Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve loved words from the moment I met them. I wrote my first poem when I was eight years old and haven’t stopped yet! As a children’s book author, I love incorporating rhyme, poetry, or lyrical prose in the stories I write. I was a shy kid and often felt like my poetry wasn’t “good enough.” It is my goal to get kids excited about all forms of poetry and I want them to know that they can be poets if they want to and that writing, reading, and sharing poetry is fun and rewarding. 


I wrote

How Do You Haiku? A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates

By Danna Smith,

Book cover of How Do You Haiku? A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates

What is my book about?

From the author of Peek-A-Boo Haiku comes a haiku how-to handbook for older readers. Haiku is a Japanese poetry form,…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku

Danna Smith Why did I love this book?

A pet adoption story told completely in haiku? Yes, please!

This delightful story begins at a pet shelter when a little boy chooses a cat to take home. It is told from the point of view of the cat with “catitude” and is so clever and funny! I am more of a dog person, but this story won me over and warmed my heart! Younger kids will enjoy the story and darling illustrations while older kids will recognize the three short lines of the clever “one breath” poetry.

By Lee Wardlaw, Eugene Yelchin (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Won Ton as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, this adoption story, told entirely in haiku, is unforgettable.

Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 2/15/2011 Pages: 40 Reading Level: Age 4 and Up


Book cover of Daniel Finds a Poem

Danna Smith Why did I love this book?

Like Daniel, young kids may have heard the word “poetry,” but what exactly is a poem? 

The collage illustrations will draw you in as Daniel takes a walk through the park asking creatures, “what is poetry,” the spider answers, saying, "to me poetry is when morning dew glistens.” Or maybe it’s “moonlight on the grass.” Daniel finds that poetry is different things to different animals, and he learns that to find his poem all he has to do is look around and listen. A perfect introduction to poetry!

By Micha Archer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Daniel Finds a Poem as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Stunning collage art full of rich color, glorious details, and a sense of wonder—reminiscent of the work of Ezra Jack Keats—illustrate this delightful story celebrating the poetry found in the world around us.
 
What is poetry? Is it glistening morning dew? Spider thinks so. Is it crisp leaves crunching? That’s what Squirrel says. Could it be a cool pond, sun-warmed sand, or moonlight on the grass? Maybe poetry is all of these things, as it is something special for everyone—you just have to take the time to really look and listen. The magical thing is that poetry is in everyone,…


Book cover of Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems & Drawings

Danna Smith Why did I love this book?

I dare you to read this book with a straight face!

This is a super fun classic collection of silly poetry that will tickle funny bones young and old. The simple line drawings tip the humor scale of each poem. The book is thick, 176 pages of rhyming nonsense. Just what the doctor ordered to put seriousness on the back burner and enjoy a giggle with friends and family.

By Shel Silverstein,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Where the Sidewalk Ends as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Shel Silverstein, the New York Times bestselling author of The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Every Thing On It, has created a poetry collection that is outrageously funny and deeply profound. Come in...for where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins. This special edition contains 12 extra poems. You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow…


Book cover of Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons

Danna Smith Why did I love this book?

I love that this book incorporates riddles and haiku!

Kids can turn the pages and travel through the seasons (spring through winter) in an illustrated playful guessing game. “I am a wind bird/ sky skipper, diamond dipper,/ dancing on your string.” If you guessed a kite, you are right! A clever combination of art, riddles, and poetry wrapped up in a beautiful picture book package.

Spoiler Alert: Lion of the Sky is a firework!  Wow! 

By Laura Purdie Salas, Merce Lopez (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lion of the Sky as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

you gasp as I roar,
my mane exploding, sizzling―
lion of the sky!

Haiku meet riddles in this wonderful collection from Laura Purdie Salas. The poems celebrate the seasons and describe everything from an earthworm to a baseball to an apple to snow angels, alongside full-color illustrations.


Book cover of Breathe and Be: A Book of Mindfulness Poems

Danna Smith Why did I love this book?

Leaves drifting on a winding stream, toes sinking into the soft sand, exploring the branches of gigantic trees… Kate Coombs’ simple poetry shows kids how to practice mindfulness to help them relax.

I love how this book gives us time to stop, look around, and enjoy the world we live in while enjoying poetry —“My breath is a river of peace.” The illustrations are so dreamy! Every child needs to experience this book!

By Kate Coombs, Anna Emilia Laitinen (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Breathe and Be as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

I breathe slowly in,
I breathe slowly out. My breath
is a river of peace.
I am here in the world.
Each moment I can breathe and be.

Hear thunder crash, feel your toes touch sand, and watch leaves drift softly away on a quiet stream. The simple poems in Breathe and Be help children learn mindfulness as they connect to the beauty of the natural world.

Mindfulness teaches us how to stay calm, soothe our emotions, and appreciate the world around us. Whether we're watching tiny colored fish darting in the water or exploring the leaves, branches, and roots…


Explore my book 😀

How Do You Haiku? A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates

By Danna Smith,

Book cover of How Do You Haiku? A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates

What is my book about?

From the author of Peek-A-Boo Haiku comes a haiku how-to handbook for older readers. Haiku is a Japanese poetry form, but it’s more than just a short, three-line poem. It’s an opportunity to slow down, go outside, and experience the world in a new way.

This book will help you understand haiku so you can create poems with powerful words and images. The included activities and templates will guide you through fun ways to “haiku,” including painting poem stones for your garden (Kuhi), creating haiku comic strips, and writing group poems with your friends (Renga). How Do You Haiku? This handbook will show you how step by step.

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Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

By Margot Machol Bisnow,

Book cover of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

Margot Machol Bisnow Author Of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve become passionate about telling parents how to raise happy, resilient, creative, confident, entrepreneurial children who are doing something that gives them joy. So many young people are unhappy; parents don’t understand how to help. They think their children should follow their path, but that no longer works for many. For the last 10 years, I’ve been speaking to parent groups; I was an Advisor to EQ Generation, an after-school program that gives children the skills to succeed; on the Advisory Board of MUSE School, preparing young people with passion-based learning; and on the Board of Spark the Journey, mentoring low-income high school students to achieve college and career success. 

Margot's book list on learn how to raise confident children

What is my book about?

This book shakes longstanding assumptions of parenting.

Through 99 stories of people who are now changing the world, it shows how to raise creative, confident, resilient children who are filled with joy and purpose. Based on interviews with top entrepreneurs and their parents, it guides you to help your children identify their passion and figure out how they can spend their professional lives doing something they love. 

Parents' well-intentioned efforts often boomerang. By ignoring their children’s skills and interests, parents can inadvertently create pressure and anxiety, thwarting their children's ability to excel and find happiness. Too often, following your heart…

Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

By Margot Machol Bisnow,

What is this book about?

Learn how successful entrepreneurs were raised! Could your children start a company that disrupts existing industries? Or a non-profit that helps people around the world? Or follow their passion as an artist or activist? And most important, lead a life of joy and purpose, to be happy and fulfilled? Margot Machol Bisnow, mother of two thriving entrepreneurs, reveals how to raise creative, confident, resilient, fearless kids who achieve their dreams, through 99 stories of families who did it.

Read stories from 70 families who raised true game changers. See family photos of these thriving entrepreneurs, both when they were young…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in haiku, cats, and mindfulness?

Haiku 17 books
Cats 205 books
Mindfulness 117 books