I am excited to announce the launch of a new book with Janet Wong and a collaboration with 25 other poets: THINGS WE DO is a poetry anthology for pre-K (and beyond). Janet and I made a little video to introduce our new book here below (Click on the small white arrow in the middle):
This book is the product of our Anthologies 201 workshop where we have guided participants through the process of creating a poetry anthology from start to finish. Each participant has one poem in the book, alongside a "Who's Who" of established poets like Jack Prelutsky, Linda Sue Park, Joseph Bruchac, Nikki Grimes, Carole Boston Weatherford, Margarita Engle, Jen Bryant, Pat Mora, Grace Lin, Jane Yolen, Padma Venkatraman and Janet Wong, of course.
This anthology features 26 poems, one for each letter of the alphabet from A to Z. Each poet was given a photo prompt for their ekphrastic poem and the result is an energetic, action-packed collection of poems. Back matter includes tips for reading poetry with children, creative activities, and related web resources.
THINGS WE DO is being featured as a "Hot Off the Press" title for October by the Children's Book Council--we're so excited about that! We're right alongside Janet's new book, Good Luck Gold & More.
THINGS WE DO is available here from QEP Books in Plano, TX, one of our favorite distributors with awesome customer service. It's also on Amazon here. We are also so pleased to share that all profits from the sale of this book go to IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People to support their Children in Crisis fund. "The IBBY Children in Crisis Fund provides support for children whose lives have been disrupted through war, civil disorder or natural disaster. The two main activities that are supported by the Fund are the therapeutic use of books and storytelling in the form of bibliotherapy, and the creation or replacement of collections of selected books that are appropriate to the situation."
Several of our poets will be blogging about this new book-- our collective experiment in creating anthologies and indie publishing. Check them out!
The always amazing Jama Kay Rattigan is hosting our Poetry Friday party over at Jama's Alphabet Soup, so don't miss it! Her beautiful blog posts are always so rich, detailed, and delicious!
22 comments:
I'm proud to be a tiny part of THINGS WE DO. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. The workshop was amazing! I learned so much about what goes into creating an anthology from the two most wonderful teachers. Thank you, Janet and Sylvia!
Sylvia, what a great way to teach the class on creating an anthology. There are so many wonderful things to love about this concept and A to Z anthology. I will look forward to getting my hands on it too!
I am so delighted to be a part of this anthology alongside so many poets I admire. I love that you and Janet explained a bit of the process, Sylvia, and the fact that your dog made an appearance makes this even sweeter!
This is so great, Sylvia! Congratulations to you and Janet, and thanks for your generous, innovative spirits! You inspire so many, and the book looks wonderful. Of course it's a CBC Hot of the Press pick! xo
I can't wait to hold this book and read every poem. When I signed up for the first Anthologies 101 I was hopeful but not sure if I would ever create one, though I became intrigued. Lots of terrific ideas were shared in a fun and very purposeful way, naturally. Then Anthologies 201 came along and I signed up right away again. The icing was finding out we could write for a chance to be in the new anthology THINGS WE MAKE. My poem, Wave, grew to its published form thanks to editing ideas from Janet Wong and she and Sylvia kept us informed along the way as the book was in process. I am thrilled with the poems I have seen online. And am so happy to have had this opportunity. Plus this book will benefit kids in need (IBBY Children in Crisis fund) thanks to Janet and Sylvia's generosity. Waving to each of you! PS I can't wait to read it with my two favorite "critics" ages 5 1/2 and 3 who are true poetry fans!
Janet Clare F.
Congratulations on the new anthology! Love the video -- you two are the CUTEST! Hooray for being a CBC Hot Off the Press feature for October. Happy to hear about Janet's new book too. :)
You all absolutely ROCK. (Is that the word for R? Because you two do that ALL the time!!) Love the video - and what an innovative and fun idea all the way around. Congrats to all!
Congratulations, Janet and Sylvia, on another terrific book!
So many new ones are coming out, and this one will make kids very happy, just like you both are in the video. Love seeing all the names and hearing a 'taste' of what it holds. Thanks, Janet & Sylvia!
Sylvia and Janet,
Thanks so much for the opportunity to participate in this anthology! I have two favorite pieces to share about this process that were not included in my blog today. 1) I initially picked two other words along with the word invent. When Janet got back to me, it was the invent poem she liked best and encouraged me to tweak it. At that time, I told Janet that I was happy that was the poem she like because I have a very inventive family! So the word struck a chord! 2) Finding out that Jack Prelutsky was also featured in this anthology was the best surprise for me! He has long been a favorite poet of mine and I own several of his seasonal poetry books on holidays that were passed down to me from my mom's third-grade classroom when she retired! Knowing I am in a book with him is exciting beyond words! Thank you, both for all your support and encouragement! ~ Carol Labuzzetta ~
The children's poetry community is THE BEST! Thanks for the LOVE that you're sharing, everyone!!
Sylvia and Janet, you are both amazing. Teachers, anthologists, publishers, poetry advocates, community builders...wow. Is there anything you can't do? Congratulations on this newest publication!
What fun this book is--I read through it thoroughly last night. I'm so interested to hear how the illustration happened, using the canva stock photos as ekphrastic prompts. Am I understanding that correctly? The choice of action words is inspired, and it came out very attractively and designed perfectly for PreK/K classroom use. Bravo!
Congratulations to both of you on another wonderful anthology! I'm ordering my copy today!
Oh my, I'm so touched at all your kind responses! We're so pleased to include your work, Linda, Mary, Janet, Janice, and Carol, and grateful for your enthusiasm. And extra big thanks to you ALL for stopping by and supporting our new project. Heidi-- your vote of confidence in our work for preK-K is the icing on the cake because you are the expert here! Thank you all! Beaming with happiness! :-)
Congrats on the new book! It looks great.
Congratulations Sylvia and Janet on the publication of your new anthology. The energy around a new book is always quite palpable. Enjoy the buzz. I see a lot of names I know and admire here. Well done!
What a delightful book and what a worthy cause! Congratulations to all the poets. This is sure to become a favourite in classrooms and libraries for a long time to come.
What a fantastic (and much-needed anthology) and what a BRILLIANT way to crowd-source the poems! I'm feeling a bit of FOMO (not sure what the past tense is) that I didn't choose to participate in your course. Live and learn!
Can't wait to check this out!!! Thank you for sharing.
Another new book from the fabulous duo and it's an ABC book with fabulous photos to prompt the poet! Congratulations, Janet and Sylvia. I am always amazed by your enthusiasm for poetry and exuberance as presenters. I am sorry that I missed your webinar workshop but so excited that something wonderful came after the experience. Janet, your poem shares your inquisitive nature and Sylvia, yours thrills me because I am a big Jack Prelutsky fan.
Janet and Sylvia, I’m not at all surprised by the fun you two shared with us in your book release video. Your anthologies always tickle our funny bones and inspire us to write, loving poetry all the way!
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