Tag: Lee Bennett Hopkins

Lee Bennett Hopkins: Poet, Anthologist, and Mentor

“There is something about this manuscript that cries out for publication. It may take you a while to ‘get there’ but you must.”

Noted poet and anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins saw something in me and in my firehouse poems that was worth nurturing and encouragement. He read my work at the SCBWI Conference in LA in 2007, gave me notes like that above, and cheered me on. I’ll be forever grateful for that mentoring at an early stage of my career.

Photo by Sonya Sones

Little did I dream that “it may take you a while to get there” would be twenty years! But that’s when my firehouse-themed poetry collection, TRUCKS, BOOTS, AND BELLS, illustrated by Aaron Marin, will be published by Holiday House Books for Young Readers (fall 2026).

Today, on his birthday, I remember Lee Bennett Hopkins with gratitude and appreciation. How perfect for National Poetry Month.

 

Poetry Friday- School People

The pandemic has shifted so much of life off of its axis, and schools are no exception. All of the typical conventions of school life have shifted, and as a former preschool, kindergarten, and special needs teacher, I think about the loss of relationships that the changes in schooling have brought. Those relationships serve as an anchor for so many children. 

School People (WordSong, 2018)

The poetry anthology SCHOOL PEOPLE by Lee Bennett Hopkins captures those connections between children and caring adults who serve all sorts of roles- crossing guard, librarian, custodian, bus driver, teacher, cafeteria worker, school nurse. 

“Bus Driver” by Matt Forrest Esenwine

The poems in this collection can serve as a reminder of all of those special people, who are working now, who are waiting to greet our children when they return to classrooms, who are doing their best in trying times.

“Nurse” by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

I love being a part of Poetry Friday, a weekly celebration of children’s poetry. Author Buffy Silverman is hosting the Roundup of Poetry Friday posts today at her blog.