POETRY TIME BLOG #58

Hello there! To those poetic peeps who have clicked on this blog and wondered where I've been for a tad over three years, the answer is pretty simple. I feel into the "blog procrastination fever" and there's zero excuse for it. Once I got behind, it just keep piling up by the days, weeks, months, years!

The good news is, with the 2026-27 school season off and running in most of the country, and my outstanding booking agents, Sarah DeVore and Stacie Tharp, at How Now Booking working hard on spreading the good word about me doing author presentations and workshops, I've given myself the grace to get back on the saddle and blog again.

There's a lot to catch up on, and one way of doing so is through the great website, TeachingBooks, which I hope all educators know about. It's full of everything from resources on books, authors, illustrators, correct pronunciation of their names, among other great bits of business. Through this valuable resource you can find out about the books I've had published since we last met by clicking on their titles.

MASCOT

One deep honor, among a few, regarding MASCOT was myself and my co-author, Traci Sorell, being invitated to speak at the Library of Congress in an event sponsored by the Jonah Solkoff Eskin Memorial program. Each year the family host this program in honor of the late Jonah Solkoff Eskin who passed away in 1998.

Photo Credit - Naomi Wulansari for the Library of Congress

The program also asked the authors to conduct workshops for students at neighboring schools.

Photo Credit - Naomi Wulansari for the Library of Congress

We spent time with Jonah's family before, during, and after the event. What kind, strong, inspirational humans. I'll always carry this special day in my heart.

Photo Credit - Naomi Wulansari for the Library of Congress

THE MISTAKES THAT MADE US: CONFESSIONS FROM TWENTY POETS

What's this book about, you might ask? Here it is:

Scoring a goal against your own team. Copying a classmate’s schoolwork. Accepting a dare to jump down the stairs . . . and getting hurt.

This engrossing poetry anthology explores making mistakes and learning from them. Twenty brave poets―Linda Sue Park, Margarita Engle, Allan Wolf, David Elliott, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Lacresha Berry, George Ella Lyon, Jaime Adoff, Vikram Madan, Kim Rogers, Douglas Florian, Tabatha Yeatts, Jorge Argueta, Jane Yolen, Charles Waters, JaNay Brown-Wood, Irene Latham, April Halprin Wayland, Darren Sardelli, and Naomi Shihab Nye―share real-life mistakes they made as young people . . . and what happened next. Edited by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, with brilliantly evocative illustrations by Mercè López, this is a book for all who are growing and discovering and still figuring out who we are. (Which is to say . . . all of us!)

This anthology was based off an idea of my poetic forever friend, Irene Latham, and it was originally called OOPS. However, because of some of the deeply personal, revealing poems sent by the contributors, it was decided that the original title didn't hit the mark anymore, so it was changed.

While the contributors names were just mentioned to actually see which poet is which on the cover, you can find that here:

IF I COULD CHOOSE A BEST DAY: POEMS OF POSSIBILITY

What does this book deal with? Here it is:

An ode to imagination and the power of “if,” this exhilarating poetry collection features the voices of thirty-one diverse poets.

Imagine what you could do with if. Build a tree house, ride your bike back in time, catch a firefly like a tiny star in the palm of your hands and let it go to make a wish—anything, when it starts with if. Because if is where your imagination begins, where the impossible becomes possible, if only you imagine. And if you do, just think of how much better our world could be. Thirty-one poets, selected by “poetic forever friends” and frequent collaborators Irene Latham and Charles Waters, begin each of their poems with the word if and imagine the possibilities the gift of if can hold. Olivia Sua’s cut-paper and painted-mosaic illustrations add warmth and meaning to the poems, allowing the reader’s mind to soar with possibility. In an end note, the anthologists offer insight into their selection process, aimed at gathering a comprehensive and representative collection of poems.

With poems by: Lacresha Berry, Robyn Hood Black, JaNay Brown-Wood, Joseph Bruchac, Siv Cedering, Emily Dickinson, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Nikki Grimes, Jolene Gutiérrez, Georgia Heard, Anna Grossnickle Hines, Irene Latham, Renée M. LaTulippe, Nancy Tupper Ling, Sylvia Liu, Rebekah Lowell, Vikram Madan, Guadalupe García McCall, Lilian Moore, Eric Ode, Bob Raczka, Lisa Rogers, Sydell Rosenberg, Laura Purdie Salas, Janice Scully, Teresa Owens Smith, Gabi Snyder, Sarah Grace Tuttle, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Charles Waters, and Janet Wong

This book was another Irene idea that she had! That human has such a vast mind teeming with ideas.

Also, Irene and I were thrilled to speak during the Maynard Book Festival this past April.

While there we were suprised to find out that the great librarian/children's poet/human being, Mark A. Malcolm—who invited us to the festival in the first place—had spearheaded a StoryWalk outside the library highlighting the IF anthology!

We're so grateful to the publisher of the IF book, Candlewick Press, for taking a chance on this idea.

And now the most recent book, which was released on March 3, 2026 and will delve into here:

FOR THE WIN: POEMS CELEBRATING PHENOMENAL ATHLETES

You'll notice when clicking on the title I used the website from Little Shop of Stories, one of the most respected independent bookstores in America. You can also order the book from all major and independent suppliers. The reason I chose this bookstore is because ... I work there! I'm learning a great deal about the book world from the other side of the coin. It continues to strengthen me with knowledge about the wide swaths of books in the world, and humble me as well with how much there is still to learn; which honestly, is a lot like life.

FOR THE WIN is a poetry anthology where, to take from the blurb from the publisher Lerner Publishing Group: Award-winning poetic collaborators Irene Latham and Charles Waters worked with nineteen poets to create this anthology, featuring twenty current athletes who have overcome obstacles, broken records, and inspired the world.

With poems by: Jaime Adoff, Lacresha Berry, Jay Brazeau, JaNay Brown-Wood, Tanita S. Davis, Mariana Dominé, Leah Henderson, Naaz Khan, Irene Latham, Nancy Tupper Ling, Guadalupe García McCall, Edna Cabcabin Moran, Darius Phelps, Glenis Redmond, Kim Rogers, René Saldaña Jr., Laura Shovan, Sarah Grace Tuttle, Charles Waters, Kao Kalia Yang, and Anita Yasuda.

I first had the idea for this book in 2007! First, it was an anthology, then it was twenty-six of my own poems, then went back to an anthology again. I wasn't able to crack the code, so to speak, until I spoke about it with my poetic forever friend, , and she had some ideas to give the book a structure, and off we went to revamp the project.

Here are the original notes I had from nineteen years ago. Different title, different sub-title, different everything! Lerner said if we made the book all about comtemporary athletes, and not ones who no longer played or had passed away, then we had a book deal. Irene and I took less than a nanosecond to say, "YES!"

One of the main reasons I never gave up on this idea was because as a youth one of the few things I read consistently was sports, all kinds. I read well, however, it needed to be something I cared about in order to show any interest. If I had a book like this back in the 1980's, I would have read this cover to cover multiple times and asked for more. I'm grateful to Irene for hanging in there with me as we worked to get this idea into working order. It was a journey.

While at the Maynard Book Festival our morning presentation cover a variety of our books, however, FOR THE WIN was the one we focused on the most.

You can also read more about any of these books in the revamped ARTICLES section of the website. I hope you consider ordering any of them for yourself, friends and family.

While in Maynard I was able have an author presention at Fowler Middle School for the sixth graders.

It couldn't have gone better. What lovely students and faculty. Many thanks to Fowler educator, Olivia Brunelle, for the hosptiality and to the Maynard library committee for setting us this opportunity.

During my first night outside of Boston I was hosted by children's poet & author, Cindy Greene. I was provided some good home cooking New England eats, and during the day we linked up with fellow children's poet & author, Cathy Stenquist, as we all went to the famous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Myself, Cindy Greene, and Cathy Stenquist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumMuseum

The museum is also known for the famous heist of paintings in 1990. It was wild to check out that room and see it for myself. Here's me looking at one of them.

In the next week or two, I will blog again with some more news of the book/author presention/and day trip variety.

Read-a-Poem or R.A.P. My rallying cry to bring children’s poetry and verse novels to every human being in the world continues rolling along. Not every book I mention has to be about children’s poetry, but that’s the main thrust. I have read a great number of books in the past three years, however, here's a small sampling:

HOT DOG by Doug Salati.

THE MUSEUM ON THE MOON: The Curious Objects on the Lunar Surface by Irene Latham. Illustrated by Myriam Wares.

YOU GOTTA MEET MR. PIERCE! The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce by Chiquita Mullins Lee and Carmella Van Vleet. Illustrated by Jennifer Mack-Watkins.

KICK PUSH by Frank Morrison.

THE TALK by Alicia D. Williams. Illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu.

RAIN by Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Lisa Congdon.

THE ORDER OF THINGS by Kaija Langley.

NOT SO SMALL by Pat Zietlow Miller. Illustrated by Paola Escobar.

WHAT ARE WORDS REALLY? by Alexi Lubomirski. Illustrated by Carlos Aponte.

OUR POOL written and illustrated by Luci Ruth Cummins.

BATHE THE CAT by Alice B. McGinty. Illustrated by David Roberts.

THE WORLD'S BEST CLASS PLANT by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick. Illustrated by Lynnor Bontigao.

RED: A Crayons Love Story written and illustrated by Michael Hall.

SCHOOL'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL words by Adam Rex. Pictures by Christian Robinson.

VIKING IN LOVE by Doug Cenko.

TIARA'S HAT PARADE by Kelly Starling Lyons. Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell.

HOPE'S GIFT by Kelly Starling Lyons. Illustrated by Don Tate.

GRANDMA'S TINY HOUSE by JaNay Brown-Wood. Illustrated by Priscilla Burris.

EVERYBODY IN THE RED BRICK BUILDING by Anne Wynter. Illustrated by Oge Mora.

OH NO, THE AUNTS ARE HERE by Adam Rex. Illustrated by Lian Cho.

I AM A TORNADO written and illustrated by Drew Beckmeyer.

STARS OF THE NIGHT: The Courageous Children Of The Czech Kindertransport by Caren Stelson. Illustrated by Selina Alko.

STILL AS A STAR: A Book of Nighttime Poems edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by Karen Milone.

HAMSTERS, SHELLS AND SPELLING BEES: School Poems edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa.

I AM PHOENIX: Poems For Two Voices by Paul Fleischman. Illustrated by Ken Nutt.

FATHERS, MOTHERS, SISTERS, BROTHERS: A Collection of Family Poems by Mary Ann Hoberman. Illustrated by Marylin Hafner.

THE BLANKET WHERE VIOLET SITS by Allan Wolf. Illustrated by Lauren Tobia.

LOVE THAT DOG by Sharon Creech.

FRANKIE SPARKS AND THE CLASS PET by Megan Frazer Blakemore. Illustrated by Nadja Sarell.

BINK & GOLLIE by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee. Illustrated by Tony Facile.

MISS BANKS PULLS LOTS OF PRANKS by Dan Gutman. Pictures by Jim Paillot.

I leave you with a poem about nature's unpredictable temper.

Lightning Strike

Cerulean and bleached colored

channels of plasma charge out

                            of the sky in

                                     f

                                     r

                                     e

                                     e

                                     f

                                     a

                                     l

                                     l

                            <Bah Boom!>

with no care for its destination or destruction.

© Charles Waters, 2026— all rights reserved.