It’s Poetry Friday!
Join us for a weekend of poetry joy
hosted by Carol at The Apples in My Orchard.
SPINE POEMS!
Thank you, Alice Nine for the inspiration to try spine poems! Alice suggested the process:
i.
pull together some books from your shelf
let the titles inspire you
order them
take a snapshot
ii.
remove some
add a new one
create a new poem
Here are a few of my library borrows.
Maybe you can tell…I’m playing with a nonfiction picture book WIP.
Inspired by Alice, here are two variations:
If I could choose a best day…
Fireworks
make meatballs sing!
A hundred billion trillion stars–
enormous smallness–
as Edward imagined.
(remove some, add a new one)
Every Monday Mabel,
a hundred billion trillion stars
make meatballs sing.
Enormous smallness!
It’s All in the Titles!
Combing picture books, catching
the creative spark of others
who cup awe and wonder in their hands
and share it with children…
Isn’t this why we write?
photos and poems ©2026 Patricia J. Franz
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
This! “who cup awe and wonder in their hands
and share it with children…
Isn’t this why we write?”
It is absolutely why I write! Awe inspires me as much as it does children. Love the spine poems. I should have done this with the stack of NF picture books I had a couple of weeks ago while working on my WIP. We are of like minds and thoroughness! Best of luck with your WIP.