Poetry Friday - Giveaway Winner + Tennessee

It’s Friday! And you know what that means: Poetry! Want to know more about Poetry Friday? Click this link right here. Be sure to check out Reflections on the Teche to see this week’s round up of wonderful poetry related posts, blogs and goodness. 

________________________________________

Hello and Happy Friday! Last week I reviewed and held a giveaway for Chris Harris' I'm Just No Good at Rhyming: and Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups.

I'm Just No Good at Rhyming:

and Other Nonsense For mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups

written by Chris Harris

illustrated by Lane Smith

And now for the winner (as picked by the random.org number generator)! Drum-roll please!!!

Dani Burtsfield

Congratulations! Please email me at slothreads1985 (at) gmail (dot) com to claim this awesome book. 

Today My family and I are driving up to Tennessee to visit more family. So I thought it would be appropriate to share The Volunteer State's official state poem. I have included a snippit from the background of the poem, also found at the link below. 

"Naval Admiral William Lawrence composed "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee" while enduring a 60 day period of solitary confinement in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. Lawrence spent a total of six years as a POW during the Vietnam War. This poem describes the love and longing he felt for his beautiful home state:"

Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee

by William Lawrence

Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee

What Love and Pride I Feel for Thee.

You Proud Ole State, the Volunteer,

Your Proud Traditions I Hold Dear.

 

I Revere Your Heroes

Who Bravely Fought our Country's Foes.

Renowned Statesmen, so Wise and Strong,

Who Served our Country Well and Long.

 

I Thrill at Thought of Mountains Grand;

Rolling Green Hills and Fertile Farm Land;

Earth Rich with Stone, Mineral and Ore;

Forests Dense and Wild Flowers Galore;

you can read the rest of the poem at this link.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Book Giveaway!

The weekly post where I recap some of the KidLit books I've been reading. Ocasionally, I'll also talk about some adult fiction books as well.

Be sure to check out Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers to see what other Kidlit readers are reading. Because, you know, we can never have too many books in our TBR piles.

____________________

Happy Monday everyone! I am giving away a copy of Chris Harris' I'm Just No Good at Rhyming. Click here to enter!

Today is a post of recent books that I have absolutely loved. Have you read any of them?

Poetry

I'm Just No Good At Rhyming: 

And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-ups

written by Chris Harris

illustrated by Lane Smith

(Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2017)

My family absolutely LOVED this collection of poems. I cannot recommend it enough. You can read my full review here and enter to win a copy as well!

Middle Grade

Tumble and Blue

by Cassie Beasley

(Penguin Young Readers, 2017)

This book is absolutely beautifully written. I love middle grade because I find the stories engaging. Not only is Tumble and Blue  a fun story, it is expertly written. Read my full review here.

Picture Book

Nobody Likes a Goblin

by Ben Hatke

(First Second, 2016)

Another fantastic read. This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys the game Dungeons and Dragons or just epic fantasies like The Hobbit. It takes the genre and turns it on its head. And Ben Hatke's illustrations are always wonderful.

-------------------------

Poetry Friday - Poetry Book Giveaway!

It’s Friday! And you know what that means: Poetry! Want to know more about Poetry Friday? Click this link right here. I am hosting the round up today, so be sure to check out the links at the end to see this week’s round up of wonderful poetry related posts, blogs and goodness. 

________________________________________

Hello and Happy Friday! I am super excited to be hosting the Poetry Round Up today. I cannot wait to see everyone's contributions this week.

To celebrate, I have decided to do a book giveaway. Be sure to read to the end to find out how to win a copy!

I'm Just No Good at Rhyming:

and Other Nonsense For mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups

written by Chris Harris

illustrated by Lane Smith

I checked this one out from the library not too long ago, and my family absolutely LOVED it. I have an 8-year-old and an 18-month-old. My husband and I would each take turns reading a few poems each night before bedtime. My daughter, without fail, would beg for "just one more" poem to be read.

The poems are really funny. Like belly-laugh-my-cheeks-hurt funny. (I guess that makes me an immature grown-up? YES, I'll take it!) Not only were Harris' poems hilarious, but many of them also had a lot of heart. He does not pander to kids, but yet is able to really convey some great messages (think Shel Silverstein's "Listen to the Mustn'ts").

Another aspect of this book that was fantastic is that it begs to be read aloud. The poems were just the right length and the humor really popped when reading to the family. I especially enjoyed the poems that went back and forth between two characters because I would read one side, and my daughter would read the other.

The illustrations are great too, and add a lot to the humor. Not only do the they support the poems, but they are actually vital to some of them. I liked the banter back and forth between poet and illustrator too.

This is they type of collection that inspires me to sit down and write. The poems read so effortlessly that I think, Man, I want to write a collection of poems.  And then I sit down and try, and realize how hard it is to write something so good. But it still makes me want to keep trying! Chris Harris really is a great children't poet.

And now for the giveaway! 

All you have to do to enter to win a copy of I'm Just No Good at Rhyming is comment on this post below by Thursday, May 24th at 5:00pm EST. You can get a bonus entry if you share this post on social media too (just let me know where you shared it--facebook, twitter, etc--in your comment). The winner will be announced next Friday. Good luck! And be sure to check out all the other Poetry Friday posts too!

Poetry Friday - Student Postcard Project

It’s Friday! And you know what that means: Poetry! Want to know more about Poetry Friday? Click this link right here. And be sure to check out Jama's Alphabet Soup to see this week’s round up of wonderful poetry related posts, blogs and goodness. 

________________________________________

Hello everyone! I am finally back from a longish break of blog posting. Do you ever just need to step back for a bit? Now I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get back into the swing of things! 

This week I am sharing a fantastic poetry postcard that I got from Emily B., who is in 5th grade. Thank you, Emily, for sharing your poetry talent, and thank you to Jone MacCulloch, the amazing media specialist at Silver Star Elementary, for organizing the postcard project. It was a real treat to open the mailbox and see the poem.

Zebra drinks

Crocodile chomps

Zebra gone

(c) Emily B.

5th grade

I love the imagery of the poem. I can totally see the crocodile sneaking up on the crocodile. And I love her artwork on the postcard. I especially like how she added the lion's shadow on the savanna. So great.

This week, the poetry round up is over at Jama's Alphabet Soup, so be sure to check it out. And make sure to stop back next week, because I'll be hosting the round up!