Publishing News!

I am tickled to have a poem in the fall issue of BUMPLES BUDS, a brand-new online magazine for children.  BUMPLES BUDS is a high-quality interactive magazine filled with stories, poems, games, and activities. It's bright, colorful, and very inviting.  I just love the illustrations for my poem.  Did you notice the book the boy is reading?  It is my very own TREASURE IN THE ATTIC!

I wrote "First Book" many years ago after watching the excitement my sons and my students experienced when they independently read their first book.   This past summer, I got to relive that experience when my granddaughter and I read together. She is quickly becoming an independent reader!

"First Book" originally appeared in  Lee Bennett Hopkins' WORLD OF POETRY series in 1998.  A year later, it appeared in Scholastic's MONTH-BY-MONTH POETRY professional book.  For the past 18 yrs., it was tucked away in my files. When I saw that BUMPLES BUDS was accepting poems, I took a chance and sent it off! It makes me happy to think a new generation of children will read and (hopefully) enjoy it.

Writers, BUMPLES (for children 6-10) and BUMPLES BUDS (for children 3-5) is accepting submissions!  You can check out a sample issue here.

A big thank you to Brenda for hosting this week. I hope wherever you are, you are enjoying a gorgeous autumn season.

National Day on Writing

Today is National Day on Writing, a day to celebrate the joy and importance of writing.  Click on the link to find resources for teachers, tips for writers, and information about how to join the conversation on WhyIWrite. You can also listen to podcasts of authors talking about their process and reasons for becoming a writer.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my own writing process. I  have always loved to write, but it doesn't always come easy. Here is a #poemsketch I wrote about my sometimes struggle with words.  It is still a work-in-progress, but it's late and this what I have so far.

Stuck

Sometimes writing feels like
a Chinese Finger Trap—

The harder I try 

to pull  words   
onto the page,
the more they stick
inside my brain—

But finally  
when I stop,

to take a breath—

Words somehow 
seem to know

and suddenly
they begin         to let go.

©Linda Kulp Trout


A big thank you to Leigh Anne over at A Day in the Life for hosting this week's Poetry Friday.

Talking With Animals and PET CRAZY

The doe’s eyes meet mine—

a silent conversation

mother-to-mother

When we lock eyes with an animal, for even just a second, we can sense what they are feeling.  I believe they can sense what we are feeling too. Without a single word, we can communicate and begin to understand each other.

My cat is very good at communicating what she wants.  When I'm in her favorite chair, she sits on the floor glaring up at me until I move. As soon as I do, she claims it as her own.

When I was teaching, I always enjoyed reading the poems my students wrote about their pets. Children love to write about animals.  I just wish I would have had the fabulous PET CRAZY by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong to share with them.  The poems are so relatable.  What child hasn't wished for a special pet or worried about a sick pet?  There is even a poem about communicating with a pet!  The activities in  PET CRAZY are fantastic because they invite young writers to create their own poems. What a timesaver to have the text and activities in one place!

If you are a parent and grandparent, winter break is not that far away.  PET CRAZY would be a wonderful way to encourage creativity and support your child's reading and writing skills over the break.  It's on my list of holiday gifts for seven year old granddaughter.  I know she'll love it.

A big thank you to Irene at Live Your Poem for gathering a bounty of poetry goodness this week.