Linda Kulp Trout

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Good Luck Gold & MORE

Have you seen Janet Wong's brand-new book, Good Luck Gold & more ?

It's a book I wish I had when I was still teaching. Part memoir, part poetry collection,  Good Luck Gold & more is not just another version of the original collection published in 1994.  It is a whole new book, and just like the title says, it contains much MORE!  In About the Book, Janet writes,  "For some of the poems, I decided to write about the story behind the story. For other poems, I decided to write about the story after the story, things I've been wondering about recently that are connected with the poem (in my brain)."

 Sharing our stories is so important. It gives us a peek into another person's life and helps us appreciate other cultures and our own culture too. Students often think their lives are too ordinary to write about, but books like Good Luck Gold & more make great mentor texts for showing that the ordinary makes the best topics for poems and other writing (such as memoir).

Good Luck Gold & more was selected for "Hot Off the Press" by the Children's Book Council.  I'm sure we'll see this collection on many more lists and winning lots of awards!

With Janet's permission, I'm happy to share two of my favorite passages from the collection.  (Every page is so full of heart, it was so difficult to choose just two!)



Janet, who is one of the kindest, most generous people I know is donating 100% of the profits to groups that work to #StopAsianHate and promote bystander training such as ihollaback.org.  Just in time for the holidays, Good Luck Gold & more would make the perfect gift for teachers, young readers, and poetry lovers, in addition to making a positive difference in our world!  '

AND don't forget to treat yourself to a copy too!

 A big thank you to the lovely and amazing Jama for gathering our Poetry Friday folks today on her blog, Jama's Alphabet Soup.

Have a great weekend!


45 comments:

  1. I love your post and Janet's new book. It is a gem and you explained it beautifully. Love your little peek at some of the pages and your prediction about the reception this book will have! Also this would make a great Thanksgiving, early holiday or a "just because" gift for teachers and kids who love poetry and learning about others. Thank you, Linda.
    Janet Clare F.

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    1. Janet Clare F.: Thanks so much for your kind words! You are so generous and one of the best examples of someone who actively brings poetry to fans (and fans to poetry). I love that you're endorsing it as a "just because" gift!

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  2. Yep! This book would make a great "just because" gift. Thank you for stopping by, Janet!

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    1. Linda: You always have such thoughtful and insightful comments. I am grateful for this blog post! Thank you for pointing out that I'm donating 100% of the profits for this book to groups that #StopAsianHate such as Hollaback! FYI there are now bystander training videos FOR KIDS available at ihollaback.org.

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  3. Excellent post Linda! Thank you for sharing Janet's work here. I really enjoyed MATH.

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    1. Thanks, Tim. There are so many wonderful poems, it was hard to choose!

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    2. I'm happy you enjoyed "Math," Tim — but you probably enjoyed all your math classes in real life, right?! (By the way, great to see you going "all in" with your own writing career!!!)

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  4. It's on my list to 'gift' to my granddaughters, Linda. After reading your examples, I'm sure they will love it. It's a review that makes me want it now! Thanks!

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    1. Thank you so much, Linda! I know your granddaughters will love it!

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  5. Linda, what a delightful post. Thank you for sharing Janet's work and new book. I've added it to my wish list. It's been fun reading around Janet's web page. I loved "Alien Bunny Bots: or Not?"

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    1. Thank you, Denise. You are so right, Janet brings lots of joy to the world!

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  6. Linda, thank you for sharing Janet's new poetry book. Janet is a fantastic writer, poet, and warm-hearted individual. I am excited to see the two poems you chose to share because they have insight into her thoughts, breaks through stereotypes, and offers a mentor text for young learners. I can see why Good Luck Gold & more was selected for "Hot Off the Press" by the Children's Book Council. Hooray for Janet and the fabulous work she has given to the poetry world.

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    1. Thank you, Carol. I always loved the poems in her original collection, and now with insight into her thinking, WOW!

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  7. What an enticing review and sneak peek! I'm always fascinated by the story behind the writing and can't wait to read this myself and share it with my class. Both of the poems you shared would spark some great class conversations. This book might be the perfect treat for myself after a long week of conferencing! Thanks!

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  8. I need this book for my collection. Thanks for highlighting it, Linda!

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  9. Oh, this is fabulous. I read somewhere about Janet putting out a new edition of this book, and it's so fun to see a peek inside of it. I love both poems. She packs so much into so few words. I'll admit I wanted the More part on the Belated Birthday one to give the backstory to the poem itself. (Maybe it does, if this is just an excerpt of it.) Loss/grief is such an untalked about experience with kids, and yet so many of them experience it! I, too, wish this More edition had been in my classroom when I was a teacher!

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    1. Thank you, Laura. Yes, Janet sure does pack a lot into a few words. Belated Birthday is a great poem to start a conversation on loss/grief. We don't have enough poems on that topic.

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  10. I'm so excited to hear about this new book. Love the two poems you shared; I always love reading backstory and/or extra tidbits provided by the author. Kudos to Janet for donating proceeds to help #StopAsianHate! Thanks for featuring this, Linda. Now I have the perfect "just because" gift to surprise friends. :)

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  11. Thank you,Jama! Yes, Janet is such a generous person. She is always finding ways to make the world a little better.

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  12. Love these poems. Thanks for sharing, Linda. When I first heard about this book, I asked my library to order a copy. And they did! I look forward to reading it.

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    1. Thank you, Carmela. I'm so happy your library ordered a copy. I hope you get to read it soon. I know you'll enjoy it!

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  13. Linda, I am so glad you shared excerpts from Janet's new book. Both struck a chord with me! I will have to purchase a copy as a gift to myself. I am sure I can put her prompts to use with students. The questions she poses are topics that definitely should be talked and written about! Thanks, again!

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  14. I totally, agree Carol. Thank you for your comment.

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  15. WOW, everyone: what these beautiful comments! Sometimes all of us, no matter the type of work we do, wonder about the impact we're making — and while the publishing business gives us flexibility, it can be tough emotionally with rejection letters, books going out of print, and so on. Comments like these are what keeps us going. THANK YOU.

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  16. I'm so lucky to have received this book and also the new THINGS WE DO book for NCTE Notables reading. I especially appreciate Janet's thought to, and success in "recycling" previous work. Unlike in modern music, where artist get to retool and rerecord important work with new instrumentation, collaborators, tempos and moods, we poets often feel stuck, I think, with the set-in-stone original version of poems. Why NOT relook, rethink, reflect, share MORE? Love this. (Also, Janet, algebra was mysterious to me and geometry was downright fun!)

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  17. Heidi, I agree about reflecting on previous work and finding a whole new way to share it. I love the "MORE" in this book!

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  18. Thank you so much for sharing this new book from Janet! The excerpts you shared are wonderful. Now I want to start a collection of small gifts to give, and I think this book would be a great beginning.

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    1. Thank you, Rose. Yes, this book would make a wonderful gift to add to your collection. :)

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  19. There is so much to learn in this book! I think so much can be added to past work that we see with different eyes years later, like we do with unpublished work. I must get this book! Janet is inspiring.

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    1. Thank you, Janice. Each time we read a book, we discover something new. The passages in this book reminded me of experiences from my own life like sitting on the couch watching The Partridge Family and my huge crush on David Cassidy! : )

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  20. Wonderful review of Janet's book Linda! I like both the poems you shared, the second is moving and touching–Janet's comments add even more layers to the poems, thanks for sharing her book with us!

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    1. Thank you, Michelle. Every poem is wonderful, so it was hard for me to choose just two to share!

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  21. Thank you for highlighting this book! I can't wait to get my own copy.

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  22. Like Laura, I had heard about this book, but it's your description and the peek inside that's nudging me to buy some copies for my former colleagues and myself! Thanks, Janet, for this new look at your old poems, and for your generous donation of profits.

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  23. Thank you, Mary Lee. I know your former colleagues will love the many ways they can use this book with their students!

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  24. Mary Lee: Hooray for the power of the "peek inside"! (and Linda's very compelling writing!!) And thanks for mentioning the donation of profits. After hearing raves about Hollaback! for quite some time, I only recently attended the one-hour bystander training session that they offer for free via Zoom — and I was incredibly impressed. For anyone who wants to look into it, here's the link: https://www.ihollaback.org/harassmenttraining/. I took the session that focuses on anti-Asian hate, but there are sessions with different themes that address different issues and communities. I don't imagine that the profits from this book are going to be significant, but every little bit helps, right?

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  25. I am happy to say I have one book I purchased and a second one from the publishers who were at my conference. Hooray! So, I have a book for me and one to gift. I agree. Janet is a very generous soul. And, I love contributing to #stopasianhate. Wonderful post!

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  26. This week's round-up is keeping my book shopping going! I had to order this one. I can't wait to check it out. Thank you, Linda, for always sharing so many great finds.

    BTW, I so get your comment about books that make you wish you were still teaching. This now happens all the time to me now. Ha!

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    1. Cathy, I know what you mean about all the wonderful books on the round-up. My wish list is long! : )

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  27. This week's round-up is keeping my book shopping going! I had to order this one. I can't wait to check it out. Thank you, Linda, for always sharing so many great finds.

    BTW, I so get your comment about books that make you wish you were still teaching. This now happens all the time to me now. Ha!

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