Wow, summer is almost here again! In my part of the world, high school graduations are happening and the last day of school for most other students is this Friday. And it's been nearly two months since I've written an update! So here are a couple things I've been meaning to write about combined into one short post.
1. Poetry! In my last post I mentioned that I had planned to write a poem a day for National Poetry Month. And I did! Well, I wrote at least part of a poem every day during April. By the end of the month I had 32 new poems, most of which still need some polish. During that self-imposed writing challenge, I was intentional about trying some new poetic forms, and one of them even inspired me to write a whole collection!
I also read a lot of poetry, mostly collections written for children. Here are a few of my favorites:
Clackety Track: Poems about Trains by Skila Brown, illustrated by Jamey Christoph. This is an engaging, varied, fun-to-read book about the various types of trains, and includes back matter that describes each type of train featured in the book.
Beastly Verse by Joohee Yoon, a wonderful assortment of poems about various "beasts," with vivid illustrations that are sure to catch any young reader's eye.
After Dark: Poems About Nocturnal Animals by David L. Harrions, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis. This is a lovely book that is creative, educational, and a delight to read aloud.
2. Summer reading. My kids are all grown up, so I'm not planning to sign them up for the local library's summer reading program and bring them to the library at least once a week this summer. But I am an advocate for reading, and it's almost summer, so that means that it's almost time for the second annual Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge!
Read, Discuss, Do! began several years ago as a simple graphic I created and shared on social media aimed at simplifying the idea of story time. From there it became a social media campaign, then a series of blog posts, and now it has its own website. Last year, my team and I launched the website with the Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge aimed at helping parents, caregivers, and educators connect with kids by reading (and discussing and doing) with them over the summer.
It's not your typical summer reading challenge. There's no page-counting or book logging required. It's all about pairing books with summer fun! The fun officially begins on June 3. If you would like to be involved, you can out more at readdiscussdo.com!
What are your summer plans for summer reading?
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