WELCOME TO THE THIRD EDITION OF THE NO WATER RIVER

POET-A-PALOOZA!

featuring the prolific producers and some poetry stars of

STRAP ON YOUR GOGGLES
and snap on your gloves,
cuz here come some poems
you’re just gonna loves! 

You may have noticed that my blogging has been spotty for a long while now, which means I’ve been sitting on this little gold mine of poetry videos for more months than I care to admit in public. And that is why I’m not going to spend a lot of time yakking about The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science…

… brought to you by this dynamic duo…

Nope. Instead, I am going to get right to the goods, because THE GOODS ARE REALLY GOOD!

Besides, by now, you know the palooza drill, and if you don’t — well, here are the other PFA Poet-a-Paloozas to bring you up to speed.

• Poet-a-Palooza #1: The Poetry Friday Anthology (the original!)
  featuring: JANE YOLEN  ~  KEN SLESARIK  ~  STEPHANIE CALMENSON  ~ MICHAEL J. ROSEN
• Poet-a-Palooza #2, ACT I: The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School
  featuring: GEORGE ELLA LYON  ~  JOY ACEY  ~  HEIDI BEE ROEMER  ~ HEIDI MORDHORST  ~  DAVID L. HARRISON
• Poet-a-Palooza #2, ACT II: The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School
  featuring: JULIE LARIOS  ~  TED SCHEU  ~  LESLIE BULION  ~  MICHAEL SALINGER 

BUT WAIT!

Before we get to the REALLY GOOD GOODS, I have to announce a NEW-new edition in the series. Check it out!

No, your eyes do not deceive you! The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations is due out in March/April 2015. If that’s not something to celebrate, then I don’t know what is. Yeehaw!

NOW LET’S GET IN THE LAB AND SEE WHAT’S COOKIN’

Since its publication in Spring 2014, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science has been making a lot of science teachers very happy. The International Literacy Association gave it a stellar review, and according to one university professor, the 218 poems are “a springboard to inquiry” that “provoke and promote science conversation.”

And how could this collection NOT garner so much praise considering all the science learnin’ packed into its pages? As with all the PFA anthologies, this one includes the famous Take 5! mini-lessons that make it easy for any teacher to use these poems in the classroom. If that’s not enough, just look at the treasure trove of themes covered in all the grade levels, K-5:

So let’s see what all the fuss is about — it’s time for the Poet-a-Palooza! (Apologies in advance for making you sit through my repetitive intros, but these vids are going directly from here into the permanent NWR Poetry Video Library, so the intros had to be done. I infiltrated an obliging field of sunflowers, so just enjoy the view until the poems start.)

I am really thrilled to welcome SEVEN of the poets from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science, each with a memorable poem sure to give you a wonderful sampling of all the scientific goodies this book offers. Up on the bunsen burner today are

BOBBI KATZ
KRISTY DEMPSEY
MARY LEE HAHN
SUSAN BLACKABY
BUFFY SILVERMAN
APRIL HALPRIN WAYLAND
LINDA SUE PARK

Let the experiments begin!

 BOBBI KATZ

…fell in love with the sound and taste of words when she was a pre-schooler. She studied Latin in high school, which she feels made it easy for her to learn languages. She’s fluent in French and Spanish and has tourist get-around skills in several other languages. She started writing rhyming stories when a friend’s son simply could not learn to read (he’s now an MD). An art historian by training, Bobbi worked as a social worker for Head Start, an environmental writer for the Cousteau Society, and an editor at Random House. She’s written over 85 books under her own name and pseudonyms, and writes lyrics for a classical composer when invited. Her main focus is a memoir in verse and essay, as well as a Step Into Reading biography of her hero, Nelson Mandela.

Bobbi’s books include A Rumpus of Rhymes, The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme, Once Around the Sun, and the anthology Pocket Poems. Learn more about Bobbi and her work at BobbiKatz.com.

KRISTY DEMPSEY

…is a children’s author and the librarian at the American School of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Her books include Me With You (Philomel), Mini Racer (Bloomsbury), Surfer Chick (Abrams), and A Dance Like Starlight (Philomel). She is an experienced presenter to all age groups and often does writing workshops with elementary, middle, and high school students. Her poetry has appeared in various anthologies, including the recent Poetry Friday Anthologies which help teachers connect poetry across the curriculum. Her visual literacy presentations support both Common Core and International Baccalaureate standards and provide both students and teachers with the tools they need to deepen inquiry in the classroom. Originally from South Carolina, United States, she has lived in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, since 1998. Find out more about Kristy at KristyDempsey.com.

MARY LEE HAHN

…is a 5th grade teacher in Dublin, Ohio. She has taught 4th or 5th graders for more than 25 years. She wrote Reconsidering Read-Aloud (Stenhouse, 2002) and blogs at A Year of Reading with Franki Sibberson. Mary Lee’s poems appear in the K-5, Middle School, and Science editions of The Poetry Friday Anthology, and her poetry website is MaryLeeHahn.com. Along with being a teacher, writer, and poet, Mary Lee fly fishes, gardens, and bakes amazing cakes.

SUSAN BLACKABY

…has worked in educational publishing for over 30 years. On the clock, Suz hones her skills by writing for the K-8 audience and teaching writing workshops. On her own time, she dabbles across the genres. Besides a long list of early readers, Suz is the author of several picture books: Rembrandt’s Hat, Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox, Brownie Groundhog and the Wintry Surprise, and the upcoming Twelve Days of Christmas in Oregon; a middle grade biography, Cleopatra: Egypt’s Last and Greatest Queen; and an award-winning collection of poetry, Nest, Nook & Cranny. Musts include strong milky tea, Cheez-its, narrow-ruled yellow tablets, and #2 Ticonderogas.

BUFFY SILVERMAN

…has taught biology to college students and natural history classes to students of all ages. Her fascination with the natural world has been a focus of much of her writing. She is the author of more than 60 nonfiction books for young readers and many stories, articles, and poems for children’s magazines. She particularly enjoys writing poems that feature quirky facts from the natural world. Buffy shares her love of science and writing when speaking to school children in Michigan. Find out more about Buffy at BuffySilverman.com.

 

APRIL HALPRIN WAYLAND

…is a poet and an author of many children’s books including To Rabbittown, a Scholastic Blue Ribbon Best Seller; It’s Not My Turn to Look for Grandma!, recommended on PBS’s “Storytime”; New Year at the Pier, winner of the Sydney Taylor Gold Award, and the award-winning Girl Coming In for a Landing—a novel in poems. Her poetry appears in countless anthologies and on the US Children’s Poet Laureate’s website, poetryminute.org. She’s taught in over 400 schools in England, Italy, Germany, France, and Poland, has been an instructor in UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program for more than 15 years, and blogs with five other children’s authors TeachingAuthors.com.

LINDA SUE PARK

…is the author of several novels and picture books, including A Single Shard, the 2002 Newbery Medal winner. She writes fiction and poetry for both adults and young readers. Her most recent titles are A Long Walk to Water, a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Jane Addams Peace Prize; Trust No One, Book #5 in THE 39 CLUES/Cahills vs. Vespers series; and the picture book Xander’s Panda Party, illustrated by Matt Phelan. Linda Sue knows very well that she will never be able to read every great book ever written, but she keeps trying anyway. Visit her website at www.lindasuepark.com and follow her on Twitter @LindaSuePark.

How great was that? I hope you’ve enjoyed this look inside the marvelous and important Poetry Friday Anthology for Science. It really is a treasure for both teachers and students.

Here they are, all seventy-eight of them! Click the links to see their work and find out more about these talented folks.

Joy Acey
Alma Flor Ada
Linda Ashman
Jeannine Atkins
Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Robyn Hood Black
Susan Blackaby
Susan Taylor Brown
Joseph Bruchac
Leslie Bulion
Stephanie Calmenson
F. Isabel Campoy
James Carter
Kate Coombs 
Cynthia Cotten
Kristy Dempsey
Graham Denton 
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Shirley Smith Duke
Margarita Engle
Douglas Florian
Betsy Franco
Carole Gerber
Charles Ghigna
Joan Bransfield Graham
Mary Lee Hahn
Avis Harley
David L. Harrison
Terry Webb Harshman
Juanita Havill
Esther Hershenhorn  
Mary Ann Hoberman
Sara Holbrook
Patricia Hubbell
Jacqueline Jules
Bobbi Katz
X. J. Kennedy
Julie Larios
Irene Latham

Renée M. LaTulippe
Debbie Levy
J. Patrick Lewis
George Ella Lyon
Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Heidi Mordhorst
Marilyn Nelson
Kenn Nesbitt
Lesléa Newman
Eric Ode
Linda Sue Park
Ann Whitford Paul
Greg Pincus
Mary Quattlebaum
Heidi Bee Roemer
Michael J. Rosen
Deborah Ruddell
Laura Purdie Salas
Michael Salinger
Glenn Schroeder
Joyce Sidman
Buffy Silverman
Marilyn Singer
Ken Slesarik
Eileen Spinelli
Anastasia Suen
Susan Marie Swanson
Carmen Tafolla
Holly Thompson
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Lee Wardlaw
Charles Waters
April Halprin Wayland
Carole Boston Weatherford
Steven Withrow
Allan Wolf
Virginia Euwer Wolff
Janet S. Wong
Jane Yolen

RESOURCES

• Where to buy: Right here at Pomelo Books, where Janet and Sylvia have various versions available, from the complete anthology to single grade-level versions.
• Reviews of the PFA for Science:  International Literacy Association, National Science Teachers Association, NC Teacher Stuff
• Help for teachers (PDF article by Sylvia Vardell): How to use the PFA in the classroom + list of science poetry books
• Learn more about: Janet and Sylvia
• Book website: The Poetry Friday Anthology blog
• Publishing website: Pomelo Books
• Facebook page: Pomelo Books

Many, many thanks

to Janet, Sylvia, Bobbi, Kristy, Mary Lee, Buffy, Suz, April, Linda Sue, and all the PFAS poets for joining me at No Water River and for creating this science-rific poetry resource!

Cathy has the Poetry Friday roundup at Merely Day By Day. Hop on over!

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See more poems in my poetry video library.

All poems copyright 2014 by their respective authors.