2. KRISTINE O’CONNELL GEORGE
• Born in Denver, Colorado
• Inspired by nature and often finds inspiration in her
own backyard
• Principle voice in contemporary children’s poetry
• Received the Claudia Lewis Award from Bank Street
and was named an ALA Notable, School Library
Journal Best Book, and Bulletin Blue Ribbon for her
most recent book, Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems
• Currently resides in the Santa Monica Mountains of
Southern California with her family
6. TREE TRAFFIC
Major tree traffic today—
commuters in both directions,
rippling up and down,
tails unfurled.
The treeway is
heavily squirreled.
7. VOICE & POINT OF VIEW
George utilizes different ‘voices’ and points of
view within her poetry, most specifically from
the point of view of trees.
8. OLD ELM SPEAKS
It is as I told you, Young Sapling.
It will take
autumns of patience
before you snag
your
first
moon.
9. IMAGERY
Kristine O’Connell George creates beautiful
imagery within her poetry through the use of
descriptive language and rhetorical devices
such as similes.
10. POLLIWOGS
Come see
What I found
Chubby commas,
Mouths round,
Plump babies
Stubby as toes.
Polliwogs!
Tadpoles!
Come see
What I found!
Frogs-in-waiting—
Huddled in puddles,
Snuggled in mud.
11. PUBLISHED WORKS
• Book! • Hummingbird Nest: A
• The Great Frog Race Journal of Poems
• Old Elm Speaks: Tree • One Mitten
Poems • Up!
• Toasting Marshmallows: • Fold Me a Poem
Camping Poems • Emma Dilemma: Big
• Little Dog Poems Sister Poems
• Little Dog and Duncan
• Swimming Upstream:
Middle School Poems
12. CLASSROOM CONNECTION
• Encourage students to find some aspect of nature that
interests them and write a lyrical, imagistic poem about it.
• Allow students to create their own poems about:
• Nature
• Animals
• Special moments
• Relationships
• Everyday objects
• Read Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems and discuss with students
the importance and effect that ‘voice’ and point of view
gives to poetry. Allow students to experiment with writing
poetry from different perspectives and with different voices.
• Give students a random object and have them write a poem
about it that gives it both importance and meaning.
