From the time I could read and write, I’ve loved words. It is no wonder that I saved this aptly named book for fifty-some-odd years, tucked away among my childhood treasures.

In the story, two squirrel friends, Sofie and Gussie, take turns writing poetry to one another. “I like your pie/I like your stew/but best of all/ I like you.” Their poems and friendship bloom throughout the story as they write and rewrite. The Poem was reprinted in a children’s magazine, but the book is titled Sofie and Gussie.

At about age eight, I wrote my first poem. Crooked penmanship on a piece of green scrap paper (misspellings and all), plastered with gold star stickers, it was a gift to my mother:

If I had a only wish
A only wish for me
Do you no what my only wish
My only wish would be?
That I could climb a tree.
Couse if I could climb a tree.
Do you know what I’d see?
I don’t because I can’t climb a tree.
—Danna Smith age 8

This poem makes me laugh, but it shows my interests way back then: I loved poetry, had an early knack for rhyme, and had an imagination (case in point: I knew how to climb a tree).

Later, when I was in high school, my creative writing teacher assigned the class to write and illustrate a picture book. The teacher boosted my confidence when she said I had talent and encouraged me to keep writing (teachers are awesome!).

This book was the first to inspire and encourage my lifelong love of poetry and writing. It shows how you never really know your impact on a young mind when writing for kids. I hope that my poetry and books inspire a new generation of creative writers and thinkers.

10 REASONS POETRY IS GREAT FOR KIDS

The folks over at schoolrun.com have created a list of the benefits of poetry for kids. Here’s the brief list, but you can read the full article here. If you need ideas for some fun poetry crafts and activities for kids, you check out the links here and here.

• It helps with spelling.
• Speech development improves.
• Reading becomes more fluent.
• It allows children to develop their own opinions.
• It inspires creativity.
• It helps develop interpretation skills.
• It encourages a wide vocabulary and varied grammar.
• It helps children understand their emotions
• It introduces different writers, subjects, and styles.
• It transports them to new worlds.

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