Classroom Connections with Laura Purdie Salas (Giveaway!)

I'm so pleased to welcome Laura Purdie Salas back to Today's Little Ditty! After her conspicuous omission from my Classroom Connections extravaganza for National Poetry Month in 2019, I'm finally able to feature her in a Classroom Connections post this year. Of course when I interviewed her (a couple months ago), the pandemic was not yet in full lockdown mode, but I think you'll find her classroom suggestions adaptable to distance learning as well.


TODAY'S READ

Secrets of the Loon

Laura Purdie Salas, Author (rhyming text)
Chuck Dayton, Author (back matter) and Photographer

Minnesota Historical Society Press
(April 28, 2020)
ISBN: 978-1681341583

For grades K-4

Purchase online via the publisher
Purchase online at Amazon.com
Purchase online at Bookshop.org (supporting independent bookstores)


SYNOPSIS

During her first summer with her parents and brother in the northland, Moon Loon has a lot to learn. Mom and Dad teach essential lessons, like how to catch and eat fish and how to avoid becoming a snack for snapping turtles. Moon Loon also discovers her secret skills, like how to float, how to dive, and—eventually—how to fly. This is a tale of wilderness, family, and independence.


A PEEK INSIDE

Text copyright © 2020 by Laura Purdie Salas. Photographs copyright © 2020 by Chuck Dayton.
From SECRETS OF THE LOON (Minnesota Historical Society Press).

Summer wears sunshine or fog,
       soft and gray.
and skips by so quickly,
while Moon grows each day.

Eventually, Father's back
       runs out of space,
so the chicks each tuck under
       a one-wing embrace.

  

© 2020 Laura Purdie Salas. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former teacher Laura Purdie Salas believes reading small picture books and poems can have a huge impact on your life. She has written more than 130 books for kids, including Lion of the Sky (NCTE Notable, Kirkus Best Books, and Parents Magazine Best Books of the Year), the Can Be… series (Bank Street Best Books, IRA Teachers’ Choice), and BookSpeak! (Minnesota Book Award, NCTE Notable). Laura shares inspiration and practical tips with educators about poetry, nonfiction, and more at laurasalas.com.

CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS

Why is bringing poetry into the classroom important?

Poetry in the classroom is crucial for SO many reasons. A few of my favorites are:

•    Rhyming texts help with prediction and fluency.
•    Poetry can tackle deep, emotional topics in short, unintimidating texts.
•    Poetry is great for close reading. So many important details packed into so few words!

How might your book be incorporated into an educational curriculum?

It fits perfectly into a life cycle unit. It also has great links to units on:

•    migration
•    independence
•    animal adaptations
•    food webs

Can you suggest a specific classroom exercise related to your book?

Yes! One day when you have indoor recess and the kids are antsy, go to laurasalas.com/secrets and download this sheet: https://laurasalas.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Walk-Like-a-Loon.pdf. Lead your students through walking, paddling, diving, swimming, and paddling like a loon. Talk about differences between loons and people. The loon’s feet are waaaaaay far back on its body, making walking very difficult. It’s why loons hardly spend any time at all on land. Giving students a chance to act like loons will highlight how loons’ specific body traits (heavy bones, for example) affect their movements. And for a giggle, watch the book trailer at https://youtu.be/no7aP0zg6Pw and let kids try wailing like a loon!

What is a simple, practical tip for teachers when it comes to incorporating poetry in the classroom?

Read rhyming AND non-rhyming poetry with your students. I love verse (obviously), but non-rhyming poetry is equally valuable, and it will serve as a valuable mentor as students work on writing their own poems.

Can you recount a specific instance of when poetry impacted a student or group of students in a positive way?

I can’t tell you how many times, after an author visit when I’ve written poetry with students, a teacher has expressed surprise. They will tell me “he never participates,” or “that’s the first writing she has ever shared.” One of the most special moments I recall was when a (third-grade, I think) student wrote a poem about his mom, who had passed away not long before that. He stayed behind to share the poem with me. Having a small, safe place to put overwhelming emotions—that is one of the most important gifts poetry gives us.


CONNECT WITH LAURA PURDIE SALAS

Website: laurasalas.com
Blog: laurasalas.com/blog
Twitter: @LauraPSalas
Instagram: LauraPSalas
E-letter for educators: tinyurl.com/p5q54g8
Patreon: patreon.com/LauraPurdieSalas 

Look for Laura's first fully fiction picture book from Amazon/Two Lions this August. It's called  Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten and is about a kitty who finds school to be too loud, too crowded, too bright—just too much!

For more about Laura Purdie Salas at Today's Little Ditty, you can read our Spotlight ON interview (featuring Water Can Be...), my Book Love review (featuring A Rock Can Be...) and browse through a smattering of other posts, including poetry and writer resources, HERE.

Please join me in thanking Laura for divulging her secrets about how poetry, and specifically Secrets of the Loon, can be used in the classroom. Many thanks also to Minnesota Historical Society Press for offering a copy to one lucky Today's Little Ditty reader! To enter, leave a comment below or send an email with the subject "Loon Giveaway" to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com by Tuesday, May 19th. The winner will be selected randomly and announced next Friday, May 22nd.

Click HERE to read more posts in the TLD Classroom Connections series.

I sure am glad this month has an extra Friday, because our padlet is chock full of wonderful poems and I need the extra week to feature as many of them as possible! Keep 'em coming! This week's daily ditties included poems by Keri Collins Lewis, Karen Eastlund, Diane Mayr, and Janet Clare Fagal. Don't forget that you can also post your poems on Twitter with the hashtag #PoemsofPresence. And if you're already posting poems on Twitter, please make sure to share 1-3 of your favorites here at some point during the month.

Speaking of favorites, what could be better than Jama Rattigan hosting the Poetry Friday roundup on National Chocolate Chip Day?!  Hello. You don't have to tell me twice. See you at Jama's Alphabet Soup! And I'm not the only one who posted about Secrets of the Loon today. Click HERE for Margaret Simon's review at Reflections on the Teche.

National Poetry Month Preview

Digital art © 2018 by Miranda Barnes, based on a line from "Ghazal" by Tracy K. Smith.

According to the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month is "the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, bloggers, and, of course, poets marking poetry’s important place in our culture and our lives." Find out more about how the celebration got started and how you can participate HERE.

2019 marks the first year that the official National Poetry Month poster was designed by a high school student. It was selected through a national contest with more than 450 submissions, my daughter's submission among them. Each design was required to incorporate one of five excerpts from poems by U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. Miranda chose "History is a ship forever setting sail" from "Ghazal" (1972). Although she was not a finalist, she is, of course, a winner in my book! That's why I've chosen her work as the "official" National Poetry Month poster on Today's Little Ditty. For someone who doesn't typically use a digital medium (or have access to fancy shmancy software), I thought she did a fabulous job. Besides, I'm her mom—I have bragging rights. You can see the official official 2019 National Poetry Month poster HERE and view the designs of the twelve finalists HERE.

I've been talking about my National Poetry Month series for a couple weeks now. Classroom Connections will showcase recent poetry books—eclectic collections, lyrical picture books, and engaging verse novels—and how they can be used as mentor texts in the classroom. With posts each weekday in April, you will find 22 author/editor interviews, exercises for teachers to use with elementary, middle, and high school students, and LOTS of giveaways!

Today's the day I finally get to reveal the roster of participants. So without further ado . . .

To follow the series: 

The best way to keep up with the Classroom Connections series is by subscribing to Today's Little Ditty via email, which you can do in the sidebar. I will also be announcing the posts on social media. Like me on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter (also in the sidebar) to stay informed that way. Catch up with Classroom Connections posts you may have missed by clicking on the "It's time to INSPIRE" icon in the sidebar, or by visiting my "Poetry in the Classroom" board on Pinterest.


But where is . . . ?

Not every author and editor I contacted got back to me or was able to participate next month. I would have liked to feature Margarita Engle's companion memoir to Enchanted Air—Soaring Earth, for example, or Laurie Halse Anderson's searing poetic memoir SHOUT, which is collecting starred reviews like they're going out of style. Also, Eileen Spinelli's novel in verse, Birdie—perhaps I can snag her for a Spotlight ON interview at some point. An anthology I would have liked to showcase is Parkland Speaks: Survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas Share Their Stories (Crown Books for Young Readers, 2019), edited by MSD teeacher Sarah Lerner. A hard-hitting collection—heart-crushing at times—it is also a testament to the healing power of poetry and writing in general. That said, given the news this week of two MSD student suicides, clearly there's much more healing to be done.

Perhaps the most conspicuous omission from our National Poetry Month roster is Laura Purdie Salas, who is touring with not one, not two, but three books this season! I would be remiss not to mention these books since Laura is a champion when it comes to bringing poetry into the classroom. If you click on the links for each of her books below, you'll find student-friendly activity sheets available for download, as well as a platform to post student poetry.

Snowman - Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations (Charlesbridge, 2019)
Click here for teacher resources.

In the Middle of the Night: Poems from a Wide-Awake House
(Wordsong, 2019)   Click here for teacher resources.

Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons (Millbrook Press, 2019)
Click here for teacher resources.

Once again, Jama Rattigan has graciously volunteered to round up all of the National Poetry Month kidlit events this year at Jama's Alphabet Soup. There are some wonderful ones! I do hope you'll check them out next month.

And special thanks to Tabatha Yeatts for including my poem "Planning Your Treehouse" in her NPM project—Poetry in the Halls! Tabatha is providing free poetry printables—ledger-sized poems to print for school hallways, library walls, or any other poetry-inviting place. Read more about the project at The Opposite of Indifference.

See you on Monday!

Join Carol at Carol's Corner for a celebration of spring and this week's Poetry Friday roundup.

DMC: "Without" by Laura Purdie Salas

WITHOUT

Without plunging, a waterfall is only a river
       Praise the falling, the wailing, the water on end

Without sinking, a sunset is a background of orange
       Praise the creeping and deepness and sleeping night brings

Without freezing, summer stays long past its day
       Praise the sharpness of ice, the clean slate before spring

Without ending, the story is ever unfinished
       Praise the held breath, the fear, the delight of The End

Without dying, life is a circular road
       Praise the one-way signs so we all find our way

© 2017 Laura Purdie Salas. All rights reserved.

click to enlarge

Click HERE to read this month's interview with Carol Hinz, Editorial Director of Millbrook Press and Carolrhoda Books, divisions of Lerner Publishing Group. Her challenge this month is to write a poem that finds beauty in something that is not usually considered beautiful.

Post your poems on our November 2017 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, November 24th. One lucky participant will win a copy of The Sun Played Hide-and-Seek: A Personification Story by Brian P. Cleary, illustrated by Carol Crimmins, and published by Millbrook Press earlier this year.

Laura Purdie Salas: Writer in Progress

Instead of posting a ditty today, I'd like to share a terrific resource for children's writers—for aspiring writers who are trying to decide if this is the career for them, and for writers like myself who are a little further along in the journey, but still trying to navigate and explore the waters. It's an online course:

Writer in Progress: 30 Days in the Life of a Children's Writer

Laura, with her latest book from Millbrook Press.
Read a couple of nice reviews HERE and HERE.

with TLD's very first Spotlight author, Laura Purdie Salas.

I've learned a lot from Laura over the years, not only from her books (poetry, nonfiction, books for writers) and her mentoring service with Lisa Bullard, Mentors for Rent, but also through blog osmosis and social media, soaking in who she is and how she behaves as a writer. Laura is super creative, yes, but she's also sensible and practical—invaluable traits for those who want to manage a career, not just a hobby.

While there are many lovely and generous souls in the kidlitosphere, Laura stands out in that arena. She has the heart and manner of a caring teacher, making it her personal mission to share what she knows with children, and aspiring children's writers, too. Who wouldn't appreciate an honest and transparent "tell it like it is" article like her annual "How Much Money Does a Writer Make?"? There's more writerly advice where that came from—just follow the Mentors for Rent blog.

Writer in Progress takes that honest, straightforward approach to a whole new level. This 30-day course isn't some romanticized version of what it's like to be a children's writer. It's a collection of short daily journals—half written, half videotaped—detailing what one working writer (stress on working) does day in and day out for a one-month period.

"Asleep at the computer" by Kevin Severud

A steal at only $25, you're not paying for polish and perfection, you're paying to hear what it's really like to be a children's writer. You're not paying for hype or a step-by-step guide, you're paying to quietly peek over Laura's shoulder, to find out how she handles her time, writing projects, administrative tasks, and other activities.

Hers is not the only way children's writers manage their workload, of course (alas, we can't all be as organized as Laura is), but for many of us, this is a huge problem. Managing our time and priorities, I mean. If you're anything like me, finding out how others succeed at the juggling act is always helpful, if only to pick up a tip here or an idea there. But for the new writer? Priceless.

Another benefit for me, was that it gave me a peek at where I'm headed. I haven't yet attended a large conference like NCTE, ALA, or ILA. I haven't done many school visits either... at least not ones I've actually been paid for. But these things are on the not-so-distant horizon, and I'm chugga-chugging in that direction. I think I can. I think I can.

Dietmar Rabich

Here are just a few of the writing or writing-related tasks you'll see Laura work on:

    •    declining a speaking invitation
    •    preparing for a school visit
    •    revising a picture book
    •    checking on contract terms for a work-for-hire project
    •    pitching picture book ideas to an editor
    •    researching a nonfiction picture book project
    •    speaking at a conference for educators
    •    getting her first author's copy of her newest picture book
    •    struggling with wardrobe issues for a signing

I also appreciated the "universal truths" for children's writers she shares at the end.

If you're interested, I would encourage you to read Laura's own description of Writer in Progress HERE and also preview the first two sessions. You can explore her other online classes for writers HERE.

After that, maybe you want to try writing a water-themed cinquain (Laura's May 2014 challenge) for this month's Ditty Potluck!

Post your poem on our April 2017 padlet.

DMC: "Ode to One Knitting Needle" by Laura Purdie Salas

ODE TO ONE KNITTING NEEDLE

You taste sharp and tangy, some metal weapon,
but you dissolve to chimney smoke coziness
Your sleek, pearlescent point
tap dances with your twin,
turns your rhythm into fuzzy ribbons of warmth

Needle, why do you never rest?
Are you afraid to be alone?

© 2017 Laura Purdie Salas. All rights reserved.


Helen Frost has challenged us to write an ode poem this month, following these instructions: 

Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or both.

Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."

Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:

Jumping for Joy

Why am I jumping for joy?

 Because my poem about the 11-year-old who dreamed up the backyard trampoline
"George Nissen, Boy Inventor" (Boys' Quest, Feb 2014)

won the 2015 SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Poetry! 

You can read my poem HERE.

The SCBWI Magazine Merit Awards are presented by the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators annually for original magazine work for young people in five categories: fiction, nonfiction, illustration, poetry, and YA fiction/nonfiction. According to the SCBWI website, "The works chosen are those that exhibit excellence in writing and illustration, and genuinely appeal to the interests and concerns of young people." Honor Certificates in each category are also awarded, as well as three Letters of Merit for each category.

But that's only part of the reason I'm jumping for joy. What makes this celebration even more special is the fact that I'm able to share the awesome sauce with several other poet friends:

Congratulations to Laura Purdie Salas
whose poem "Good-bye, Hello!" (Highlights, Sept 2014) earned the 2015 Magazine Merit Honor Award.  Read it HERE.

Congratulations to Buffy Silverman
whose poem "If You Were a Shell" (Ladybug, July 2014) earned a 2015 Letter of Merit. Read it HERE.

Congratulations to Neal Levin
whose poem "My Dinosaur, My Friend" (Fun For Kidz, May 2014) earned a 2015 Letter of Merit as well. (Neal also happens to be the multi-talented guy who illustrated my George Nissen poem in Boys' Quest!)

Magazine Merit Award recipients in all categories are listed on the SCBWI website.

DMC: "Blanket" by Laura Purdie Salas

BLANKET

Blanket is a rectangular word
with hard corners
anchored by flip-flops

Its "B" longs for the beach
Blanket is a blank slate,
ready to fill in the ______
and B a tablecloth/game board/
doormat/towel

Its flat, low center holds "an"
old blue cooler with winter inside
We lift the lid, not for the
roast beef, Doritos, and soda,
but for the chill breath
it exhales on our hot,
gritty skin

It gets crowded and wrinkled,
but everyone fits in the
b-l-a-n-k-e-t
sunscreened k-n-e-e presses against
orange-powdered a-n-k-l-e
Keeping us safe
       from the sand
             from the sea
             from time

© 2015 Laura Purdie Salas. All rights reserved.


Nikki Grimes has challenged us to try a wordplay exercise this month and create our own free verse poems. Click HERE for all the details.

Send your poem to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, May 29th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of Nikki's brand new picture book:

Book Love: A Rock Can Be...

Laura Purdie Salas has done it again!

She's come out with another wonderful read-aloud in her award-winning "Can Be..." series with illustrator Violeta Dabija:

Millbrook Press (March 1, 2015)
ISBN: 978-1467721103

Oh, I hear some of you muttering...  

Rocks..? But they just– sit there. How special can rocks be?

Let me tell you, this book is going to *rock* your world! 

Seriously, once you read this book, you'll discover that rocks can be all kinds of special.

Dinosaur bone or stepping stone...

          Hopscotch marker or fire sparker...

                    Volcano flow-er or night glow-er...

                               Seaside home or crusty dome....

With rhyming couplets that are clever and vibrant, and illustrations that are rich and absorbing, A Rock Can Be... easily meets the same high standards set by the first two books in the series:

I'm just sorry that this is the end of the road for the Can Be books.

Here's what Booklist has to say about A Rock Can Be...:

This beautiful picture book makes an excellent classroom read-aloud, challenging children to puzzle out the ideas in the poetic phrases and to broaden their thinking about rocks.

That statement could easily be applied to the other two books in the series as well, so do yourself a  favor and make sure you have the full set! 

What's more, at the back of each book is a kid-friendly informational guide that elaborates on each of the things rocks and water and leaves can be, as well as a glossary, and recommended further reading.

On Laura's A Rock Can Be... webpage, you will find reviews, a teacher's guide, a Pinterest board for educators, and you will also be able to order your own copy.  You can help celebrate the book's release by visiting Laura's blog.  Every day this month she will be featuring photographs of different rocks paired with interesting adjectives she's gathered from teachers and classrooms.  Find out which are rocks are sparkly, curvaceous, pocked, mottled, and valuable... well, actually, they're all pretty valuable in their own ways!

And speaking of good value, I'd like to leave you today with Laura's own words about this priceless series:

What these books are REALLY about, besides leaves and water and rocks, is wonder. Our world is so amazing, even the plain old things I take for granted or think I know about. But looking and thinking and wondering makes me realize, every single time, how cool the earth is. How beautifully its parts work together. How creative we can be in enjoying, using, and interacting with it.

I couldn't agree more.

Read my Spotlight ON interview with Laura Purdie Salas (featuring Water Can Be...) HERE.

DMC: "A Field Mouse Meets an Owl at Midnight" by Laura Purdie Salas

A Field Mouse Meets an Owl at Midnight

I hear the hollow warning call
just before a 
feathered 
sky
drops down around 
my small 
cry.
EEK! I squeak. It's 
no good-
bye–

© 2014 Laura Purdie Salas. All rights reserved.


J. Patrick Lewis has challenged us to write a zeno this month. What's a zeno, you ask? Click HERE for details.

To join in the fun, send yours to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All zenos will be included in the wrap-up celebration on October 31st, and one lucky participant will win a copy of Pat's gorgeous, new, "best of" collection:

Spotlight on Laura Purdie Salas + DMC Challenge

LAURA PURDIE SALAS

While it's sad to say goodbye to National Poetry Month, the celebration is still going strong here at Today's Little Ditty with the launch of the Ditty of the Month Club (DMC).  A warm welcome to all new members!  (Yes, YOU!)  I'm thrilled to introduce Laura Purdie Salas as our inaugural Spotlight ON featured author.

Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 120 books for kids and teens, including WATER CAN BE..., A LEAF CAN BE... (Bank Street Best Books, IRA Teachers' Choice, Minnesota Book Award Finalist, Riverby Award for Nature Books for Young Readers, and more), and BOOKSPEAK! POEMS ABOUT BOOKS (Minnesota Book Award, NCTE Notable, Bank Street Best Book, Eureka! Gold Medal, and more). She loves to introduce kids to poetry and help them find poems they can relate to, no matter what their age, mood, and personality. She has also written numerous nonfiction books. See more about Laura and her work at www.laurasalas.com.

Laura Purdie Salas: Poet in Training

Laura holds a special place in my heart, not only because she is an extremely talented writer, but because she is as authentic as they come– open, friendly, thoughtful, generous... you can't help but think of her as a friend.  Back when Today's Little Ditty was a mere blip on the blog scene, Laura was the first person who took a chance on this newbie by volunteering to contribute a haiku to the Haiku Garden.  (You can find Laura's haiku here.)

So sit back, enjoy today's interview, and help me thank Laura for the ditty love by participating in this month's DMC challenge!


It's always fun to connect with a person by discovering their favorite things.  What are some of yours? 

FOOD:   Macaroni and cheese, sharp, baked, a little crispy on top and the edges, not too creamy. Bonus points for bacon or pancetta mixed in! (Not that I'm particular or anything.)

COLOR:  Teal

SOUND:  Water: waves or rain. Geese crying is a close second. And a sleeping baby is third:>)

PASTIME:  Reading

COUNTRY YOU'D LIKE TO VISIT:  Italy

What inspires you to write for children and what do you enjoy most about being a children’s author?

Children's books just connect more to my heart than adult books do. I wrote a really bad mystery novel for grownups early on. It was very mechanical – I just didn't care about it. I think it's because books were my whole world when I was a kid, and I love the idea of being part of other kids' worlds today. What I enjoy most about being a children's writer is 1) the small amount of time when I get to actually WRITE – first drafts are the most fun; 2) talking to kids about books and words and what they love; and 3) connecting with educators and seeing their passion for connecting books and kids.


Give us a peek inside your “writing zone” – when, where, how do you do your best work?  
 
At home, I write at the kitchen table a lot. Very ergonomically incorrect! But I like to be able to open the blinds just a touch and see the sky. If I open them all the way, I get too distracted! But slices of sky are nice. Sometimes, when I'm feeling relaxed, I'll light a candle (real or electric). Flickering lights are lovely to write by. I write mostly on my laptop. I am not a lover of longhand – my fingers can't keep up with my thoughts! But I also love that poetry is so portable. I write poems on the fly a lot. I wrote almost all of the riddle-ku for my Poetry Month blog celebration while I was on a weekend trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior. I wrote in the car, on the couch, at a restaurant. I just scribbled in my little tiny notebook or in the Notes feature on my iPhone whenever something struck me. I'm most creative in the morning, but many years of parenting and freelance writing have trained me to grab that quiet 15 minutes of writing time whenever it appears!

Water Can Be...
Millbrook Press, April 2014
ISBN: 978-1467705912
Purchase via IndieBound or on Amazon.com

Where did the idea to write WATER CAN BE come from and what do you hope children will take away from your book?  
 
I had so much fun with A LEAF CAN BE..., and I wanted to do a follow-up. I wrote A RIVER CAN BE..., but my editor said it wasn't universal enough. So I switched to all forms of water. I grew up in Florida and have always been a water baby, so I had the best time ever submersing myself in water forms and memories and research to write this book. I hope kids will take away a new appreciation of water, and a realization that it plays a role in everything they do! I want kids to love and value water and also to realize that if they look closely at common things, they'll discover aspects of them they never knew before.


What about WATER CAN BE... makes you the most proud?
 
I think I'm most proud that I'm donating a percentage of my royalties to WaterAid, a wonderful water charity. I haven't done anything like that for any of my previous books. I know it won't be any huge amount, but it makes me feel good to take a little concrete action!

Text © Laura Purdie Salas, Illustration © Violeta Dabija

Please share a favorite selection/spread from WATER CAN BE....

I think my favorite text  from the book is:

Water is water–
it's ice, snow, and sea.
Now go and discover
what else it can be!

It gives me hope that the book will inspire kids to take action, to explore the world, to think!

Text © Laura Purdie Salas, Illustration © Violeta Dabija

If you were a source of water, what would you be and why?

I would be a swift, clear river with rapids and a waterfall, maybe like the "downhill speeder" that Violeta Dabija created in her stunning art for the book. I like to be on the move, so a lake wouldn't cut it. And I'd be moving too fast for alligators, which I have a phobia of:>)







Can you give us a hint about what’s coming up next for you? 

My next book will be A ROCK CAN BE..., in 2015. I pitched AIR CAN BE..., too, but that one didn't fly. ROCK will be the last one in the series, I think:>(


If you had all the world's children in one room, what would you tell them?
 
There is SO much in the world that you haven't seen yet – things you will love and be fascinated by, things that will change your life. Books can be a tiny preview of all the wonderful places and things you might connect with in the future.

Finally, tell us what you've chosen as this month’s ditty challenge.

I have chosen the cinquain, the 5-line form with 2-4-6-8-2 syllable count. There are different ways to write cinquains – my two favorite versions are the ones that either start with an object and then define or describe it in various figurative ways and the ones that describe a thing or a scene, capturing a moment, and then offering a twist or extra oomph in the last line. Of course, people can do whatever they want within those 5 lines!  

[From Michelle: for our younger readers, Kenn Nesbitt provides more detailed instructions on  "How to Write a Cinquain Poem" on his website Poetry4Kids.]  

And to make it more challenging, I'm going to ask your readers to write about water – preferably a specific memory related somehow to water. Right off the bat, I'm thinking of the time we bought my daughter goggles because she forgot to bring hers to the beach, and then she lost her new, overpriced ones on the very first wave she dived into. And I'm thinking about when I was 11 and was playing marco polo at the pool with a boy I had a crush on. And I'm also thinking about when I went with my best friend on a family vacation in 4th grade to the North Carolina mountains, and we "rode" down a river in our jeans, over all the slippery rocks, right to the top of a waterfall. Oh! I have some work to do! And that's not even getting into the alligator poems I could write – shudder. Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

I hope many of you will join in the splashtastic fun!  Use the contact form in the sidebar to the right to send me your cinquains throughout the month.  For children under 13 who would like to participate, please read my COPPA compliance statement located below the contact form.  Several poems will be published on the blog as daily ditties, but all of them will be collected in one wrap-up post on Friday, May 30th.  

And just in case you need a little push to get your feet wet, Laura has graciously offered to donate a personalized copy of WATER CAN BE... as a giveaway!  All participants will be eligible for this random drawing at the end of the month.

Thank you, Laura!  When your travels next bring you to Florida, you are cordially invited to my house for macaroni and cheese and a frolic in the backyard sprinkler.  (Lots of lizards, but no alligators.)

Katya is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at Write. Sketch. Repeat.

Haiku Garden: Laura Purdie Salas

I am delighted to have children's writer and poet Laura Purdie Salas join us today in the Haiku Garden!

Laura professes not to be a gardener, but the proof of her green thumb would be this little beauty she's planted right here.  Today's little ditty was inspired by the six-packs of annuals she recently bought to perk up her own surroundings.
 

petunia six-pack:

six golden suns wait to shine

on May summer lawns

© 2013 Laura Purdie Salas. All rights reserved.

I do believe I am overdue for a trip to my local garden center for some sunshine and inspiration!

If you, too, are seeking inspiration, visit Laura's website to explore her own vast garden of information and resources for kids, teachers, writers, and for the many readers out there who are nourished by Laura's works of poetry and nonfiction.  While there, you can subscribe to her blog, Writing the World for Kids, which is also a lovely melange of poetry and nonfiction.  I promise you won't be sorry you made the trip.

Thank you for visiting today, Laura, and for bringing your sunshine to Today's Little Ditty!

                                                      Golden Petunias © Rayanda Arts.   www.rayandaarts.com


If you would like to share a haiku or other Japanese short form on Today's Little Ditty, please contact me at michelle (at) MichelleHBarnes (dot) com, or by commenting below.  Haiku Garden will only grow as beautiful as the community it represents, and I look forward to featuring you and your blog!