Just received a first copy of my new book, Touch a Butterfly: Wildlife Gardening With Kids. It’s published by Roost Books; they have a free downloadable chapter pdf. The book ships on April 23rd. Preorder from your local bookseller. Here’s an early review in Foreword Magazine. Thanks to the CCBC there’s a fab list of children’s books to pair with your outdoor nature studies: CCBC Let’s Go Outside! List. I just returned from a terrific Young Author’s visit in Wolcott, IN and a now off to VA to visit four schools. See some of you there!
NAEYC, Mem Fox, Pete the Cat!
If you want to know who I am and what I do, NAEYC’s Young Children magazine November 2012 issues has what’s probably my best interview yet: www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201211/MeetTheAuthor.pdf
Last Fall I spoke at the national conference of NAEYC, in the Meet the Authors session, which featured Mem Fox and James Dean, creator/illustrator of Pete the Cat. Yes, I know, MEM FOX! Wow, her voice is enthralling.
Humpback Whales, Books, and Visits!
I just returned from a great weekend speaking at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library where they are celebrating 100 years and the young authors in their community. The educators and authors were so inspiring! Back home I found that Here Come the Humpbacks is in the major review arenas such as Kirkus. A few blogs are popping up, such as one on Nonfiction Detectives. Touch a Butterfly: Wildlife Gardening For Kids, which will be released April 23rd, has a very thorough review in ForeWord Reviews. I’ll be traveling widely for school talks and young author conferences the rest of March and all of April 2013. I look forward to seeing many of you on my travels.
Eat Like a Bear
Choosing snack to munch while going over proofs for Fall 2013 book illustrated by Steve Jenkins. Yup, blueberries!
Pollinator Partnership!
Want to know what to plant to help native pollinators in your area? Check out the free guides on the website of the Pollinator Partnership. Wish I’d seen this before my book Touch A Butterfly: Wildlife Gardening For Kids went to press because I would have loved to list it and these folks are doing such important work. Touch a Butterfly: Wildlife Gardening With Kids will be available in bookstores April 23, 2013 and can also be ordered from www.roostbooks.com. They’re the publishers of the I LOVE DIRT book from a few years ago. It’s geared for families, educators, and interested kids in upper elementary grades, as well. It’s my 25 years of knowledge about seeing the landscape through the eyes of animals and gardening with their needs in mind. Probably my most personal work.
Writing Poetry
For you aspiring poets, and teachers of poetry, I recommend the new book Write a Poem Step By Step by JoAnn Macken. It’s incredibly useful. So clearcut and inspiring.
I love writing poetry. A few folks have even convinced me to admit I’m a poet. (Okay, so I was late to accepting that particular moniker. Afraid…perhaps!)
I blogged about this quandry on Katie Davis’ site. I also discussed some of the math behind my chant/poetry work on INK.
http://jamarattigan.com/2012/04/02/going-natural-with-april-pulley-sayre/
On Jama Rattigan’s site I celebrated poetry month. See? I’m getting used to the idea…perhaps!
Upcoming Appearances
Just returned from co-presenting “Read Aloud Wow” with Isabel Baker at NAEYC’s national leadership conference. This Sat, June 23rd, I’ll be signing at the South Bend Farmer’s Market 9am-12. Here’s where I’ll be presenting at conferences the next few months:
June 21st, 2012 ALL WRITE CONFERENCE, Warsaw, IN 3 breakouts
Sept 22, 2012 ALSC NATIONAL INSTITUTE, Indianapolis, IN , Closing General Session
Sept 23, 2012 INDIANA STATE READING Conf, Indianapolis, IN
Oct 4-6, 2012 YOUTH LITERATURE FESTIVAL, Champaign, IL school visits and Sat festival talks
Nov 7-10, 2012, NAEYC NATIONAL CONFERENCE, Atlanta, GA, speaking at Friday author session with Mem Fox and Peter Reynolds.
For privacy, and because the talks aren’t open to the public, I don’t post my school visit schedule. But I’m speaking at 23 schools in VT, IN, IL, and VA in Feb, March, April 2013 so if you are an educator and want to drop in on a talk, you can email me to ask if there’s something near you.
Vegetable Art, Trout Trees and More!
I had the pleasure of visiting Pioneer Elementary in March. Wow, the art teacher was a burst of creativity, working on such incredible projects with the kids. Many other teachers were doing amazing work, as well. See some of it below! Click on each photo to see it in greater detail. Continue reading “Vegetable Art, Trout Trees and More!”
April is poetry month
I’ll be doing two guest blogs for poetry month. Here’s the first, on Jama Rattigan’s Poetry Potluck. She’s featuring lots of poets, their poems, and recipes, all month long.
http://jamarattigan.com/2012/04/02/going-natural-with-april-pulley-sayre/
Am I a poet? Hmm…just considering that this month, after two folks asked me to blog about poetry. I blogged about this quandry on Katie Davis’ site. I also discussed some of the math behind my chant/poetry work on INK.