3 Chances to Win PET CRAZY, a Poetry Friday Power Book

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Howdy, Campers ~ Happy Poetry Friday! Link to PF is below.

Today Eli and I are excited to introduce you to the newest addition in the extraordinary series, Poetry Friday Power Books, PET CRAZY (Pomelo Books), by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, illustrated by Franzi Paetzold. (At the end of this post you'll have a chance to win one of three autographed copies--lucky you!)

Eli, captivated by Pet Crazy 

As always, creators Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell turn teaching on its ear. They're a brilliant team unfailingly inventing original and inspiring curriculum for each book. This one's for younger elementary ages and they've nailed it. (Full disclosure: Eli is excited because my poem about his favorite place in the world--the dog park--is included.)

PET CRAZY: A Poetry Friday Power Book is a story in poems and a writing journal with twelve "PowerPacks" filled with activities to get young children thinking, drawing, reading, and writing about all kinds of pets. (Eli believes dogs are the best possible pet, but he says he's willing to keep an open mind.)

It was inspired by poems in The Poetry Friday Anthology® series. Five of these became  “anchor poems” that form the core of PET CRAZY.  Seven new poems were commissioned specifically for this book. Then Janet took these 12 anchor poems and connected them with 24 poems (which she wrote) to create a story featuring three animal-loving kids.

Here’s an example of how this book introduces the concept of free verse in PowerPack 11, near the end of the book, after the the poet's tools of rhyme, questions, repetition, stanzas, emotions, alliteration, acrostics, dialogue, found words and lists have been introduced:

 PowerPack 11 table of contents

"PowerPlay"
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 Anchor and Response poems

Mentor poem and Power2You

Pretty cool, right? (Eli says he's not at all surprised that PET CRAZY was chosen as a Children’s Book Council “Hot Off the Press” selection.)

And here are the contributors to PET CRAZY (and their pets):

Snot, enjoying her very own copy of  PET CRAZY

Kristy Dempsey KristyDempsey.com (Dogs are her favorite pet, but a couple of cats named Rascal and Minnie have curled their way into her heart as well.)

Helen Frost HelenFrost.net (Helen enjoys raising and releasing monarch butterflies.) 

Janice Harrington JaniceHarrington.com (Her favorite pet was a wonderful mutt named Nipper.)

Eric Ode EricOde.com (When Eric was a teacher, classroom pets included painted turtles, red-bellied newts, and a rat named Crockett.)

Laura Shovan LauraShovan.com (Her family lost a beloved cat, Nutmeg, just like in her poem included in this book.)

Elizabeth Steinglass ElizabethSteinglass.com (She has a sleepy cat named Scout.)

Eileen Spinelli EileenSpinelli.com (Eileen and her husband raise monarch butterflies.)

Don Tate DonTate.com (Our sources say us he's a gym-rat. :-)

Padma Venkatraman PadmaVenkatraman.com (Padma's also an oceanographer; she undoubtedly loves ocean animals)

(me) AprilWayland.com (We have a cat named Snot--Eli would just as soon we didn't have her--a tortoise named Sheldon--who Eli likes quite a bit--five red-eared sliders, two box turtles, and last but not least Eli, a noodle-brain and an avid hiker.) [Guess who says he does not appreciate this description?]

Sylvia Vardell (PoetryForChildren.blogspot.com) (Sylvia's favorite pets are dogs; she’s had three of them--Luther, Yenta, and Caesar--as well as Leonardo the tortoise, and a parakeet named Pecky.)

Tamera Will Wissinger TameraWillWissinger.com (Tamera once had a small cat that was a ball retriever.)

Carole Boston Weatherford CBWeatherford.com (Carole has shared her home with beagles Lucky, Snoopy, Hendrix and Gigi.)

Janet Wong  JanetWong.com (Janet's had dozens of pets, including birds, fish, a frog, hamsters, lizards, turtles, a cat, and dogs Bernadette, Coco, Nissa, and Angel.)

Nissa, teaching Janet "speak!"
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Congratulations, Janet and Sylvia for producing another imaginative, satisfying, useful book!

Campers, we have THREE autographed copies of PET CRAZY to give away, thanks to the generosity of Pomelo Books! (Ever the optimist, Eli says if he were a teacher, a parent, or the relative of an aspiring poet, he'd enter right away to win it in time for the holidays.)

To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below. You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.

If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY'S blog post below or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven't already "liked" our Facebook page, please do so today. In your comment, tell us what you'd do with this book if you win our giveaway--keep it for yourself or give it to a teacher or a young reader?

(If you prefer, submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.)

Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA THE WIDGET BELOW. The giveaway ends November 8th and is open to U.S. residents only.

P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

And don't forget that it's Poetry Friday!
Thank you, Brenda, for hosting PF at Friendly Fairy Tales!

posted poetically by Eli, with help from April Halprin Wayland...and Snot, though Eli refuses to admit it.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway