“Her smile put the sunflower to shame.”     - Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl

            Did you ever have the experience of coming upon something in nature so magnificent or unexpected that it almost took your breath away, or at least made you stop and say, “Wow!”? Such was the case last week for me as I traveled a back road in Chester County, PA. My niece had alerted me to the not-to-be-missed field of sunflowers, so I was looking for them. Nevertheless, as my car rounded a slight bend in the road, I was “wowed” by the sight before me. Acres and acres of sunflowers as far as the eye could see stood tall and proud, evidence of the treasures that can be found in our natural world.

            I pulled safely off the road and joined a handful of other onlookers. There were mothers capturing pictures of their children as they played peek-a-boo in the carefully planned rows of blooms. A professional photographer gave a young girl (possibly a model) directions as she struck different poses with the flowers as her backdrop. And then there were others, like me, snapping a few pictures, leaning in for close-ups, and just taking in the beauty.

            There was an air of reverence and peacefulness as we wandered – quiet whispers and careful steps. Even the children remembered to look with their eyes, not with their hands. A small bench stood on the perimeter, as if the owners anticipated that others would be drawn to wonder, reflect, and find peace and encouragement among the sunflowers.

            Seeing this sight was a gentle reminder that in the hectic day to day rituals of our lives, it is important sometimes to stop and smell the roses (or in this case, the sunflowers).

At the end of July I posted a review of the three books in the Stella Writes series by Janiel Wagstaff. I am excited to let you know that there is a new Stella book coming out in October, and I was lucky enough to review it in advance. 
I can tell you that Janiel Wagstaff has done it again! In Stella, Poet Extraordinaire, she has managed to use all her experience as a teacher and writer to create two engaging characters that help young writers, as well as teachers, discover the joys of poetry. Stella and her teacher, Ms. Merkley, take readers on a journey through the process of writing poetry, from finding inspiration by taking a poetry walk to a final Poetry Jam where all the poets share their work.

Initially, Stella encounters many of the same struggles with writing poetry (maybe with writing in general) that teachers often see with students – lack of confidence, confusion, and uncertainty. But with Ms. Merkley’s guidance, Stella is able to work through those difficulties and emerge as a poet extraordinaire. As Stella explains: I look more closely at things; I linger so I can pick just the right words for what I’m observing, thinking, or feeling; and I discover thoughts I didn’t know I had when I write poems. Stella is genuine, making her a perfect mentor for young writers.

Ms. Merkley is the kind of teacher we all strive to be. She recognizes the potential in all her students, referring to them as writers from the very beginning. She writes with them, modeling her process (we even get to peek inside her notebook), and recognizes the power of shared writing to build confidence in her students. Ms. Merkley understands that the benefits of poetry are so strong that it should be a part of the writing curriculum throughout the year and extended across the curriculum. As she says:
Starting our year with poetry is perfect because it helps us learn to observe more closely, experiment with words freely, and discover how just a few words on the page can be powerful. Those are important things for writers to take to heart!
Perhaps most importantly, Ms. Merkley demonstrates the compelling link between reading and writing, tucking in poetry breaks throughout the day where she reads short poems to get ideas started.

Janiel has a special way of creating books that are must-haves in the writing workshop. Both teachers and students will embrace Stella and Ms. Merkley as their personal writing mentors, and will soon find themselves hooked on poetry, too. 

The Stella Writes books are published by SDE Professional Development Resources.