Once upon a time…
in a forest far, far away, there lived a thoughtful girl named Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.
Now, the forest that the girl lived in was not an enchanted forest as you might expect. It was a regular forest, the kind of forest other fairy tales would snub.
But that didn’t matter. Because, you see, the girl herself was enchanted. She danced through the forest every day, and everything she touched danced with her. Ferns unfurled to say hello. Leaves leapt from trees to carpet her step. Birds twittered ditties more sweetly. Bunnies twitched their tails with delight.
Amy was not blind to the gifts of her forest. She greeted each leaf and nut and creature with admiration and interest.
“Hello, acorn,” she’d say. “That is a particularly spiffy cap you have on today.”
“Good morning, oak,” she’d say. “What stories do you have to tell me today?”
And Amy listened. She knew all the wind’s troubles. She knew all the bluejay’s songs. She knew where each squeak and scuffle in the underbrush led.
Amy decided it was time to share the gifts of the forest with the rest of the world. She snuggled into her enchanted blankie with her enchanted pencil and…
POOF!
Out popped a book.
Naturally, this book was full of enchantment. The maiden Robbin Gourley even drew pictures for it, and those were enchanted, too. Amy gave us fossils and ferns — yes, the same ferns that unfurled a hello each morning.
Amy gave us critters and critter songs.
Amy gave us magical puffing mushrooms. Shh. Listen…
Amy loved sharing these gifts, but she missed her forest. She knew it was time to go back home to her trees and birds and ferns. After all, she had to give them a gift, too.
There was great rejoicing in that forest far, far away when Amy returned. The trees spread their branches to welcome her. The brook burbled its pleasure. Critters chattered and circled her in a wreath of berries. Amy was enchanted.
“Thank you, forest,” she said. “Now look at what I’ve done. I’ve put you, fern, on this page here. And you, squirrel, are over here. And trees, don’t think I’ve forgotten you. Don’t think I’ve forgotten any of you. In this book, I’ve captured all your songs.”
Then Amy and the forest sang those songs together, and the rest of the world joined in. Because Forest Has a Song.
THE END
[heading style=”1″]Extension Activities for Forest Has a Song[/heading]
- Writing
- Download this free Poetry Activity Kit and Reading Guide from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which includes activities for Forest Has a Song.
- Reading
- Expand your reading of nature poems with these wonderful books:
- The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination
selected by Mary Ann Hoberman
- Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems by Joyce Sidman
- National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs That Squeak, Soar, and Roar!
selected by J. Patrick Lewis
- Step Gently Out
by Helen Frost
- The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination
- Expand your reading of nature poems with these wonderful books:
- Eating
The fair damsel Liz is hosting Poetry Friday today. Go throw some enchanted sparklies on her.
AW, SHUCKS!
You’d like to receive my weekly posts in your inbox, you say? How enchanting![divider top=”0″]
Video Location: Sister forests in New York and Italy.
See more poems in my poetry video library.“Puff” and all other poems © Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. All illustrations © Robbin Gourley. All rights reserved.
Beautiful story Renee. I hope I’ll get to meet this magical person named Amy someday! No joke, really! I love the book and have shared it and shared it at school. It is lovely, isn’t it?
Oh, Renee! You never cease to amaze. I wish that I was enchanted enough to poof through this screen and give you a big fat hug. Thank you for celebrating my book with your traditional joy and love. I am truly grateful, and we’re smiling away over here. Puff! xxoo, a.
Glad you enjoyed your story, Amy! I’m pretty sure there is some truth in it…:)
Looks like such a wonderful book – I love the wordplay and internal rhyme Amy uses as much as her imagery! Thanks for sharing, Renee.
Enchanting through and through!
Way to go Amy! I love it. Renee, thanks as alwas for the magic of your own No Water River. What a gift! David
Adorable! I hope Amy had those cute cupcakes at her book launch party. They would go so well with champagne!
Truly an enchanting post! You are two clever gals! Delightful poem, Amy. Your book is stunning!
Beautiful posting and video, beautiful book, beautiful poet, beautiful blogger and blog, beautiful contribution to children’s lives and ours, too. Thank you, Amy and Renee!
Do I appear, perhaps, at a loss for words? No, beautiful simply says it all! I am presenting my school library with a signed copy of Forest Has a Song and am hoping to see it become a well-loved, treasured book by my poetry-loving students! It is not just a book, it is a gift! And so is NWR!!!
There is magic and enchantment in this post! Fabulous! Amy, I can’t wait to read your book. I’m going to read it outside when it arrives!!!
Renée…another unbelievably awesome job!
Your fairy tale story, Renee, works perfectly with that magical mushroom. I kept expecting Amy to puff and have nothing come out, but the spores were endless! Impossible to read the poem now without seeing the puffball in action!
Those mushrooms do go on and on, Janet. We used to find them on our hikes in the hills, and they’d puff and puff and puff.
This post makes my heart smile – Renée’s magic fairy dust on Amy, Amy’s magic fairy dust in her words, the mushroom’s magic fairy dust everywhere. (I’ve never tried “puffing” – poofing? – one multiple times before, so like Janet I was surprised to see it just keeps going!)
I was a fan of this book before I even owned it. Thanks to both of you, and Congrats again to Amy!!!
I wonder if I can learn to “poof” and “pop out a book”? What an enchanting post for this lovely book.
Yay to Amy and yay to you! What a wonderful book and a wonderful way to share it. I think you’re the one who throws around the magic dust.
Thanks for the enchanted post about this enchanted poet and her amazing book! Loved the puffing video.
That was adorable Renee and Amy! It’s great to see and hear the puff so cute. Forest has a Song has got be poetry book of the year, it’s lovely.
Renee,
You never disappoint me. I can always come hang out here and get lost in the dreamland of poetry. Amy’s video is adorable and I look forward to sharing it with my students. I have never heard of a puff mushroom. Wonderful inspiration for writing, too.
This is all great to see. Love the words, illustrations and the poet. Can’t wait to meet her in June!
Well said! Amy is the one who is enchanted!
I love the poems in the book (read it a couple of weeks ago), I love the video and I love the story that came with the promotion of this fine book. Renee and Amy rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amy, Amy, Amy. You will NEVER cease to amaze and impress me!
Thanks for another great feature, Renee!!
Terrific reading, Amy! Thank you (and you, too, Renée!) for bringing this poem alive on video … seeing the real “Puff!” was fascinating. I spent a lot of time in the woods when I was young, but don’t recall any of those. -Ed
A beautiful tribute to Amy and her book– looking forward to reading it!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing Amy’s magic, everyone! She is truly a treasure. 🙂
Renee, I can’t even express how grateful I am for this post…and for you in the world of children’s poetry. I wish that I could build a little tinfoil boat, shrink myself, and take you for coffee and some delicious Italian pastry tomorrow morning for breakfast. Big hug. xo, a.
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