It's my turn to play . I can't wait! Each year, beginning April 1st, POETRY FRIDAY friends and other poetry lovers are invited to join the fun, as a poem travels daily from blog to blog, with each host adding a line. A big thank you to poet  Irene Latham for creating The Kid Lit Progressive Poem, which was a way to celebrate National Poetry Month (April) as a community of writers. This year, I was assigned WEEK #2. Exciting but scary—with only one line ahead of me, the possibilities are...

A book is a magical thing. It can take you to places you have never been— tropical islands, outer space, foreign lands— all from the safety and comfort of your own bedroom. The picture books we discover as children and the novels we read as young adults tend to stay with us and hold a very special place in our hearts. My sister-in-law Delle and I were chatting the other day about our favorite childhood books. Hers was The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and mine was Island of...

Happy Spring, everyone! This year, the change in seasons has been a long time coming. But this week I saw little buds starting to form on skinny maple branches—their red color popping against the blue sky. It made me so happy! And then the surprise of a single crocus flower in my snowy backyard inspired this little ditty! The promise of growth, new life, and the resurrection of plants from their winter beds fills me with hope. Color is about to explode in the coming weeks, announcing spring....