CHILDREN'S AUTHOR INTERVIEW
1) Which children's book has most impacted you? Why?
This is tough one. It’s like asking for a favorite child. The three that come to mind are The Rough Patch by Brian Lies, The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt, and The Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems.The Rough Patch I first read when my first child was young and I was just getting into reading picture books seriously. It made me realize picture books could be meaningful and still engaging for a child.
The Tale of Three Trees I stumbled upon and didn’t know the plot or twist ending. It showed me how a simple allegory story for children can be very powerful.
The Elephant and Piggie books showed me how a kids' books with simple words, but engaging characters, could be memorable and giggle-inducing for children and adults alike.
2) What do you love about writing poetry for kids?I like the challenge! As someone said when critiquing my acrostic, rhyming poem (due for publishing with Writers’ Loft MA), “You are very ambitious!” Not sure if they meant I was foolhardy or brave, but I took it as a compliment.
3) What is it about writing poetry that most sparks your interest?I like seeing how much I can do with a short amount of words. I love molding words into something more than just words.
5) What is one way you've integrated poetry into your family rhythms with your own kids?Ha. Poetry, rhyming, or even little chants are our favorite things to make up together. We especially love making up new lyrics to nursery rhymes or lullaby songs we know.
Some of them we make up are as simple as a call and response having an end assonance type rhyme. (E.g. “Fold your hands and close your eyes.” “Say your prayers and say goodnight.”)
6) What book would you recommend parents use to introduce their little ones to poetry? My friend Nancy Tupper Ling has some great ones published or to-be-published: For Every Little Thing: Poems and Prayers to Celebrate the Day, One Perfect Plan: The Bible’s Big Story in Tiny Poems, and Bless the Earth: A Children’s Book of Prayers and Poems Honoring the Earth.
I also recommend classic compilations like A Child’s Book of Poems by Gyo Fujikawa.
And of course please check out the Writers’ Loft MA’s children’s poetry anthology, Gnomes & Ungnomes: Poems of Hidden Creatures, with a creative and poetic take on cryptozoology (crypto=hidden, zoology = study of animals). Think mermaids, Bigfoot, and basilisks.
2) What do you love about writing poetry for kids?
3) What is it about writing poetry that most sparks your interest?
4) What do you hope young readers take away from your poetry?
I hope they take a bit of fun, some memorable meaning, or encouragement from my poetry.5) What is one way you've integrated poetry into your family rhythms with your own kids?
Some of them we make up are as simple as a call and response having an end assonance type rhyme. (E.g. “Fold your hands and close your eyes.” “Say your prayers and say goodnight.”)
I also recommend classic compilations like A Child’s Book of Poems by Gyo Fujikawa.
And of course please check out the Writers’ Loft MA’s children’s poetry anthology, Gnomes & Ungnomes: Poems of Hidden Creatures, with a creative and poetic take on cryptozoology (crypto=hidden, zoology = study of animals). Think mermaids, Bigfoot, and basilisks.
Be sure to keep an eye out for more author interviews! Swing by on July 9th to meet the next author in this series.
Also, mark your calendar to catch a new interview series with Third-Culture Kids launching in August! I'll interview kids living in different cultures. It will be a fun series to dive into with your entire family!
JASMINE is a Navy wife
Living her best boy-mom life
Waiting for the girl she seeks
No more biotech filling her weeks
Now that she’s a homeschool mom
She'll write and write to find calm
If she can find the extra time
She’ll sit by a fire and write in rhyme
Living her best boy-mom life
Waiting for the girl she seeks
No more biotech filling her weeks
Now that she’s a homeschool mom
She'll write and write to find calm
If she can find the extra time
She’ll sit by a fire and write in rhyme
Jasmine's poetry:
Gnomes and Ungnomes: Poems of Hidden Creatures (Writers Loft Press, 2023)