Fin Pal's Write the Finniest Letters
Isn’t Malise’s letter great! And she draws fintastic pictures, too! Even when finpals don’t ask questions, Norman sends an answer.
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
But first a finny:
Q: Why did Norman go to circus school?
Q: Why did Norman go to circus school?
A: He wanted to be a Clownfish.
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!
Poetry Challenge #315-Get Happy!
So maybe you aren’t old enough to remember rushing home to crowd around the TV Friday nights because The Partridge Family was on!
Hello, world, hear the song that we're singin'
C'mon get happy!
A whole lot of lovin' is what we'll be bringin'
We'll make you happy!
The big swoon was David Cassidy, the oldest brother/lead singer/best hair flipper of all time… (well, of the Partridge Family anyway) but dang, Shaun was the cute one. Right?
WRONG!
Shaun Cassidy born September 27, 1958, was David Cassidy’s half-brother and the son of Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones—the Partridge Family’s mother.
But he was not, as everyone thought, the youngest brother on the show. Shaun Cassidy wasn’t even on the show.
Maybe that’s reason enough for him to get happy. For while nobody anywhere know what happened to any other of those Partridge Kids, one need only click the remote to find out what Shaun baby has accomplished. He has created/written/produced scads of TV series including American Gothic, Roar, Invasion, and New Amsterdam. He has albums. Acted in The Hardy Boys Mysteries, Breaking Away and General Hospital. What’s more, Shaun is a poet.
Need more convincing? He sang Do You Believe in Magic?
Poetry Challenge #315
Come on! Get Happy!
Take a moment to think of all the words you possibly can that rhyme with happy. If you need help, pull out a rhyming dictionary—on-line or otherwise. Once you have a list of 5-10 words, weave them into a poem.
And then, because we absolutely know you have time left on the clock, rearrange and repeat words to give your poem a snap-happy rhythm.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Post-poeming reward yourself with a sing-along. Click on the link to view the lyrics included version of The Partridge Family Theme Song.
Nothing’s better than being together/when we’re singing
When we’re singing!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
and the WINNER of the "WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" QUARTERLY GIVEAWAY IS . . .
THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the Summer 2023 Quarterly Giveaway is . . .
But first an apology: Forgive me for being tardy in plucking a winner for this quarter. No excuses.
Drum roll please!
Wait! Before we announce the winner, huge thanks and fishbowl love to all of you who entered this quarter’s Winner’s Choice Giveaway by subscribing to my blog, “Kelly’s Fishbowl,” sending letters & drawing to Norman the Goldfish’s advice column “Ask Norman,” or sharing snapshots of “Activities” on social media.
The good news is you made our fishy hearts flutter with joy.
The better news is, there weren’t as many entries as their could have been—did you forget you could enter more than one time each quarter?—so all of you who did enter have a 1-37 chance of winning. Talk about great odds!
In the interest of fairness, we wanted choosing the winner to be completely random-random drawing. We asked this guy to pick a winner.
But he wouldn’t take the bait. . .
So, we popped all the entries into our trusty champagne bucket. . .
The drawing was a real cluck-a-do! If it doesn’t show below click to Kelly Bennett Books YouTube Channel—and watch some read-alouds while you’re at it: https://youtube.com/shorts/h8EuHMyVw4s?si=Zcxro3o1LTgCHbhj
And the winner is: Jackson Stacy!
Lucky Jackson will win dinner with a chicken or his choice of any one of these fabulous prizes:
To all of you, There’s still next time! Enter now, enter often, even better—have your kids, students, second-cousin on your goldfish’s side enter. There is no limit to how many times you enter—or WIN the Quarterly Winner-Choice Giveaway!
Poetry Challenge #314-See What to Do with It…
Today we’re veering a bit to the dark side of poetry, and maybe the biggest challenge of all: editing.
Dum-duh-dum-dum….
Why ever for? Because whether you know it or not, modern literature such as it is, IS because of today’s birthday boy, Maxwell Perkins. And if any of our poems IS going to be something they will need some of what he was: a thoughtful editor.
Maxwell Perkins was an editor at the publishing house Charles Scribner’s Sons.
He discovered and edited:
F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby),
Ernest Hemingway (The Old Man and the Sea),
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling), and
Thomas Wolfe (Look Homeward Angel).
Many of the books Perkins edited became best sellers and award winners; many of the authors Perkins discovered became household names.
Want to know more: A. Scott Berg’s biography makes excellent reading!
Kenneth D. McCormick, editor-in-chief of Doubleday & Company once said:
“Perkins was unlikely for his profession: He was a terrible speller, his punctuation was idiosyncratic, and when it came to reading, he was by his own admission ‘slow as an ox.’ But he treated literature as a matter of life and death.”
If, like Perkins, you’re “slow as an ox” but want to know more about him watch Genius, a 2016 movie starring Colin Firth is about his relationship editing Thomas Wolfe. (Colin, Jude, Nicole, Laura…the cast is reason enough to watch!)
Here’s the trailer for Genius—fascinating watching!
But for now, enough avoiding the inevitable: By now you will have already followed—many many times over in the course of this challenge—what I consider Perkins’ finest pin-up advice:
“Just get it down on paper, and then we’ll see what to do with it.” ― Maxwell Perkins
Poetry Challenge #314
See What to Do with It…
In honor of Maxwell Perkins’ birthday, Sept 20th, it’s time to use your editing skills. It’s said that Maxwell Perkins forced Thomas Wolfe to cut 90,000 words from his first novel (although some sources think that’s an exaggeration). However, we often use too many words, and our writing would be better if we tightened it.
Choose a poem you’ve written that has at least 50 words. Now take out ¼ of those words—if it’s a 50 word poem, try to get it to 38 words. You can delete words or change a phrase to one word—whatever works to get to your new word count. Read the new poem aloud. Is it better? Can you cut another ¼ of the words?
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Edit!
After you’re finished editing, reward yourself with this delightful read about Perkins on Lithub!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Where's Kelly Going?
Hi Friends! Happy Back-to-School!
Like everyone, I have a busy fall schedule planned, which includes several book events. I’ll be sharing my story—and my stories!
Spoiler Alert: I may or may not be wearing my tutu!
Below are places I’ll be presenting, signing, speaking this Fall—to which everyone is welcome! (I don’t post school events.)
Check it out! Along with getting to see me—HURRAH!—there will be lots of other authors, illustrators, books, fun, games, and prizes—always prizes!
Hope to see you there, here, everywhere:
KIDS’ STORYTIME!
Barnes & Noble, Danbury Connecticut
When: Sept 23, 11:00 am-1:00 pm
I’ll be reading, chatting, signing:
THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT
NOT NORMAN, A GOLDFISH STORY
NORMAN, ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH
There will be PRIZES!
Chappaqua Book Festival
Sept 30, 2023 10-4 pm
We are talking 140 Authors! Storytime! Crafts! Food! Fun!
Chappaqua Train Station!
The Author Location list is below, I’ll be in the Turquoise Tent—my favorite color!
Check the CBF website for all the Info!
. . . and then it’s TULSA TIME! Oct 23rd : 5-6 pm
Magic City Books
221 E. Archer St., Tulsa, OK
I’ll be reading, signing, tap dancing! So looking forward to connecting with Tulsa friends!
When: Oct 23, 2023
Time: 5-6:00 pm
Check the website: Magic City Books
There will be treats!
Oct 25, 3-4:00 PM:
Quogue Library
Family Presentation & Signing
I’ll be talking about my journey to becoming an author, creating stories & tips on how your stories can come alive!
BOOKS WILL BE SOLD—PROCEEDS GO TO WGC!
Quogue Library is in Quogue, New York, just east of Westhampton Beach. Click over to the for location and more—Website: HOME | QUOGUE LIBRARY
Louisville Book Festival!
Nov 10 & 11th, all day!
This is the third year and WOW! What a great event!
That’s all for now! Hope you’ll come out and keep us company! Grab some new books! Meet some cool creatives!
And please keep me in mind for events, festivals, conferences in your area!
Poetry Challenge #313-Gross and Gory
Pass the chocolates! Slice the giant peach! And BEASTLY school masters, get out the whipping stick! It’s Roald Dahl’s birthday!
Roald Dahl, creator of Willy Wonka, James and the B.F.G. was born on September 13, 1916. Talk about cool dude, he was born in Wales, went to boarding school—hello Harry Potter! —was a World War flying Ace—Yo! Snoopy! —and an intelligence Agent. Which in themselves are way enough, but get this:
“While Dahl was studying at Repton [a boarding school in England], the chocolate company ‘Cadbury’ would send boxes of chocolate to there to get tasted.
“This is where Dahl took inspiration for his most notable work ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ which was published in 1963.”—https://www.famousauthors.org/roald-dahl
BOY, TALES OF A CHILDHOOD is Dahl’s autobiography!
Highly recommended to readers of all ages and as a read-aloud.
Warning: It is not sunshine and lollipops…
Maybe the secret to Dahl’s success as an author and poet is simple.
He was not afraid to go THERE!
But not all the time. Here’s one of Dahl’s poems I found floating on the internet:
Here’s what Polly Barbour say about whether his stories are violent:
“Well, yes, they are people are eaten, children become lunch for a crocodile and a farmer becomes a nice juicy sandwich for a pig; eyeballs pop our as a result of too much television, and a stomach develops a vocabulary of its own when faced with extreme hunger.”- Polly Barbour
Poetry Challenge #313
Gross and Gory as Dahl
In her analysis of Roald Dahl’s poetry, Polly Barbour wrote that Dahl is a
“rare breed of author and poet who accomplishes the seemingly impossible; he writes stories and poems that children want to read and adults are delighted to read to them; his poems are just gory and gross enough for even the non-reading little boy to be captivated by, but they also contain a message or a lesson that pleases his parents.”
For today’s prompt, tap into that potty-humor-loving 4-5-7-10-11-year-old you used to be and write a poem that will shock and disgust adults—especially the buttoned-up teacher/preacher/granny type.
Let yourself go! Have fun! And if you’re so inclined, add it a devilishly Dahl didactic “message” at the end.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
For more of Rold Dahl’s poetry click on the Roald Dahl fanpage!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #312-What You Read in the News
In case you need permission, today (Sept 6th) is National Read-A-Book Day! What better way to celebrate than with poetry, but not just any poetry, newsy poetry ala our poet of the day, Christine Rhein, because it’s her birthday and she has a nose for news!
Christine Rhein, the daughter of German immigrants, was born in Detroit and has always lived in southeastern Michigan.
She is a former auto engineer and notes that she approaches poetry in the same way she crafted cars:
“Each poem presents a puzzle, with its components and features needing to fit and operate.”
“Although such poems can’t change the tragic circumstances they address, I like to think that, in some small way, I am honoring an individual’s life, and inviting my readers to do the same.”
The poem below, "Sunflowers" is included in a new poetry anthology, Busy Griefs, Raw Towns. All proceeds from the sale of the anthology are forwarded to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to support continuing Ukraine relief efforts. More information about the anthology can be found by clicking here.
In an interview for ReadWritePoetry Blogspot, Nancy Chen Long noted how Rhein’s poetry collection, Wild Flight, contains several poems inspired by or based on the news.
Rhein’s poetry collection, Wild Flight, contains several poem based on news
When asked why she focuses on current events, Rhein’s said,
“Although such poems can’t change the tragic circumstances they address, I like to think that, in some small way, I am honoring an individual’s life, and inviting my readers to do the same.”-Christine Rhein
Here’s a selection from Wild Flight:
Poetry Challenge #312
What You Read in the News
Of her poems, Christine Rhein says, “When I write, I want a ride that’s not safe, smooth, or even steerable, but rather one that’s full of unexpected lunges, turns, and spins.”
For this prompt, choose something from the news as your subject. Use the headlines from that story as your title. It can either be the exact headline, or one you make up.
Write a poem inspired by or based on that story. Add twists and turns and unexpected lunges ala Rhein.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Treat Yourself: Listen to Rhein read her poem “In Detroit, What Counts as Grace.”
And, when your poem is finished, reward yourself by READING A BOOK! Maybe mine and tell your friends to buy it, because THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT is baseball!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2600+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .