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.

James Dean creator of Pete the Cat, Mem Fox (center) telling something funny to April Pulley Sayre

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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.

Choosing snack to munch while going over proofs for Fall 2013 book illustrated by Steve Jenkins. Yup, blueberries!

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.

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!

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.

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. 

Erika Thulin Dawes, Ed.D of Lesley University wrote about some terrific extension ideas for Rah, Rah, Radishes: A Vegetable Chant over at  The Classroom Bookshelf . Lots of helpful links, too. HUGELY useful information.

Jeff and I just returned from a 4,600 mile roadtrip to research at desert sites (White Sands, Painted Desert, Meteor Crater). I gave two programs at the spectacular Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden. I also spoke at a conference for early childhood teachers coordinated by Jennifer Haggart of the Early Childhood Consortium of the Omaha Area. 

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I’ve been busy admiring greens, the structures of leeks, and other veggies at South Bend Farmer’s Market. Beets are one of the most productive crops because both the greens and roots can be used.