Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Book Love: WILD IN THE STREETS (Giveaway!)



We're celebrating a book birthday!

Congratulations to Marilyn Singer on her latest nonfiction poetry picture book, Wild in the Streets: 20 Poems of City Animals (Quarto Publishing, 2019), which has just been released into the urban wilderness TODAY!

Concrete, glass, tarmac, steel—
who'd imagine they'd appeal
to creatures that once lived
          in forests, caves, on prairies, rocks?
How did they land on city blocks,
under bridges, on rooftops
in playgrounds and drains
          (even in our houses, perhaps when it rains)?
What do they eat? Where do they sleep?
Who are these beings, beloved or reviled?
What wildlife can possibly flourish
          where life's no longer wild?
© 2019 Marilyn Singer, from WILD IN THE STREETS. All rights reserved.

This gorgeous and fascinating book tells the compelling stories of animals who have found homes in urban landscapes across the world. Some of them might be closer than you think! Humans may have built towns and cities, but we aren’t the only ones who live in them. Given the smallest chance—a park, a garden, a window box, a basement, a subway tunnel, a bridge—wildlife manages to survive in the city.

From the pythons traveling Singapore's sewers to the monkeys living in India's temples, from hyenas that roam the ancient Ethiopian walled city of Harar and river crabs who reside under ancient ruins in the center of Rome, to wild boars who wander the streets of Berlin, or, closer to home, coyotes who thrive in major cities like Chicago (and a slew of North American suburbs, including my own in Florida!), each colorfully illustrated spread of Wild in the Streets buzzes with city life and animal activity. The stories of these animals, foreign and familiar, are told through various poetry forms (described at the back of the book) and accompanied by informational text. Some poems are comical, some poignant, but all of them help the reader see the world in a different way.

Now I realize that the thought of a book about living with wild animals might give some readers pause (paws?), so as a precautionary measure, I thought I'd share . . .

5 easy ways to help make this book feel welcome 
in your neighborhood.

All words and pictures used in this post are from WILD IN THE STREETS, copyright © 2019 by Marilyn Singer and Gordy Wright. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, an imprint of The Quarto Group, Beverly, MA.
 
1. Pay your respects.


From Wild in the Streets, text © 2019 by Marilyn Singer, illustration © 2019 by Gordy Wright. Click image to enlarge.

2. Give flowers. 


From Wild in the Streets, text © 2019 by Marilyn Singer, illustration © 2019 by Gordy Wright. Click image to enlarge.

3. Invite it to dinner.


From Wild in the Streets, text © 2019 by Marilyn Singer, illustration © 2019 by Gordy Wright. Click image to enlarge.

4. Offer it the best seat.


From Wild in the Streets, text © 2019 by Marilyn Singer, illustration © 2019 by Gordy Wright. Click image to enlarge.

5. Sing its praises.


From Wild in the Streets, text © 2019 by Marilyn Singer, illustration © 2019 by Gordy Wright. Click image to enlarge.


And one more, if you can manage it—
throw a "welcome to the neighborhood" party!



















I hope you'll make WILD IN THE STREETS feel welcome in YOUR classroom, home, or library!

Purchase a copy at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, or via Indiebound.org 

or . . .




Leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Wild in the Streets: 20 Poems of City Animals courtesy of Quarto Publishing. Alternatively, you may send an email to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject "WILD giveaway." Entries must be received by Tuesday, September 24, 2019. The winner will be selected randomly and announced on Friday, September 27th.


We're still meeting and greeting over at this month's padlet! New additions include all-about-me acrostic poems by Jone Rush MacCulloch, Sherry Howard, Michelle Kogan, Angelique Pacheco, Mindy Beth Gars Dolandis, Janet Clare Fagal, Tabatha Yeatts, Carol Varsalona, Bridget Magee, and Molly Hogan. Stay tuned for next week's end-of-month wrap-up celebration!


At this week's Poetry Friday roundup, Linda Baie reveals the cover and a few thoughts about a wonderful new book coming in February from Irene Latham and Charles Waters. You'll find that and many more poetry offerings at TeacherDance.





22 comments:

  1. I am sure I need this book! I love the format almost as much as I love the art!

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  2. My young students are going to love this book (and me too)!

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  3. I will have the book soon from my library, but would love to win my own copy. We have some of those animals living here in the city with us, bees of course, and in certain places, deer. I love reading the poem and about the place that revers them. Once in a while I see foxes & coyotes. Thanks, Michelle!

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  4. I love this! Perfect for helping kids open their eyes to what might be around them that they don't notice. Putting on hold at the library (and probably buying soon after).

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  5. This one looks great--putting it on my TBR list!

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  6. What a wonderful topic. I look forward to seeing it.

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  7. The spreads from this book shared here are absolutely stunning! What rich poetry and learning combine with the illustrations. My middle school library would love a copy of this book. Many congratulations Marilyn, and always thanks to you Michelle for your highlights!

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  8. Thank you for the chance to win an exciting book!

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  9. Love poems about nature. This book looks like a winner. (And I hope I am!)

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  10. I love the title, the concept and the content of this beautiful new book (although I'm now a bit wary of traveling to Singapore. Yikes!) ! I'm wondering if the book includes any poems about peregrine falcons. It fascinates me how they have adapted to live in an urban landscape. I hope to get my hands on the book soon and find out!

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  11. Marilyn finds such intriguing topics to write about and I love that this book is also a learning tool about animals. My students will love this book.

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  12. Thanks, Michelle, for your wonderful blog, and everyone for the lovely comments! There are peregrines in the book, Molly--in NYC, where I've seen them several times.

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  13. This would be so great paired with Sarah Tuttle's HIDDEN CITY collection of urban wildlife! And I got a smile so big when I saw the "stork" spread. THE WHEEL ON THE SCHOOL" is one of my all-time favorite books. Congratulations, Marilyn, on another beauty, and thank you for sharing, Michelle. xo

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  14. Like Irene, I've thought of 'Wheel on The School", too, when reading about the storks. I'd love to see a stork nesting in my neighborhood, but it isn't to be. And it's hard to imagine all those deer! I've loved seeing the posts about this new book, so thanks, Michelle & Marilyn, for the peek!

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  15. I'm loving the reviews of this book! It looks so amazing!

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  16. I love this post, and how you thought to list ways to make the book feel welcome in our neighborhoods. So clever! It is indeed a fabulous book; Marilyn certainly did her homework and I love the different poetic forms.

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  17. Michelle, this book is filled with not only wonderful poetry but background knowledge. it would be a great addition to classroom libraries.

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  18. Thanks Michelle, for diving deep into this wonderfully rich new book by Marilyn Singer, I'm loving all the poetry and wild animal cohabitators that we learn more about in this book!

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  19. Wow. This looks like an amazing book. Thanks for your wonderful overview. I will check it out. No need to include me in the giveaway. I am buried in books right now.

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  20. What a creative way to pique our interest! I can't wait to get this book!!

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