ink---I wish Amazon had the "look inside" feature enabled for it, but if you blog, I know you'll get permission to share Phelan's art and some zingy quotes too.
Skyping was awesome. I'll try to pull together a post about that too.
Serious play. Yup. That's what I get paid to do with 4th graders every day.
All day long we weave back and forth between their first-ever Literary Essays, basketball in P.E., thank you cards to the firefighters at the nearby fire station (cards that turn into multi-media pop-up extravagandas), equivalent fractions, and finding idioms in Popeye and Elvis.
Serious play. I'm all about that.
Serious play. And that also means being not self conscious, as children are. I'm working on that.
I thought since you enjoy poetry that I'd invite you to contribute your list of favorite poems to my survey. Read more about it here: http://www.semicolonblog.com/?p=9520
Go Dog Go...I'll always remember that book. God bless ya Dr. Seuss