Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week Christie is our host HERE at Wandering and Wondering. Thank you for hosting, Christie!
To start off, a shout out to Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. This afternoon I attended their workshop on poetry anthologies, entitled Anthologies 101. It was inspiring and informative. It was also everything anyone needs to know on how to find submission opportunities, how to begin indie or self publishing, and advice on how to get your poems into the hands of a publisher. Though the workshop was just a beginning and there is much to know, I have a clearer idea how to move forward and I hope get more poems into books.
When I sat down today to decide what to share this week, I pulled from my stack of picture books, I AM FARMER, a 2019 book written by Baptiste and Miranda Paul and gorgeously illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon.
Why this book? First of all, it’s August and I have been getting deliveries of home grown produce from my neighbor. I love carrots, beets and onions that are still covered in soil because they were picked that morning.
In addition to receiving such bounty, this week I listened to Melissa Stewart’s excellent workshop on picture book biographies. She discussed how to choose a topic. This is crucial if you want to publish a picture book biography.
I AM FARMER is an appealing topic to a publisher because, although it’s about an obscure living person, a man named Tantoh Nforba from Cameroon, his life and work is acutely relevant today to people everywhere, including the U.S.. One theme is about respecting the land and protecting water because our lives depend on it. The book also tells a story about a diverse people and a diverse culture not widely known by most people who live in the U.S..
Miranda and Baptiste Paul are both poets and the lyrical writing shows that. The Book begins with a poem:
THIS IS NORTHWESTERN CAMEROON
Green
Wet
Alive
The rainy season has begun.
Check out the colors in Zunon’s illustrations.
We meet Tantoh as a boy who is smart and inquisitive. He will face many obstacles in his life.
At school, he wants to know everything there is to know about farming, though this will not earn him respect. Only the poor are farmers. They call him “Farmer” which is considered disrespectful, but not to him. He persists in his interest. I love this spread which shows his determination.
The page begins: “Tantoh wants to learn more. He wants to learn everything.
And though his intelligence and talent as a farmer are finally recognized, his struggle is to over. His personal encounter with drinking bad water and subsequent illness, shows him the importance of water conservation in his community.
The book begins with ends a short poem, and ends with another, but I won’t spoil it by posting it. I hope this book finds its way into classrooms everywhere to inspire kids to follow their dreams.