Podcast appearances and mentions of ekua holmes

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.] For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes back best-selling & award-winning author Renée Watson for her fourth episode (in a year she has 4 books publishing)! We discussed Renée origins in storytelling as a poet and playwright when she started a performing arts company in high school, her new book of poetry BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS (illustrated by Ekua Holmes), the benefits & necessity of poetry--and poetry for young people--in her work as a teaching-artist, and how early rejections can lead to big successes.   [Transcript of this episode can be found on Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.] Intro/Outro music is by Moutaineer and licensed through Premuim Beat.

In this segment of Insight, I speak with Vanesse Lloyd Sgambati, founder of the African American Children's Book Fair which takes place Saturday, February 3rd, 1:00-4:00PM at The Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th Arch Streets. I also speak to some of the award-winning authors and illustrators featured at the Fair including writers Nikki Grimes, Renée Watson and illustrators Ekua Holmes and Frank Morrison. For more information call (215) 878-BOOK https://theafricanamericanchildrensbookproject.org/ www.nikkigrimes.comwww.EKUAHOLMES.COM, Instagram: Ekua Holmeswww.Morrisonagraphics.comwww.reneewatson.net

Diversity in children's literature allows young readers to see themselves reflected in the stories they read, fostering a sense of belonging and self-worth. Additionally, exposure to diverse characters and cultures promotes empathy, understanding, and acceptance of others who may be different from them. By featuring a wide range of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, diverse children's literature opens windows to the world, broadening young minds and encouraging them to embrace the richness of human diversity from an early age. That is the goal of the upcoming African American Children's Book Fair. I speak with Vanesse Lloyd Sgambati, founder of the African American Children's Book Fair which takes place Saturday, February 3rd, 1:00-4:00PM at The Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th Arch Streets. I also speak to some of the award-winning authors and illustrators featured at the Fair including writers Nikki Grims, Renée Watson and illustrators Ekua Holmes and Frank Morrison. For more information call (215) 878-BOOK https://theafricanamericanchildrensbookproject.org/ www.nikkigrimes.comwww.EKUAHOLMES.COM Instagram: Ekua Holmeswww.Morrisonagraphics.comwww.reneewatson.net

This special bonus TABcast features a variety of art educators from across the country sharing their takeaways, stand-out moments, and other thoughts from the 2023 TAB Institute. The Institute is a professional development opportunity that features cohort-based collaborative learning, instructional workshops, community building, and open studio time. It is held annually in July at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. For more information about the Institute, check out https://massart.edu/teaching-artistic-behavior-tab. Even though this year's Institute has ended, you can sign up for information about next year's Institute at the link above. We were very fortunate this year to have as keynote speakers Elena Belle White and Ekua Holmes of the Center for Art and Community Partnerships (CACP) at MassArt. To find out more about their incredible organization, please visit the following link: https://massart.edu/cacp *Due to the constraints of technology, no transcript is available for this episode.

Despite fierce prejudice and abuse, even being beaten to within an inch of her life, Fannie Lou Hamer was a champion of civil rights from the 1950s until her death in 1977. Integral to the Freedom Summer of 1964, Ms. Hamer gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that, despite President Johnson's interference, aired on national TV news and spurred the nation to support the Freedom Democrats. Based on the critically acclaimed 2016 Caldecott and Sibert Honor Book, Voice of Freedom celebrates Fannie Lou Hamer's life and legacy with a message of hope, determination, and strength. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/support

A 2016 Caldecott Honor BookA 2016 Robert F. Sibert Honor BookA 2016 John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award WinnerStirring poems and stunning collage illustrations combine to celebrate the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, a champion of equal voting rights.“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”Despite fierce prejudice and abuse, even being beaten to within an inch of her life, Fannie Lou Hamer was a champion of civil rights from the 1950s until her death in 1977. Integral to the Freedom Summer of 1964, Ms. Hamer gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that, despite President Johnson's interference, aired on national TV news and spurred the nation to support the Freedom Democrats. Featuring vibrant mixed-media art full of intricate detail, Voice of Freedom celebrates Fannie Lou Hamer's life and legacy with a message of hope, determination, and strength. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/support

A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on. Stunningly illustrated by Caldecott Honoree and Coretta Scott King Award winner Ekua Holmes, Black Is a Rainbow Color is a sweeping celebration told through debut author Angela Joy's rhythmically captivating and unforgettable words. Presented by Khush.

Today's interviews are about transporting you to different places. The first is with cousins Tricia Elam Walker and Ekua Holmes who wrote a children's book, Dream Street, about the neighborhood where they grew up in Roxbury, Mass. They told NPR's Scott Simon that the characters in the book were inspired by people in their lives. Our next interview is with writer Clint Smith, who traveled to different locations across the country for his book on slavery, How the Word is Passed. He told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly he wanted to talk about places that still exist because slavery wasn't that long ago.

Episode No. 505 features artists Joel Meyerowitz and Elizabeth James-Perry. Damiani has published a new edition of Joel Meyerowitz's 1983 book "Wild Flowers." The new, expanded edition includes pictures both from the 1983 book, and new pictures that expand on the ways in which Meyerowitz found flowers recurring throughout much of his work. Amazon and Indiebound offer it for around $55. Meyerowitz came to prominence as a street photographer in the 1960s, was a leader in adopting color photography, and has published 26 books, including the classics Cape Light, St. Louis and the Arch, and Aftermath. Along with Ekua Holmes, Elizabeth James-Perry has created a "Garden for Boston" outside the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's main, Huntington Avenue-facing entrance. The installations respond to Cyrus Dallin's monumental bronze sculpture Appeal to the Great Spirit (1909) which has stood at the entrance to the museum for over 100 years. James-Perry is a Aquinnah Wampanoag artist whose work extends coastal Algonquian culture through craft and conceptual projects.

Before the universe was formed, before time and space existed, there was . . . nothing. But then . . . BANG! Stars caught fire and burned so long that they exploded, flinging stardust everywhere. And the ash of those stars turned into planets. Into our Earth. And into us. In a poetic text, Marion Dane Bauer takes readers from the trillionth of a second when our universe was born to the singularities that became each one of us, while vivid illustrations by Ekua Holmes capture the void before the Big Bang and the ensuing life that burst across galaxies. A seamless blend of science and art, this picture book reveals the composition of our world and beyond — and how we are all the stuff of stars.

Like today and always, women’s stories and accomplishments continue to fall out of historical record. While people have long associated prominent writers such as Langston Hughes and W.E.B. Du Bois with the Harlem Renaissance, many have not heard of Anne Spencer, Effie Lee Newsom, or Esther Popel. Creating wholly original poems using the "Golden Shovel" method, Nikki brings the struggles, victories, pain, and joy experienced by these women poets of the Harlem Renaissance, whose contributions have been long overlooked, to the forefront. Each poem is paired with unique illustrations from African-American women illustrators working today.

Every year, Booklist editors pull together the most noteworthy books of the year for the Editors’ Choice, and every year, Susan Maguire chases them down to talk about those books. This year was both no different and completely different, as each of our fine editors sent in a voice note featuring favorites from the list, books that deserve an additional shout out, hot trends, etc. Please enjoy these bookish testimonials. Wow! Find the full show notes on www.booklistonline.com/shelf-care. Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots. By Morgan Jerkins. These Ghosts Are Family. By Maisy Card. Year of the Rabbit. Written and illustrated by Tian Veasna. Translated by Helge Dascher. Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Shortlist Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist. By Celia Stahr. Recollections of My Nonexistence. By Rebecca Solnit. African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song. Edited by Kevin Young. The Night Watchman. By Louise Erdrich. The Magic Fish. Written and illustrated by Trung Le Nguyen. Dungeon Critters. Written and illustrated by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter. Everything Sad Is Untrue: (A True Story). By Daniel Nayeri. Before the Ever After. By Jacqueline Woodson. Read by Guy Lockard. I Killed Zoe Spanos. By Kit Frick. Read by a full cast. This Is Your Time. by Ruby Bridges. Read by the author. My Mother’s House. By Francesca Momplaisir. Read by a full cast. The Switch. By Beth O’Leary. Read by Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Tokyo Ueno Station. By Yu Miri. Read by Johnny Heller. Clap When You Land. By Elizabeth Acevedo. Read by the author and Melania-Luisa Marte. Girl with the Louding Voice. By Abi Daré. Read by Adjoa Andoh. Everything Sad Is Untrue: (A True Story). By Daniel Nayeri. Black Is a Rainbow Color. By Angela Joy. Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Upright Women Wanted. By Sarah Gailey. When No One Is Watching. By Alyssa Cole. Skunk and Badger. By Amy Timberlake. Illustrated by Jon Klassen. Fly on the Wall. Written and illustrated by Remy Lai. Girl on a Motorcycle. By Amy Novesky. Illustrated by Julie Morstad. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking. By Samin Nosrat. The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained. By Nik Sharma. The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food. By Marcus Samuelsson, Osayi Endolyn, and Yewande Komolafe. Parakeet. By Marie-Helene Bertino. The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh. By Candace Fleming. Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera. By Candace Fleming. Illustrated by Eric Rohmann. All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team. By Christina Soontornvat. A Wish in the Dark. By Christina Soontorvat. King and the Dragonflies. By Kacen Callender. Felix Ever After. By Kacen Callender. Legendborn. By Tracy Deonn. The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice. By Lisa DeSelm. Given. By Nandi Taylor. Gimme Everything You Got. By Iva-Marie Palmer. Jane against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights. By Karen Blumenthal.

Joining us today for an interview is not one, but two incredible authors, Chris Barton and Jennifer Ziegler, who have made a lovely life together of Texas living, family, and author/speaking careers!    Chris Barton is an avid school speaker and a New York Times Best Selling Author! His work includes an extensive list of starred and award-winning children’s non-fiction books such as: Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions, illus. by Don Tate and What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, illus. by Ekua Holmes. And fiction books too like: Shark vs. Train, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld and Fire Truck vs. Dragon, illustrated by Shanda McCloskey (which is how I met Chris!). Jennifer Ziegler writes for tweens and teens. Her books include YA novels such as How Not To Be Popular, and MG novels like The Brewster Triplet Series: Revenge of the Flower Girls, Revenge of the Angels, Revenge of the Happy Campers, and Revenge of the Teacher’s Pets! And she, too, is very comfortable in front of students delivering curriculum-enhancing presentations and writers workshops to students and adults.    Listen to the episode to hear each of their answers to the following questions... First of all, Chris, I know that you (for several years) created a steady stream of income visiting like 100 schools or more each year, correct? Did you do that also, Jennifer?  How did the pandemic hit/affect/change you both as creative professionals? What are each of you offering in the realm of school visits, currently? I recently attended a webinar with Kate Messner about reinventing school visits for our current situation, and attendees were offered the chance to suggest one of our books for Kate to use as an example. So, I submitted our new book, Fire Truck vs. Dragon which as you know came out in March. And she used it! She put the cover up on her screen under the words: “TEAM UP”. And she went on to suggest how easy it would be (now) to do a virtual school visit together! And what a rare/wonderful opportunity a school could have hearing from both the author AND the illustrator of a book at the same visit? Or even if scheduling was an issue, she brought up the idea of exchanging short videos with each other showing our processes (writing or illustrating) that we could share on our own separate visits. Does any of that sound fun to you, Chris?? Do you guys have any (psychic) insight to the near and distant future of author visits? Fun question: What’s the craziest question a kid has ever asked you or what’s the craziest thing that has ever happened during one of your school visits? (One time a kid threw up in the middle of my talk :) Here's a question from a fellow Austin based book creator (Rivkah LaFille). Do you know her? She’s a writer, illustrator, and graphic novelist that I recently met and admire SO much. She recently caught up on all the Author Visit Podcast episodes, but still had a burning question … How do authors prepare for that moment when they stand up and actually start speaking? Do you sit down and visualize how it's all going to go and write down exactly what you plan on saying like a script? Do you do an outline with bullets but leave it loose within that outline to let the discussion go wherever? Or do you fly entirely by the seat of your pants? Or something else Fun question: What is it like to be married to an author? Do you work in a shared space? Do you critique each other? Jennifer,  I hear you’re teaching a writer’s workshop THIS Saturday (September 5th), correct? Can you tell us a little about that and how we can sign up? Questions from GA school librarian (Beth Mitchell):  Did you guys ever meet an author or illustrator as a child? How do we keep a love of reading alive right now in our technology drenched, socially-distanced society? We offer online reading through outlets like SORA, and there is EPIC, thankfully. How do we encourage parents to embrace their role as students’ first readers? Does that make sense Do you have any final advice for us authors and/or educators regarding school visits or anything else?   You can find us at ... CHRIS: ChrisBarton.info Twitter: @Bartography Instagram: @bartographyatx Facebook: link can be found on website :) JENNIFER: JenniferZiegler.net Facebook: @jennferziegler Twitter: @zieglerjennifer Instagram: @jzstories BONNIE: BonnieClarkBooks.com Facebook and instagram: @bonnieclarkbooks Twitter: @bonclark SHANDA: ShandaMc.com Facebook & Twitter: @ShandaMcCloskey Instagram: @shandamccloskeydraws   This podcast is sponsored by AuthorVisitCentral.com and produced by Ben McCloskey of EngineIndustries.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share it with others who might enjoy it too! Thanks for listening to this episode of the Author Visit Podcast!    Resources and books mentioned in this episode (with some affiliate links that help support this podcast): "Write Before You Write" webinar with Jennifer Ziegler (Saturday, September 5, 2020) Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld Fire Truck vs. Dragon by Chris Barton, illustrated by Shanda McCloskey Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate ¡fushhh!: El Chorro de Inventos Súper Húmedos de Lonnie Johnson by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate All of a Sudden and Forever: Help and Healing After the Oklahoma City Bombing by Chris Barton, illustrated by Nicole Xu Mighty Truck: The Traffic Tie-Up by Chris Barton, illustrated by Troy Cummings Sass & Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler How Not to Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler Revenge of the Angels: A Wish Novel by Jennifer Ziegler Revenge of the Happy Campers by Jennifer Ziegler Revenge of the Teacher's Pets by Jennifer Ziegler Revenge of the Flower Girls (Brewster Triplets Series) by Jennifer Ziegler The flowchart Chris uses to direct his planning efforts with schools and libraries:  

In honor of Juneteenth, we're re-releasing the audio of a live event from January 2018 at the PRX Podcast Garage, titled "Keepers of the Culture: A Celebration Of Maduna And Holmes." The evening was a celebration of two award-winning artists, collaborators, and friends, whose work was on display at the garage's exhibition space. Their sculptures, masks, and collage-based works are an exploration of ancestral voices, family histories, and the power of hope, faith and self-determination. The evening was divided into two parts: a conversation between Ekua and Tamar, which included audio produced around Ekua's collage, "All Fly Home," and an exploration of interpretation and storytelling - as applicable to art as it is to podcasting. The second part was a powerful lecture by art historian Barry Gaither, on Vuzi's work, Ekua's work, and the myriad roles artists and viewers have the joy and the responsibility of playing for and with one another. Ekua Holmes is a painter and collage artist who uses news clippings, photographs, vibrant color, and skillful composition to infuse her work with energy. Her layered, abstract creations convey a sense of unity and evoke memories that are both personal and universal. In her collages, she revisits the joy and challenges of childhood through adult eyes. These works reexamine the foundational relationships, games, and rule that we learn at an early age and apply throughout our lives. Vuzi Maduna (1940 - 2007) was a sculptor and painter who spent much of his life as an artist resident of the Gallery at the Piano Factory in Boston. Maduna began his exploration of African culture with a study of African religions which led him to further examine and interpret the traditional embodiment of belief and myth. Educated at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, he was a member of the African American Master Artists in Residency Program of Northeastern University. His work has been exhibited in the MFA and the ICA, as well as in Tokyo and the People's Republic of China. Yet Maduna returned to the neighborhoods of his childhood to create pieces that remind us of the African heritage that many in the community share. His public installations are located in Cambridge (the Margaret Fuller House, the Cambridge Community Center, The King School) and in the Boston area, including The Judge, in Roxbury. Edmund Barry Gaither is the founding Director and Curator of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA), an organization that he developed from a concept to an institution with collections exceeding three thousand objects and a thirty-two year history of exhibitions celebrating the visual arts heritage of black people worldwide. Gaither is also Special Consultant at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston where he has served as curator for eight exhibitions including a ground breaking show in l970, Afro-American Artists: New York and Boston. Special thanks to Kerri Hoffman and PRX, Alex Braunstein and the PRX Podcast Garage, Gina James, and WGBH.

Angela Joy shares BLACK IS A RAINBOW COLOR. This beautiful book, illustrated by one-to-watch and the one-to-wow Ekua Holmes, is Angela’s debut to the children’s book world. The book answers a question from her daughter, and it also bears witness to history, to legacy, and to community. Angela included robust back matter, incorporating an author’s note, an explanation of phrases referenced, a selection of poems from poets mentioned, a timeline entitled “And What Shall We Call You?”, and a playlist. This picture book has its own playlist! But what I will also say is that this picture book has its own presence, and it’s one that I hope many, many adults will welcome into their reading spaces and those spaces they share. You can access even more information about this book and its author by visiting www.matthewcwinner.com/podcast. Thank you to this week's sponsor: Libro.fm And to the generous support from our Patrons.

Illustrator Ekua Holmes takes us behind the scenes of her picture book, THE STUFF OF STARS, written by Marion Dane Bauer.

In this special episode, we listen to the audio from the live event at the PRX Podcast Garage, "Keepers of the Culture: A Celebration of Meduna and Holmes," which I had the privilege of participating in at the end of January. In it I chat with collage artist Ekua Holmes, play her some audio I produced on her work, and then we listen to art historian Barry Gaither give the curator talk to end all curator talks on art, artists, viewers, and why we do what we do. Special thanks to PRX, the PRX Podcast Garage, and WGBH. Support the show! www.patreon.com/lonelypalette Thank a sponsor! https://www.artiststrong.com/drawing-drills-art-challenge/

Ekua Holmes, illustrator of Voice of Freedom and Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, talks to Candlewick Press about the power of positivity, creating art as a child, and the hoarding, hunting, and gathering process of collage-making. She also shares her fangirl moment with renowned children’s book illustrator Jerry Pinkney.

Intro   Hi everyone! Welcome to Episode 21 of Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who loves middle grade books!  I am Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom, and a big podcast fan.  And I’ll tell you - I have been absolutely sucked into the new STown podcast for the past week! And have probably spend too much time and stayed up far too late looking at pictures of hedge mazes, sundials, and antique clocks. So, I know you like podcasts - definitely go listen to STown.   Since April is National Poetry month, our show today is all about celebrating the power of poetry! I’ll share with you a couple poetry resources to help you enjoy poetry more with your students and kids, and then chat about some fabulous books - from picture books to poetry anthologies to novels in verse.     Main Topic - Celebrating the Power of Poetry   I will straight up tell you that I was slow to appreciate poetry in the way it really deserves. I was always a voracious reader even as a kid, but I rarely ever picked up any poetry when left to my own devices.  I guess I always thought of it as a complicated puzzle or containing some secret message that I was just too obtuse to figure out.  I even had this ridiculous idea that all poetry was romantic.  Yeah - I know - WRONG!   So, I have been on a mission lately to shed my own misconceptions and make SURE that I am not passing those along to my own children or my own students. It is still very much a work in progress for me, but I thought today I’d share with you a few ideas about how to include more poetry in the lives of your kids - not only during National Poetry Month, but all year long.   Rethinking Poetry First off, I think that rethinking reading poetry is the biggest step. Helping kids understand that poetry can be about ANYTHING (not just love) is a major step. The best way to to do this? Start by reading lots of varieties of poetry with them. I know we are all pressed for time, but reading a short poem every day (or even start with every week!) would take less than a minute and can often be done in those “gap times” like waiting in the hallway or waiting for the bus to arrive. (And later on, I’ll share with you some places to get those poems.)  Also, I used to think that as a teacher, I would have to hammer the heck out of a poem and make sure my students had yanked that thing apart and knew the theme, the rhyme pattern, the symbols, the point of view of the author and on and on and on until… well, it just wasn’t enjoyable anymore. For me or my students!   The event that recently cemented for me the fact that teaching poetry doesn’t have to be like that was Laura Shovan’s live Facebook Event hosted by The Nerdy Book Club. It was called “It’s National Poetry Month: Let’s Teach Poetry!” and you can find an archive of that event through their facebook page and I’ll also include a direct link to it in our show transcript. So anyway - Laura Shovan is a poet-in-the-schools for the Maryland State Arts Council’s Artist-in-Education program and the author of the novel in verse The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. In this video, she walks through how to teach the poem “Weather” by Eve Merriam. The whole thing is worth checking out, but I just wanted to share with you a few highlights: Read the poem aloud and ask students what THEY notice, what stands out to them, what got them thinking or feeling. And every time I have done this over the past week, my students will catch aspects of the poem I would never have considered.  I love the advice of having students take the conversational lead. Reinforce the vocabulary of poetry naturally through the conversation around the poems, rather than a separate stand alone lesson. Incorporating terms like “couplet” and “stanza” into the discussion can save time and solidify their meaning for kids. The idea of poetry as layers - layers of sound, of story, of point of view. And how reading a poem several times allows you (and your kids!) to discover more within those multiple readings.   And Laura Shovan makes this wonderful analogy of a poem as a waterfall - some students are going to want to jump into the water and experience it with all their senses, some are science minded and might want to take samples to examine and pick apart under a microscope, and some students want to stand back admire the beauty of that waterfall with awe and wonder.  And all of those responses are are just fine. And we don’t have to do every single one of them every time we read a poem together. If you want to learn more, check out Laura’s website at www.LauraShovan.com -   Another fantastic resource that links reading and writing poetry is Kwame Alexander’s Page-to-Stage Writing Workshop. And I highly recommend this if you want to harness the power of poetry to boost the level of writing excitement with your kids. This is a teacher’s guide that will get your kids writing, publishing, and presenting their poetry - and the best part is that it’s not JUST another book on teaching poetry. It includes videos of Kwame Alexander - both for teachers and for your students to watch. And if you’ve ever had the chance to hear  him speak, you know the energy he brings.  It’s like having a Newbery-Award winning author right in your classroom giving you a mini-lesson on poetry. Actually it’s not LIKE that, it actually IS that!  Absolutely check that out!   I’ll close by quoting a bit from Kylene Beers’ forward of Page-to-Stage, “Poetry - what I’ll call the neglected genre - draws us into ourselves as it simultaneously lets us give back to the world a fresh understanding , a new vision, a re-vision of one moment. Kwame puts it better when he explains that poetry lets us ‘write our own journeys, find our own voices.’”     So I’m excited and inspired to include more poetry in my classroom and get kids writing more.  As always, I would love to hear what you are doing to foster a love of poetry  with your students and kids.  You can tag me on Twitter, Instagram, and now Facebook - our handle is @books_between or email me at booksbetween@gmail.com and I’d love to hear and share your ideas.   Book Talk - Fabulous Poetry Books & Novels in Verse   In this part of the show, I chat about books centered around a theme and of course this week is all about fantastic poetry books, anthologies, and novels in verse for middle grade readers. And - since National Poem in Your Pocket Day is Thursday, April 27th - this will give you some awesome options for you and your students to tuck in those pockets.   Poetry Books Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics by author Margarita Engle with illustrations by Rafael Lopez. I really love this book - the drawings are fantastic and bold and each poem is from the point of view of the person being featured so it really feels personal.   One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance the latest by Nikki Grimes which is a collection of her original poetry interspersed with classic poetry of the Harlem Renaissance. Grimes is amazing - just go ahead and get all the Nikki Grimes - you can’t go wrong with her work! Speaking of can’t go wrong poets, Kwame Alexander has two new poetry picture book collections out.  The first is called Animal Ark: Celebrating our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures and features photographs of endangered species. This one good for young readers as well as older kids. Then he’s also collaborated with some other poets  (Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth along with artist Ekua Holmes to put together a beautiful collection of poems celebrating poets called Out of Wonder.   Another poet to look for is  Lee Bennett Hopkins - his work is simply outstanding. I love his general collections but his themed books are really cool. Check out My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States - a collection of fifty poems celebrating various regions in the country. Or Marvelous Math - a collection of math themed poems, or Spectacular Science - a book full of poems on all sorts of science topics. What is cool about these books is that if you have them on hand, you can easily flip and find a poem that relates to a subject you are studying in class. A poetry break during Math or Science?  Yes, please!   And if you are looking for something clever and funny, take a look at Keep a Pocket in Your Poem by J. Patrick Lewis. They take classic poems and pair them with a parody poem. So for example, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is paired with “Stopping by Fridge on a Hungry Evening” . It’s cute, funny, and may even inspire some of your kids to give a parody poem a try!   And if you want to enjoy some excellent poetry with a jazzy, hip hop flair - please, please go snag a copy of Hip Hop Speaks to Children: a celebration of poetry with a beat. It’s edited by Nikki Giovanni and includes a CD with many of the authors reading their poems - including Eloise Greenfield, Gary Soto, Langston Hughes, James Berry - and so, so many more. A couple things I really loved - one, they make the explicit connection between music, lyrics, and poetry and include lots of poems that we might originally view simply as songs.  Like “Rapper’s Delight”! And Queen Latifah’s “Ladies First”! It’s so, so good! And secondly, some of the tracks include the authors introducing their poem and giving you a little background. For instance, before Pedro Pietri reads “Love Poem for My People”, I was really stuck by how he mentioned that he wrote it many years ago and is STILL working on it.  Powerful, powerful messages for kids - you definitely want this one on hand! Novels in Verse:   Well, you can’t talk about novels in verse without mentioning the amazing Sharon Creech. There are of course Love That Dog  and Hate That Cat - perennial classics in any classroom or library. But, I want to give a plug for her latest novel, called Moo. It’s the story of twelve -year-old Reena and her seven-year-old brother, Luke who are suddenly uprooted from their life in New York City and wind up moving to very rural Maine, and reluctantly trying to bond with a super ornery cow. There were certain aspects that reminded me a bit of Home of the Brave. I think those two would make a great novel-in-verse pairing.   And of course, I would be remiss If I didn’t mention Kwame Alexander’s two novels in verse - The Crossover and Booked. I feel like I have gushed so much about those two books on this podcast and how much students love them that I am almost risking overdoing it. So, you already know they are amazing, right?   Also previously mentioned on the podcast, but definitely need to be included on this list are Ellie Terry’s Forget Me Not, which is a novel that is half verse / half prose from two points of view.  If you want to know more about that novel, I went into more depth in the last show which was Episode 20.  And in Episode #8, I featuring Laura Shovan’s The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, which is fantastic not only for the story but because it has dozens of poetry prompts right in the back. LOVE it!   Another author that writes poetry for kids across a wide range of ages is Nikki Grimes. I already mentioned her picture book work, but her novels Words With Wings and Garvey’s Choice are phenomenal. And accessible to kids who might find the brief poems and open space of each page really appealing. They are quick but powerful reads. A short poem, a short story, can pack a lot of punch.   And of course, Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming and her earlier book Locomotion and so many others are written with such passion and love that they stay with you, long, long after you’ve set aside those books.   A couple novels in verse that I haven’t read yet but have been bubbling up are The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. I keep bumping into rave reviews and reflections on these two books - argh - I think I just need to take a reading sabbatical and work through my To Be Read pile. Wouldn’t that be nice?     Well - I could go on and on - and I know I’ve missed a lot on this list, but I do need to cut myself off at some point. But, that leaves the door open for YOU!  What poetry books or novels in verse are your favorites and why do you love them? I’ll open some threads on our various social media sites and let’s continue the conversation there!   Closing   Okay  - that wraps up our show this week.  If you have topic or a book you think we should cover, please let us know. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.   Thanks again for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com including links to every book and every resource I talked about today. And, if you’re enjoying the show and finding some value in what you hear, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks again and see you in two weeks!  Bye!     https://www.facebook.com/nerdybookclub/videos/1501455839895985/?pnref=story   http://laurashovan.com/2017/04/its-national-poetry-month-lets-teach-poetry/   https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/books/kwame-alexanders-page-to-stage-writing-workshop-9781338026818.html  

In this installment of "Read This Book!", children's librarian Lisa Von Drasek highlights the winners of the 2016 Marion Vannett Ridgway Book Awards, given to an author or illustrator in recognition of an outstanding debut in the world of children's picture books. Books discussed are: "Trombone Shorty" by Troy Andrews, "Voice of Freedom" by Carole Boston Weatherford and Illustrated by Ekua Holmes, and "Smick!" by Doreen Cronin and Juana Medina.

In this installment of "Read This Book!", children's librarian Lisa Von Drasek highlights the winners of the 2016 Marion Vannett Ridgway Book Awards, given to an author or illustrator in recognition of an outstanding debut in the world of children's picture books. Books discussed are: "Trombone Shorty" by Troy Andrews, "Voice of Freedom" by Carole Boston Weatherford and Illustrated by Ekua Holmes, and "Smick!" by Doreen Cronin and Juana Medina. The post Ridgway Award winners appeared first on continuum | University of Minnesota Libraries.

Lloyd finally delivers a follow-up to his Activists in American History episode AND intros a new format for Sing-a-long History - The Podcast.  In the first four episodes, Lloyd played songs on a theme and told stories about each. Starting with this episode, he'll tell one story and play songs to support it.  Here he tells the story of Civil Rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer, a woman famous for singing hymns at marches and other social justice events. He sings his own related songs as well as some tunes she used to sing herself.  Songs you'll hear:  When We Sing Together (L. Miller) This Little Light of Mine (trad, arranged by L. Miller) Woke Up this Morning (trad, new arrangement and lyrics by L. Miller) Amazing Grace (trad, lyrics by J. Newton)  Lucy & Fannie (L. Miller)   Further reading / listening / watching:  An illustrated book for kids: Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes   Some books for grown-ups: Senator and the Sharecropper: The Struggles of James O. Eastland and Fannie Lou Hamer by Chris Myers Asch This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer by Kay Mills   some albums you gotta hear:  Fannie Lou Hamer - Songs My Mother Taught Me Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966 Movement Soul, Vol 2: Black History, Spoken Word & Music   some movies you should check out: Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement (a multi-volume documentary) The Black American Experience: Famous Human Rights Crusaders: Ida B. Wells & Fannie Lou Hamer