GOAL! YOU JUST WAIT: A Poetry Friday Power Book features twelve PowerPacks that use creative activities to get tweens and teens (Grades 6-12) thinking, drawing, reading, and writing. Here's a story-in-poems about Paz, an Asian-Latina soccer star; Lucesita, her feisty movie-loving cousin; and Joe, an older brother with dreams of the NBA. Resources for readers (as well as teachers and book club leaders) include recommended book lists and websites, writing checklists, talking points and performance tips, and places to publish their own poetry.
What People Are Saying about YOU JUST WAIT:
“Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell have once again broken barriers with their bold, innovative approach to teaching poetry.”—Margarita Engle, Young People's Poet Laureate
“The perfect invitation for teens to explore text-to-self connections through poetry.”—David Bowles, Pura Belpré Honor-winning author of The Smoking Mirror
“Great spirit! Great fun! Let’s write!”—Pat Mora, Author of Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems about Love; Founder of Día: Children's Day, Book Day / El día de los niños, El día de los libros
“Every poem tells a story. Every page invites connection.”—Carol Jago, Longtime English teacher and Past President of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
The book features the work of the dynamic team of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, and 12 poets: Margarita Engle, Robyn Hood Black, Jen Bryant, Julie Larios, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Joseph Bruchac, Avis Harley, Charles Ghigna, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and Charles Waters.
Vardell and Wong are the creative forces behind The Poetry Friday Anthology series and the Poetry Friday Power Book series. You can learn more about their books at PomeloBooks.com.
Books by Vardell and Wong have won numerous awards and accolades, including the ILA Notable Books for a Global Society (NBGS), NCTE Poetry Notables, Children's Poet Laureate Pick of the Month, CBC Hot Off the Press, and NSTA Recommends.
YOU JUST WAIT features the work of eleven award-winning poets plus the dynamic team of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. The poets: Margarita Engle, Robyn Hood Black, Jen Bryant, Julie Larios, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Joseph Bruchac, Avis Harley, Charles Ghigna, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and Charles Waters, whose poems for this book all appeared first in the companion book to this book, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School.
Sylvia M. Vardell is Professor at Texas Woman’s University and teaches courses in children's and young adult literature. She has published five books on literature, as well as over 25 book chapters and 100 journal articles. Her current work focuses on poetry for young people, including a regular blog, PoetryforChildren.blogspot.com, since 2006. Her favorite team experience was being part of the Mermaids Drill Team in middle school. No mermaid tail, but lots of cheering, dancing, and good times with friends.
Janet Wong is a graduate of Yale Law School and a former lawyer who became a children’s poet. Her work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and other shows. She is the author of 30 books for children and teens on chess, creative recycling, yoga, superstitions, driving, and more. Always a slow runner and a below-average athlete, she grew up wishing she could be on a sports team—but settled for the debate team instead, where she could have used more of Lucesita’s flair for the dramatic.
