I can still see the rich, plump black berries and blooms next to farmers’ fences in the hot, dry summers in Kansas. I remember picking the berries and hearing the first ones clunk when I dropped ’em into the metal bucket. And I could hardly wait to get back home to wash ’em and make some homemade ice cream. If you’ve never had homemade … The rest of the story…
When I was a little kid, I loved it when my mom or grandmother or basically any adult would read me a story. I had a vivid, colorful imagination (some things never change), and I could create whole movies inside my head. All I needed were the words to create pictures, and at that young age getting the words required the help of an … The rest of the story…
OK…whatever you’re doing right now (including reading my writing) take a few seconds and put a great big smile on your face. I don’t care if it feels weird. Just do it. C’mon, let’s see that great…big…smile. Ahh…there it is. I knew you could do it. Now, I know there are times you just don’t feel like smiling. No worries. I’m the same way. … The rest of the story…
If you’ve ever wondered how to write poems for kids, then I have some serious, sage advice…don’t be so serious and sage. Through all my years as a children’s writer, singer songwriter, and even illustrator I’ve observed kids and their funny ways. And because they have funny ways, I look for ways to put those funny ways into the rhymes I write. Poems for … The rest of the story…
So, once there was a lily pad that no frog ever used. You wouldn’t think a lily pad would get its feelings bruised, But sure enough this lily pad cried to itself each night… And each day did its very best to stay out of plain sight. It watched the frogs spot other pads and jump on for a rest, But no one seemed … The rest of the story…
We’re really having an unusual stretch of rainy weather here in Colorado. Typically we don’t have so much rainfall in so many consecutive days. We’re sort of spoiled on 300 or more days of sunshine a year. So, the poet in me was looking at our little front yard flower garden, and I saw lots of raindrops perched on petals and leaves. As I … The rest of the story…
If you’ve ever watched any of those old Three Stooges movies, you’ve probably heard Moe call Larry and Curly “lame brain” more than once. Of course, that was the pot calling the kettle black. Moe was every bit as much a lame brain as the others. He just got to be the leader of the pack. When I was a kid, most moms were … The rest of the story…
I heard this expression today: “reading is so delicious“. And being a lover of words and the word pictures they can stir up…well I just had to bake some of my thoughts about it. It’s only natural…and delicious. 🙂 When you think about what reading can do for you, it makes sense to say it’s delicious. At least when you’re using it as a … The rest of the story…
There are lots of things to do with kids in Denver. And I’ll bet even a lot of parents in Denver don’t realize how many fun things there are right here in their home town. So, imagine how kids in other states might feel if they think they’re gonna have to leave the really fun things they love to go hang out “in the … The rest of the story…
I saw the phrase “rhyme machine” and being a children’s writer I figured I’d run with it. Suddenly I saw kids jumping into a high-tech solar-powered rocket ship. They simply touched colorful pictures on a screen to zoom to imagination destinations. And I could see the rhyme machine gliding effortlessly through the air without making a sound. Each stop was a blast. Every kid … The rest of the story…
