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My good friend Aaron Costain has produced a number of great minicomics, but I particularly enjoyed his most recent creation, the Gorey-esque Calamity Coach, a series of tragicomic verse described as “a non-narrative pictorial sequence of imaginary events designed to discourage even the bravest of souls from vehicular travel.” It’s fun stuff.

So, I look at the Statue of Liberty quite a bit. Twice daily, in fact. But I don't really think about it often. Doreen Rappaport's Lady Liberty A Biography opened my eyes not only to the building of the Statue of Liberty itself, but also gave me insight into what New York City and the United States were like during this time period.

Told in verse, Rappaport chronicles the building of the Statue of Liberty from idea to completion from a number of points of view. From the salons of Glatigny France in 1865, to the workrooms in Paris in 1876, to the foundation pit of the statue in 1884. From the newsrooms of New York City in 1885, to Bedloe's Island and the big reveal in 1886, Rappaport brings readers in. Professors, sculptors, assistants, engineers, poets, construction workers, journalists, and children all played their part.

The illustrations by Matt Tavares are simply breathtaking and seem to hearken back to the time period in question. Rappaport makes her own connection by setting the first poem in New York City today from her point of view, and then goes on at the end to add quotes from people who saw the statue for the first time. Also provided are a list of Statue of Liberty dimensions, and a timeline of important events, as well as a list of selected sources for further reading.

This is another title that perfectly compliments our New York City curriculum as well as our immigration curriculum. It's also simply fascinating for a casual reader.

Another mock cover I am doing. Although I wished there was some consistency with this, it was fun to do more experimenting and playing with my style. For this I worked straight on the computer, it turned out to be more vintage-like than I intended.

Someone from my school in NH emailed me the other day and wanted me to write a poem for one of the teachers who is retiring, since I often did that when I was still working. No problem...told them to send me ideas of what they would like in the poem...key words, so to speak, and I could do it. Took me about an hour or less.

Last week the moderator of an on-line children's poetry critique group I used to moderate wrote and invited me to return to the group, since they had an opening. I did, but that means I need to start writing in verse again. And I could do that if I had any ideas about what subject to write about. It's so much easier for me if someone gives me a topic...then I can write. It's happened often with my writing...even with KNOWING JOSEPH, where a psychologist who works with families of children with autism suggested I write a story about a sibling who felt he needed to be perfect. No problem...I did it.

So here is what I would like...help me brainstorm ideas or topics for some children's verse...what would you like to see a poem or a rhyming picture book about? Give me some key words to write about..help me get started.

On another note, we are off to Georgia tomorrow for a few days to see the grandkids one more time before they leave for Germany, where my son will be stationed for the next two or three years. At least it will be a nice place to visit in the fall or next spring.