Listen in as Gloria and I chat about the origin of her book and it's journey, the musical connections, how language plays into the story, legacies, and lots more!  Join the conversation by leaving us a comment below.

Bilingual, full of music, gorgeous illustrations, an intergenerational story about love, lyrics, language, and legacy!  Such a sweet and lovely book about how the things we share that come from our heart come back to us sometimes in surprising ways! 

The original song! Sung by Gloria's Granddaughters! How sweet is this?!? Check out the links section below for even more videos, the sheet music and more! You and your littles can sing along with Gloria's granddaughters, or you can grab the sheet music and play along as well.  A sweet, repetitive lullaby that is a great introduction to Spanish for non-native speakers as well as a comforting lullaby in Spanish for families already fluent in Spanish.

Lullabies

• History of lullabies
• Lullabies in English and Spanish (and other languages)
• Compare and contrast several lullabies
• Analyze lyrics of lullabies

Spanish and English language

• Learn Spanish/English words for sky objects (moon, sun, stars, etc.)
• Learn Spanish/English words for body parts
• Learn Spanish/English words for terms of endearment
• Learn Spanish/English words for family members

​Discuss bedtime routines: similarities/differences
Find examples of personification
Verbs in different forms -s, -ed, -ing, etc.
Questions/Answers

1. Accept that your first drafts are usually pitiful. That doesn’t mean that they will stay that
way. When I first write something down, I start wondering if I will ever again have a
good idea or be able to make it better or get another book published. I have to push
those thoughts aside and keep working. I need to relish each small improvement and
enjoy that rush of “it’s better.” So, the most important thing is to let go of those fears
and keep revising, trying new things or putting that project aside and start working on a
new one. Now, it’s harder to let go, when you have been revising, using critique
partners’ feedback, putting months and months (possibly years) on a manuscript and
your agent and editor say, “No and no.” I’m working on letting go of that. Keep in mind
that you have other ideas, other possibilities waiting for your voice and kids waiting to
connect with your stories. Persistence is key.
2. Revision is the fun part of the process; it’s the real writing. I love seeing my story get
better and better with feedback from my critique group, agent or editor. I may have an
insight or idea that pops into my mind and I can try it. I can change a word here or there
and it’s so much better. I can cut something that isn’t needed because there is an
illustrator who is going to add their vision and magic. Okay, sometimes, I have to cut
something that I really, really love and want in, but I have to accept that it doesn’t move
the narrative forward. In the end, I’m glad because the story is better. My secret is to
think that I might use that tidbit in another story.
3. Read, read, read contemporary books that are like the ones you want to write. You can
write an analysis of what you like, what works and what doesn’t for you. Pick a mentor
book and try that approach or structure or a variation of it.
4. For me, the most important aspect is that I have to have an emotional connection to the
story. I have to relate to the anxiety, challenges, conflicts or love and tenderness
expressed by the characters and their actions. I spend a long time developing my stories,
especially my picture book biographies. If I’m going to spend part of my life writing a
story and promoting it, I have to feel it’s really touching readers in a significant way.

Gloria's links to the song and the sheet music

Pinterest board with more Spanish lullabies, nighttime crafts, Spanish language activities, and more!
YouTube playlist with lullabies, Spanish lessons and more!

​

Gloria's website

Links to purchase ABUELITA'S SONG
Book People link to purchase the book (Gloria mentions them in our chat.)
Abuelita's Song Goodreads page (You can leave reviews here, as well as on Amazon and B&N)

Facebook

Twitter/X

Instagram

Bluesky

​

Join Matt and I as we chat deets about his board book released in the Fall of 2024, poetry, the idiosyncracies of publishing and knowing when and how to pivot. AND, a little bit of chat about his newest book too!  Come listen in or leave us a comment to join the conversation!

For a board book, Matt has filled this one full of layers.  You have farm equipment, animals, lots of dance terminology and a rip-roaring hoedown of a good time.  The illustrations are joyful and complete the festive farm mood.  This one is perfect for every tractor-loving dancing toddler/preschooler out there!  A fabulous addition to preschool and daycare bookshelves.  You could have a lot of fun with this one in your classes for littles or story time or anytime at home! Super-fun and full of down-home farm happy goodness on every spread. This book will have your littles boogying down on the farm!

 This song is super fun for the littles, and I love that it mixes in real footage of tractors doing their work on the farm alongside the silly and very entertaining cartoon dance sequences!  This song is perfect for all your farm-loving littles or your tractor-loving littles or your boogying littles -- pretty much for all your littles! Crank it up and have a tractor dance party! Be sure to check out the playlist below in the links section for lots more tractor fun, some hoedowns, tractor square dancing, a lot of Aaron Copland's "Hoedown" along with other fun music activities for kids.
​

So fun!  Lots of layers! While admittedly, this (board) book is MOST appropriate for daycare and preschool and home settings, you could probably get away with using it in primary/early elementary grades, and there are some great reasons to.  If any of these apply, regardless of your setting, feel free to grab them and enjoy teaching with this joyful adorable book! (And don't forget to check out the Pinterest board and YouTube playlist for even more teaching opportunities!

Rhyme!
This is one of Matt's specialties, and it shows up great here!  
For littles, you could leave out words and see if they can predict the rhymes and just talk about the fact that it's a rhyming book. Generate verbal (or written if appropriate)lists of rhyming words.
For older/advanced kids, you could actually talk about rhyming patterns.  This one is an ABCB pattern (although a couple of spreads the lines get a little tricky, but the rhyme pattern continues throughout)
To take it even further, you could have students/children write their own poems with an ABCB pattern . . .

FARM!
Since that is the setting, it makes sense.  You could talk about the tractors and farm equipment, and other vocabulary that permeates the book: silo, neigh, plow, combine, etc.
The book is a great addition to a unit on farms!
Farm animals (and ones you don't typically think about being on farms -- like frogs) are another farm direction you could take the study. (The YouTube playlist has some nice farm ambience videos that would make the perfect backdrop)

Dance!
The book mentions several different types of dances that you could dig your heels into a bit more (pun definitely intended! ;-)
hoe-down
jig
promenading (The tractor square dancing videos in the YouTube playlist would be a hoot in conjunction with this!)
ballet/pirouette
shimmy-shake
country (line dances or two-step)
polka
How fun to have a dance party featuring lots of different dance styles! You might think about pairing it up with LET'S DANCE by Valerie Bolling if you choose to focus on the different dance styles, because that is the focus of her book and you can find that PBJamz episode here.

For preschool and kinders, I think it would be such fun to do a farm unit for music class. For that age group, here are some recommendations:

• Check out all the amazing farm/music books:
  • BARNYARD BOOGIE by Tim McCanna (PBJamz episode here)
  • MISS MCDONALD HAD A FARM by Kalee Gwarjanski (PBJamz episode here)
  • Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton
  • There are more, but these I think are especially appropriate
• Use instruments to mimic the sounds or use for sound stories of any of these books.
• Check out the square dancing tractor videos and get your littles to try some simple square dance moves.
• Sing Old McDonald and all the fun farm songs in the YouTube playlist!
• Lots of crafts/fun activities on Pinterest and you could put the ambient farm music in the background for a musical component, too!

For k-2, I think the book still has value and I think you could certainly do a compare/contrast between TRACTOR DANCE/BARNYARD BOOGIE/BARNYARD DANCE and then learn some simple dance moves. Some of the songs from the YouTube playlist would still be appropriate for this age, and I think kids of ALL ages will get a kick out of the square-dancing tractors! You could have students write new words for Old McDonald for the farm equipment. . . how fun! 

Regardless of the age/grade level, you could combine this with BARNYARD BOOGIE music activities and MISS MCDONALD HAS A FARM music activities as well and have your own classroom hoe-down!

​Re-write: If a manuscript or poem isn’t working, no one said you can’t rip it up and start over. Maybe try using a different POV, perhaps a change of scenery, or a change of character. See what happens!

Revise: If you have a manuscript or poem you really like, don’t stop there! Set it aside for a day, a week, or even longer – then go back to it with fresh eyes and see what works and what doesn’t. Change a word, change a line, polish, polish, ‘til it shines!

Recycle: I can’t count the number of poems and manuscripts that I have set aside because they just weren’t working. You probably have plenty, as well. So why not reach back into those dusty computer folders, pull one out, and see if there’s something you can do with it? Perhaps there is some nugget there you can use. Try rewriting, try revising, or even try writing it in a completely different genre! For example, my book “The Thing to Remember about Stargazing” started out as a poem that never made it into the anthology for which I wrote it - so when a well-known author/poet friend of mine suggested I flesh it out into a picture book manuscript, I decided I would do just that!

Considering this book will be most appropriate for the youngest learners, my writing prompts will be in line with that:

1. Make up new words for Old McDonald, but use the farm equipment.
2. Choose your favorite farm animal and write a couple of sentences about the music/sounds they make.
3. Make a list of farm animals/equipment and beside each write an instrument you could use for that animal/farm equipment.
4. Write down your favorite dance from the book and draw a picture to match.
5. Draw a picture of your favorite farm equipment and write a couple of sentences about why you like it.
6. Have you ever been to a farm?  Make three columns: Plants/Animals/Equipment and write as many items for each category that you saw on the farm.
7. Write a class/family acrostic poem using your favorite farm word/phrase.
8. As a class/family, make a chart of as many rhyming word families as you can. (Start with the pairs in the book and see how many you can add.)

But for the writers, older kids, and adults who want a farm challenge, too:

1. Write your own story about music on a farm.
2. Write a poem with ABCB rhyming pattern. (Will yours be set on a farm, too? Or somewhere else?)
3. Write another story with a tractor as the main character.
4. Write about your favorite kind of dance and why you like it.
5. Write about a tractor square dance where something went very wrong.
6. Write about a different piece of farm equipment besides the tractor.
7. Write about one of the farm animals who would like to use one of the farm machines. What is the problem? How do they solve it?
8. Write a sensory poem about life on the farm.
9. Write a letter to Mr. Esenwine telling him your favorite thing about the book and one thing you wish was different.
10. What song do you think the farmer was singing at the end of the story? Pick up there, and write a NEW story starting with his song.

YouTube playlist full of real square-dancing tractors, lots of Aaron Copland's Rodeo music, some fun musical activities and a ton of tractor songs and videos for kids. I also included some farm ambience videos as well.  There is something for everyone in this list, and I'll continue adding as I find pieces that are a good fit.

Pinterest board with tractor party ideas, tractor crafts, tractor songs, and much more that connects with the book TRACTOR DANCE.
​

Matt's website

​Matt's blog (where you can find the Poetry Friday posts we discussed)

Matt's YouTube with interviews, Wit & Wordplay and much more!
Wit & Wordplay playlist

Matt's Twitter/X
FB


To buy TRACTOR DANCE
ON AMAZON

Matt is offering a giveaway of one copy of TRACTOR DANCE to one lucky winner! To be eligible, simply leave a comment below by 11:59 PM EST on April 30.  One winner will be randomly chosen from the comments.

Join Janna and me as we discuss gardening, singing, building community, and much more!  It's a lovely conversation. Come on in and pull up a chair! Listen in or leave us a comment to participate!

A delightful, colorful and whimsical view of how a community garden comes together. It shows that everyone has a part and there is a place for everyone. It details many of the things that happen to help a community garden prosper and the positive things that happen when it does!  It follows the cumulative structure of Over in the Meadow, a familiar children's folk song, and indeed it can be sung to that tune as well. The marriage of words and text do a lovely job of capturing the joy and comradery of a community garden and the ways it benefits everyone! A great blend of music, words and art that make the world a better place!

Perhaps you were expecting a karaoke version of OVER IN THE MEADOW that your class could sing along with? I've got you covered! That's also in the playlist, so be sure to check the links section!  This one is sweet and really gets to the heart of community gardens, as does the book, so y'all enjoy it!

ELA

• Rhyme, rhyme, rhyme --This book is full of rhyme.  Depending on the grade level and their familiarity with rhyme, have them 
  • ​Make a list of rhyming words
  • Write rhyming couplets
  • Write rhyming quatrains
  • Use some internal rhyme (as opposed to end rhyme)
• Prepositional phrases --
  • ​Scavenger hunt (list all the ones you find in the book)
  • Extend by having students creat their own mini-booklet of prepositional phrases from the book, but drawing a picture to illustrate.
• Strong verbs
  • ​Scavenger hunt
  • Charades
  • List and illustrate
• Adjectives
  • ​Scavenger hunt
  • List and illustrate
  • Find five nouns in the book and list as many adjectives as you can to add detail about the noun.
    
  • ​Vocabulary
    • ​Garden terms: shovel, weeds, compost, etc.
      

Social Studies

• Power of community
  • ​Research community gardens and how they benefit communities
  • Discuss how communities use their natural resources to cultivate a community garden and grow stronger relationships within their community
  • Discuss/complete a project following a community garden through the steps to get one started in your community

Science

• Plant parts
• life cycles of plants
• Making compost/benefits of compost
• Needs of plants

Math

• Simple Counting
• Adding/subracting to ten
• "Making a ten" problems
• Story problems --rows, plants, seeds, etc.

Art

• Use plant parts (leaves, stems, roots, flowers, fruit) to create paintings
• Make mud paint
• Draw pictures of gardens
• Do leaf rubbings
• ​Check the Pinterest board for more!

1) READ, READ, READ books in the genre you want to write--picture book, middle grade, poetry, YA. Use the ones you love as "mentor texts," studying them to learn how they do it successfully. Then write, revise, receive critiques...REPEAT! 

2) Scour the most recent CHILDREN'S WRITER'S AND ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET guide book, in print or digitally, to better understand the industry, your genre, the craft of writing, what editors and agents are looking for, how to find an agent, how to submit queries. It includes indexes by subject matter at the rear, full of publishing info. 

3) Join the SCBWI (pro organization for the children's publishing industry). Read the website thoroughly and find a local critique group via your region's chapter. SCBWI conferences offer great learning and networking, chances to meet agents and editors and to register in advance for a paid critique.

4) Regarding finding an agent, check out manuscript wish lists on twitter at #MSWL as well as www.manuscriptwishlist.com, where editors and agents show what they want in general. 

There are simply no shortcuts! ​

YouTube playlist with karaoke versions of OVER IN THE MEADOW, lots of fun songs about gardening and community gardens and plant needs, composting, etc.

Pinterest board full of lots of gardening songs, crafts, printables, science experiments, additional book lists for little gardeners, and much more! Tons of resources for families, daycare/preschools, and elementary school classrooms (music and general ed).

Janna's website


Janna's Instagram

Janna's Facebook

Janna's
​ (You can get purchase links for any of her books on this page)

Janna is offering a free copy of OVER IN THE GARDEN to one lucky winner (continental US only) Simply leave a comment below to be entered.