Take Your Poet to Work Day is one of the happiest days of the year. It is marked by only the tiny sadness that it takes place in the summer. Teachers and librarians join in as best they can (sometimes from the beach—thus, we note, the sadness is but tiny) in July, but they do let us know they would love to be able to celebrate when school is in session.
This year, for the first time, we’ll be celebrating Take Your Poet to School Week (yes, all week!) during the first full week of National Poetry Month (for 2018, that’s from April 2-6). The week will culminate with Poet in a Cupcake Day on Friday. (We do not anticipate any cause for sadness over this.)
So now, in the spring, instead of poets peeking out of briefcases or beach totes (as they do in July), you might see them in a backpack. You might see them looking out the window of a school bus. You might even see them trying their darndest to get picked for dodge ball during recess. (I can assure them, if any ask, that it is not worth the trouble.)
We’ll be adding a few faces to our poets-on-a-stick collection over the next couple of weeks, and we also invite teachers, librarians and students everywhere to take one of our other poets from prior years of Take Your Poet to Work Day celebrations (they’d love to go to school *and* work). Watch for an update of our coloring book with those new faces, as well as fun new cut ‘n color cupcakes to plop your favorite poet into (in case you’d rather not bake or find real cupcake frosting just a little too sweet).
We’re starting with Robert Louis Stevenson.
Take Your Poet to School Week Cut ‘n Color Printable Robert Louis Stevenson
Download Robert Louis Stevenson Printable
Robert Louis Stevenson
The writer and poet Robert Louis Stevenson was born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson in Scotland in 1850. He later changed the spelling of Lewis and dropped the name Balfour.
Health conditions as a child prevented him from attending school regularly and he received much of his education at home from private tutors. He did attend university, studying engineering, a subject for which he had little interest. He spent more time in pursuit of friendship, eventually determining to be a writer. At his family’s encouragement he joined the bar for financial security.
Stevenson had a difficult relationship with his parents due to certain professional and personal choices he made. He married an American from Indianapolis in 1880 at a time when his health was poor.
The author of beloved books The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Treasure Island, Stevenson also published several collections of peotry including A Child’s Garden of Verse which well received among all ages and includes popular poems such as My Shadow and The Lamplighter.
Stevenson died in 1894.
Post and illustrations by LW Lindquist.
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Megan Willome says
My mother had a copy of “A Child’s Garden of Verse,” and she read it to me.
Donna Falcone says
What a great idea!
Kortney Garrison says
Oh we will be there with bells on! But eating our cupcakes on Monday instead of Friday because that’s when our co-op meets! Thanks so much for adding to this wonderful resource! It’s enriched our poetry experience!