Explore Poetry with SINCE THE BABY CAME by Kathleen Long Bostrom

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  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
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Inspiring Writers with GRUMPYCORN

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by Tina Cho


In the book Grumpycorn by Sarah McIntyre, Unicorn sets out to write a new story. He sits in his special writing house, gets his special fluffy pen, his special moonberry tea, fancy notebook, and waits for an idea. But ideas don’t knock on doors. Friends do. And Unicorn gets upset. You’ll have to read this book to see how it ends. 

Being a writer, I connected with this book. And I shared it with my kindergarten students who are also learning to write. We writers set ourselves up for success with shiny pens and notebooks, but the problem is—finding ideas and executing a good story.

Picture books open up discussion with children. If you want your child to write, you can use a picture book like Grumpycorn to introduce the writing process. Your child could even write a story with the help of family or friends like Unicorn does. Your child could get a special notebook and pen and jot down ideas for great stories.

My kindergartners love writing their own stories on their own topics. And it’s picture books that inspire them. 

Happy reading and writing!

Comments

Trine Grillo said…
HaHa! Great post, Tina.
February 17, 2022 at 9:30 PM
Mindy Baker said…
Love this book suggestion! Putting it on my to-be-read list!
March 6, 2022 at 12:06 PM
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