Hello, Poetry Friday friends!
2025 finds me posting less –but still working hard on my poetry. I plan to try to participate a couple times each month. My goal is to share original poetry and hopefully a book review. That’s what I have in store for you today! But first….
It’s Poetry Friday!
Our friend Denise Krebs at Dare to Care has the round up of poetry goodness!
Join us!
Stuck! Trapped! Sunk! Stacked!
From the lyrical pen of children’s author and poet, Joyce Uglow, comes “a STEM gem”!
STUCK! The Story of La Brea Tar Pits immediately draws young readers into the ice-age ecosystem of sloths, sabertooths, wooly mammoths, and the hundreds of unsuspecting creatures who wandered into and became engulfed -and eventually fossilized- in the “oozing, oily, stickiness” of La Brea Tar Pits.
Uglow’s poetry elegantly weaves scientific facts into the text. Unsuspecting readers will hear and delight in her subtle use of consonance, alliteration, and just the right smattering of internal rhyme.
The reader is left –not distressed by the growing stacks of animals who meet their end in the pit, but fascinated by this urban archaeological specter – and, if they’re like me, will be planning a visit to see for themselves!
Joyce was kind enough to answer some questions about STUCK!
What inspired you to write this story?
I came to writing STUCK! The Story of La Brea Tar Pits when I visited Los Angeles for the first time in 2018. My son and I toured the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which is right next door to La Brea Tar Pits. Of course, we spent time in both museums. I quickly became enamored with Smilodon fatalis that very day. I mean, how can one not fall in love with such a handsome megafauna such as the Saber-toothed cat?
Did you know that this Ice Age cat’s canines could grow to 7 inches long? Scientists have discovered details about what it ate, its size, and the changes these magnificent cats underwent. An astonishing 160,000 bones from approximately 3000 individual Saber-toothed cats have been found at La Brea.
Here’s a peek at how Joyce transforms detailed nonfiction information into poetry!
I’m going to go deep here with an infodump.
A large petroleum reservoir called the Salt Lake Oil Field is located below the surface a short distance to the north of Hancock Park in what is now Los Angeles. The oil was formed from marine plankton deposited in an ocean basin during the Miocene Epoch (25 to 5 million years ago). Over time, pressure converted the organisms into oil. Weak places, faults, and fissures in the Earth’s crust allow crude oil to seep up to the surface. Evaporation leaves the sticky “tar” or asphalt.
The above became the text in the first spread:
Thousands of years ago,
unsuspecting ice age animals
were drawn to shallow water…
only to find oozing, oily stickiness.
Fill in the blanks: This book is about _____ but really it’s about ________.
This book is about an important place called La Brea Tar Pits and the millions of stories found in the fossil records, but really it’s about learning from the past to inform our future.
My final words, “…to find a pond without bubbles” is my way of saying that I am all about learning how we all can leave the planet a better place than how we found it.
Fossil records at La Brea and other locations are crying out us to pay attention to what is happening today with regard to climate change.
Of all the incredible layers in STUCK!, which is your favorite?
I adore Valerya Milovanova’s illustration of the Fossil Lab where a spotlight lights up two female scientists who are busily studying microfossils under the microscope. Originally, the two scientists were depicted as men. I requested a change because Dr. Regan Dunn and Dr. Emily Lindsey are international research stars.
What do you hope readers take away from reading STUCK!?
As an educator, I always want kids to enjoy what they pick up to read. Moreover, I want them to keep reading and seek out other books on the same or on related subjects. But after reading STUCK, I hope career paths became visible. Maybe STUCK will spark more individuals to see the importance of science, research, and places like La Brea. Maybe someday, a young reader of STUCK will help others gain insights about conservation science. Is it too much of a stretch to also hope that readers will understand that the past can inform our future? We must remain learners, thinkers, movers and shakers in this world of ours.
The back matter is extensive and rich! Will there be further classroom resources on your website?
Curriculum connections are in the works! The resources will include selected Next Generation Science Standards and English Language Arts standards for reading and writing. The goal is to provide some more information and make it easier for teachers to see the value in using a nonfiction picture book for more than a get-and-go-read-aloud.
I am sorting through the plethora of intriguing ever-evolving research tidbits to include in discussion guides and activities for author visits. My goal is to inspire kids to stay curious and to think about research they’d like to do.
Some of handouts will be available on my website and others will eventually be on the Bushel and Peck Books website as well.
STUCK! The Story of La Brea Tar Pits
Connect with Joyce
And for all the poets, check out Joyce’s STUCK BUMBLEBEE POETRY AND ILLUSTRATION CHALLENGE
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. 
I am grateful for your beautiful review of STUCK! I am thrilled to hear you say, “The reader is left –not distressed by the growing stacks of animals who meet their end in the pit, but fascinated by this urban archaeological specter.” I should have, but did not, think about how dark this could be. I was intrigued at the get-go about the science behind Ice Age animals meeting their demise (simply trying to get an easy supper) and humans recovering the story behind the story. When I read more, and unearthed scientists’ findings in the La Brea Tar Pits fossil records, I knew this was a story I wanted to share with kids everywhere. Thank you, Patricia, for reading, reviewing, and sharing STUCK!
Patricia, what a wonderful post and interview with Joyce. One of my favorite questions you asked was “This book is about _____ but really it’s about ________.” I like thinking about that for other books, and I like Joyce’s concise answer and the photos you provided that show it. I also loved that Joyce asked the illustrator to make the two scientists women. I used to go to The La Brea Tar Pits on fields trips when I was a kid, as I lived in an LA suburb. We always joked that we were going to “The The Tar Tar Pits” if it was all translated into English. Thank you for your post about this STEM gem.
Denise, the original title was STUCK! The Story of (THE) La Brea Tar Pits. LOL.
Fabulous interview and book! So informative and well done. Bravo to you both.
Rose, this means so much to me. Thank you. 🙂
Looking at the past to inform our future is a concept that can be new to children who are reading this new book by Joyce Uglow! Thanks for the introduction to it, Patricia! I know little about this so will look for it for myself, too!
Patricia, thank you for sharing this conversation with Joyce. This is a book that caught my attention when I first heard about it because I visited the Le Brea Tar Pits when I was about ten. I haven’t been back since, but your interview with Joyce makes me want to take a trip there! I can’t wait to read the book!
This looks fascinating–thank you, Patricia and Joyce. I can’t wait to read this!
oooooh! I must get this book! Thank you for the recommendation. I agree that we need our students to enjoy what they are reading. This is a captivating story and looks to be well told. Thank you so much for this interview!
Oh I’m really looking forward to reading this book!
Reserving this from the library right now! Way cool!
YAY! I love poetic nonfiction!!! I’m SO excited for this one – my kid is a huge nonfiction reader, and as someone who loves lyricism, my heart sings whenever I find a book that explores the real world with a poetic voice.
What a marvelous review of a gem, Patricia! Thank you!