My latest project – a book of ecology poems for children — is live! Maybe I should say alive. And I hope young readers indeed feel alive after they read them. The main poem is one my son once said could be a stand-alone picture book and which invites young readers to imagine being a variety of large animals, one of which is a whale. I have written it in a way that invites some play acting. But then the narrator wonders what it will be like to be small and the poem pivots to portraying a complete food chain with plants, arguably (some might say microbes) as our planet’s superheroes. Each poem explains some of the concepts in ecology that are typically taught in fourth grade making this just the kind of book I would have used in the classroom to introduce the concepts, and to invite students to write poetry about food chains and food webs, communities, and habitats. There is illustrated back matter for each poem, which I enjoyed creating as much as the poems.
With every book I have made mistakes. It is a learning process and in general, while I sometimes squirm when I think of my mistakes, I would rather the books exist than be forgotten in a drawer because I was afraid they were not perfect. So, what is my mistake this time? I did a brief search for comp titles years ago when I first drafted this manuscript in 2016. But I never thought about doing it since. Turns out there have been several books released with the same title. Egads! However, they are not truly comp titles, or at least my book is different because it is about much more than whales. Two of the books take the concept of imagining you are an animal and use it throughout the whole book, much like my son suggested was doable, however my book appears to be realistic and scientific compared to those. I hope these books find their place in the world just as I hope mine does too.
So, next is that annoying part of promotion where I ask for support. As readers of this blog, you already do that, and I thank you. But if you are curious about the book, or feel it might be just right for a young reader or teacher you know, I hope you will consider buying a copy or sharing this blog post or asking your library to carry it. If you are local it will be available at Downtown Books as soon as I can get an order in. It is already available on Amazon.
I am working with Paige at Downtown Books on getting a book signing event planned soon. Also, I plan to be at Ecco Adesso Vineyards on June 10 for their first ever art show selling my books and a set of notecards I painted. If you have never been, the setting is beautiful.
Thank you for being on this journey with me.
Lisa Connors 