Where and when were you born? I was born in Methuen,
Massachusetts. This is north of Boston. (Doesnt everything seem to
come back to Boston?) Im the youngest of three, and the house that
I lived in waaaaaaaaay back when had a dairy farm across the
street. From time to time, we used to wake up with cows in our
front yard, and in the summer, the smell was just awful! I wont
answer the when part of your question. And dont ask me how much I
weigh eitherits not polite.
Slide 4
Where did you find your inspiration Everywhere! There is a poem
I love about a man who gives his wife two skunks for a valentine:
And the poems that had been hiding in the eyes of skunks for
centuries crawled out and curled up at his feet. Maybe if we
reinvent whatever our lives give us we find poems. These words tell
us that poetry is everywhere we look and listen
Slide 5
Another inspiration Once, I had a boy who couldnt stop picking
his nose! I tried to help him with this icky habit by giving him
signals to stop. It didnt work. So I started writing poems about
kids who picked their noses, and it seemed to help without
embarrassing him..
Slide 6
I keep a little notebook with me all the time because you never
know when something will spark a poem. Sometimes I wake up in the
middle of the night with an idea for a poem. At home and in my
classroom, kids give me most of my ideas. The poems were really
funny, but just disgusting enough to make him think about what he
was doing. Another time, a girl was picking through the trash for
treasure. A poem was born. At home, things happened with my own
kids that made really funny poems.
Slide 7
Who is in your family? I have been married for over 23 years to
my husband, Paul. We have three great kids: Kalin, who is 22 and
lives in Boston; Shawn, who is 20; and Mike, who is 15. They have
been the subjects of several poems, but I wont tell you which ones.
They might not like me much if I revealed those secrets!
Slide 8
What tips can you give aspiring writers? WRITEand read! Keep a
journal or keep a bunch of them. I currently have five separate
journals that I write in. I have one for each of my children, one
for me, and one for letters that I write to my dad who died several
years ago. The more you write and read, the better you become at
both. Words are your best friends. Have fun with them, play with
them, and dont fear them.
Slide 9
What other tips do you have Look for the wonderful ways to use
words to help you express who you are. Words and language are such
gifts if only we can learn not to be fearful of them. Think of them
as Legosarrange and rearrange them. Add to them, change them, and
earn your poetic license. Find your voice and shout yourself out to
the world. Be silly, be serious, be playful, be poeticwhatever you
choose is wonderful. Love yourself through words.
Slide 10
Of all the poems youve written, whats your favorite Thats
rather like asking, Whos your favorite kid in class? Though some
poems are more fun to read or recite, I dont really have a
favorite. I love poems with surprise endings, so maybe those are my
favorites.
Slide 11
How do you get kids excited about poetry? Thats the fun part! I
think being a poet and a teacher is a lot like being a salesman.
You have to be excited about it yourself, so that makes me a
natural. I use my voice and my words. I try to use dramatic
expression to show my excitement and my affection for language. If
I love it and am not afraid to show it, its almost contagious!
Slide 12
Do you write anything besides childrens poetry? I do, as a
matter of fact. I am a columnist at the MetroWest Daily News, a
newspaper that has a distribution through several towns west of
Boston. I write about everything from school, to family, to whats
hot in the news. My column appears in the Op/Ed pages. I am also
working on a manuscript about classroom life. I write about the
significant things, both hilarious and sad, that occur day to day
in schools
Slide 13
How many books have you appeared in? Rolling in the
AislesRolling in the Aisles, Dinner with Dracula, My Teacher's In
Detention, Oh My Darling, Porcupine, and I've Been Burping in the
Classroom So far, there are six poetry books from Meadowbrook: If
Kids Ruled the School, Rolling in the Aisles, Dinner with Dracula,
My Teacher's In Detention, Oh My Darling, Porcupine, and I've Been
Burping in the Classroom. I must say, I am proud that the Ive Been
Burping in the Classroom title comes from one of my poems! (I have
sonsI know a good burp when I hear it!)Dinner with DraculaMy
Teacher's In DetentionOh My Darling, Porcupine I've Been Burping in
the ClassroomIf Kids Ruled the School, Rolling in the AislesDinner
with DraculaMy Teacher's In DetentionOh My Darling, Porcupine I've
Been Burping in the Classroommy poems
Slide 14
Who are your favorite poets? Thats a really hard question. I
love Dr. Seuss, but there are so many poets that I love! In the
funny rhyming genre, I adore Robert Frost, Jack Prelutsky, Shel
Silverstein, Kenn Nesbitt, Darren Sardelli, Eric Ode, Linda Knaus,
and Bruce Lansky, to name just a few. In the no rhyming genre, my
favorites are Andrew Green, Naobi Shihab Nye, Billy Collins, and
many more. I have come to appreciate the love of word play and
language that is unique to every poet
Slide 15
Did you enjoy poetry as a child? Im still a child at heart, but
when I was young in years (you know, in elementary school), my
teachers werent big fans of poetry, except during our yearly poetry
unit. This was a four-week-long exercise in misery. We had to
memorize poems that we didnt understand, and they were either
really serious or extremely corny. (Do kids today know what corny
means? It has nothing to do with vegetables.) One poem I remember
having to recite was In Flanders Fields. It was a poem about
soldiers who died during WWI, so it was probably a nice poem. The
teachers didnt seem to care if we understood it, but we had to know
the words. They didnt consider Dr. Seuss a poet, though he was one
of my favorites throughout my whole life. I developed a love for
rhyme with his Cat in the Hat books. He was so talented.
Slide 16
What are your hobbies? When I am lucky enough to have free
time, I love to exercise and shop. Kickboxing is my favorite
exercise, and I can do serious damage to our family budget if Im in
the mood to shop. Surprisingly, another favorite thing to do,
though its not really a hobby, is to go to acupuncture
treatments.
Slide 17
Where do you live? If what youre really asking is where do I
take off my shoes and fall into bed at night, that would be
Randolph, Massachusetts. Its a southern suburb of Boston. Its very
small, only seven square miles, but lots of people live here. Its a
short train ride into the city and fairly close to the beaches of
the South Shore. But sometimes I think I live in my car!
Slide 18
I work about 30 miles from home as a teacher in Framingham, a
suburb west of Boston, and I have to drive on the worst highway in
Massachusetts to get there. Then when I get home, I become Moms
Taxi Service. Thankfully, I have only one child out of three who
doesnt have a license, but he still has a tremendous social life
and goes to school two towns away from home.
Slide 19
But First... I had a bit of trouble With my teacher yesterday.
She said I had to get to work- There wasn't time to play. But
first... I had to tie my shoes. I had to blow my nose. And then I
had to clean the lint That tickled 'tween my toes. I had to find my
pencil, Had to sharpen up its tip. I had to zipper up my pants,
Then Vaseline my lip. And then, of course, 'cuz it was cold I put
my sweater on, Then found a new eraser 'cuz My old one was all
gone. And then I found a buggy bite I really had to itch. And
scratching made me notice That my sweater pulled a stitch. And so I
pulled a little thread. I made a little hole And noticed that my
elbow had A tiny brownish mole. It looked just like a ladybug, And
so I drew a nose. I added spots and little legs And teeny buggy
toes. Then fin'ly with those things all done I settled down to
work. But all my friends had finished, And my teacher went berserk.
And, really, I was so confused. I wasn't having fun. These things
were quite important. They were begging to be done! So now it's
time for science. We're on page ninety-four. But first... There are
some markers I must pick up from the floor
Slide 20
Insomnia I cannot get to sleep tonight. I toss and turn and
flop. I try to count some fluffy sheep while o'er a fence they hop.
I try to think of pleasant dreams of places really cool. I don't
know why I cannot sleep - I slept just fine at school.
Slide 21
Class Pest The boy who sits behind me Is really, really mean.
He tells me I have cooties and I smell like a sardine. He tries to
steal my pencils And my favorite crayons, too. I wish his folks
would move away And lock him in the zoo. He cheats on every
spelling test And blames it all on me. He always pulls my ponytail.
I wish hed let me be. He talks too loud, his laugh is weird. I wish
that he were mute. But the worstest thing about him is I think hes
kinda cute.
Slide 22
My Normal Family My daddy snores and sucks his toes. My brother
likes to lick his nose. My doggy meows, my kitten barks. My
goldfish chases sticks in parks. My sister walks while upside down.
My mother hops all over town. Her skin is purple, dont you know.
And I am green from head to toe. My dad is red, my sisters blue. My
brothers yellow; yes, its true. We all wear raincoats in the sun
And gobble lima beans for fun. Were very special, cant you see?
Were just a normal family!
Slide 23
With out this site I couldnt get any Info
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