{"id":292115,"date":"2025-06-14T04:08:31","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T04:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/lee-wardlaw-on-my-book-of-firsts\/"},"modified":"2025-06-14T04:08:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T04:08:31","slug":"lee-wardlaw-on-my-book-of-firsts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115","title":{"rendered":"Lee Wardlaw on MY BOOK OF FIRSTS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-body-7483855750196473468\" itemprop=\"description articleBody\">\n<span style=\"font-family: arial;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhYYhlHke4PGXk8Y-TqYUOKFyZeFZSo1KTt35R__wErSL9k1_wZpVYcY132vFQHthFZD44vRXuh9uT-dhrtItAXOYBSsOM1QhW50Q0WUVAqKEYrsaE2VV2GHjJHAw8ve_Ve_xZDoI47ebScidrKkjMH1XBW64AY27YN7VFWqeFP-KL4_xYynA_s\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-original-height=\"639\" data-original-width=\"864\" height=\"257\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhYYhlHke4PGXk8Y-TqYUOKFyZeFZSo1KTt35R__wErSL9k1_wZpVYcY132vFQHthFZD44vRXuh9uT-dhrtItAXOYBSsOM1QhW50Q0WUVAqKEYrsaE2VV2GHjJHAw8ve_Ve_xZDoI47ebScidrKkjMH1XBW64AY27YN7VFWqeFP-KL4_xYynA_s=w348-h257\" width=\"348\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>I invited Lee Wardlaw to give us a sneak peek into her new poetry book, <b><i><span style=\"color: red;\">My Book of Firsts: Poems Celebrating a Baby&#8217;s Milestones <\/span><\/i><\/b>illustrated by Bruno Brogna and published by Red Comet Press. Lucky for us, she shares an interview led by fellow poet Kristine O&#8217;Connell George, author of <i>Old Elm Speaks, Toasting Marshmallows, Little Dog Poems, Hummingbird Nest, Emma Dilemma<\/i>, and many more. Here they dig deep into Lee&#8217;s process in creating <b><i>My Book of Firsts.<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n<p>* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0*.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0*<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"><br \/><b>KRISTINE:<\/b> I admire how creatively and deftly you used off rhyme. Can you tell us more about how you construct your rhyme schemes?<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: red;\">LEE:<\/span><\/b> Yikes. Couldn\u2019t you start with an easier question, such as \u201cWhat is your middle name?\u201d (I\u2019ve always hated it and don\u2019t use it. I\u2019ll give you a hint, though: it\u2019s a palindrome.*) <\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhhYTN_Lhmnegfd68GPRYnxkLoabLuGBD71izf6dBy5P41wUUvzJUR5_qaD9SWl03YSuzf2kKm3S5DeBbRcX-rsGc9zOos6KkbywlCs_y8RMRpOpDoP3UpO7T_yeD3ZWVKRWqpjO_FvDNbmKFh9NRSz3e1xx93HuCPdtyJRzLVL47LBBxbNeeRp\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-original-height=\"864\" data-original-width=\"648\" height=\"440\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhhYTN_Lhmnegfd68GPRYnxkLoabLuGBD71izf6dBy5P41wUUvzJUR5_qaD9SWl03YSuzf2kKm3S5DeBbRcX-rsGc9zOos6KkbywlCs_y8RMRpOpDoP3UpO7T_yeD3ZWVKRWqpjO_FvDNbmKFh9NRSz3e1xx93HuCPdtyJRzLVL47LBBxbNeeRp=w329-h440\" width=\"329\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>As for rhyme schemes: First, I decide what the poem is going to be about. Then, with paper and pen, I brainstorm what sorts of things I want to say, possible ways to say them, who might say them, etc. And thenI scribble words or sounds or phrases that rhyme with the words and sounds and phrases I might use in the poem. I jot down true rhymes, off rhymes, internal rhymes; big words, little words, multisyllabic words. Everything. And when an inkling inkles, I use whatever paper is handy: notebooks, paper placemats, grocery store receipts, the back of a canceled check\u2026<\/p>\n<p>I used to have a rhyming dictionary, and I\u2019d boost my brain with words from that; now I visit RhymeZone.com because it\u2019s both a rhyming dictionary and a thesaurus \u2013 which is handy when I\u2019m stuck for a rhyme and need to find a synonym that rhymes with more words than the original one did.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes my brainstorms are very neat. Other times \u2013 not. Doesn\u2019t matter. The deeper and messier I get, the better the words are. I never want to use the first words\/rhymes that come to my mind, because those tend to be cliched, predictable, ho-hum. <\/p>\n<p><b>KRISTINE<\/b>: The poems in <i>MY BOOK OF FIRSTS<\/i> are such fun to read aloud. Do you read your poems aloud as you are working?<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: red;\">LEE: <\/span><\/b>Constantly (to the great frustration and confusion of my cats, who think me speaking aloud is a precursor to petting or feeding them). All poetry is meant to be read aloud. Sure, you may need to read poems silently in certain situations, but to get the full effect of the sounds, rhythms, the rhymes, you MUST hear them. A poem is learned best, understood best, enjoyed best, when read aloud. And, obviously, since babies can\u2019t read, reading aloud is the only way to share the poems from my book! <\/p>\n<p>Too, reading my work aloud helps me to hear mistakes: places where the meter and rhythm are off, where a line doesn\u2019t flow naturally or doesn\u2019t fit the expected pattern. I can also hear the places where I trip or stumble. And I can better hear if a word truly rhymes or if I\u2019m simply forcing the word to rhyme. I once had a spat with an editor because I used the word \u2018mirror\u2019 as a one-syllable word, pronouncing it \u2018mere.\u2019 She said, \u201cNo, no, no. It\u2019s TWO syllables. Mir-ror.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>I said, \u201cBut I pronounce it as ONE syllable.\u201d Her response: \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter. Most people don\u2019t. Choose a different end word.\u201d That wasn\u2019t so easy. I had to rewrite the entire stanza. <\/p>\n<p><b>KRISTINE:<\/b> You are a trained Montessori teacher. Did that experience influence this or your other books? If so, how?<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: red;\">LEE:<\/span><\/b> I have a B.A. in Education and a public school teaching credential. But I\u2019ve always been fascinated with Dr. Maria Montessori\u2019s work, and my son attended an AMI Montessori school for 11 years. So at the tender age of 53, I went back to school to get my M.Ed. in Child Development and my Montessori certification for teaching at the primary level (ages 3-6). I didn\u2019t intend to teach; I just wanted to write better books for children. What I learned is: From that first breath at birth to quasi-maturity at age 24 (okay, for some people, 42), children go through four stages of dramatic physical, intellectual, emotional, and psychological changes. Knowing what these changes are, and when and how they appear, has helped me to better choose age-appropriate themes, construct believable, authentic characters, and hook kid-readers from the first sentence. I know the difference between what kids find hilarious at six months and what cracks them up at age six \u2013 and 16! \u2013 and why. And I now know the important milestones they must reach in those first three years of life in order to build upon that knowledge, that development, as they grow. I teach workshops for writers about this. When you write for children and teens it\u2019s crucial to know your audience. And for young readers, that means it\u2019s hugely helpful to take crash course in child development. <\/p>\n<p><b>KRISTINE:<\/b> Designing your book as a keepsake was an inspired decision by your publisher, Red Comet Press. I can see MY BOOK OF FIRSTS being one that stays in a family for generations. What keepsakes did you keep (or wish you had kept) from your son\u2018s very early years?<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: red;\">LEE:<\/span><\/b> I kept a lock of Patterson\u2019s soft, wispy hair from his first haircut. I also kept his first tooth. True confession time: I kept all his baby teeth! Well, except for the one that popped out when he bit into his seat belt while we were on a ride. That tooth got lost somewhere in the crumb-y, dusty depths of his car seat. I kept the rest of his wee chompers in a small crystal jar with a sterling silver lid. My great-grandmother\u2019s initials are engraved on the top. One day, when Patterson was 12 or 13, he found the jar and shook it. It made a faint chinka-chinka sound. \u201cHey, what\u2019s in here?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTake a peek!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did. \u201cWHAT the &#8211; &#8211; are those &#8211; &#8211; ?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYep, your baby teeth!\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom. MOM. That is just\u2026GROSS.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEiRlfqNy0fDHPImXT_bBMW1U-jq0y91qKO3g9sTLBdgKH1XMt663XROS12XkrZ5x52KYIwrzR-nYx0rrfPsdMuuUB0cAZ7P27GvD64rGX-HhE_0kbQGKVQ3gyRQ8SqUbdHKOHMA4JhxObYwhIgVqW-Gq2-nlBuy-T54HTQmiJftppCavB10x-nf\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-original-height=\"585\" data-original-width=\"864\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEiRlfqNy0fDHPImXT_bBMW1U-jq0y91qKO3g9sTLBdgKH1XMt663XROS12XkrZ5x52KYIwrzR-nYx0rrfPsdMuuUB0cAZ7P27GvD64rGX-HhE_0kbQGKVQ3gyRQ8SqUbdHKOHMA4JhxObYwhIgVqW-Gq2-nlBuy-T54HTQmiJftppCavB10x-nf=w416-h281\" width=\"416\"\/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhGRnvPovlSXGeJjgr3Y3uJ6MVYgRlfq-fjK8OS-fzpDcw1CrRZHNx3VuQT1LZCbr12sSATrrhx17z6vZsym7MF5bfOGQt8KNNkTgc0ciDDfrxlO3vAxJYV5aUynWhzxS_Nwqg6-8Yx12kaHAnw7lvg9RxkvH7UzZ87fA7kZgXsJJoohYebYLOn\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;\"><br \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEh1A_117of4zxe5xyr-OAsSdxW9WzSLV02WIZ8JA9_eXxwugGkoe4sSUujmW_i38YZkOgRvs2kcBmA2F3zjccFzGKga541dcF9XAyov0qNdonHmJv7fuN9sDOsi4LvaiU3aDMG1io9dPI1077eYcjpbrxWf44I8eWEsr42kljD7B60mmzgqZdK4\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;\"><br \/><\/a><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">He was so creeped out, and I was so embarrassed, that I threw them away. But I saved other \u2018first\u2019 items from his babyhood, like the remaining scrap of his favorite blankie. \u201cRag\u201d is too good a word for it. But it\u2019s poetry in cotton flannel to me. Oh! I also saved most of Patterson\u2019s toothpaste collection. He started collecting tubes when he was two. (Don\u2019t ask why. We don\u2019t know.) Friends heard of his collection and brought tubes home from their travels. France. Israel. Mexico. Japan. China. Iceland. Patterson kept them in a container under his bed, so his room always smelled minty fresh. That story is going to be a picture book someday\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"><b>KRISTINE:<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"> What question(s) do you wish someone had asked you? (Besides your preference for milk or dark chocolate?<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: right;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhGRnvPovlSXGeJjgr3Y3uJ6MVYgRlfq-fjK8OS-fzpDcw1CrRZHNx3VuQT1LZCbr12sSATrrhx17z6vZsym7MF5bfOGQt8KNNkTgc0ciDDfrxlO3vAxJYV5aUynWhzxS_Nwqg6-8Yx12kaHAnw7lvg9RxkvH7UzZ87fA7kZgXsJJoohYebYLOn\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-original-height=\"525\" data-original-width=\"359\" height=\"224\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhGRnvPovlSXGeJjgr3Y3uJ6MVYgRlfq-fjK8OS-fzpDcw1CrRZHNx3VuQT1LZCbr12sSATrrhx17z6vZsym7MF5bfOGQt8KNNkTgc0ciDDfrxlO3vAxJYV5aUynWhzxS_Nwqg6-8Yx12kaHAnw7lvg9RxkvH7UzZ87fA7kZgXsJJoohYebYLOn=w152-h224\" width=\"152\"\/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Lee&#8217;s first hat!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b style=\"font-family: arial;\"><span style=\"color: red;\">LEE:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"> But dark chocolate is LIFE. And my favorite is: Trader Joe\u2019s The Dark Chocolate Lover\u2019s Dark Chocolate. It is The Best.\u00a0<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: arial;\">But I wish someone had asked me about MY firsts. So here are a few: First Word: Kitty. First Cat: Pit-a-Pat. Got him when I was 7. First Haircut: Didn\u2019t get one till I was 3. My mom said I was bald for a very long time. First Poem I Wrote: \u201cThe Midnight Ride of Mouse Revere.\u201d (Refrain: \u201cThe Cats are coming! They Cats are coming!\u201d ) First Hat: <\/span><i style=\"font-family: arial;\">See picture \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: arial;\"><b>&gt;&gt;&gt; Thank you to Lee and Kristine for this fun look at the poet&#8217;s process and the intersection of life and writing! Be sure to look for <i>My Book of First&#8217;s<\/i>&#8212; the perfect gift for a family expecting a new baby or for prompting older kids to learn more about their own arrival!\u00a0<\/b><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I invited Lee Wardlaw to give us a sneak peek into her new poetry book, My Book of Firsts: Poems Celebrating a Baby&#8217;s Milestones illustrated by Bruno Brogna and published by Red Comet Press. Lucky for us, she shares an interview led by fellow poet Kristine O&#8217;Connell George, author of Old Elm Speaks, Toasting Marshmallows, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":292116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2268,43986,3914,123383],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-292115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-book","tag-firsts","tag-lee","tag-wardlaw"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lee Wardlaw on MY BOOK OF FIRSTS - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lee Wardlaw on MY BOOK OF FIRSTS - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I invited Lee Wardlaw to give us a sneak peek into her new poetry book, My Book of Firsts: Poems Celebrating a Baby&#8217;s Milestones illustrated by Bruno Brogna and published by Red Comet Press. Lucky for us, she shares an interview led by fellow poet Kristine O&#8217;Connell George, author of Old Elm Speaks, Toasting Marshmallows, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-14T04:08:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/AVvXsEhYYhlHke4PGXk8Y-TqYUOKFyZeFZSo1KTt35R__wErSL9k1_wZpVYcY132vFQHthFZD44vRXuh9uT-dhrtItAXOYBSsOM1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"864\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Lee Wardlaw on MY BOOK OF FIRSTS\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-14T04:08:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115\"},\"wordCount\":1335,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/AVvXsEhYYhlHke4PGXk8Y-TqYUOKFyZeFZSo1KTt35R__wErSL9k1_wZpVYcY132vFQHthFZD44vRXuh9uT-dhrtItAXOYBSsOM1.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Book\",\"Firsts\",\"Lee\",\"Wardlaw\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=292115\",\"name\":\"Lee Wardlaw on MY BOOK OF FIRSTS - 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