In the Middle of the Night: Poems From a Wide-Awake Home
by Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Angela Matteson
Wordsong (March 12, 2019)
Fiction * Poetry
Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
Indiebound | Worldcat
Description from GoodReads:
Toys, food, and other everyday household objects have wild adventures at night, while the humans in the house sleep, in this imaginative collection of 26 poems.
What do the things in your home do when you're asleep? They play, of course! In this compendium of poems by Laura Purdie Salas, everything from stuffed animals to clothing to writing utensils comes to life under the cover of night. An overdue library book searches for the perfect place to hide. A paper clip skydives with a tissue parachute. A fruit snack unrolls to create a tricky racetrack for toy cars. A hose unwinds and rolls around the yard before curling back up just before dawn. Accompanied by Angela Matteson's beautiful acrylic-on-wood illustrations, this book will spark young readers' imaginations and is a perfect choice for bedtime reading.
Quick thoughts on the book:
Recently, I had a conversation about poetry with a colleague. She was prepping a professional development on poetry for the teachers we work with. As she was prepping, she read from some of the poetry her former students had written. It was simply beautiful. While we talked, I shared about my struggle with poetry and how I had avoided it for so many years. I finally decided that I needed to find and read some poetry for children and not just the work of Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky. My journey lead me to the work of so many incredible poets, including the work of Laura Purdie Salas.
I love how Laura’s poetry is so accessible. I am excited that so much of her work connects poetry to nonfiction. In one of her latest book (yes, she had three new titles), IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT: POEMS FROM A WIDE-AWAKE HOUSE, Laura brings to life the world of talented stuffed animals, markers without their lids, toothpaste and dental floss, a conversation between flip flops and winter boots, and more. I never really thought about all of the things that could come awake at night while the human occupants are fast asleep.
To match Purdie Salas’ delightful and entertaining poems, Angela Matteson uses color and playfulness in her illustrations that perfectly match the text and take it all one step further.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT is a humorous read aloud perfect for bedtime or for the classroom. Pick up a copy at your local indie bookstore just in time for National Poetry month.
About the author: Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 125 books for children, including If You Were the Moon, the award winning Can Be . . . series, and BookSpeak! Poems About Books, which was an NCTE Notable Book of Poetry and won the Nerdy Book Award for Poetry, among other honors. She lives with her family in Plymouth, Minnesota. Visit her at laurasalas.com.
About the illustrator: Angela Matteson is the illustrator of Grumbles from the Town by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich. She works as a Marketing Director and food packaging designer. She enjoys showing her paintings in galleries and lives in Columbus, Ohio. Visit her at angelamattesonart.com.
Don’t forget to check out the other stops in the blog tour:
Monday, 3/11 Mile High Reading
Tuesday, 3/12 Reflections on the Teche
Wednesday, 3/13 A Year of Reading
Thursday, 3/14 Check It Out
Friday, 3/15 Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
Sunday, 3/17 Great Kid Books
Monday, 3/18 Simply 7 Interview/Jena Benton blog
Tuesday, 3/19 My Juicy Little Universe
Wednesday, 3/20 Live Your Poem
Thursday, 3/21 Reading to the Core
Friday, 3/22 KidLit Frenzy
If sharing about the blog tour, please include the following Twitter handles: @boydsmillspress, Laura’s handle on Twitter is @LauraPSalas and Angela’s is @angelamatteson. The hashtag for the blog tour is #WideAwakePoems.