Percy's Poetry Corner

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

         to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by 

                        Two Writing Teachers.

I know you think you've stumbled onto Poetry Friday instead of Slice of Life, but I highjacked Mrs. B's blog so I could share MY SLICE OF LIFE and leave a teaser for Friday's post.  Mrs. B. wanted a penguin, or a parrot, or a platypus, or a peacock (get the picture... she's definitely delighted with alliteration) to be a poetic pal in the Poetry Box.  I'm glad that Mallory, Mrs. B's friend, found me at Woodland Park Zoo on Saturday before any of those other animals got the chance to be chosen. After two texts and a picture (Mrs. B can be really picky), the deal was sealed, and Mallory bought me. I joined Mallory, Jared, Lenna, Kilee, and Imory for an afternoon of errands before arriving on Mercer Island where Lenna proudly delivered me to Mrs. B.

That's me, perched on the edge of the computer
where I penned this post!

Enough about Mallory, her family, and Mrs. B.  Let me tell you a bit about myself and how I found poetry.  I'm Percy, a Humboldt penguin from Chile.  I was part of a group of penguins who volunteered for an adventure of a lifetime at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.  Shortly after my arrival at the zoo, I discovered poetry!  A child left behind the book, A Suitcase of Seaweed by Janet Wong.  One of our favorite bedtime routines after a busy day of interacting with visitors is storytime.  Everyone snuggles in for a listen, and we're transported to anywhere the author decides to take us.  It didn't take us long to notice the words in this book had a wonderful rhythm, reminded us of our home off the coast of Chile, and were perfect for settling down after a busy day and sleepily sailing away into our dreams.

When I arrived at Mrs. B's house, she introduced me to my new home, the Poetry Box. Wow!  There's nothing better for a poetry-loving penguin like me than to live in a box with a plethora of poems written by published poets and children from all over the United States.  I begged Mrs. B to show me my upcoming travel itinerary.  In November I'll travel to Utah, and then I'm off to Massachusetts for the month of December.  I'll be in Michigan during January, and finally, I'll return to Ohio and Kevin Cordi in February where the box began its journey with Julie Johnson's students in February 2014.

Kevin Cordi and J. Patick Lewis dreamed up the idea of the Poetry Box, a box of unfinished poems that travels around the country.  At each destination, the folders are unpacked, the unfinished poems are read, and students draw on their imaginations to complete the poems.  Completed poems are added to the box before it travels to the next destination.  Hey, if you've got to travel in a box, what's better than being in a box piled with pictures of children and poets, and pillowing your head on the poems they've created?

Be sure to stop by on Poetry Friday for the most stupendous and significant event in my life so far. I'm so excited that my feet are barely touching the ground.  Just in case you didn't notice, look back at my picture.

See you Friday!           ~ Percy