The Mortimer Minute–Hoppy Friday!

Picture

Hoppy Friday!  I’m happy to host Mortimer at my blog this week. 

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.

small-bunny

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
What I found!
Chubby commas,
Mouths round,
Plump babies,
Stubby as toes.
Polliwogs!
Tadpoles!

Come see
What I found!
Frogs-in-waiting–
Huddled in puddles,
Snuggled in mud. 
 –Kristine O’Connell George, “Polliwogs” from The Great Frog Race, all rights reserved.
 
Don’t you love those chubby commas, Mortimer?

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?

I know just the poem, Mortimer.  I think you’ll enjoy “Rabbit,” by Mary Ann Hoberman.

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.

Hop over here and scroll to page 18 to read the rest.


Mortimer:
 Well that’s more like it!  And who have you invited to hop next Friday?P13

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.

A new pout-pout arrives next summer!
A new pout-pout arrives next summer!

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.

34 thoughts on “The Mortimer Minute–Hoppy Friday!

  1. 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!

  2. 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!

  3. 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!

  4. Way to take charge, Buffy! Mortimer can be pushy but you were totally in command here. LOVED reading your favorite poems!!

  5. 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. 🙂

  6. 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!

  7. 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!

    1. 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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.