Books with author Michelle Heidenrich Barnes

Today’s Little Ditty is more than a children’s poetry blog, it’s a poetry playground. Each month, a lively community of writers, teachers, librarians, and poetry-appreciators gathers to take part in the Ditty of the Month Club (DMC). Writing to prompts by successful authors and editors, they participate for the camaraderie, and for the joy and craft of writing poetry.In The Best of Today’s Little Ditty: 2017-2018, twelve “ditty” challenges by contemporary children’s authors, including Naomi Shihab Nye, Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, J. Patrick Lewis, Helen Frost, Julie Fogliano, and others, have inspired these 96 poems, deemed “best” by their peers. They range from lighthearted to thought-provoking and appeal to a wide audience, from children to adults. Join the fun at michellehbarnes.blogspot.com. What people are saying about Today’s Little Ditty and the Ditty of the Month Club:Today’s Little Ditty—such a humble name for what has become a powerful force in children’s poetry, offering poets a place to work and play together, stretching our muscles and perfecting our craft. This book is a gift to the children’s poetry community. – Helen Frost, celebrated author of novels-in-poems and picture books for childrenAlmost four decades ago, Dear One Lee Bennett Hopkins asked: "Do you know what day tomorrow is?" Michelle Heidenrich Barnes answers in reply: “It can be a day for writing, inspired and informed by invitations offered and modeled by mentor poets.” As a secondary English teacher, I look forward to reading Today's Little Ditty online, and the anthologies that are created from these become an almanac for the room. I know the work within has been created by poets who write and this work is curated by one with a poet's heart. – Paul W. Hankins, Silver Creek High School

Today’s Little Ditty is more than a children’s poetry blog, it’s a poetry playground. Each month, a lively community of writers, teachers, librarians, and poetry-appreciators gathers to take part in the Ditty of the Month Club (DMC). Writing to prompts by successful authors and editors, they participate for the camaraderie, and for the joy and craft of writing poetry.In The Best of Today’s Little Ditty, 2014-2015, thirteen “ditty” challenges by contemporary children’s authors, including Nikki Grimes, Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis, Joyce Sidman, Margarita Engle, Kwame Alexander, and others, have inspired these 75 poems, deemed “best” by their peers. They range from lighthearted to thought-provoking and appeal to a wide audience, from children to adults. Join the fun at michellehbarnes.blogspot.com. What people are saying about Today’s Little Ditty and the Ditty of the Month Club:“ ‘Poetry is prose, bent out of shape,’ I like to say, and for proof, you need only connect with Michelle Heidenrich Barnes’s Ditty of the Month Club, where children’s poets are busy flexing their poetic muscles through the use of various verse forms. They are not showing off; they’re practicing. And they invite you to do the same.”— J. Patrick Lewis, former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate (2011-2013) and recipient of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children“The Ditty of the Month Club . . . gives my students a way to participate and be celebrated as practicing poets.” — Margaret G. Simon, teacher of gifted studies and recipient of the 2014 NCTE Donald H. Graves Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Writing“Today's Little Ditty is an amazing resource in the blogging community of poetry for young people with more than 500 posts that invite us to learn, try, pause, write, celebrate, read, think, and revel in poetry and all it has to offer us in our uber-busy lives.”— Dr. Sylvia Vardell, professor of children’s literature at Texas Woman’s University and recipient of the 2014 Scholastic Library Publishing Award for her work in the field

Today’s Little Ditty is more than a children’s poetry blog, it’s a poetry playground. Each month, a lively community of writers, teachers, librarians, and poetry-appreciators gathers to take part in the Ditty of the Month Club (DMC). Writing to prompts by successful authors and editors, they participate for the camaraderie, and for the joy and craft of writing poetry.In The Best of Today’s Little Ditty: 2016, nine “ditty” challenges by contemporary children’s authors, including Jane Yolen, David L. Harrison, Marilyn Singer, Kenn Nesbitt, Douglas Florian, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and others, have inspired these 75 poems, deemed “best” by their peers. They range from lighthearted to thought-provoking and appeal to a wide audience, from children to adults. Join the fun at michellehbarnes.blogspot.com. What people are saying about Today’s Little Ditty and the Ditty of the Month Club:“Sometimes a poet needs a bit of smooth transition into another poem, sometimes a kick to the rear. Today’s Little Ditty supplies both. This goes for old poets as well as new!”— Jane Yolen, multi-award-winning author of more than 365 books“Writing with Michelle feels like I'm participating in a workshop. I've learned so much from keeping up with Today’s Little Ditty.”— Linda Mitchell, middle school teacher librarian“How to build your skills as a children's poet? Read anthologies! The Best of Today's Little Ditty is a great tutorial because each section contains several poems written from the same prompt. Maybe you'll find the best thing of all: that you write like no one other than yourself.”— Janet Wong, children's poet and co-creator of The Poetry Friday Anthology and Poetry Friday Power Book series

Today’s Little Ditty is more than a children’s poetry blog, it’s a poetry playground. Each month, a lively community of writers, teachers, librarians, and poetry-appreciators gathers to take part in the Ditty of the Month Club (DMC). Writing to prompts by successful authors and editors, they participate for the camaraderie, and for the joy and craft of writing poetry.In THE BEST OF TODAY'S LITTLE DITTY: 2016, nine “ditty” challenges by contemporary children’s authors, including Jane Yolen, David L. Harrison, Marilyn Singer, Kenn Nesbitt, Douglas Florian, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and others, have inspired these 75 poems, deemed “best” by their peers. They range from lighthearted to thought-provoking and appeal to a wide audience, from children to adults. Join the fun at michellehbarnes.blogspot.com. What people are saying about Today’s Little Ditty and the Ditty of the Month Club:“Sometimes a poet needs a bit of smooth transition into another poem, sometimes a kick to the rear. Today’s Little Ditty supplies both. This goes for old poets as well as new!”— Jane Yolen, multi-award-winning author of more than 365 books“Writing with Michelle feels like I'm participating in a workshop. I've learned so much from keeping up with Today’s Little Ditty.”— Linda Mitchell, middle school teacher librarian“How to build your skills as a children's poet? Read anthologies! THE BEST OF TODAY'S LITTLE DITTY is a great tutorial because each section contains several poems written from the same prompt. Maybe you'll find the best thing of all: that you write like no one other than yourself.”— Janet Wong, children's poet and co-creator of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY and POETRY FRIDAY POWER BOOK series

Today’s Little Ditty is more than a children’s poetry blog, it’s a poetry playground. Each month, a vibrant community of writers, teachers, librarians, and poetry-appreciators gathers to take part in the Ditty of the Month Club (DMC). Writing to prompts by successful authors and editors, they participate for the camaraderie, and for the joy and craft of writing poetry.In THE BEST OF TODAY'S LITTLE DITTY, 2014-2015, thirteen “ditty” challenges by contemporary children’s authors, including Nikki Grimes, Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis, Joyce Sidman, Margarita Engle, Kwame Alexander, and others, have inspired these 75 poems, deemed “best” by their peers. They range from lighthearted to thought-provoking and appeal to a wide audience, from children to adults. Join the fun at michellehbarnes.blogspot.com. What people are saying about Today’s Little Ditty and the Ditty of the Month Club:“ ‘Poetry is prose, bent out of shape,’ I like to say, and for proof, you need only connect with Michelle Heidenrich Barnes’s Ditty of the Month Club, where children’s poets are busy flexing their poetic muscles through the use of various verse forms. They are not showing off; they’re practicing. And they invite you to do the same.”— J. Patrick Lewis, former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate (2011-2013) and recipient of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children“The Ditty of the Month Club . . . gives my students a way to participate and be celebrated as practicing poets.”— Margaret G. Simon, teacher of gifted studies and recipient of the 2014 NCTE Donald H. Graves Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Writing"Today's Little Ditty is an amazing resource in the blogging community of poetry for young people with more than 500 posts that invite us to learn, try, pause, write, celebrate, read, think, and revel in poetry and all it has to offer us in our uber-busy lives.”— Dr. Sylvia Vardell, professor of children’s literature at Texas Woman’s University and recipient of the 2014 Scholastic Library Publishing Award for her work in the field

Today’s Little Ditty is more than a children’s poetry blog, it’s a poetry playground. Each month, a lively community of writers, teachers, librarians, and poetry-appreciators gathers to take part in the Ditty of the Month Club (DMC). Writing to prompts by successful authors and editors, they participate for the camaraderie, and for the joy and craft of writing poetry.In The Best of Today’s Little Ditty: 2017-2018, twelve “ditty” challenges by contemporary children’s authors, including Naomi Shihab Nye, Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, J. Patrick Lewis, Helen Frost, Julie Fogliano, and others, have inspired these 96 poems, deemed “best” by their peers. They range from lighthearted to thought-provoking and appeal to a wide audience, from children to adults. Join the fun at michellehbarnes.blogspot.com. What people are saying about Today’s Little Ditty and the Ditty of the Month Club:Today’s Little Ditty—such a humble name for what has become a powerful force in children’s poetry, offering poets a place to work and play together, stretching our muscles and perfecting our craft. This book is a gift to the children’s poetry community. – Helen Frost, celebrated author of novels-in-poems and picture books for childrenAlmost four decades ago, Dear One Lee Bennett Hopkins asked: "Do you know what day tomorrow is?" Michelle Heidenrich Barnes answers in reply: “It can be a day for writing, inspired and informed by invitations offered and modeled by mentor poets.” As a secondary English teacher, I look forward to reading Today's Little Ditty online, and the anthologies that are created from these become an almanac for the room. I know the work within has been created by poets who write and this work is curated by one with a poet's heart. – Paul W. Hankins, Silver Creek High School