Friday, March 15, 2019

How to Be a Snowflake from The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog




I was so excited last Friday when a package arrived in the mail. In the package was Paul Janeczko's recently published poetry anthology--The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems. I was thrilled when Paul selected two of my poems (How to be a Mole and How to Be a Snowflake) for inclusion in this book that is beautifully illustrated by Richard Jones.




The book has received three starred reviews to date from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist. Here is an excerpt from the Booklist review:
In this charmingly illustrated collection, poets classic (Christina Rossetti, Robert Louis Stevenson) and modern (Kwame Alexander, Margarita Engle) offer a variety of how-to poems, providing young readers with instructions both jocular and sincere. The poems vary widely in tone: Elaine Magliaro is thoughtful and austere in “How to Be a Mole,” as she advises readers to “Listen for the soft music / of seeds sprouting, / worms wiggling / rain pattering on your grassy roof.” By contrast, Douglas Florian is playful in “Tired Hair,” as he says, “If you’re tired of your hair, / Rope it to a rocking chair . . . / Tie it into fifty knots; / Dye it green with purple spots.”

You can read some of the poems included in the book at the following links:

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Heidi Mordhorst has the Poetry Friday Roundup at my juicy little universe.

 

8 comments:

Jane @ www.raincitylibrarian.ca said...

Oh, this sounds absolutely divine, a must-have for my poetry section!!

Carol Varsalona said...

Elaine, your poem is lovely. Would you consider offering one of your winter poems for my winter gallery of artistic expressions, Winter's Embnrace? The invitation is at https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2019/.../invitation-to-create-winter-digitals.html (cvarsalona@gmail.com) Thanks for sharing.

Kimberly Hutmacher said...

The image you created is both vivid and beautiful. I look forward to reading the entire collection.

Linda B said...

I've read through all the marvelous poems, Elaine. It is going to be a treasure, isn't it? Your poem is delightful, and I read it last Wednesday during our own snowstorm, not so delightful! Congratulations!

Linda Mitchell said...

silken ice....delightful. What a treasure.

Mary Lee said...

ANOTHER reason to anxiously await the arrival of my copy!!

Molly Hogan said...

Congratulations, Elaine! I love your "How to" poems and they are favorites with my students, year after year. How to be a Snowflake is simply beautiful. Another book to add to the list!

Ruth said...

It sounds like such a lovely book - congratulations on being in it!