Welcome to Poetry Month 2018 at No Water River!
Please take a moment to peruse the how-to below, and then dive in! Happy writing — and thank you for helping to build our collection(s)!

Remember: The Community Collections are open indefinitely, so you can visit each post at your leisure to add your poem!

Today’s Guest…

is a former children’s book editor and the award-winning author of over 200 books for kids. Please welcome prolific writer …

SUSAN HOOD

THE POEM

(Click to enlarge.) Thanks to the author and to the publisher HarperCollins for this gorgeous spread, with art by Hadley Hooper, from Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World.

THE PROMPT

Choose any topic you want to write about and then write a concrete poem in the shape of your subject, or in a shape that recalls an image in your poem.

COMMUNITY COLLECTION 20: CONCRETE POEMS

WANT TO ADD YOUR POEM?

1. Paste it into the comment section below. I will gather the poems and add them to this post. OR
2. Email it to me at renee@reneelatulippe.com and I will add it to this post (graphics welcome)!

*****

THE POET

Susan Hood’s first picture books were published in fall 2012, but she’s not a newcomer to children’s publishing. Before launching a full-time writing career, Susan was the Children’s Content Director of Nick Jr. Magazine, where she edited original stories by the winners of the Caldecott Medal, the Coretta Scott King Book Award, and the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. Before that, Susan was a children’s book editor at Sesame Workshop, and a children’s magazine editor at Scholastic and Instructor Magazine for early childhood educators.

While working as an editor, Susan wrote hundreds of children’s books for ages 1-8, including board books, concept books, interactive books, nonfiction and beginning readers. She has published books with Disney, Fisher Price, Penguin Putnam, Scholastic, Sesame Workshop, and Simon & Schuster, among others. In addition to writing for children, she has written for parents and early childhood educators in The New York Times, Nickelodeon’s ParentsConnect, Sesame Street Parent’s Guide, Working Mother, and more.

Susan lives with her family in coastal Connecticut, and enjoys spending the summer sailing with her husband along the coast of Maine.

Discover more about the author and her books at www.SusanHoodBooks.com.

THE BOOKS

SHAKING THINGS UP: 14 YOUNG WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
A poetic and visual celebration of persistent women throughout history.

In this book of poems, you will find Mary Anning, who was just thirteen when she unearthed a prehistoric fossil. You’ll meet Ruby Bridges, the brave six year old who helped end segregation in the South. And Maya Lin, who at twenty-one won a competition to create a war memorial, and then had to appear before Congress to defend her right to create.

And those are just a few of the young women included in this book. Readers will also hear about Molly Williams, Annette Kellerman, Nellie Bly, Pura Belprè, Frida Kahlo, Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne, Frances Moore Lappé, Mae Jemison, Angela Zhang, and Malala Yousafzai—all whose stories will enthrall and inspire. This poetry collection was written, illustrated, edited, and designed by women and includes an author’s note, a timeline, and additional resources.

With artwork by notable artists including Selina Alko, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Hadley Hooper, Emily Winfield Martin, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Sara Palacios, LeUyen Pham, Erin Robinson, Isabel Roxas, Shadra Strickland, and Melissa Sweet. (from Amazon.com)

ADA’S VIOLIN: THE STORY OF THE RECYCLED ORCHESTRA OF PARAGUAY
The extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash.

Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option…until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada—and her town—forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation. (from Amazon.com)

Don’t miss a prompt! Save this calendar to your desktop.

CALENDAR OF POETS ~ APRIL 2018