You can’t catch me!

NOTE: For those of you who are interested in attending the virtual Poetry Reading on the 13t, it might help to know that I’ll take the opening ten minutes of the program, which start at 7:00 CST. I’ll read some of my children’s poems followed by the other three poets reading their work for adult readers. The final twenty minutes, starting at roughly 7:40, will be open for Q and A. Hope this helps.

Hi everyone,

A few days ago I saw a video of my poem, “You Can’t Catch Me!”

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10222524021543336&id=1054445851&sfnsn=mo

that appeared in HOP TO IT, a recent title from Pomelo Books by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. I was charmed by it and went to the source for information.

Turns out that Sylvia is having each student in one of her classes at Texas Women’s University take a poem from the book and as a class project create a video of it. There will be new videos posted throughout April, National Poetry Month. Is this cool? Sylvia says all the videos are good but she suggested a few coming attractions to watching for, including Margaret Simon’s “Zen Tree” (on April 28), “Me and the Beach Creatures” by Susan Blackaby (on April 26), and “Wiggle Your Ears!” by Jay Brazeau (on April 21).

And don’t forget, you can always pick up a copy of the book and enjoy every poem in your own way in your own place in your own time. Hop to it!

Library Program this Saturday

Hi everyone,

I’m pleased to announce that this Saturday Jane Yolen and I will give a virtual presentation at The Library Center in Springfield, Missouri. Here’s the information printed in the Library District review of upcoming activities and programs at each branch.

Harrison and Friend Present: Tigers, Wolves and Skunks, Oh My!
December 17, 2020 — Celebrate Springfield’s favorite children’s author and the release of his latest two titles at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, for grades K-5.

David L. Harrison introduces “After Dark,” about creatures of the night, and “Rum Pum Pum,” about a lost drum and a friendless tiger that finds it. Join us for this virtual event to hear the author read from both books and tell you how he wrote them.

David will be joined by Jane Yolen, renowned author of 398 books for children and adults, and an esteemed poet and essayist.

Viewers are invited to supply sound effects and echo reading during the event! Registrations accepted Dec. 23-Jan. 8 and must be made by a parent or guardian by emailing nanceed@thelibrary.org and providing their library card number. A link and password to access the virtual event will be shared with registered participants.

David’s books are available for purchase at Pagination Bookshop, 1150 E. Walnut St., Springfield. Place an order by emailing paginationbookshop@gmail.com, provide name and how you would like the book(s) personalized by David Harrison. Or message to facebook.com/paginationbookshop or Instagram instagram.com/paginationbookshop/.

More celebration for Book #100

Hi Everyone,

Today at 10:45 a.m. CT I’ll be on Ozarks Public Radio KSMU, interviewed by phone by an old friend, Michele Skalicky . This is part of an ongoing celebration for reaching my 100th published book and I’m grateful to everyone at KSMU for this opportunity. The station is located on the campus of Missouri State University and reaches 40,000 listeners on a weekly basis. View the numerous ways you can listen to NPR and KSMU on the web or from your phone. Or manually load the streaming links into your favorite mobile app.

MP3 encoding 128 kps Stereo
KSMU – http://ksmu.streamguys1.com/ksmu3
KSMU HD2 – http://ksmu.streamguys1.com/ksmu4
AAC encoding 128 kps Stereo
KSMU – http://ksmu.streamguys1.com/ksmu1
KSMU HD2 – http://ksmu.streamguys1.com/ksmu2
From your radio, hear KSMU in the following cities on these channels:
KSMU: 91.1 FM – Springfield
KSMS: 90.5 FM – Point Lookout/Branson
KSMW: 90.3 FM – West Plains
K204FX: 88.7 FM – Mountain Grove
k255AH: 98.9 FM – Joplin
K279AD: 103.7 FM – Neosho

I hope to talk about the 100th book itself, EMPOWERING STUDENT’S KNOWLEDGE OF VOCABULARY: LEARNING HOW LANGUAGE WORKS, co-written with Mary Jo Fresch and published by National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE), but I’ll be happy to talk about writing in general.

On KOLR-10 TV today

Hi everyone,

This afternoon at 3:00 CST I will be the guest of Joy Robertson on Ozarks Live as part of the celebration of National Young Readers Day. The interview will touch on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Children’s Literature Award, my career, and some of my work. I doubt we’ll have time for me to read anything but I’ll hold up some recent titles and smile for the camera.

The 2020 version of appearing on TV follows this routine: I’ll be escorted in, they’ll take my temperature, I’ll sit in a waiting room till show time, then be escorted in and out of the studio. It pays to be cautious. Joy herself has had the virus and is happy to get through it and return to work.

To watch the show, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/OzarksLive/