April Poetry Share

April is National Poetry Month, so I'm inviting you to share a favorite poem here, either one you've read or one you've written.
Here's one of my favorites:

SONNET 130
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
--William Shakespeare

Also, this website has great tips for Teen Bloggers:
www.BlogSafety.com

Sold

I just finished reading SOLD by Patricia McCormick. It's about the slave trade—the modern slave trade.
Lakshmi lives amid the beautiful mountains of Nepal. Her family is desperately poor and her stepfather gambles what little money they have away. She believes that her stepfather is sending her to the city to work as a maid, but instead she is taken across the border to work in India in a trade of a much different kind…

This stuff is really happening in our world. Right now. And it's not just happening in far off countries like India and Nepal. It's happening in New York City and Boston and Providence, too.
You can find out more about child trafficking and how you can help at Patricia McCormick’s website:
http://www.pattymccormick.com/

Young Heroes

Do you know a young hero? Nominate them for the Barron's Young Hero award at http://www.barronprize.org/

And talk about real heroes, check out The Hero Project: 2 Teens, 1 Notebook. 13 Extraordinary Interviews by teenage brothers, Robert and William Hatch.

Celebrate with the Divas

In celebration of Women's History Month, four fantastic YA authors have launched a new website. Check it out on http://www.readergirlz.com/divas.html

Write Stuff

Do you love to write poetry or stories or anything else?
Try your chances on this writing contest for all ages at
http://www.childrencomefirst.com/onlinewriter.shtml

Earn your Bread

We just had a terrific book discussion group on THE BREADWINNER by Deborah Ellis.
Did any of you folks out there in cyberspace ever read the book? What did you think of it?
I'd love to see your comments.