Caldecott's 75th Anniversary! Poetry Friday! And Zounds--Sounds!

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Howdy, Campers!

First of all, I'd like to apologize for pushing the "publish" button instead of the "save" button when I was composing this post yesterday.  As a result, my weird and clearly unfinished post went out to our subscribers above Carmela's wonderful Wednesday Writing Workout (which I highly recommend reading.)  Oy!

Onward...to Poetry Friday!

Thank you, Amy of The Poem Farm for hosting today!

My poem is below.  :-)

Breaking News: the American Library Association is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Caldecott Award at its annual conference!  Right now--right this very minute!

Here's one fascinating fact from the ALA's beautifully put together scrapbook of all things Caldecott:

Until 1958, an artist could not be awarded more than one Caldecott Medal unless the committee's vote was unanimous. In his letter responding to the news, Robert McCloskey expresses his surprise at winning the award a second time.

Except for his first picture book and his last one, Robert McCloskey won either a Caldecott Medal or a Caldecott Honor for every picture book he published. 

And check-out Brian Selznick's design of the 75th anniversary logo.

Here's a 1:03 minute video of last year's Caldecott honor winner, John Rocco, talking about The Phone Call...the moment he learned he'd won the Caldecott honor for his book, Blackout:

and here's a funny-weird 1:49 minute video about getting ready for
this year's Newbery/Caldecott banquet...

And, yes, it's Poetry Friday!  My poem was inspired by Carmela's Wednesday Writing Workout, in which author Melanie Crowder suggests that sounds can spark writing ideas.

But where to start--what sound?  How about applause--applause for all Caldecott winners (and those hard-working Caldecott committee members)? There are so many different kinds of applause, including this and this--which is the applause before a concert begins.  That's the sound that stuck with me.  Here's my rough draft:

INSPIRED BY THE SOUND OF EXPECTANT APPLAUSE
by April Halprin Wayland

On stage:
tune strings,
star in the wings.

In your seat:
fleet squeaks,
copious creaks.

Clap-clap-clap!
Toe-tapping beat,
Impatient feet!

Rise in your seat,
stomp on the floor,
awaken your core!

And even before his wild art starts,
roar
for more!
poem © 2013 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved

TeachingAuthors will be taking a vacation from July 1-July 12, 2013.  Ta-ta!  Bye-bye!  Take time to write! See you soon, Raccoons! 

By April Halprin Wayland, who thanks you from the bottom of her little heart for reading all the way to the end.