Betsy Franco's Poetry for Younger Readers

One summer night by a small pond, mayflies dart, beetles dive, frogs spring, skunks shuffle, and owls swoop.

As a young girl watches, the circle of life unfolds. The rhythmic, cumulative story and rich, luminous paintings capture the bold beauty of nature. Take a short journey into one backyard and experience all the wonder of the living, breathing world around us.

Come explore the hidden shapes and patterns in nature. The peacock's flashy tail is a masterpiece of color and shape. A buzzing beehive is built of tiny hexagons. Even a snake's skin is patterned with diamonds.

Poet Betsy Franco and Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins bring geometry to life in this lively, lyrical look at the shapes and patterns that can be found in the most unexpected places.

The sky is quiet.

The yard is quiet.

The creek is quietly gurgling.

Then...tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat! A red-capped woodpecker starts his rap for the day. Next comes nine soft coos from the mourning doves, followed by the chipping of a flurry of sparrows. And on go the birdsongs throughout the day.

Celebrate neighborhood birds in this poetic picture book, and count their sounds backward from ten to one, until all is quiet in the yard again.

It takes just a poem a day to count down to the 100th day of school!

Keep count with numbers.

Keep count with stars.

Keep count with beans

in a big glass jar.

Keep a long tally

and keep count with pins.

Keep track of how many

days there've been.

Keep count by ones.

Keep count by tens.

Keep count each day

and wait, wait, wait.

In February --

celebrate!