Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland - 15 October 2009 - Kids Express 2010 poetry competition for school aged children 8-12 and 13-17 is now open for submissions. Kids Express is part of Poets Express, a celebration of performance poetry, and for 2010 a special night is planned. All short listed entries (to be announced in June 2010) will have the opportunity to perform their poem on stage in Bantry, West Cork. First place winners will receive an engraved Kids Express trophy and award certificate.

I love to see this sort of thing. This is a poem/song of mine that was recently performed by students at a school assembly. I think they did a terrific job!

If you perform one of my poems for a school assembly, talent show, or festival and post a video online, be sure to let me know about it and I might put your video here as well.

I guess the cat's out of the bag. I was browsing on Amazon.com today and I discovered that my next funny poetry collection, The Tighty-Whitey Spider: And More Wacky Animal Poems I Totally Made Up is now available for pre-order, even though the book won't be available until April 1, 2010.

This next book is a collection of 55 funny animal poems and songs, and includes a CD of me reciting the poems and singing the songs, complete with music, sound effects, and crazy voices, as usual. And, just like My Hippo Has the Hiccups, The Tighty-Whitey Spider will be beautifully illustrated by Ethan Long, the creator of Tickle the Duck!

So if you just can't wait and want to have it delivered the moment it's available next spring, you can go ahead and place your order now.

If you are in New York City this weekend, I will be reading at several locations on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20. Please join me at any of the following events, all of which are free and open to the public:

For the past year, I've had a feature on the website allowing you to receive Poems by Email. When you subscribe, you automatically receive a different poem from one of my books in your email each week. But I've gotten requests from people who would like to receive the new poems as I post them on the website.

You asked for it, and here it is. You can now subscribe to receive poems from my books each week, or new poems as I post them on the website, or both if you like.

To subscribe to the new poems list, visit the Poems by Email page on this website and enter your email address for "List #2 - Newest Poetry4kids.com Poems by Email." Sometimes you'll get new poems every day and sometimes it may be weeks between each poem. As I write them, they will appear in your email.

Regardless of which mailing list you subscribe to, you can unsubscribe at any time, and your email address will never be shared with anyone else.

Enjoy!

I've said it for years... you don't have to be 40 years old to write a book. In fact, you don't even have to be an adult. One example I've been giving recently is 9-year-old Alec Greven's book How To Talk To Girls. But, as the name implies, his book is a "How To," a collection of advice, not a collection of poems.

This week I discovered the first book of funny poetry I've seen that was written and illustrated by a kid. 11-year-old Gloson Teh of Malaysia has published his first book, a collection of poems he wrote when was just 9 years old, entitled Creative and Funny Poetry for Kids. Although Gloson has been writing for most of his life, he was inspired to start writing funny poetry after discovering poetry4kids.com. The result is this book "created by a happy kid to make your kids happy."

In addition to writing and illustrating his poetry, Gloson is also well-known in Malaysia for his blog, www.glosonblog.com, where he writes about the things he learns.

I hope you'll take the time to visit Gloson's poetry website and his blog. While you are there, be sure to read the message from Gloson's mom, where she explains about the creation and production of the Gloson's book, answers questions about Gloson, and offers some thoughts and advice to parents everywhere. And, of course, you should buy a copy of Gloson's book to help with his education and to encourage him to create more books of funny poetry.

My son, Max, decided to write a poem for his school talent show. Here's what he came up with. I guess he must have learned what he knows about poetry from me. Though his poem is a bit grosser than mine, I hope you enjoy it.

For Immediate Release Reviews - Kids (firrkids), a blog that reviews children's books, DVDs, toys, games, health products, and clothing, recently published a rave review of My Hippo Has the Hiccups. Here's a bit of what they had to say:

That fact that this book comes packaged with a CD means it comes pre-packaged with instant appeal. Never has a poetry book been so wildly popular at our house. We have listened to this well over a dozen times, and there is no sign of waning interest. Author Kenn Nesbitt makes his incredibly funny poems that much more enjoyable by personally reciting them in funny voices.

Read the rest of the review here. Thanks Firrkids!

TIME for Kids announces the winners of its poetry contest. Congratulations to the Grand Prize Winner who will receive an online author visit from me, and to the five Finalists, who will each receive an autographed copy of My Hippo Has the Hiccups. Here's what TIME for Kids had to say:

"We asked for silly, rhyming poems and more than a thousand kids across the country answered. The judge of TIME For Kids' Poetry Contest, Kenn Nesbitt, read poems on topics ranging from a sax-playing piece of cheese to homework that grows legs and runs away."

Click here to read the rest of the story.

I got a kick out of today's "Sherman's Lagoon" comic strip. I hope you enjoy it too.