Ten Ways to Hear Snow & Daniel Finds a Poem

Listen… what do you hear? Today’s stories are all about listening deeply and experiencing the familiar in a totally new way.

This episode is our season finale! We’ve so enjoyed reading with you. Be sure to follow Julie’s Library on , , and for more reading recommendations — and to hear what’s next.

Get Ten Ways to Hear Snow: | |

Julie's Library: Ten Ways to Hear Snow — “Ten Ways to Hear Snow” written by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Kenard Pak. Copyright © 2020. Used with permission of Kokila, Penguin Random House. All rights reserved.

Get Daniel Finds a Poem: | |

Julie's Library: Daniel Finds A Poem — "Daniel Finds a Poem” written and illustrated by Micha Archer. Copyright © 2016. Used with permission of Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Random House. All rights reserved.

PICTURE THIS: MORE FROM THE ILLUSTRATOR

Micha Archer illustration from "Daniel Finds a Poem." — Micha Archer

If you’ve ever done collage, you’re going to love hearing about Micha Archer’s approach to illustration!

“First, I create my dummy [book] in pencil to get an idea of how many pages it will have. As a collage artist I want each piece of paper I glue down to be unique, so next, I create piles and piles of papers to work with. I layer tissue paper, and I cover the paper with prints created with homemade stamps. Then, I spread paint thinly across colored papers with a credit card. I used origami and marbled papers, and I paint the faces in oils because somehow, I can never get collage to be sensitive enough for facial expressions.” Micha Archer, author and illustrator of Daniel Finds a Poem

THE BACKSTORY

If we’ve learned anything from chatting with our authors this season, it’s that stories come from a personal place. Here’s what motivated today’s writers:

“I grew up in Wisconsin, and as both a child and an adult, I loved waking up to the surprise of how a big snow transformed my world, and how it both muffled and amplified sounds. I also have fond memories of making Lebanese food with my family and Arab friends, and I love how making food from a shared culture and heritage is a universal human bonding experience for adults and kids.” Cathy Camper, author of Ten Ways to Hear Snow

“When my son was little we used to call him ‘the anthropologist’ because at every gathering we had he’d go around to each person and ask them the same question to see what their different answers would be. This inspired Daniel’s character, the curious little boy who wonders about his world and decides to find out. Daniel Finds a Poem celebrates the natural scientists in children, and is an invitation for the reader to create poetry themselves from what they see around them every day.” Micha Archer, author and illustrator of Daniel Finds a Poem

THIS WEEK’S ACTIVITY: WHAT IS POETRY TO YOU?

The little boy in Daniel Finds a Poem asks all of his animal friends what they think poetry is. For Spider, poetry is “when morning dew glistens” and for Frog, it’s “a cool pool to dive into.” What is poetry to you?

Write down your answer and send it to us! Your words will help us expand our own understanding of all poetry is and can be. We can’t wait to read what you write.