A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Today we’d like to welcome two amazing women who are on the cutting edge of children’s poetry.

Janet Wong is a prolific writer of poetry and short stories for young people. Her work has received wide recognition from shows like Oprah Winfrey to awards such as the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. She is the first generation daughter of Korean and Chinese immigrant parents, and many of her works deal with multicultural experiences.

Dr. Sylvia Vardell is professor of children’s literature at Texas Woman’s University and is the author or contributor of over 24 books. She received the 2014 Scholastic Library Publishing Award for her work in the field of children’s literature. She blogs regularly at Poetry for Children.

Together, these two authors have collaborated on the Poetry Friday Anthology series, a collection of poems by some of the best children’s poets from around the world. Even better, each poem comes with lesson plans and classroom resources for teaching these poems. Whether in a traditional classroom or at home, these books offer a wonderful means of widening your family’s consumption of poetry.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these two powerful women! We all agreed that too often poetry is perceived as boring or difficult. Yet those who love poetry say otherwise. Janet and Sylvia make poetry so accessible and delightful through their work, I found myself wanting to run right to my poetry anthologies after our conversation to spend time again with my poet friends.

Enjoy our conversation and do yourself a favor: take the plunge into exploring and experiencing poetry for yourself and with your children.

Here is the link to Sylvia Vardell’s blog Poetry for Children and Janet Wong’s website. Be sure to check out their books below or at your local library!

By Janet Wong

A Suitcase of Seaweed: And Other Poems. Celebrates diversity. Winner of the Claremont Stone Center Recognition of Merit Award.
The Trip Back Home
Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams. NY Times Best Illustrated Books of 2000.
The Rainbow Hand
Knock on Wood: Poems about Superstitions
Twist: Yoga Poems
Behind the Wheel: Poems about Driving

By Sylvia Vardell

Poetry Aloud Here!

Poetry Friday Anthologies

You Just Wait: A Poetry Friday Power Book for Tweens & Teens (Soon to be available!)
The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations
The Poetry Friday Anthology
The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School
The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science for Kids

Check out Janet and Sylvia’s written interview
on the Poetry Teatime blog!

Image of Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is by Melissa Deakin

It was my delight and privilege to talk with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. Her poetry is delicious—like a strawberry smoothie or a fresh mint lemonade. She brings vowels and consonants together in ways that leave the mouth happy and satisfied.

Not only that, her family lives in the countryside and has made the choice to not have a television. One way they fill those hours is to explore the great outdoors right beyond their backyard. Amy readily admits that she did not know the names of plants, trees, mosses, and wildflowers when she began. But together with her science-loving husband and two children, they grew in their ability to recognize and name the natural world around them. You will see those affinities in her poetry which bursts with detail and nomenclature.

I also enjoyed Amy’s enthusiasm for children. She shares a love of writing and the belief that all children are writers already. She calls them “walking poems.”

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Amy’s first book, Forest Has a Song, has received many praises, including the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award. Amy also recently released her new book, Every Day Birds.

Enjoy our conversation, and please do check out her books!

Here’s the link Amy mentions in the podcast: The Private Eye​

Read Amy’s written interview on Poetry Teatime!