A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt, Guests-Brenda Harsham and Daughter, Anna

Posted on by Penny Parker Klostermann
Ants may rule the hill, but they don’t rule here! Art by Landon (Click to Enlarge)
Ants may rule the hill, but they don’t rule here! Art by Landon (Click to Enlarge)

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 sixth-grader) and I (his great aunt) collaborate. I write a poem which he illustrates. We started this collaboration in the fall of 2014 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’s my pleasure to share a creative collaboration from . . .

Brenda Harsham and Her Daughter, Anna

The Art

Anna's art
Art by Anna

The PoemSlide1

Brenda and AnnaBrenda and Anna

Fun with Anna.
Anna in tree teepeeAnna and violin

Many thanks to Brenda and Anna for sharing their talents with us today!

Meet Anna: Anna Cathryn is a poet, artist and violinist extraordinaire of the First Grade. She calls herself the Anna Cat, and she loves to dress up as a panther in her favorite fuzzy fleece. She enjoys reading her Shel Silverstein poems aloud. Anna Cat also likes hot chocolate, watermelon and udon soup. But not mushrooms!

Meet Brenda: Brenda is a poet, author, photographer, fairy tale blogger and chocolate acolyte. But don’t offer her lima beans, ugh! She’s a member of SCBWI-NE and the 12×12 Picture Book Challenge.
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Julie Larios at The Drift Record has the Poetry Friday Roundup today. If you’d like to know more about Poetry Friday, click HERE for an explanation by Renee LaTulippe.poetry friday button
Twitter: @BrendaDHarsham
Email: friendlyfairytales [at] gmail.com

53 thoughts on “A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt, Guests-Brenda Harsham and Daughter, Anna”

  1. I love my friend, Brenda, who warmly accepts my sporadic appearances and visits. ❤ I was thrilled to visit here again. I like past posts with Landon with Great Aunt Penny. I really liked the blue visible wind, the details put into the cats who appear shiny and sweet. Thanks for inviting us over to visit here. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Of course, I love the cats! But, what really caught my eye was the sundress on the lady on the left, and is that a black handbag she’s carrying? Stylin’!

    Liked by 2 people

  5. This new poet, artist, musician Anna is a delight to be with today. I love her picture with the world above and the world below. What an imagination! Brenda, you give us a glimpse into Anna’s story world.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Cats in glasses, and mice with secret plans, nothing more fun. Thanks Brenda and Anna for a big smile today. I love the picture of “cat” Anna and her violin.

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  11. This post made me very happy today. I can’t resist those cats in glasses — very professorial. 🙂 And Brenda’s winsome poem is adorable. I see they both like chocolate, too. Love the pic of Ana Cat with her violin — what a talented family!

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    1. I like the glasses, too. Thanks for your comment, Jama. I especially like how the cats are so much more immediate and present than the woman-cat in the “cave.” Anna informed me that she’s their servant, and she’ll be making them their dinner. Perhaps Anna Cat will play her violin for them.

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  12. How I love Anna’s whiskery cats in glasses! And Brenda, you capture your sweet Anna’s imagination so vividly in words– elbowing, leaping, poems on the sky, mice plotting takeovers. Two stanzas was just enough to reach ten on my whimsy meter!

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    2. Thanks, Michelle. It was a stumper to know how to convey the wide-ranging story taking place on that surprisingly small piece of paper. I’m glad you like my poem about process rather than attempting a faithful narrative. I can’t tell you what the mice were up to — Dostoyevsky might have managed to get it all down. I love your description of a whimsy meter. I have one, too, and now I know what to call it. Looking forward to getting to Dittyland soon. XOXO

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    2. Anna has her own style. Thanks, Maria. She spent a long time over those cats. I don’t know if you can tell, but the gold one has a silver heart. I’m so glad you like my poem. It wasn’t easy living up to that picture. I think it’s lucky that we write books and then they are illustrated. It’s much harder the other way.

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