Honors
2016 SCBWI Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award
2014 BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR
by the Bank Street Center for Children's Literature
2014 GOLDEN KITE HONOR BOOK AWARD
for Picture Book Text
2014 NCTE Notable Poetry Book
2014 NCTE/CLA Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts
CRYSTAL KITE AWARD - Finalist
2013 CYBILS POETRY AWARD WINNER!
Chosen as one of
100 TITLES FOR READING AND SHARING
by the New York Public Library
Children’s Poet Laureate February 2013
BOOK PICK FOR THE POETRY FOUNDATION
Reviews
"Moving gracefully through the seasons, newcomer VanDerwater shares a girl's experience of what the forest has to offer."
—Publishers Weekly
"The imagery is fresh and original; it's accessible, too. Watercolor images of each poem's subject add
to the appeal."
—Kirkus
"Dip into this appealing collection for an introduction to early nature studies or poetry writing, or for generating some well-deserved enthusiasm for a stroll in the great outdoors."
—Booklist
FOREST HAS A SONG
Forest has a Song
by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
illustrated by Robbin Gourley
Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN-10: 0618843493
ISBN-13: 978-0618843497
Autographed Copies:
For signed copies of Forest Has a Song please send an e-mail to Jen Reisdorf of
The Bookworm in East Aurora, NY.
For Teachers
Download 5 Page PDF
about using FOREST as a poetry mentor text HERE.
Download 2013 Houghton Mifflin
Poetry Kit with ideas for using FOREST HERE.
Download 3 Page PDF guide from LIBRARY SPARKS about using FOREST as a STEM resource HERE.
Find more teaching ideas at TeachingBooks.net HERE.
Poetry Pairing at The Miss Rumphius Effect HERE.
Take a walk in the forest. Have a chat with a chickadee, watch the fiddleheads unfurl, discover a fossil, hear what a young owl tells its mother before its first flight. Find out what the spring tree frog is really saying. The forest is inviting you to come and visit. The poems in this book, intimate and lighthearted, will take you there.
from J. Patrick Lewis, 2011 - 2013 Children's Poet Laureate of the United States - With her first book of children’s poetry, Ms. VanDerwater has already arrived. A compendium of lyrical observations, Forest Has a Song includes the earnest marriage proposal of one frog to another, a woodpecker typing his (w)hole poem in a tree, and April waking in a slough of assonants. Teacher alert: This is the perfect companion—and poetry prompt—for an elementary school nature walk. - Read more reviews HERE .
The Russell County Laker Band from Russell County, KY, took inspiration from FOREST HAS A SONG for their award-winning 2014 marching band show. Click HERE to view their performance.
Hear me read “Puff” and see a puffball below: