Thanks to B.J. Lee for sending Mortimer my way after he visited the Blue Window. Here’s how to hop “Mortimer Minute” style!
- Answer 3 questions. Pick one question from the previous Hopper. Add two of your own. Keep it short, please! This is a Blog Hop, not a Blog Long Jump. This is the Mortimer Minute – not the Mortimer Millennium!
- Invite friends. Invite 1-3 bloggers who love children’s poetry to follow you. They can be writers, teachers, librarians, or just plain old poetry lovers.
- Say thank you. In your own post, link to The Previous Hopper, then keep the Mortimer Minute going – let us know who your Hoppers are and when they plan to post their own Mortimer Minute.
Mortimer and I have had a lovely chat. I tried to steer the conversation, but Mortimer is a bunny-in-charge.
Welcome, Mortimer! You aren’t responsible for the shredded lettuce I passed on my walk today, are you?
Mortimer: Ahem. I will ask the questions! And here’s my first one: Is there a children’s poem that you wish you had written?
I love word-play, Mortimer. I especially admire poems with fun word-play like Douglas Florian’s poem, “The Ticks:”
Not gigan-tic.
Not roman-tic.
Not artis-tic.
Not majes-tic.
Not magne-tic.
Nor aesthe-tic.
Ticks are strictly parasi-tic.
–Douglas Florian, “The Ticks” from Insectopedia, all rights reserved.
Isn’t that fantas-tic, Mortimer?
Mortimer: Ticks! Fantastic!? Keep those blood-suckers away! Here’s my next question: Don’t you have any itch-free poems that you admire?
Well yes, Mortimer, I’m partial to non-itchy poems too. One of my goals when I write is to capture a sense of wonder about nature. And that’s what “Polliwogs” by Kristine O’Connell George does:
Come see
Mortimer: I do love critters that huddle and snuggle. But how can you huddle and snuggle with slippery tadpoles! Perhaps you should write about cute, furry animals if you want to inspire a sense of wonder….you know, poems about bunnies! And that leads to my final question: Are there any word-playful, wonderous poems about bunnies that inspire you?
A rabbit
bit
A little bit
An itty-bitty
Little bit of beet.
Then bit
By bit
He bit
Because he liked the taste of it.
–Mary Ann Hoberman, “Rabbit” from The Llama Who Had No Pajama, all rights reserved.
Mortimer: Well that’s more like it! And who have you invited to hop next Friday?
I’m pleased to tag my pal Debbie Diesen. Debbie is the author of the Pout-Pout Fish, a NY Times best-selling rhyming picture book, and an ever-growing list of Pout-Pout sequels. Picture Day Perfection, her latest gem, is full of picture day mayhem.
Debbie is an incredibly generous author, sharing the spotlight with other authors through the Michigander-Monday feature on her blog. And rumor has it that she likes bunnies!
Wiggle your whiskers and visit Laura Purdie Salas for today’s Poetry Friday Roundup.
What a fun encounter with Mortimer!! Loved your poetry picks…nice poe-tics….so to speak.
Thanks for checking out my Mortimer Minute.
I enjoyed all of your poem picks, Buffy, but especially Douglas Florian’s The Ticks. His collections are some of my favorite! As long as we’re wishing, I wish I had written his entire UnBEElievables collection!
Buffy, I loved your Mortimer Minute!! What fun. I look forward to talking with Mortimer on Friday.
Thanks for showing Mortimer that there is a poem (or 2 or 3) for everyone! I met Debbie’s illustrator Dan when I lived in California — a fun guy and a terrific artist. I’m glad they’ve gotten to continue to create Pout-Pout Fish adventures. Great post, Buffy!
I might pick a Douglas Florian poem as a “wish I wrote it,” too! His word play is amazing!
It is terrific, isn’t it Mary Lee?
I love Mary Ann Hoberman’s bit by bit, that furry bunny poem for Mortimer, Buffy. And I will check out your tagee (is that right?) Debbie Diesen because I love those Pout Pout fish books-glad to see another coming out. My granddaughters love them too! Fun Minute today!
Isn’t that bit by bit fun? I tried (hopefully succeeded) to reproduce her line arrangements, which look a bit like a post-Mortimer lettuce patch.
Love these Mortimer Minutes and your Mortimer has a lot of personality! Well done.
Thanks Violet–glad you stopped by.
Great poem picks, Buffy! For a creature without lips, Mortimer sure was giving you some. Thankfully, you handled that situation particularly well.
Ha! That lipless bunny has been giving lip all over the blogosphere.
Great choices to share–every one of them. And (hanging head in shame) everyone else’s Mortimer Minutes are so much more inventive than mine was. Oi. I feel like a party-pooper. Maybe this is the real reason I don’t usually do memes and blog hops!
Stand tall, Laura! I laughed at your x’d-out confessions that you typed out loud! Glad you enjoyed these poems.
I love the polliwogs poem. Those little commas are so sweet. What a great combination of sound words and images.
I agree, Laura–love those chubby, plump, stubby, huddled, snuggled tadpoles!
Way to take charge, Buffy! Mortimer can be pushy but you were totally in command here. LOVED reading your favorite poems!!
He is a bold bunny, isn’t he? Glad you enjoyed the poems, Janet.
One of my favorite Mortimer posts yet. His holy hoppiness is quite cheeky but cute. Fun post with great poems, Buffy. M. has lettuce breath. 🙂
Lettuce breath indeed. You have found his hoppiness out.
I feel so ecsta-tic! Thanx, Buffy
Douglas Florian
And I am tick-led pink to have you stop by at my blog!!
Hate that pesky rabbit, love the poems you shared. We’ll done.
Poor Mortimer..his rabbity feelings are in shambles. But glad you enjoyed the poems!
Oh, that Mortimer may be nosy, but he sure got you to spill the beans on some great poems! Douglas Florian – what can one say? Playful, whimsical, lovely.
Loved your hop, Buffy. And I’m so glad you tagged Debbie. She wrote one of my “wish-I’d-written-it” poems, “The Daffodil Dance,” which she recorded for No Water River a while back. Quirky and imaginative!
Whimsy is the word–and oh how I admire it!
This is a very fun post. I love these poems too.
I’m hoppy you enjoyed the post and poems, Liz!
Fun poems, Buffy! I especially liked the Ticks and the chubby commas…thanks for sharing!
Aren’t those chubby commas magnificent?! Thanks for dropping by, Matt.
Very nice, Buffy! I like how you turned the tables on Mortimer. He has been so nosey. It’s time he was asked a question or two. I love wordplay too and I loved all your wordplay poems!
What a great idea for a blog hop. I loved the poems you shared.
Thanks for stopping by, Ann–glad you enjoyed the poems.
I tried to keep that nosey rabbit in his place, but I think his head is swollen (not to mention his ears!) from all the attention on the blogosphere. Thanks again for tagging me, B.J.