
Hello, Great Readers of our series! Just in case you haven’t visited before, let me tell you a little about A Great Nephew and A Great Aunt. My great nephew, Landon (a fifth-grader) and I (his great aunt) collaborate. I write a poem which he illustrates. We started this collaboration last fall and have had so much fun with it that we decided to invite others along. Landon and I will continue to have a new episode on the second Friday of each month. The other Fridays are filling up quickly with guests. I have created a page on my website to view all the episodes of A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt. Click HERE to visit the page and enjoy past episodes.
Today it is my pleasure to share a creative collaboration by . . .
Lori Degman and son, Brian
A photo of Lori and Brian in Grand Central Station, when he lived in NY.
From Lori: Thank you so much, Penny, for asking me to do a guest post! My first thought was to find old drawings my sons had done when they were young and write a poem to go along with one (Sean is 29 and Brian is 26). But, I decided to work with something current and had the idea to use one of Brian’s short video clips. This one seemed perfect for kids!
Readers, you’re not going to believe how perfect this is for kids. I got so excited when I saw Lori and Brian’s collaboration.
The Poem
Brian’s Video Clip (Super cool!)
I declare this collaboration “Perfect for Kids!” Thanks to Lori and Brian for being a part of this series!
Meet Brian: Brian is a software designer and currently lives in Austin, Texas.

Meet Lori: Lori is a teacher of deaf & hard of hearing students by day and picture book writer by night, weekend and school holiday. She writes in rhyme, most of the time – but not always. Her first picture book, 1 Zany Zoo, was the winner of the Cheerios New Author Contest and was published by Simon & Schuster in 2010. Her second picture book, Cock-a-Doodle Oops, was published by Creston Books in 2014. Her third picture book (and first non-rhymer), Norbert’s Big Dream, will be published by Sleeping Bear Press in July, 2016. She lives in a northern suburb of Chicago. You can find her at: Loridegman.com on Facebook or Twitter.
Kimberley Moran has the Poetry Friday Roundup today.
Really cool! 😀
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I totally agree – really cool! There’s something about those falling letters that makes me happy!
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Wow! I adore the poem and the video! I can’t wait to show both to my kids!
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Thanks, Kirsti! I hope they like it!!
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This is adorable! Both the video and the poem, I mean. Thanks!
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Thanks, Rosi!
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Wonderful collaboration. I love Brian’s video–those cascading letters have a lot of personality. And your poem is perfect for stealing…er borrowing…some verbs, Lori!
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Thanks, Buffy! I love how the letters fall – it’s so fun to watch!!
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Thanks for stopping in, Buffy 🙂
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Yup! Perfect for kids! Talented family! Lori, you’ve got the rhythm! Brian, I’d love to know how you made the video! Cute and fun!
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Thanks for stopping by, Carrie 😀
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Thanks so much, Carrie! I’d love to know how he did it too, but I’m sure it’s way over my head!
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I love alphabet poems and now yours with all that action, and the letters tumbling, tumbling. Beautiful work from both of you, Lori and Brian.
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Linda, I can just stare at the tumbling letters! They’re so cute!
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My favorite letter is the alligator like “M” in DegMan 🙂
The poem is terrific Lori, and this was such a fun collaboration.
Bravo!
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The “M” is very nice! It’s hard to pick just one 😀
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Thanks, Cathy! Did you see the ‘I’? It has harry armpits 🙂
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I mean hairy 🙂
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Great job, Lori & Brian! The highlighted, colored alphabet in the poem and the video to match was a great match.
Larry D
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Yes…GREAT!
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Thanks, Larry! I thought it would make the poem more fun to add the colored letters!
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What fun! I love how Y just looks like a tree with a small face. Almost looks like the treetops are cushioning others from its sharp ends!
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Thanks for coming by, Donna 😀
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Thanks, Donna! I love the Y too! I wish the letters fell slower so I could get a better look at each one! I need to talk to Brian about that!
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Talent over-floweth in Lori’s family! Love the poem and the fun video!
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Wow, Thanks Teresa!
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Thanks for coming by, Teresa!
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Love Lori’s poem and Brian’s video clip. What a perfect combo!!
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Thanks, Mary! When I saw Brian’s clip, I knew that was the perfect thing to use!!
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I agree…they are a perfect combo. Thanks for coming by today, Mary.
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How much fun would it be for kids to act out all of the verbs in this poem? Fun poem, Lori. Brian, I especially liked the expression on H’s face.
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Great idea, Laura. Kids would have a blast. Thanks for coming by.
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That would be fun, Laura! I love the A face too!
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I’m loving the H!
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Ha! That is fantastic!!
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Thanks, Diana!
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Yes! Fantastic!
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What a GREAT read-aloud and outstanding visual. Wonderful pairing, Lori and Brian. Creativity clearly runs in the family!
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Thanks so much, Carole!!
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I wanted to dance while reading this aloud 😀
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Love the tumbling characters! Make it a whole book, please, Lori and Brian!
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It would be perfect for an ebook – I need to get Brian on that!
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Yes! A whole book!!!
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Lori and Brian, Love it!
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Thanks, Robin!!
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Thanks for coming by, Robin 😀
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Alpha Ala Awesome! I loved this colorful, creative, and animated collaboration! So fun!
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Thanks, Rebecca! Did you notice the letters in the poem are the same colors as in the clip? I wish I could have put eyes on them!
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Thanks for stopping in, Rebecca!
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So fun! I feel like those letters are …*gulp* ….watching me! Yikes!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
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I know what you mean! I love those letter eyeballs!
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Cute little watchers, aren’t they?
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