National Poetry Month 2015: Celebrating AUDACITY by Melanie Crowder

The third feature in my National Poetry Month 2015 celebration is the verse novel Audacity by Melanie Crowder. I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this striking novel and was very intrigued by the story and the way it is told. This book information is from Goodreads:

The inspiring story of Clara Lemlich, whose fight for equal rights led to the largest strike by women in American history

A gorgeously told novel in verse written with intimacy and power, Audacity is inspired by the real-life story of Clara Lemlich, a spirited young woman who emigrated from Russia to New York at the turn of the twentieth century and fought tenaciously for equal rights. Bucking the norms of both her traditional Jewish family and societal conventions, Clara refuses to accept substandard working conditions in the factories on Manhattan's Lower East Side. For years, Clara devotes herself to the labor fight, speaking up for those who suffer in silence. In time, Clara convinces the women in the factories to strike, organize, and unionize, culminating in the famous Uprising of the 20,000. Powerful, breathtaking, and inspiring, Audacity is the story of a remarkable young woman, whose passion and selfless devotion to her cause changed the world.

Published January 8th 2015 by Philomel Books.

Before reading Audacity I wasn't familiar with Clara Lemlich and I'm happy to know more about her life, her struggles, and her bravery in the face of adversity. I appreciate the way that Melanie took the historical facts and created a story, layering in foreshadowing, setting, character details, all within the constraints of a real person, a real peroid in history, and as a verse novel - it's ambitious and very well done. Here's a poem from Audacity that I admire for providing setting, action, and character information while offering a lovely starling simile which is highlighted through the concrete details of the words on the second page:Pages 70-71 from Audacity by Melanie Crowder. Shared with the author's permission.

I'd like to offer my ARC of Audacity to one winner who is currently living in the United States. To enter, leave a comment and click on the Rafflecopter link to complete your entry. The raffle ends at midnight on April 19 and I'll contact the winner after that for instructions on where to send the book.

~~~

 UPDATE: The Raffle is over - Michelle H. Barnes is the winner of Audacity! Congratulations, Michelle!

~~~

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

National Poetry Month 2015: Celebrating The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations!

The first book in my National Poetry Month feature and giveaway is The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, a book edited by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. I'm pleased to say that I'm a contributing poet to this anthology, and I just love the variety of poems and poetry forms used by the poets in the book. Here's the book description from Pomelo Books:

Celebrate all year long with The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations - 156 poems in English and SPANISH plus Take 5! tips for each poem to make it easy to share poetry with children in a library or classroom (preK - grade 5).

This latest book in The Poetry Friday Anthology series offers 12 poems per month plus 12 poems with the theme of “Birthdays and Baby Days.” Choose your favorite celebrations to share each month! Choices include: 

• traditional holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Passover, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas;
• book-related holidays such as Read Across America Day, National Library Week, DEAR Day (Drop Everything And Read), Children’s Book Week, and Dewey Decimal Day;
• celebrations of diversity such as Black History Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, Three Kings Day, Lunar New Year, the end of Ramadan, Obon, and Diwali;
• unusual celebrations such as National Hat Day, Daylight Savings Time Day, National Pet Week, National Sports & Fitness Month, Shark Week, and National Cookie Day; and
• historic commemorations such as Presidents’ Day, Flag Day, 4th of July, National Moon Walk Day, Constitution and Citizenship Day, Election Day, and Veteran’s Day.

Why You Need This Book

This book provides support for librarians, teachers, and parents who want an easy and effective method to share some poetry. Take 5! tips connect the poems in this book to various state and national standards, including the TEKS for language arts (poetry), the CCSS, and the National Social Studies Standards (highlighted in charts for handy reference).

115 poets include:

Jack Prelutsky, J. Patrick Lewis, Joyce Sidman, Marilyn Singer, Jane Yolen, Nikki Grimes, Linda Sue Park, Margarita Engle, Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Francisco X. Alarcón, Jorge Argueta, Joseph Bruchac, Ibtisam Barakat, Eileen Spinelli, and more.

Click the image for more details at pomelobooks.com

I welcome you to enter this Rafflecopter for a chance to win a copy of the Teacher/Librarian edition and the Illustrated Student edition. 

~~~~~

UPDATE: The Raffle is over - Marge Keller is the winner of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations! Congratulations, Marge!

~~~~~

Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!