Buttons & Figs

"And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came." Listen as poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera reads this famous Lewis Carroll line, explaining it is the yeast that made his book, Jabber-Walking, rise. Jabber-Walking is a way to observe the world, inspiring kids to write poetry. On this episode, Juan shares where his love of poetry came from, how he came up with Jabber-Walking, and how YOU can start Jabber-Walking too. It also features 4th grade student voices from Landmark Elementary School in Glendale, Arizona, who share their Jabber-Writing as they walked through the tulgey wood. Visit Buttons & Figs to find the full interview with Juan Felipe Herrera and a free downloadable coloring sheet, by artist Ann Pickard, inspired by this episode. -- now go write and walk...Jabber-Walk!

How well do you know your nursery rhymes?! Test your knowledge on Nursery Rhyme Jeopardy! We have 5 clues. See if you can guess the answers...in the form of a question, of course! Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Most Wednesdays this spring, join us for this wordplay thing. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW companion pieces to help you play our way! Now, GO PLAY!

For National Poetry Month, we sail in a sieve to the land of poetry, with author Kyle Lukoff. Kyle just released a picture book titled, "Explosion at the Poem Factory." Kyle shares the story about the good bad poem that inspired his book, you'll also learn about the Philolexian Society he belonged that each year hosts a bad poetry festival each year...and he shares the secret of what makes a bad poem..good. And as always, a few Buttons & Figs kids share their good bad poems to show us the way to wordplay...Now go write a poem! www.buttonsandfigs.com

Happy Sorta Not New Anymore Year from us to YOU! This is just a short episode to say, we have more wordplay heading your way! In the meantime, be sure to listen to past episodes, there are all sorts of different ones, with all sorts of different kind of wordplay fun. And, since it's Lewis Carroll's birthday, I have a little song I've been working on called, "Portmanteaus Are Useful!" Stay tuned for more wordplay fun in 2020...too bad it's not 2021 yet, it rhymes better. Now, go play!

Buttons and Figs is a podcast for kids about nonsense. each episode will feature great nonsense literature recommendations, kid recordings of nonsense, and a fun downloadable activity designed to inspire YOU to make a little nonsense of your own - at home, in the car, at school, or wherever you are.