Summer 2015 Writing Prompt #4

Warning! A bunny is about to invade!

I discovered the "Minnehaha Bunny," a bronze sculpture created by Jeffrey Barber, in a park in Minneapolis. Wouldn't she make a great writing prompt? 

A giant bunny invades your yard! What will you do? 

Animal Poetry

I love poems about animals.

JooHee Yoon must too, because she has compiled a fun, innovative book of poems called Beastly Verse. 

Her bright illustrations in yellows, oranges, reds, and greens make the poems jump off the page. (Good thing the animals don't jump off--they only seem to.) 

Some of the poems are long. Some are short. Some are serious. Some are silly. Some rhyme. Some don't. All celebrate the wonderfulness that is the animal world.

Do you like to write verse about beasts? Try using one of these poems as a model:

The Friendly Hen by Arthur Waugh

Some birds lay eggs in towering trees,
And some in fens conceal them;
The hen seeks friendlier haunts than these,
Where every child can steal them.

Or if caterpillars are more your thing, here's a poem for you:

Caterpillar by Christina Rossetti

Brown and furry
Caterpillar in a hurry,
Take your walk
To the shady leaf, or stalk,
Or what not,
Which may be the chosen spot.
No toad spy you,
Hovering bird of prey pass by you;
Spin and die,
To live again a butterfly. 

Let your poem squawk like a hen or crawl like a caterpillar. Invent your own beast--a henpillar or caterhen. Whether your verse is beastly or ghastly or ghostly, have fun!

Write a Poem About an Imaginary Pet

Happy National Poetry Month! All month long, we'll celebrate poems. 

Even if you think you're not a poet, join in and try writing one. 

Reading and writing poems lets us play with language. 

We'll start out with imaginary pets. Do you have a real pet? Chances are it's a dog, cat, goldfish, or gerbil. 

It's probably not a Nightlight Bird, like on the cover of this wonderful book by Richard Michelson. 

Here's one of his imaginary pets: 

Nightlight Bird

I used to need a nightlight
when it was time for bed
until we got a red-eyed
Nightlight Bird instead.

I don't need any batteries
or bulbs or plugs or sockets.
I just keep Nightlight Bird seed
in my pajama pockets.

My bird won't scare a burglar.
She's slow and pigeon-toed,
but if she senses danger
Bird blinks and sends Morse Code.

But best of all, when Nightlight
starts her late-night stare
the shadows in my room run
away and disappear. 

Some other poems in this fun book are the Buscatcher, the Leftover Eater, and the Talkback Bat. 

Your turn! What kind of imaginary pet would YOU love to have? Write a poem about it. It doesn't need to rhyme. 

When you're done, add a drawing. The illustrations in Animals That Ought To Be are by the wonderful Leonard Baskin. 

I bet your illustration will be just as wonderful. 

Have fun creating and drawing your imaginary pet! 

Turkey Tot and Talking Animals

Yesterday I went to a fun event at Eagle Harbor Books on Bainbridge Island. I got to help celebrate the publication of Turkey Tot, a new picture book written by George Shannon and illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann.


The afternoon was extra special because George and Jennifer are my friends, and because Turkey Tot is Jennifer's first book. Yay!

Jennifer is also my A+++ critique partner, along with the fabulous Dawn Simon. The three of us form a troika (you can look that one up), meeting every other week to read each other's rough drafts. 

We find ways to make our writing stronger, and sometimes Jen brings her illustration sketches. That's super fun! 

Turkey Tot tells the story of four friends: Chick, Pig, Hen, and Turkey Tot, who's "been different since the day he hatched." 

Turkey Tot is determined to get those blackberries the four friends can't reach, and you know what? It turns out that being different might be just the excellent thing they need.

The dialogue in Turkey Tot features talking animals, of course. They sound exactly how I imagine Chick, Pig, Hen, and Turkey Tot would talk if I came across them in the barnyard.

Have you written a story with talking animals? Give it a try. Pick two of your favorite animals and let them star in your story. Your dialogue can be silly or serious, clever or crafty.

As Turkey Tot would say--well, check out the funny, wonderful Turkey Tot and you'll see! 

5 Writing Prompts to Get Your Pens Moving

Need a writing prompt to get your pen or keyboard moving? Try one of these:

1. Invent an ad for a new shampoo made out of vegetables. 

2. Create a superhero who saves civilization with a magic scooter.

3. Find an ad in the newspaper for a lost pet. Describe the family that placed the ad.

4. Think of a movie you've seen recently. Write a new ending. 

5. Compare a person in your life to an animal. Write a story in which the person turns into that animal. 

Try writing for 15 minutes without stopping. That should get your pens moving and the ideas churning! 

Animal Poems

April is National Poetry Month! All month long, we'll be celebrating poetry here at Yellow Pencils. 

I love animals, and let's face it, some animals look silly, act silly, or have a silly name. Like the three-toed sloth. Or the kiwi. Or the ocelot. 

Write a poem about a "silly" animal, your favorite animal, or any animal you think is really cool. Be silly or serious, use rhyme or not, and make up words. Think about your animal, and what makes it special to you. 

Here's my silly poem, The Ocelot

The Ocelot

I like the ocelot.
A lot.
I likes its spots
like polka dots. 
More often than not
this cat is hot
the tawny, yellow ocelot. 

Here's a silly poem by John Gardner.

The Cockatoo

The Cockatoo is widely known
For talking on the telephone
And also (wretched, thoughtless bird)
For hanging up without a word.


And a serious one by Langston Hughes.


The Snail

Little snail,
Dreaming you go,
Weather and rose
Is all you know.

Weather and rose
Is all you see,
Drinking the dewdrop's 
Mystery.

What is your animal poem? 

A Mechanical Mouse?

I saw this "mouse" in the woods of Bainbridge Island the other day, and immediately thought, What is this???

Is it a sculpture? Is it some kind of machinery, abandoned long ago in the woods? (Machinery that has the head of a mouse?) 

Or is it a mechanical mouse that appeared in the woods just so people would wander by and ask, What if? 

What if this odd mouse was sent by Mechanical Mousedom to take over Planet Earth? What if it was left behind by mechanical explorers several thousand years ago? What if it retired from working at Disneyworld, got old and rusty, and now longs to entertain children again?

Come up with your own "What if" and write the story of "A Mechanical Mouse."   

An Animal's Point of View

Today was an exciting day! The Newbery and Caldecott Medals for 2013 were announced by the American Library Association. 

These two awards are the highest honors a children's book can receive in the U.S. The Caldecott Medal is given to the artist of "the most distinguished American picture book for children." The Newbery goes to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." 

That's a lot of words to say that these awards are given to books that are great! 

This year the winner of the Caldecott Medal is This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. The Newbery went to Katherine Applegate for her middle-grade novel The One and Only Ivan.

What do these two books share, besides being great? They both tell their stories from an animal's point of view. 

In This Is Not My Hat, a small fish says, "This hat is not mine. I just stole it." The One and Only Ivan begins with the lines, "Hello. I am Ivan. I am a gorilla." 

Writing a story from an animal's point of view helps us understand and care about animals. How does a fish think? What does a gorilla wonder about? 

Try writing an "I" story from an animal's point of view. It could be a fish, a gorilla, a cat, a dog, or your favorite animal. Maybe it's a three-toed sloth or a yellow-spotted salamander. 

And don't forget to check out this year's Newbery and Caldecott Award winners!  

Baby Animals

Baby ducks are ducklings.

Baby geese are goslings.

And baby humans are...babies.

How many names can you think of for baby animals? A baby cat is a kitten. A baby dog is a puppy. A baby eagle is an eaglet. A baby frog is a tadpole. A baby fox, bear, wolf, or lion is a cub.

How about some lesser known babies? A baby lizard is a hatchling. A baby snake is a snakelet. A baby shark is a pup. A baby elephant is a calf.

For a fun word game, make a list of as many baby animal names as you can find. Or make up your own names. A baby crow? How about a crowlet? A crowling? A crowten?

Let your imagination soar as high as a baby seagull. Would that be a seaglet?