A picture book full of concrete poems about geographic features? Yes please!

Joan Bransfield Graham is an award-winning children’s poet whose books Splish Splash and Flicker Flash—shape poems about water and light—inspire students to write their own poetry. Both books were School Library Journal Best Books of the Year and NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts, among many other honors. A former teacher, an avid photographer, and a world traveler, Joan lives near Los Angeles, California. You can learn more about her at her website.

AWESOME EARTH is a collection of concrete poems about a variety of geographic features all over the world. The beautiful illustrations around the text really make this book pop. All the fun word play is also supplemented by wonderful back matter explaining more that appealed greatly to the educator in me (as well as the lifelong learner). There is so much to love here from all of the layers included. Just want the poetry? Sure. Just want to look at gorgeous art? Got that. Want more information for classroom use? Got it. It’s a multi-faceted book and collection.

Welcome Joan!

Me: You are a very talented and prolific writer and poet.  Can you talk about your journey?  When did you start writing?

Joan: Well, thank you, Jena, you are very kind. My mother read to my brother and me. I loved A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Moore and would beg her to read it over and over.  One night, when she was feeling a bit tired, she skipped over a few places and I said, “But you left out . . . .”   She said, “Do you know this book?” and I recited the whole thing—I was three years old.  My father used to tell us stories about a family that traveled and had adventures.  I’ve always enjoyed writing and won essay contests when I was in elementary school. I was also an editor on our high school newspaper, and studied in college to be a teacher. Now I have poems in the book I used in college for my Children’s Literature class–CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL by Charlotte Huck!  After publishing poems in Highlights, Ranger Rick, & Cricket, my first book SPLISH SPLASH, concrete poems about water, came out from Houghton Mifflin in 1994 and my second FLICKER FLASH, shape poems about light, came out in 1999. In 2024 those books celebrated their 30^th & 25^th Birthdays!  As you are a former English teacher, you’d like THE POEM THAT WILL NOT END, about a boy who can’t stop writing poetry.

Me: This is quite a collection of concrete poems that also conveys nonfiction information.  I love how the poems visually form the geographic features all throughout the book!  What gave you the idea to combine poetry and geography in this way?

Joan: Well, the shape poems come first, and then the artist creates an environment for the words. I love to see science and art do a tango with each other! Both are about seeking new perspectives, thinking creatively. Between high school and college, I took biology, botany, zoology, anatomy & physiology, geology, astronomy, chemistry and physics, but I also took lots of art classes—painting, ceramics, jewelry, stained glass, woodworking, watercolor, and Understanding and Enjoying Modern Art. In that last class we once took a trip to art museums in New York City—the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Years later a friend called one day and said, “I was just in New York at MoMA, and they have your book SPLISH SPLASH there!” Later, wonderful anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins (I did poems for 20 of his anthologies) asked if I would like to write a poem about a piece of art from the Met’s collection—YES! 

Me: You included many of my favorite things in this collection (like hoodoos, glaciers, volcanoes, and arches).  Can you talk about your research process a little bit?  Were there facts that you learned as you worked on this book that you hadn’t known before?  What was a favorite fact?

Joan: Doing research is fascinating—you keep wanting to learn more, it’s difficult to stop.   I was surprised that Antarctica is the world’s largest desert because it has so little rain or snow. The Sahara is the largest non-polar desert. While Mount Everest is considered the world’s tallest mountain above sea level, Mauna Kea is taller but over half of it is underwater in the Pacific Ocean.  Also, the Grand Canyon is larger than the state of Rhode Island.  And Bryce Canyon in Utah has the largest collection of hoodoos in the world.

Me: Those are fun facts. Were there any poems that got cut out of the collection?  Or any poems you wish you had included? 

Joan: Actually, no. All of my poems were included. Hills and mountains, plains and plateaus are the major landforms; plains make up over one-third of the Earth’s surface. But I also covered many other features.  I have submitted a manuscript of Air poems so there could be a set of the four Classical Elements:  Earth (AWESOME EARTH), Air (AMAZING AIR), Fire (FLICKER FLASH), & Water (SPLISH SPLASH).  At first, I thought how in the world can I do shape poems about air?  But I came up with quite a few ideas and hope that also will become a book!

Me:  Fascinating! The illustrations by Tania Garcia in this book are stunning.  That cover reminds of me of the National Parks posters I’ve been seeing a lot of the last few years.  Were there any illustration surprises for you when you finally saw them?  Any favorites?

Joan: Isn’t the cover gorgeous and so inviting? How could you not want to see more? I love Tania’s jewel-toned palette and how she echoed colors between the pages. My favorite is the double spread of the “Desert”—just beautiful!  And the “Valley” . . . wouldn’t you want to live there?  I live in the eastern Conejo Valley, nestled between the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains in California. When the hills turn green in the spring, they are an amazing color I call “new green.”  Yes, I am very grateful for Tania’s color-luscious work! And look at the “Glacier”—love those textures!

Me:  You are also a photographer who loves to travel, as well as an educator.  You’ve included some wonderful back matter for the book as well.  Were those photos in the back ones that you took yourself?  Did you choose what went into the back matter for this book?

Joan: I had written informative sidebars, but the design team decided to use them as back matter instead, along with my glossary, and my additional resources to explore—links to the American Museum of Natural History, NASA, National Geographic, the National Park Service, the United States Geological Survey, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. (While their “scienceline” is no longer active, they have an incredible archive of answered questions and other intriguing links.) Yes, I did take all the photos and submitted 16, but because of the space available they were only able to use six.  

Me: Any advice for other new picture book writers or poets?

Joan: Do something you love, and it doesn’t seem like work.  You will never “find the time,” you have to “make the time.”  Join the SCBWI–Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators–and volunteer (as you have done!), take classes or webinars, go to conferences and retreats, seek kindred spirits, join or create a critique group, and don’t give up because when you hold that first book in your hands, it is so worth it all.  I love being an author!

Thank you for your gracious invitation, Jena, and excellent questions. Alaska is an extraordinary state, rich with geological wonders. Some years ago, my husband and I bought Alaska Passes, which allowed us to travel all over on the ferries and trains—a fabulous adventure, which I highly recommend!

Aww! I agree Joan. Alaska is an amazing place full of beauty and adventure. Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

But wait, dear readers. There’s more! Joan has agreed to giveaway one copy of this book to a lucky winner (US contestants only). You can enter the rafflecopter here.

Joan is also participating in a blog tour for her book. You can read more about her book here:

AWESOME EARTH–BLOG/MEDIA TOUR, Feb. 17 – Feb. 21—Pub Date: Feb. 18

Monday, Feb. 17—Poetry for Children—Dr. Sylvia Vardell, Professor Emerita, Texas Woman’s University, Past President of IBBY, author, and publisher, a look behind-the-scenes:   http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/  

Tuesday, Feb. 18 – Georgia Heard, poet, educator, author, and inventor of Heart Maps ®, 2023 NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award:   https://www.facebook.com/georgia.heard.3 &   https://www.instagram.com/explore/search/keyword/?q=georgia%20Heard .

Wednesday, Feb. 19— Simply 7 Interview here with me today. 🙂

Thursday, Feb. 20– The Miss Rumphius Effect—Dr. Patricia M. Stohr-Hunt, Chair, Education Dept., University of Richmond, VA; President, VA Association of College and Teacher Educators (VACTE):  https://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/

Friday, Feb. 21– Jama’s Alphabet Soup—Jama Kim Rattigan, Virginia-based author, blogger, foodie, alphabet lover, picture book nerd; review of book, recipe, plus giveaway:  http://jamarattigan.com/