A to Z Blog Hop: Z

A zebra owned a zoo. 

It was in a school zone.

A dozen zany creatures 

with zippers called it home.

They all would eat zucchini, 

walk zigzag in the yard,

and help the school children 

where there were zero crossing guards.

A to Z Blog Hop: Y

A yak made lots of yoyos. 

The string was yellow yarn

dyed with yucky egg yolks 

he gathered from his barn.

For the round part he used yams 

grown in his back yard.

He cut them into circles 

and baked them to be hard.

A to Z Blog Hop: X

An ox that went to the doctor 

'cause he swallowed candle wax.

The doctor ordered x-rays, 

then sharpened his big ax.

“Hey, I can fix your problem,” 

spoke up Doctor Fox.

“No thanks, where’s the exit?” 

cried the frightened ox.

A to Z Blog Hop: W

 A walrus wearing a wig
in a wagon made of wood, 

went to gather walnuts 

and some water if he could.

He would have to pass the witch 

who waited by the well,

and wander past the web 

made from her wicked spell.

A to Z blog Hop: V

An old vulture in a van 

wore a velvet vest.

He was selling vegetables, 

trying his very best.

He would visit lots of people 

and give them valentines,

to help him sell the veges 

he grew upon his vines.

A to Z Blog Hop: U

My uncle, under an umbrella 

in his old undershirt,

was planting ugly weeds 

upside-down in the dirt.

A unicorn came along 

and helped me understand,

he was pulling the weeds UP, 

not planting them in the sand.

A to Z Blog Hop: T

I saw ten traveling turtles

take their treasures to a train.

But the trail to the tracks 

was very steep terrain.

One turtle dropped his toothbrush, 

one dropped his taffy treat.

One dropped a tiny teapot, 

and one a toilet seat

Celebrate Earth Day, hug a tree

I love the earth; its beauty and grandeur. God's hand is obvious, for man could never create something so function-able and beautiful at the same time as Mother Earth.

I just got back from a ride with my husband in his convertible. What a gorgeous day--how fitting for Earth Day. In honor of Earth Day and God's creations, I would like to share a children's book manuscript I've written. I don't know if I'll ever get it published because I hear that the picture book market is quite flat, plus I've never really sent it out there. But it communicates what I feel. I love trees. (Big surprise--I have a degree in botany).

My Friend is a Tree

My friend doesn’t wear

pink bows in her hair.

My friend doesn’t eat

milk, muffins or meat.

My friend doesn’t shop,

swim, cycle, or hop.

My friend’s not like me.

My friend is a tree.

In spring she’s all white.

Her blossoms delight

my eyes and my nose.

I love what she grows.

She’s so fun to climb

in midsummer time.

If I get the whim,

I swing from her limb.

An apple a day                                                                                   

I eat when I play

with her in the fall.

She helps me grow tall.

Last winter I’m told,

when it got too cold,

she gave her right arm

to help keep me warm.

There’s more to my friend.

Her gifts have no end.

She gives me for free

stuff essential to me.

Recycling the air,

she makes lots to share.

Used air becomes new,

so I don’t turn blue.

When it’s a hot day,

I don’t want to play. 

I long for her shade

where cool air is made.                                                                            

When I want to run,

when smog dusts the sun,

I’m glad that she’s there.

Her leaves clean the air.

My friend’s not alone.

All trees that are grown,

like oak, ash, and fir,

give gifts just like her.

We all need the trees,

baboons, birds and bees,

kids like us, too.

So what should we do?

Recycling is good.

It saves lots of wood.

I’ll turn off the light,

add blankets at night.

I’ll walk a lot more

to school and the store,                                                                       

and plant a new tree—

a new friend for me.

A to Z Blog Hop: S

Six snakes swallowed supper

while sitting by the sea.

Sand got on their sandwiches, 

then snails swam in their tea.

Soon they started screaming 

and slithered past their snack,

seeking snail-free safety 

in a silver surfboard shack.

S is also for SlimKicker

Today for the letter S I would also like to mention a new diet/fitness website, Slimkicker.com
It's an innovative idea to help you stay motivated and accountable in your quest for better health and fitness. It is a level up game that turns your diet and/or weight loss goals into a winnable game. Check it out if you get a chance.

A to Z Blog Hop: R

A rabbit rode down the river

with his friend the raccoon

on a red rubber raft 

in the light of the moon.

They weren’t racing to a rescue 

or requiring a drink,

they were seeking recreation 

at a roller skating rink.

A to Z Blog Hop: Q

A quail ran a store

in a quiet little town.

He sold a lot of quilts

made of fine goose down.

The queen stopped in to buy

a quilt of quality.

He charged her just a quarter

and a quart of royal tea.

A to Z Blog Hop: P

A panda in plaid pants painted pumpkins by the beach.

A penguin helped him paint so he shared his pretty peach.

They put their pumpkins in the fair and won the purple prize,

then cut them up in pieces and made some pumpkin pies.

A to Z Blog Hop: O

An ostrich threw a party one October night.

Her guest the octopus, didn’t seem quite right.

He liked to turn the lights off, then switch them right back on,

and from an odd-shaped dish, eat olives on the lawn.

A to Z Blog Hop: N

A nice nanny goat, with a necklace of noodles,

nibbled on nuts and trained nine naughty poodles.

She taught them how to tie a necktie and be neat,

never bark at night and use their napkins when they eat.

A to Z Blog Hop: M

Monkeys on motorcycles were eating a meal,

of meat, milk, and muffins, on top of the wheel.

They ran into the mailman, and a moose in a dress,

in the middle of Main Street and made a big mess.

A to Z Blog Hop: L

Lots of lazy lions building ladders by the lake.

They only made a little—they liked long lunch breaks.

At lunch they loved to lick limes and lemons that were sour,

and lie down on the lawn and laugh for half an hour.

A to Z Blog Hop: K

Kangaroos making ketchup, and kittens making kites.

They sold them from their kitchen to a king and his kind knights.

They were not paid with money, but a kiss on the cheek,

and the key to the kingdom for a year and a week.

A to Z Blog Hop: J

Lots of jellies and jams in cool magic jars,

made by a jester and his pet jaguars.

They pick fruit in the jungle, where they drive in a jeep.

They like to feel it jiggle and hear the horn go beep.

A to Z Blog Hop: I

Invisible inchworms, they couldn’t be seen,

except when they itched, then their skin turned bright green.

They turned inside-out; it was really quite icky,

and change into insects all gooey and sticky.

Winner of my Promises Giveaway--Michelle Jefferies

My blog tour is finished. Thanks to everyone who participated.

 Michelle Jefferies, you are the lucky winner of a portable puppet stage and 5 puppets and 3 sets of puppet props as part of my grand giveaway contest in celebration of the release of my new book. I hope you enjoy them and I hope you get an opportunity to read my new book, Promises.

A to Z Blog Hop: H

A hippo had a hat; the hugest ever made.

A hen made herself at home while it gave his head some shade.

He was happy with her there, but when she used her hose

to water her hydrangeas, mud would trickle down his nose.

Final Stop of Promises Blog Tour

The Promises Blog Tour is at an end. Make sure you hop on over to Heidi Grange's blog and see what she has to say about Promises. Today is your last chance to enter to win a puppet stage and puppets worth $290 in my big giveaway contest.

Win a copy of Robison Well's new book, Feedback

One of my favorite books that I read last year was Variant, by Robison Wells. Variant is a dystopic YA novel with a Lord of the Flies type feel, but much more enjoyable. If you're a fan of dystopia you'll want to read it.
I definitely want to try and win a copy of an ARC for the sequel, Feedback.  If you'd like to have a chance to win a copy too, you'll want to enter the contest Rob is hosting on his blog.
If you would like to check out my review of his book (I posted a few months ago) then check out my blog post about Variant.

Blog Tour Stop at Sheila Staley's

The Promises Blog Tour is almost finished. Make sure you hop on over to Sheila Staley's blog and see what she has to say about Promises. And don't forget to enter to win a puppet stage and puppets worth $290 in my big giveaway contest.

A to Z Blog Hop: G

A gorilla grew a garden, the greatest ever seen.

Grapes of gorgeous colors, like purple, red and green.

Grandma helped him gather the grapes from off the vine,

to sell at grocery stores for gifts at harvest time.

A to Z Blog Hop: F

Fields of fresh, fragrant flowers; I fell down in them one day.

The friendly farmer who grew them invited me to stay.

His family served me fresh fruit and fire-roasted fish.

I found I really liked it. Now it’s my favorite dish.

Blog Tour Stop at Tristi Pinkston's

Today's Promises Blog Tour takes us to my good friend, Tristi Pinkston's blog. Stop on over and see what she has to say about promises.

A to Z Blog Hop: E

An elegant elephant, in a fancy store

took the escalator up to the top floor,

bought some pretty paper with matching envelopes,

some embroidered bath towels, and little egg-shaped soaps.

Blog Tour Stop at Mary Ann Dennis

Today is the letter D in the A to Z blog hop, and it just happens to be the Promises Blog Tour stop at Mary Ann Dennis's blog. I love coincidences. So read about Dragons in the previous post, and then hop over to Mary Ann Dennis's blog and see what she has to say about promises. My book blog tour is quickly coming to an end, so if you haven't had a chance, make sure you enter my grand giveaway contest.

A to Z Blog Hop: D

Dragons danced before dinner to the beat of a drum,

then went down in a dungeon when dinner was done,

ate delicious deserts with long dainty tongues

and drifted off to dreamland when dull songs were sung.

A to Z Blog Hop: C

A camel cooked cookies in the back of a compact car.

In the front seat a cat put candy in a canning jar.

On top, a cow combined crumb cake and custard in a can.

The crew was very cramped, but they could not afford a van.

Blog Tour Stop at Connie Hall's

Today's book tour takes us to Connie Hall's blog. Stop over and see what she has to say about promises. Also stop by The Literary Mother book review blog and see what ratings she gave Promises.

Blog Tour Stop at Renae Mackley's

Today is the 11th day of the Promises Blog Tour. You'll want to stop by  Renae Mackley's blog and read her experience with teaching a group of young women about the importance of keeping their promises.

A to Z Blog Hop: B

A blue bird with a basket, brought some bees a treat;

home-baked bread and butter, and berry-buns to eat,

and then a big blue blanket, to hide them from the bear,

read a bed-time story and blew bubbles in the air.

Blog Tour Stop at Sandra Stiles

Today is the ninth day of the Promises Blog Tour. Please stop by Sandra Stiles' blog and read the touching story she shares about making promises to her children, and how her husband's weaknesses in keeping promises, help her to keep hers. Also check out her review of my new book, Promises. And if you haven't had a chance yet, make sure you enter my book tour giveaway for $290 worth of puppets and a stage.

A to Z bloghop: A

Yes, I'm participating in the A to Z blog hop. I did it last year and I loved it. I've decided to do animals and the alphabet. If only I were an illustrator, I could put my 26 posts together and have myself a picture book. But since I'm not, I'll just have fun with this blog hop. I hope you do too.

An astronaut packed an apple and left the atmosphere

headed to an asteroid. The trip would take a year.

He packed alphabet soup for dinner, for breakfast applesauce,

ants for his pet alligator, and lots of dental floss.