Explore Poetry with SINCE THE BABY CAME by Kathleen Long Bostrom

  We are excited to have guest post by Kathleen Long Bostrom, author of Since the Baby Came: A Sibling’s Learning-to-Love Story in 16 Poems , talking about the process of writing the book and sharing some ideas for discussing and poetry writing! Read : Since the Baby Came: A Sibling’s Learning-to-Love Story in 16 Poems by Kathleen Long Bostrom, illustrated by Janet Samuel I love poetry and rhyme, and always have. I grew up with a mother who often recited poetry and I learned to read with Dr. Seuss books. It’s no wonder I turned to poetry when I began writing picture books for children.  At a children’s book conference one day about 12 years ago, I asked my friend, an editor for an educational publishing house, “What are the areas in early education where more good books are needed?”  Without hesitation, she replied, “Poetry.”  Many of my published books were written in poetry, but what could I write that was unique? Aha! I thought. What if I wrote a story using a variety of styles of

Summer Challenge Week SEVEN: Go Wild with Zoo Books!


Welcome to week SEVEN of the Read, Discuss, Do Summer Challenge! You'll go wild for this week's theme: the zoo! Pair this week's read (or reads) with a trip to the zoo. If you can't go in person, why not do a virtual tour online? Some other ideas: set up a zoo with stuffed animals, make zoo animal art, or play a game of "guess that animal sound." Be creative and have fun! Don't forget about the social media hashtag, #RDDSummerChallenge.

Suggested titles:

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell, a classic lift the flap book that will delight little ones as they guess what animal is hiding behind the flap!

Peek-a-boo Zoo! by Jane Cabrera is a great book for babies and toddlers with simple, repetitive text and bright illustrations.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, is great for the older picture book audience. It's a sweet story about how the zoo animals take care of their friend the zookeeper when he's home sick. 

There are many other great zoo themed picture books out there. Do you have any favorites?

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