
daydreams of flying,
white wings, soaring, gliding
on every breeze Continue reading →

daydreams of flying,
white wings, soaring, gliding
on every breeze Continue reading

Halloween Party Prep
The littlest Trick wept white, cobwebby tears when Lord Phantomdor chose potion-boiling witches.
Choose me! he thought. Too shy to shout, he stayed still as a pumpkin.
Trick’s cheery smile was not Halloweeny, but he couldn’t frown with a party coming. Nor could he let go of his wish.
Trick smiled despite tears trickling and tangling into a thick, stingy mess while Lord Phantomdor chose ghasties, spook-dashes, rook-chompers and bald-banters, until
Lord Phantomdor’s eyes fell on the scariest –
now looking like a funnel spider lair –
the littlest Trick had turned into the best party decoration of all.
And was chosen.
Copyright 2019 Brenda Davis Harsham
Notes: This 100-Word Story (not counting the title) was written for Susanna Leonard Hill’s spooky kids lit contest. Feel like crafting one yourself? Or witch-crafting one?
Writing Tip — first figure out what your main character wants and why s/he can’t get it. Then tell his/her story with a beginning, a middle and an end.
Hope you stay safe and don’t eat too much candy today!

spring is certain
when squirrels chase each other in
an apple-scented breeze
Copyright 2019 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading

inside the poppy,
lies a dark purple pulse
a secret heart
Copyright 2019 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading

anticipating,
the frisson of the unknown,
is better than knowing
Copyright 2019 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading

crowded banks of daisies
drowse and nod,
smiling
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading

rain plops
plink, plink
shiny drops
trees drink
squirrels scatter
flowers glisten
birds natter
i listen
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading

implacable rain
drenches skin, soil and stem but
my words keep me dry
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
— William Shakespeare

This light romp from Deborah Bruss and Matt Forest Esenwine has loads of laughs as dinos try wrapping presents and baking cakes in Don’t Ask a Dinosaur. The text has loads of those tough dino names, all with dots to separate the syllables into pronounceable snack-sizes. And it scans smoothly and rhymes! I know, I couldn’t believe it either. Plus, Louie Chin did a wonderful job bringing the dinos to vivid but not-too-scary life. Continue reading

tiny shoots
break the brown earth,
rabbits are glad
tiny shoots of gladness
tickle my wintery skin
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading

For those who like to be in on the newest news, you should check out the book trailer for a brand new poetry collection. Hidden parks and irrepressible dandelions put down tap roots and grow up wild in Sarah Grace Tuttle‘s Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2018. Continue reading