It's a big day for tractors, my friends.
I'm sharing a tractor poem AND the cover of a new tractor board book!
The book is titled Tractor Dance (Susan Schadt Press, 2024), and it's a little book that has gone through an awful lot just to get here. I'll tell you how it came to be - and then almost didn't come to be - and then received a new lease on life!
But first, a short little poem I wrote recently while watching a local farmer haying the field across the road from us:
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First Cut
A real workhorse, the farmer called it,
his '45 Farmall H gleaming red, sun
setting behind the treeline that framed
a gray, weathered barn, shingles slipping
silently without notice. Four hundred
fresh bales settled inside the loft.
It was hot for May.
From a dusty stall deep within,
the farmer's Belgian whinnied.
- © 2024, Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved
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Now then...a COVER REVEAL!
This little board book has been a long time coming.
Way back in Jan. 2019, I wrote a board book titled Tractor Dance for Rainstorm Publishing, the folks who published my first board book, Elliot the Heart-Shaped Frog. It was about a group of anthropomorphic farm equipment that decides to have a barn dance after the farmer goes to bed.
Artwork was done, .pdf was finalized, everything was ready to go - and then Covid hit and the publisher's parent company decided not to publish it!
Rather than give up, I arranged a deal with my publisher to receive rights not only to my story but to the entire project. Would I self-publish? I wasn't sure I wanted to go that route, so I debated the pros and cons.
Enter Susan Schadt Press, an artisan publishing house which operates on a hybrid model but is very particular about the quality of books they work on. Take a look at titles like Aileen Bennett's A Little Book about Fire or Emily Morrison's Lila Duray and you'll see books that are as good as anything the big publishers are putting out.
So here it is - my book, Susan Shadt Press' book, illustrator Jen Taylor's book, Tractor Dance!
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I can't wait for you to see more of it - and you will, as we get closer to the publication date of Oct. 8, 2024!
For today's Poetry Friday roundup, head on over to Salt City Verse, where Janice Scully is hosting the festivities with a celebration of a new poetry book, Picture Perfect Poetry: An Anthology of Ekphrastic Nature Poetry for Students by Carol Labuzzetta!
~~ I am booking author visits
for the 2024-2025 school year! ~~
Not having raised my rates EVER, I regret to say I will need to increase my rates slightly this coming school year; if you think your school might be interested in having me visit, plese contact me before the end of THIS school year and I will lock in my current rate for you! (You don't need to book me or sign a contract; simply let me know you'd like to lock in the current rate, and that's it!)
Check out all the presentations I offer, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students' ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I'll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Student presentations include:
- The Making of a Picture Book
- How a Child Saved a Book
- "Once Upon Another Time"
- The Most Important Thing about Writing Poetry
- "I Am Today"
- "A Beginner's Guide to Being Human"
- "Everybody Counts: Counting to 10 in Twelve Languages"
Adult presentations include:
- The Making of a Picture Book
- The Most Important Thing about Writing Poetry
- Free Yourself with Free Verse
- Tight Language, Loose Narratives: Crafting a Non-Traditional Picture Book
- The Journey of a Children's Author
Learn more at MattForrest.com!
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I'm now on BOOKSHOP!
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I'm also very happy to be part of the BOOKROO family!
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Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don't Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I've been part of!
Click here to view all my books and to order!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They'll contact me, I'll stop by and sign it, and then they'll ship it! (Plus, you'll be supporting your local bookseller – and won't that make you feel good?)
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Thank you to everyone for your support!
FLASHLIGHT NIGHT:
DON'T ASK A DINOSAUR:
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