Sunday, September 18, 2016

Lee Bennett Hopkins: Prince of Picture Book Poetry


by J.G. Annino
We here at Group Blog share a lot in common
with the creative and prolific children's author
& editor,
Lee Bennett Hopkins.
He LOVES great picture books.
Especially picture books that connect children to an
appreciation of nature, to their unique heritage,
and to kindness.

















And,
if you like picture books that openly celebrate poetry for young readers,
you are really in league with Lee. His mantra is "Poetry is a necessity."



More than 120 beautiful books for young readers
have his name on the cover! This is either via his work
as an editor/anthologist or, via his own writing.



COMING  IN 2017

His newest will arrive in 2017 from Lee & Low,
when Lee Bennett Hopkins collects together contributions
for older children from
Kwame Alexander,
Naomi Shihab Nye,
and Margarita Engle,
among others. Illustrated by 16 incredible artists it is called,
I REMEMBER: POEMS and PICTURES OF HERITAGE.
It sounds significant.

As much as fans like his topics, they like
this author's way of looking at the world through
a child's eyes.

At the beach he discovers:
"Ocean waves rush in
just in time
to give the shore-birds'
hot-burning legs
a cool, cool bath."
c. Lee Bennett Hopkins
"On an August Day" in
THE SEA IS CALLING ME


The award-winning poet tells icicles to
"Swell
and
grow,

put on
your
mighty
show

'cause
you
cannot
know
tomorrow's
tad
of sunshine prey

will
stalk

to take

your
breath
away.
c. Lee Bennett Hopkins
"Icicles" in SHARING THE SEASONS,
illustrated by David Diaz


BELOVED


Beloved people, but also coping with disappointment in childhood, 
are equal subjects of BEEN TO YESTERDAYS, his own story
of his years up to 13, shared in spare,
beautiful poems.
In it we see 
how a teacher stood up for Lee, helping validate that he would grow up 
to be a writer,
how much he loved his mother and his siblings,
and just how important, a butter dish might be.




I feel fortunate, to begin to know
Lee Bennett Hopkins a tiny tad better,
through some of his Beloveds. Since we both live in Florida
(far apart, he & his partner, South, me & my hubby, North) 
I started with a couple of topical topics.


LEE BENNETT HOPKINS Beloveds

sea shell
The shankha or conch, believed to be the
purest of sounds, which ushers in freshness
and new hope.

seafood
Salmon - Well done with Charles Egita's
homemade tartar sauce.

magic trick
Making people disappear (especially those I
don't want to be around!)

magician
David Copperfield

library
My own - with an estimated 18,000 volumes
including poetry and more poetry.

librarian
The late-Augusta Baker, for whom I wrote the poem
"Storyteller" in JUMPING OFF LIBRARY SHELVES (Boyds
Mills Press/Wordsong.) Augusta was the first African-
American to hold an important post in the New York
Public Library system. She was among my dearest
friends.



bookend (as in the hunky thing that holds the books on the shelf)
A pair of wooden pieces sculpted with etchings of sailing ships to remind
me of many years living on the Hudson River in Westchester, N.Y.

book end (as in the last line or lines of a book)
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do you will start missing
everybody. From THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.G. Salinger.

bookstore
Any, each, all of them

book
LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott

historical figure
Walt Whitman - a man - a poet - far ahead of his time
whose words explode hearts and minds.



historical marker/site
The Statue of Liberty standing for acceptance of all.



stars in the night sky
The cluster that forms Orion, the hunter.



star from the stage
Barbara Streisand, who brightens my life with song.

playground
The Boardwalk on Royal Caribbean's OASIS and ALLURE
ships where I love riding the carousel.

playwright
Tennessee Williams, for his streetcar, tattoo, menagerie
and more.

pen name
Tamara Kitt, pen name of children's author,
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, whose book MAY I BRING A FRIEND,
won the Caldecott for Beni Montressor. "Tammy" and "Mara" were
two of Beatrice's cat's names. We worked together for years at
Scholastic where she was the first editor of The Lucky Book Club.


pencil
Any one, with a #2 lead!

AWARDS with the LBH TOUCH

Published since 1969, Lee Bennett Hopkins' life work and individual
books are well-awarded, including this year, the bestowing of 
the Regina Medal, from The Catholic Library Association. 
While he is proud of his work & his books' honors, he is more eager to 
highlight awards that you may receive some day, which he helped create.









For two recent posts online about LBH, please see these children's book sites:




So, appreciations and applause to Lee Bennett Hopkins!
We look forward to many more books we can hoard,
books collected, edited, anthologized or written by you,
in pencil #2 lead and
via the keyboard.
(photo: SCBWI mid-year conference, Florida, Lee Bennett Hopkins 
and fan, Jan Annino.)



19 comments:

  1. YOU and LBH? Priceless. What a great overview of a poet's poet. TY, Jan.

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    1. "A poet's poet." Wish I had said that, Kathy! You have such a way with words.

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  2. What fun! Thanks, Jan for sharing Hopkins's poetry and your priceless interview.

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    1. Lee Bennett Hopkins is such a mirthful man, I'll glad his poetry joy trickled into this article, Sue.

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  3. Appreciations to both of you, Jan. Thank you for sharing this delightful interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins--The Pied Piper of Poetry. He has more published children's poetry collections than any American author.
    ~Suzy

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    1. Thank you for adding that, Suzy. I can tell you are a big LBH fan!

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  4. Nice write-up, Jan! I knew Lee's library was large, but 18,000 volumes– WOW! Wouldn't you love to camp out there for a good long time? Thanks for including a link to TLD, too. :)

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    Replies
    1. Hmm.
      Now that is a gre8t eye dear! Thank you, Michelle.

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  5. JAN: Thank you SO much for the time and effort you put into this blog. It is appreciated. Hugs...

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    Replies
    1. There is an ocean of onomatopeia, an avalanche of alliteration & a passel of poetry insights to learn from reading your books & listening to your lectures & attending your poetry workshops.

      sunshine reflected back at 'ya, LEE!

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  7. Thanks so much for highlighting the depth and classiness of this Children's Poetry Superhero. LBH POWER!

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    1. "Children's Poetry Superhero. LBH POWER!"

      Charles, I think you've just authored some classy buttons or bumper stickers!

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  8. Hello, you two dear people! I love knowing that Lee's favorite author is Tennessee Williams. I *almost* became a playwright because of him. Great post, Jan.

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    1. Hello dear Laura! I've also had some great theater moments watching T.W. plays. Maybe THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY will be adapted for the stage! I feel there are some play scripts in you.

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  9. Thank you, Jan and Lee, for a terrific interview. I was fortunate to meet and hear LBH at an SCBWI conference-pure treasure!

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    1. Hopefully, more of us will become that lucky, Charlotte. Appreciations to you.

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  10. What a wonderful spotlight on LBH, whose collections of poetry occupy a very long run of space on my bookshelves. The list of Beloveds was a delight, and I'm tickled that you and I share a fondness for Little Women, Lee. Thank you for all that you've done for children's poetry! (And thanks for the interview, Jan.)

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  11. Hi dear Patti, I'm have to confess I'm jelly of that wonderful bookshelf! I own only 5 at the moment, but that's because when they've flown out the door to family or schools as gifts, I didn't get spit-spot, crackerjack in line to replace them. I need to address that problem here at my shelves.
    Appreciations for your good words!

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