As #WorldCup2026 is coming to a close, I’m resharing a blog I wrote about soccer poetry for kids! ⚽️ Here are poems to inspire a love of reading while celebrating the world’s sport 📚 Read here: stefankarlssonwrites.wixsite.com/author/post/... #kidlit #poetry #WorldCup

As far I’m concerned, the winners of #WorldCup2026 are Cabo Verde and also my girlfriend, who has heroically listened to me rant about soccer 24/7 for weeks on end! 💙⚽️

I happened upon a Napping Tournament. Congrats to the winners, but this match was a snooze.

Here’s my June reading, including new picture book favorites by @studioespinosa.bsky.social, @jessiesima.bsky.social, @stevendraws.bsky.social, @laurelsnyder.bsky.social, & more! #amreading #kidlit

Marbled bookmarks are back in stock on my Etsy! I enjoyed making this colorful new batch 📚😊 #Etsy #SummerReading #bookmarks

🌈 New handmade notebooks! In honor of Pride Month, I'll be donating 20% of my Etsy sales through June 30th to @pflag.org, whose work supports LGBTQ+ youth, families, & communities across the country. #Handmade #WritingCommunity #CraftSky

I spotted a fun poem for kids in a neighbor’s poetry window! This poem by Avis Harley appeared in Paul B. Janeczko’s anthology A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. (I recognized Chris Raschka’s illustration!) Very cool to see more poetry windows popping up! #kidlit #poetry

Honey-sweet paper marbling pattern for Marbled Monday 🐝🍯🎨 #CraftSky #crafts #paper #marbling

I’m excited to have a few poems for kids included in the upcoming Silly Society Anthology! I’ve never been more grateful to be called silly! 😁 #poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit

⚽️ Just posted a new poem video for kids for the #WorldCup! This poem follows a young soccer player learning to juggle a ball. It’s a celebration of patience, persistence, and practice! Watch here: youtu.be/LTq5kClq7fc?... #poetrycommunity #kidlit #soccer

New blog post: Soccer Poetry for Kids! ⚽️📚 Sharing poems, books, & writing ideas for kids just in time for the #WorldCup! Featuring @colinwest.bsky.social, @kennnesbitt.bsky.social, @helenzax.bsky.social, & more! Read here: stefankarlssonwrites.wixsite.com/author/post/... #kidlit #poetry

So many excellent #picturebooks lately! Here are a few recent favs: Black Hands: Builders of Our Nation by Carole Boston Weatherford & R. Gregory Christie A Door Is to Open by Kyo Maclear & Julie Morstad Navigating Night by Julie Leung & Angie Kang The Fountain by Lisa Loffredo #kidlit

Our very own mentor/poet, @shaunjexauthor.bsky.social, joined us for our new interview! Shaun provides advice for anyone aiming to write professionally and mentions his poetry collection, A Catalog of Curious Creatures. Please share, follow, and keep shining!✨ www.litkidsmagazine.com/post/shaun-j...

Submissions for Issue 15 open on June 22nd! In a galaxy far, far away, through the depths of the ocean, in the middle of a moonless night… For this issue, we want you to take us into the dark. Visit www.littlethoughtspress.com/theme to learn more! #kidlit #callforsubmissions

I’m enjoying the new ticket of #kidlit poetry on The Poetry Express website! The theme for this ticket is Historical Horrors. Kids will love the ghoulish stories, spooky details, & gruesome facts. Congrats to the awesome contributors! Check it out here: scaryness.com/historical-h...

It’s the 2 year anniversary of my #kidlit poetry YouTube channel! 🎈Thanks to everyone who has supported my illustrated poems for kids! 💚 I’ll have more updates soon! 📖 #poetry #poetrycommunity

Brilliant post by @attielime.bsky.social about sharing the joys of poetry with kids. No doubt I’ll be returning to this post for inspiration. Thank you Attie & @cpsummit.bsky.social! 💚

A bit of randomness 🌀 swirled into a familiar pattern 🌊 Late for Marbled Monday but here’s this week’s dose of paper marbling 🎨 #marbling #craftsky #pattern #art

If you’re a writer/reader of #kidlit, I highly recommend following @kathywatson.bsky.social, whose #365PictureBooks challenge has been so inspiring! I always love to see what Kathy is reading next 📚💚

New poem on my blog - 'ONE WORD' joshuaseigalpoet.blogspot.com/2026/05/one-... #BookSky #poetry

American writer friends! I hope you’ll join me in contacting your House Rep to oppose HR 7661, which is effectively a national book banning bill. Ask them, instead, to support the Right to Read Act (HR 6440). For more info from @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social, see here: www.ala.org/news/2026/03...

The children’s bookstore where I work was included on Fodor’s list of America’s 10 Best Children’s Bookstores! 📚💚 I’m grateful to be a small part of such an amazing shop with the best team! How many of these bookstores have you visited? #KidLit #ChildrensBooks www.fodors.com/world/north-...

New batch of handmade bookmarks! 📚🔖 This is one of my favorite batches I’ve made—lots of fun color combos. Just in time for your summer reading! ⛱️📖 #writingcommunity #craftsky #bookmarks #reading

"Poetry allows students to express themselves in ways they may not otherwise. It can help them better understand themselves and the world around them. It can even help them heal." — @valeriebolling.bsky.social mrschureads.blogspot.com/2026/05/writ...

No rhyme or reason, Mother Goose nests where she likes. A story is born. #haikusaturday #haiku #poetrycommunity #mothersday

Today I enjoyed this clever #kidlit collection of false apology poems by Gail Carson Levine, inspired by William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say” poem. Very fun illustrations by Matthew Cordell! Nice to get back to reading children’s poetry books 😊 #poetryforkids #poetry

New marbling patterns taking flight 🪽 It’s been awhile since I’ve made any marbled artwork, but I recently turned this paper into a handmade notebook for a friend and it made me want to get back to #marbling and #bookbinding! So hopefully that means more updates soon 🎨📚💙 #craftsky

Such an honor to have a poem included in this stellar group. Thank you, Brian! 💚 #poetry #poetryforkids #kidlit

Mindful trailblazer, banana slug slows down to ooh and aah, ooze awe. #haikusaturday #haiku #poetrycommunity

Some recent favorite #PictureBooks! 👑 Ruthie by Esmé Shapiro 🕳️ Her Muddy Majesty of Muck by Beatrice Alemagna 🎈 While We’re Here by @annewynter.bsky.social & Micha Archer 🐭 102 by @cordellmatthew.bsky.social What are your recent favs? #kidlit #booksky

Happy #PoemInYourPocketDay! I’m filling my pockets with poetry zines that I hope to share. What poems are you taking with you today? #NationalPoetryMonth #kidlit #poetry

So cool to see the bookstore where I work appear in the latest @shelf-awareness.com newsletter about #IndependentBookstoreDay! I took the pic of the golden ticket winner 😄🏆📚 What a fun day celebrating books & indie bookstores! www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?i...

New blog post - a selection of poems by top children’s poets, on the theme of ‘People Who Help us’. Particularly suitable for KS1. brian-moses.blogspot.com/2026/04/peop... @shaunjexauthor.bsky.social @joshuaseigal.bsky.social

Celebrating #NationalPoetryMonth with a curated list of children’s poetry books I’m loving! Read here: stefankarlssonwrites.wixsite.com/author/post/... Featuring books by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social, @fuse8.bsky.social, @artbyvikram.bsky.social, & more! #poetrycommunity #kidlit

Today I met one of my favorite #KidLit illustrators, Doug Salati! I got a signed copy of Words with Wings and Magic Things, the book he made with Matthew Burgess & one of my fav children’s poetry books of 2025. Here’s a poem I love from this stellar collection! 🪽 #NationalPoetryMonth

I love me some libraries! The library was always my sanctuary, my safe space, my second home. Today, the library is sanctuary to the books I write, the stories I tell! Ever and always, my safe space. This is from Jumping Off Library Shelves, an anthology by Lee Bennett Hopkins. #nationallibraryweek

For today’s #NationalPoetryMonth pick, here’s a groundbreaking poem by Joan Bransfield Graham from her book of concrete poems AWESOME EARTH, with vibrant illustrations by Tania García. This book is such a fun intro to concrete poems, geology, and geography! #kidlit #poetry

For today’s #NationalPoetryMonth pick, here’s a hard-hitting poem from Simon Mole’s excellent book STOMP AND CHOMP: MY FIRST BOOK OF DINOSAURS! 🦖🦕 Dino fans will love learning fun facts through these clever poems. Plus the illustrations by Matt Hunt are wonderful! #kidlit #poetry

Very grateful to have a poem for kids included among this stellar group! 💜 #NationalPoetryMonth #KidLit #PoetryCommunity

Today’s #NationalPoetryMonth pick is “Wood” by Janet S. Wong from her book KNOCK ON WOOD: POEMS ABOUT SUPERSTITIONS, w/ enchanting illustrations by Julie Paschkis 🪾✨ I also recommend checking out their book NIGHT GARDEN, one of my fav #kidlit poetry books! #poetrycommunity

For today’s #NationalPoetryMonth picks, here are two #picturebooks that encourage kids to find poetry in the world around them & within themselves 🐿️🪴💚 Love these beautiful books by Micha Archer, the late great @kateywrites.bsky.social, & @heatherbrockmanlee.bsky.social! #kidlit #poetrycommunity

The spooky #kidlit poetry website Scaryness.com has a call for submissions on the theme of “Historical Horrors” about “strange, weird, and gruesome events” of world history. They’re particularly interested in contributions on cultures other than European and American.

Congrats to @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social on winning the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award! Exciting news for children’s poetry 💙 #kidlit #childrenspoetry

Yearning for peace, I almost overlook the summer snowflake. #haikusaturday #haiku #poetrycommunity

For today’s #NationalPoetryMonth pick, here’s a poem from John Himmelman’s brilliant book THE BOY WHO LIVED IN A SHELL. These story poems are some of my recent favs — imaginative, whimsical, & full of quiet charm. 🐚✍️ #kidlit #poetry #childrensbooks

Today’s #NationalPoetryMonth pick: “The Sahara” by David Elliott from IN THE DESERT, illustrated by @gordywright.bsky.social 🦂 A beautiful example of how poetry & vivid art can bring an ecosystem to life — great for classrooms exploring nature, geography, or imagery in verse. #kidlit #poetry

I have a new blog post about celebrating #NationalPoetryMonth with kids! Poetry activities & shoutouts to poetry heroes @jessicawhippl17.bsky.social, @brianmosespoet.bsky.social, @kennnesbitt.bsky.social, & @shaunjexauthor.bsky.social! Read here: stefankarlssonwrites.wixsite.com/author/post/...

For today’s #NationalPoetryMonth pick, it seemed appropriate to choose this luminous poem by Terry Webb Harshman! 🌖 It appears in the brilliant anthology THE POETRY OF SCIENCE from #PomeloBooks, edited by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong. #kidlit #poetry #artemis2

Today’s #NationalPoetryMonth pick: a fun found poem by Laura Purdie Salas from THE ARROW FINDS ITS MARK, edited by @georgiaheard.bsky.social 💘 I love how found poetry invites kids to look closely & discover poems hidden in the world around them! #kidlit #poetrycommunity

Middle Grade Verse Novel Stats 2026 It's my favorite month. National Poetry Month! And of course, I have updated middle grade novel-in-verse statistics to share. In 2025, I included verse novel awards as part of my infographic. This year, I'm not doing that here, but I will be posting each of the…