Poetry Friday: I'm a Little Snowman!

Happy Poetry Friday! This poem's an original that was published in the February 2014 issue of Highlights High Five magazine, posted here with permission from Highlights for Children, Inc. It's an action rhyme, recited to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot," but with a snow-themed twist. After you read this post, you can check out Karen Edmisten's blog for more Poetry Friday fun!

I'm a Little Snowman, short and round.

Here are my eyes and the arms you found. 

When the sun in springtime hits the ground, 

See me vanish without a sound.

Join the February Read & Romp Roundup!

Today's the official call for submissions for the February Read & Romp Roundup! If you have a recent (or even not so recent) blog post that involves picture books or children's poetry AND dance, yoga, or another form of movement, leave your link in a comment on this post. Or, you can reach me on Facebook or Twitter to let me know about your link. I'll round up all the links and post them together in a few weeks. Thanks to those who have already submitted to me this month, and looking forward to seeing what else you have to share!

Submissions are open through Friday, February 28, 2014. 

Dream Big with Skate Dance Dream!

Photo courtesy of Sara Thellman

The U.S. figure skating team has been doing a fabulous job at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, most recently taking home the gold medal in the ice dancing competition. Not surprisingly, figure skating is one of my favorite sports to watch, probably because it has so much in common with dance. Parker Pennington, a former U.S. figure skating champion, thinks so too. “I find them both to be very artistic and athletic,” he told me during a recent interview.

The reason I was interviewing Parker is because he is the founder and executive producer of Skate Dance Dream -- a unique live performance show that fuses figure skating and dance. Parker is a huge fan of the television show So You Think You Can Dance, and two of the past performers on the show -- Sara Von Gillern and Gev Manoukian -- had backgrounds in figure skating. This gave Parker the idea of combining the two art forms into a single performance in which stars team up with young up-and-coming artists.

Skate Dance Dream is also unique in that it caters to the different locations where the performances take place. At each location, about 100 young skaters and dancers from that particular region are cast. The stars, who are finalists from So You Think You Can Dance and Olympic and World Class figure skaters, also change from show to show depending on the locations.

Photo courtesy of Allen Clark Photography

“So you could see break dancers or ballerinas, or you could see a comedy act on ice. You could catch people back flipping or sliding on their heads across the ice,” says Parker. “We are always trying to keep things fresh and innovative while serving to inspire the performance arts community as a whole.”

Skate Dance Dream is a wonderful opportunity for young dancers and skaters who are following their dreams. It actually reminds me of two recent picture books written by another figure skating champion -- Kristi Yamaguchi -- with illustrations by Tim Bowers. The first book, called Dream Big Little Pig, is about a pig named Poppy who wants to be a star…

“Follow your dreams!” said Poppy’s mother, who loved her no matter what. “You go girl,” said Poppy’s grandparents, who were her biggest fans. “Dream big, pig!” said Poppy’s best friend, Emma, who was always there for her.

With the support of her family and friends, Poppy tries dancing, singing, and modeling before finally realizing that figure skating is where she shines the most. In the book’s sequel, It’s a BigWorld, Little Pig, Poppy gets to travel to Paris to compete in the World Games, where she meets new friends from around the world and continues to chase her figure skating dreams.

As someone who has chased his own dreams, Parker has some important advice for others like Poppy, whether they are pursuing figure skating or dance. “Be confident yet humble, work hard, realize you will experience ups and downs in your personal journey, listen to your coaches and teachers, and push yourself to be the best you can be,” he says. “Always come back to why you do what you do…because you love it! That passion will drive all and will help you get through anything. Last but not least, don’t forget to dream big!”

The next stops on the Skate Dance Dream tour are Mentor, Ohio, on April 12, 2014; Charleston, South Carolina, on July 19, 2014; and Dayton, Ohio, on September 6, 2014. For ticket information, to learn more about the show, or to sign youth up for auditions, visit www.skatedancedream.com. And keep dreaming big!

Read & Romp Roundup: January 2014

Here's the January Read & Romp Roundup for your weekend reading…especially those of you who are stuck inside because of the rain or snow. There are some real goodies in this roundup, so enjoy!

At OMazing Kids, Angela shares two new additions to her collection of snow-themed picture books. Ladybug Girl and the Big Snow is the newest book in the popular Ladybug Girl series by David Soman and Jacky Davis. And One-Dog Sleigh, by Mary Casanova and Ard Hoyt, is a fun rhyming book about a whole bunch of animals squeezing into a single sleigh. Read Angela's post for her ideas on which yoga poses go best with the books!

To keep with the winter theme, Yoga & Creative Movement with Elly provides some yoga-inspired winter activities to keep your little ones busy if they are cooped up inside. Her post includes a short poem about a melting snowman, which would be great inspiration for some creative movement!

Reshama at Stacking Books posted about the new picture book Penguin Cha-Cha by author and illustrator Kristi Valiant. The book's main character, Julia, is sure she saw the penguins at the zoo dancing, but they just don't seem to want to do it again…at least not while anyone is watching. Read Reshama's post to hear more about how Julia tries to get the penguins to dance and to see some gorgeous illustrations from the book!

I'm so happy that Marta from A Bilingual Baby joined us again, this time with a post -- in both English and Spanish -- about a unique picture book version of The Nutcracker. Published by Usborne Children's Books with illustrations by Anna Luraschi, this book is recommended for preschool-age children, who will especially love pressing the buttons on the right-hand side of the book to hear different Nutcracker tunes by Tchaikovsky!

Dance educator Maria Hanley wrote two blog posts related to picture books and creative movement in January. Her contribution to the Book to Boogie series for the Library as Incubator Project discusses how to incorporate movement into story time with the classic picture book The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. On her own blog, Maria's Movers, Maria shares movement ideas to go with the rhyming picture book Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows and Kurt Cyrus.

And last but not least, Renee at Mother Daughter Book Reviews is signing bloggers up for a blog tour in March 2014 for the new picture book Good Night, Animal World. The book is the newest in a series of Kids Yoga Stories written by yoga instructor Giselle Shardlow with illustrations by Emily Gedzyk. Sign up for the tour if you want to join the fun!

Are You Ready to Hibernate?

Read It. Move It. Share It. 
I'm so happy that dance educator Maria Hanley from Maria's Movers and I are renewing our collaboration in 2014. I'm not yet sure how often we'll be posting together, but when we do, we'll be sharing our experiences with picture books I recommend for Maria to use in her creative movement classes in New York. Our January book is Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows and Kurt Cyrus!

With so many parts of the country being pounded by snow and surrounded by cold this winter, hibernation is starting to sound like a really good idea! Hibernation Station, written by Michelle Meadows with illustrations by Kurt Cyrus, provides plenty of opportunities for little ones to explore the concept of hibernation and pretend to be animals gathering food and preparing for their own winter's naps.

I actually haven't read too many picture books about hibernation, but this one has a twist that I can't imagine has been done before. Instead of searching for places to hibernate outside, the animals in this book -- already dressed in their finest cold-weather pajamas -- all board a special "hibernation" train that will carry them through the forest during the winter months…

Fuzzy slippers, warm pajamas.

Forest babies and their mamas…

show up early to the station!

Time for winter hibernation.

According to the illustrations, but not mentioned in the text, each car of the train is made out of a log that is full of compartments for different types of animals -- squirrels, frogs, raccoons, skunks, and more. But before the animals get comfortable in their new winter homes, there are a few problems they must overcome...

"I cannot sleep!" a black bear roars.

"My roommate rolls around and snores!"

A groundhog cries, "This hole's too tight."

"It's dark in here. I need more light."

As the train rolls through the forest, the illustrations show the season changing from fall to winter. By the end of the book, the snow is really coming down! And, as you might have guessed, the animals do solve their problems and finally get some shut-eye.

In a nutshell, if you make a book full of perfect rhymes, cute furry animals in pajamas, and a train -- like this one -- then it's bound to put smiles on the faces of little ones. Let's see what Maria came up with in the dance studio to make those smiles even bigger! You can read her ideas here.