My Father Has a Thing for Frogs

So there absolutely had to be a frog!

I have found that when I read Haicooo to kids, the poem about the frog kissing, the kids burst into giggles...apparently kissing a frog is the highest level of comedy to a 5 year old.

Frogue is a French frog
He is very romantic
He likes to kiss you

Personally, I think if you go around kissing frogs, you might need to contact infection control...

Gavin

I watch Gavin eat Grass and hay and even garbage Gavin’s a good eater

Gavin is a favorite of many readers! Among them, the head of the NICU at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania, who read his poem during an interview on Service Electric Cable TV. Children who we have read to at various libraries, book stores and day care facilities around the Lehigh Valley in PA as well as in North Carolina, always get a big laugh when we mention that Gavin eats garbage...it also opens up the door to talk to the kids about what they like to eat and if they are good eaters (like Gavin). Imagine a silly little 3 line children's poem starting a conversation about kid's nutrition!

Shelby

Shelby chases sheep
He gets them all together
So they all can play

The drawing of Shelby is a compilation of the Shelty dogs with whom I spent my childhood... and my parent's current Shelties, Elvis and Foxy. My first Shelty was named Bough Bough (yes, I named her myself when I was 2). Sugar bear, a collie / samoyed mix joined us when Bough was something of a senior girl. Sugar was my introduction to the northern breeds...which may explain the three Siberian Huskies who currently live with me! Later, we welcomed Paddington into the family. He was a sweet little Shelty puppy boy who someone had left chained to a tree in my Grandparent's neighborhood.

Shelties love to herd sheep...and cats and bunnies and anything else they can find to round up! When I was a child, Bough helped be capture my bunnies, Bonny and Clyde, on more than one occasion when they had escaped their hutch. I even remember her herding mice in the garage!

This little haiku (haicooo) poem brings back so many happy memories of my best childhood friends! I hope your children enjoy it as much as I do!

Fireguy Joe

Fire guy Joe is bright
He lights up his behind
We watch Joe at night

Fireguy Joe is named in honor of the husband of a friend of mine who works with me at Lehigh Valley Hospital. He is a firefighter for the City of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Joe is incredibly brave and dedicated and we were thrilled to be able to honor him with our cute little bug!