all swagger today

Thanks to Front Porch Review for posting my poem, Brother.  

I wrote this a few years back and took my sweet time working on it.  

I received notification it would be published just a couple days after my brother and his family went home.  I was slogging through the grief of being separated from him, and the timing couldn't have been more on point.  

Though I have a handful of brothers (and am proud to tell anyone who will listen that I've won the brother lottery), Scott and I have always been the closest.  We are only a year and a half apart, and it is a known fact I idolized him growing up.  Well, I still sorta idolize him, but I draw the line at a few things now like getting the same haircut as him.  

 

playing in the dirt and having lunch with the very hungry caterpillar

 The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Lunch: A Colors Book by Eric Carle (Board Book)

I enjoyed the variety of foods, vibrant illustrations, many opportunities for questions and conversations, and inclusion of friends to help share the picnic at the end. I can’t wait to read this at storytime!  Note: this is part of a series.  Breakfast was about counting and was pretty good.  Dinner is about shapes and comes out in June.  Snacks will be about opposites and come out in November.  So exciting!

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner (Nonfiction Picture Book)

So many critters to find and explore. How many roly-polies do you see? How many are rolled up tight? The language is descriptive and a lot of fun. Skunks “snuffle and dig, gobble cutworms...” With beautiful images like the sunflowers tied together to create a house for reading, plenty of creature-packed illustrations to get lost in, and a candid approach to prey and predator, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt is a treasure for days when you can’t get outside to play in the dirt.

Flight

Thanks to Packingtown Review for publishing my poem, Flight.  You never know when a plastic bag is going to steal your heart.  Or maybe you do.  

Oh how I love the cover of this issue.  The artwork is done by Andrea Worthey, who is a new discovery for me.      

And yes, the writing in this issue is just as great as the cover.  

some moody zen

Sewing this piece was particularly comforting, and I'll probably start another zen piece soon.  It's nice to have one of these zen pieces going while I'm slogging through harder projects.  

This is available on Etsy.

Not sure why the progress picture looks blurry, but if you click on it, it looks just fine.

Kaya fan

It took me a really long time, but I finally found my American Girl bosom friend.  I have never really been a fan of AG books.  They were tolerable when I was a kid and I definitely couldn't get into them as an adult.  Currently my library has an American Girl Book Club, which is pretty adorable right?  I subbed for a coworker once and enjoyed the kids and format of the book discussion so much I stayed on.  It's our only book club that does a craft, and it is a joy to be a part of anything that has to do with crafting with kids.  Even though I wasn't thrilled with the Samantha book we read, I was still excited about the book club.

And then we read Kaya's books and I think I'm finally understanding the American Girl enthusiasm, even though I'm a good 20-25 years older than the intended audience. 😆

Here's my review:

The Journey Begins & Smoke on the Wind by Janet Beeler Shaw (Juvenile Fiction)

Grade Level: 3-4. I enjoyed Kaya’s journey and adventures and found myself wanting more by the end of the second and final book. I strongly urge you to read both books and in order because you will not get much resolution or sleep after reading the first one. Kaya really blossoms and matures from book one to two. There is even a moment in the second book where she thinks about taking off on her own and finding her horse, Steps High (spoiler alert: Kaya loses Steps High in the first book). Instead of acting on impulse, Kaya thinks about what her future namesake, Swan Circling would do and chooses to ask for help later. American Girl books have a lot of these obvious lessons. What makes this one so special is that it was a lesson that took Kaya two books to begin to learn and understand. I also really enjoy Kaya’s family and am really impressed with how one of her sisters handles a big decision (sorry, that’s too much of a spoiler alert to divulge). I think it is most interesting that Kaya is encouraged not to pick berries until she is no longer consumed with grief for Swan Circling, and the reason for this is that her grief may negatively affect their food. I’m curious if this is rooted in truth and am ready to do a deeper dive into Nez Perce culture. Thankfully my library has lots of books on this subject! 

some thug muffin for you

Thanks to Brief Wilderness for publishing Ella (One) and Gray!

It is bittersweet to see a poem about my Ella Bella get published.  Would she have cared or even listened to me read it?  Nope!  I miss that ornery thug muffin.  

This does give me the opportunity to continue showing off her loveliness, which I will do until I die.

Oh and yes, there's another poem, Gray.  It's a good poem too.  If you open it on your phone, the format does a funky and 'moisture' gets its own line.  That's for all you fans of the word, 'moist.' 😜