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In this charming picture book allegory of the creative writing process, happenstance & weather events symbolize the emotional ebb & flow of writing a poem.
I had a poem in my pocket,
but my pocket got a rip.
Rhymes tumbled down my leg,
and trickled from my hip.
Thus begins the journey of a young poet’s words out into the world, where they join randomly with other words to form funny riffs & puns all over a busy city street. The child scrambles to capture the loose words & arrange them back into poem from, only to lose them again as a storm swoops in on a rushing wind. Eventually, the words plant themselves in the muddy ground, where they grow into something that might be even better than the original poem: a Poet-Tree.
Questions to Discuss with Your Family
Poetry can be fun & silly, serious & sad, happy & energetic, or anything you want! How do you feel when you read or write poetry? What are some topics that make you feel happy? Silly?
Click here to complete the book tag activity!
Meet the Author & Illustrator
Chris Tougas was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and moved to southern California when he was five years old. Chris practically grew up in his father’s art studio. He was enamored with his dad’s sculptures and would often sneak into the studio so that he could run his fingers over the latest masterpiece. But Chris’s early talent was drawing. He drew every day and on everything (including on his sleeping sister!). After high school, Chris majored in playwriting at the University of Alberta, before moving to Seattle to study fine arts and acting. These interests eventually led Chris back to California, where he studied character animation at the California Institute of the Arts. Chris’s first job out of college was with Disney Publishing in Burbank, where he was easily the least talented drawer on the floor. But Chris learned a lot from the experience. Chris is the author and illustrator of several award-winning picture books, including Mechanimals, Art’s Supplies, and the Dojo Daycare series.
As a young girl, Josée Bisaillon loved drawing cats and houses. She really enjoyed school and always returned home full of stories to tell. She liked being in the classroom so much that she pursued her education all the way to university, where she studied graphic design. It was there that she fell in love with illustration. Since 2005, with scissors and brushes in hand, Josée has illustrated more than 30 children’s books, as well as magazines and newspapers for adults, all around the world. Josée lives just outside of Montreal with her spouse, their 3 children, one hairless cat and many paper characters.
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