Happy Birthday, Lee Bennett Hopkins!

Happy Birthday,

Lee Bennett Hopkins!

(April 13, 1938)

(I think it most appropriate that Lee Bennett Hopkins

--aka Mister Poetry Man--was born in the month of April.)

A star danced

and under that

was I born.

~ William Shakespeare

Then poetry did a jig!!!!!

Mining with a Jeweler’s Eye: The Work of Lee BennettHopkins By Janet Wong and Rebecca Kai Dotlich

5Q Poet Interview Series: Lee Bennett Hopkins (Poetry for Children)

PASSTHE POETRY, PLEASE!: A Wild Rose Reader Interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins

LeeBennett Hopkins: WHY POETRY?

PoetryMakers - Lee Bennett Hopkins (The Miss Rumphius Effect)

Chatting with Poetry Man Lee Bennett Hopkins (Jama Rattigan)

PAINTED LADY: An Original Animal Mask Poem

When I was teaching second grade, we did a unit of study on butterflies and metamorphosis. My students and I enjoyed observing the development of tiny caterpillars into adult painted lady butterflies in the classroom. I’d take my class on a field trip to The Butterfly Place in Westford, Massachusetts every spring. We loved watching many different kinds of butterflies flitting around under the clear dome, settling on flowers, sipping nectar through their proboscises. It was fascinating!



PAINTED LADY

I settle on a blossom.

I taste it with my feet,
Uncoil my long proboscis
And sip the nectar sweet.

I flit around in sunlight.

I wile away the hours
Dining in your garden,
Feasting on your flowers.

 ********************

Painted Lady Butterfly Life Cycle

Butterfly Place in Westford, Massachusetts (Video)

Things to Do If You Are a Bicycle: An Original Poem

My maternal grandparents got me my first bicycle when I was in first grade. I had a little bit of trouble learning how to keep myself steady on my new bike without training wheels. Once I learned how to ride it though—I rode it everywhere! I loved the feeling of freedom it gave me. I could imagine I was flying through the air.

My daughter LOVED riding her bike when she was young too. She’d whiz around our neighborhood—her blond hair flowing in the wind. She could pedal for hours and not get tired. I think she got the same feeling riding her bike as I did when I was a kid.

This “things to do” poem is for my daughter Sara and the fond memories I have of her speeding around our neighborhood on her bicycle.

THINGS TO DO IF YOU ARE A BICYCLE

When I pedal with my feet,

Zoom me up and down the street…

wheels whirring,

spokes blurring.

Help me lift off from this earthly place.

Rocket me into outer space.

JAPANESE BEETLE: An Original Animal Mask Poem

Here is another of my new animal mask poems about little creatures. It is a quatrain with a rhyme scheme of AABB.

JAPANESE BEETLE

My love is this beautiful red, red rose.
Of all the blossoms, it’s the one I chose.
It has silky petals, leaves of emerald green.
It’s the yummiest flower that I’ve ever seen.

********************

Japanese Beetles on Roses

LADYBUG: An Original Animal Mask Poem

In the past, I have posted many of my original animal mask poems at Wild Rose Reader. They include poems written in the voices of a lion, a grizzly bear, a skunk, a blue whale, an elephant, a toucan, a snake, a snail, an orb spider, earthworms, and frogs. Some time ago, my friends and “writing advisers” Grace Lin and Janet Wong read through my manuscript of animal mask poems. They suggested that I narrow the focus of the collection on small creatures that children might find in their own backyards or encounter not far from their homes.

Since then I’ve written additional masks poems about a firefly, Japanese beetle, painted lady butterfly, mole, and termites. I also wrote one about a ladybug, a helpful little garden insect that eats aphids. Aphids—also known as plant lice—are tiny and destructive insects that suck sap from plants. Note the use of repetition in my ladybug poem. Maybe you can figure out why I chose to do that.

LADYBUG

I’m eating aphids in your garden.
I am not a bug to fear.
I’m eating aphids in your garden.
I have come to help you, dear.
I’m eating aphids in your garden.
That is something you should cheer.
I’m eating aphids in your garden.
Aren’t you glad that I am here?

********************

AN INVITATION

Maybe there’s an animal voice inside you that’s dying to speak out! Why not write a mask poem? Try it…you’ll like it!

If you DO write an animal mask poem, leave it in the comments or email it to me. I’ll post it during the last week of National Poetry Month.