Welcome, Poetry Month! Welcome, Hope Anita Smith!

April is finally here! Bring on the Poetry!! Here at A Year of Reading, we will be spotlighting a book of poetry every day this month -- some new books, but lots of old favorites.

But before we get started with that, we need to welcome OHIO POET Hope Anita Smith to the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residency position! We look forward to meeting you this summer!

Here's some background information from the Thurber House website:

Originally from Akron, Hope Anita Smith is a storyteller, teacher, artist as well as an award-winning poet. Her first book of poetry, The Way A Door Closes, won several awards including The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award and was chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year by School Library Journal 2004. The sequel, Keeping the Night Watch, was released last spring.

On top of all of her poetry and artwork, Smith is a wonderful teacher and presenter. With her company, INKED WELL WORDS, she has taught writing "wordshops" to writers of every age. She encourages her students to find their 'voice' using paint chips, random words, found objects, magazine pictures.

Hope Anita Smith's newest book, Mother Poems, just hit the shelves. In this book, a young girl deals with the death of her mother.

Welcome Alan Silberberg!

Dear Alan,

I know you already got a letter from Lisa Yee, so we won't be the FIRST to welcome you to the Thurber House and Columbus, and hopefully we won't be the last -- there are lots of friendly people here who would love to go to breakfast (or lunch or dinner) at The Northstar Cafe, eat ice cream at Jeni's, kick around North Market, or browse the shelves at Cover to Cover.

Let us know when you get here and get settled in! We can't wait to meet you!

Mary Lee and Franki

Hooray for Lisa Yee!

She's been named the 2007 Thurber House Children's Writer in Residence!

We're already planning our tour of Columbus for Lisa. First stop will be The North Market.

At The North Market, we will be sure she samples Jeni's Ice Cream:
"25+ flavors of gourmet, artisanal ice creams. Traditional, signature and seasonal varieties available by the scoop and pint.

Experience ice cream taken to a new level. Fresh, handmade ice cream, sorbet and gelato are all created with the finest and freshest ingredients. The menu of flavors changes frequently. On a given day, you might see Dark Cocoa Gelato, Wild Berry Lavender, Toasted Hazelnut and Salty Caramel."

Pam's Market Popcorn is also a must.












Next stop, Cover to Cover Children's Bookstore.

Later, we'll stop at the Main Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library






to see the original art by Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson.











You see, there's WAY more to Columbus, OH than the Buckeyes! And we've only scratched the surface!