How can I get my books autographed by Verla Kay?
What
books of Verla Kay's are coming next?
What *is* cryptic rhyme, anyway?
Will Verla Kay be speaking in my area?
(This page was last updated on 5/21/03)
Missouri Reading Circle Primary Grades' recommended reading list (Missouri State Teachers' Association)
State of Nevada Children's Choice Award Nominee
Recommended for grades K-3 in School Library Journal Curriculum Guide
ISBN 0-399-22928-0
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A Best Children's Book of the Year (Bank Street College of Education)
Recommended for grades K-3 in School Library Journal Curriculum Guide
ISBN 0-399-23027-0
(Click on photo to see bigger size)
Also available now in paperback with Puffin Books.
Scholastics issued a special book club edition of Gold Fever in the spring of 2000.
International Honor Book (Society of School Librarians)
Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (Children's Book Council)
Recommended for grades K-3 in School Library Journal Curriculum Guide
ISBN 0-399-23119-6
(Click on photo to see bigger size)
A Best Children's Book of the Year (Child Magazine)
Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (Children's Book Council)
ISBN 0-399-23345-8
(Click on photo to see bigger size)
Scholastic put this book (in hardbound copy) in some of its Book Fairs.
A Best Children's Book of the Year (Bank Street College of Education)
ISBN 0-399-23550-7
(Click on photo to see bigger size)
Scholastic put this book (in hardbound copy) in some of its Book Fairs.
Recommended for grades K-3 in School Library Journal Curriculum Guide
ISBN 0-399-23417-9
(Click on photo to see bigger size)
Scholastic put this book (in hardbound copy) in some of its Book Fairs.
Recommended for grades K-3 in School Library Journal Curriculum Guide
ISBN 0-399-23613-9
(Click on photo to see bigger size)
How can I get my books autographed by Verla Kay?
You can order free, personalized bookplates to put into your books. To get yours, send a SASE (Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope) along with a note telling Verla which book you have purchased and the name you want personalized in the book, and she will be glad to send you a clear, autographed bookplate to insert into your book. Because the plates are clear, both the hand-written signature and the personalized greeting from Verla Kay look as if they were written directly into your book.
Verla Kay
P.O. Box 988
Tekoa, WA 99033
What books are available now?
S.D. Schindler Copyright © 1999 All Rights Reserved
COVERED WAGONS, BUMPY TRAILS
By Verla Kay & Illustrated by S.D. Schindler
ISBN 0-399-22928-0
32 page Picture Book
published by Penguin - Putnam
Mother, Father and Baby John are determined to make a new home for themselves in California. Follow them as they bounce and jounce their way across the vast reaches of the untamed territory of the United States in a covered wagon. Experience the many difficulties of an overland journey of the 1800's, as well as some of its more satisfying moments, through Verla Kay's expressive cryptic rhyme and S.D. Schinder's delightful illustrations.
S.D. Schindler Copyright © 1999 All Rights Reserved
GOLD FEVER
By Verla Kay & Illustrated by S.D. Schindler
ISBN 0-399-23027-0
32 page Picture Book
published by Penguin - Putnam
Follow Jasper as he joins other forty-niner's in their race to get rich in California's gold rush. Experience the hard work and frustrations of the miners of 1849, and cheer with Jasper and his family when he finally returns home. Gold Fever was Verla Kay's first published picture book. It will enchant you with its combination of Verla's unusual cryptic rhyme and S.D. Schindler's delightfully fun illustrations.
A Best Children's Book of the Year 2000 (Children's book committee at Bank Street College of Education)
Three *Starred* Reviews! (Publisher's Weekly, School Library Journal & Kirkus)
Placed on recommended reading lists at numerous public library systems, including San Francisco
Note: Reviews with * stars in front of them are reviews of extra special merit
* GOLD FEVER (School Library Journal - 1999 starred review)
"...Kay's personalized approach to history is a hoot.... Schindler's colored-pencil drawings on brown, flecked paper are detailed, visually fleshing out the mining process and are often humorous...This is a terrific read-aloud that painlessly introduces children to the unique American folly that played a significant role in expansionism."
GOLD FEVER (Horn Book - 1999)
"An oft-told tale gets a fresh and funny spin by a new writer and an experienced illustrator...Kay uses bits of terse verse to follow the westward trek of young Jasper... Dusty color tones, comic expressions on humans and animals, and well-chosen detail amplify the spare narrative in double-page spreads...The author provides a brief opening historical note...her tongue-in-cheek economy beautifully encapsulates this brief, colorful moment in history, and the pictures speak volumes."
GOLD FEVER (Booklist - 1999)
"The text is lively, and the rhyming aspect will certainly appeal to kids... there are some difficult words that will require discussion and explanation... Schindler's carefully rendered colored-pencil illustrations will please the eye as well as contribute to youngsters' understanding of the mining process... A good choice to integrate language arts and social studies."
* GOLD FEVER (Publisher's Weekly - 1999 starred review)
"First-time author Kay's gloriously terse verse takes a rhymin' romp through the gold fields of 1849 California....Kay shoehorns a motherlode of historical information into her minimalist chronicle of Jasper's misadventures....Schindler's jaunty colored pencil illustrations skillfully move the action forward, adding layers of texture and detail with flashes of humor. A rich vein of Americana, cleverly mined."
* GOLD FEVER (Kirkus - 1999 pointer review)
"Kay debuts with a rollicking tale ... Albeit brief, Kay's minimalist verses, set in sing-song rhymes, convey their message with piercing clarity. ... Kay realistically depicts the wild expectations that caused so many to abandon their way of life to gamble on a long shot and the often harsh conditions they encountered in California.... As an introduction to a vital piece of American history, it's wryly humorous and unflinchingly candid."
Michael McCurdy Copyright © 1999 All Rights Reserved
IRON HORSES
By Verla Kay & Illustrated by Michael McCurdy
ISBN 0-399-23119-6
32 page Picture Book
published by Penguin - Putnam
With ties and rails that thump and bump and spikes and nails that clang and bang, Iron Horses will let young children experience the building of the transcontinental railroad in a vibrant, expressive way. A combination of Verla Kay's unique cryptic rhyme and Michael McCurdy's dramatic colored scratchboard drawings make this special time in history come alive in a wonderful, new wa SIZE="-1">© 2001 All Rights Reserved
TATTERED SAILS
By Verla Kay & Illustrated by Dan Andreasen
ISBN 0-399-23345-8
32 page Picture Book
published by Penguin - Putnam
Join Thomas, Edward and Mary Jane as their family tears themselves away from the only home they have ever known in England to make the difficult journey across the ocean to the colonies in America. Groan with them as they eat wormy biscuits, drink from slimy vats and battle with lice and rats. Thrill with them as they carve a new home for themselves in this new land, so far from anything they have ever known before. Verla Kay's bouncy style of cryptic rhyme lets children of today experience the hazards and difficulties of the dangerous ocean voyages of the 1600's.
AWARDS & RECOMMENDATIONS for TATTERED SAILS
2001 Best Children's Book Award by Child Magazine (see Tattered Sails on page 6)
REVIEWS OF TATTERED SAILS
"A magical combination of poetry, history, and art." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Taut, rhythmic text and absorbing illustrations perfectly capture the excitement, beauty, and hardships of one family's voyage from London to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. The journey ... is portrayed in full-page illustrations using graphite drawings, textured oil paints, a computer, stencils, and carved erasers as stamps....The concise, carefully chosen rhyme is attractively boxed on one page of each spread. This handsome offering makes a fine read-aloud." (School Library Journal )
Stephen Alcorn Copyright © 2002 All Rights Reserved
BROKEN FEATHER
(Out of print - available only through the author)
By Verla Kay
Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
ISBN 0-399-23550-7
32 page Picture Book
published by Penguin - Putnam
See more of Stephen Alcorn's work
See a "button" for Broken Feather
Sample of text in Broken Feather:
Red flame flickers,
Warming hands.
Sunset glowing,
Painting lands.
Experience the joys of Broken Feather, a Nez Perce boy, as he fishes and hunts and lives the happy life of a free native, then agonize with him as his tribe goes to war and is ultimately confined to a reservation by the white people who took over his homeland. Written in Verla Kay's special cryptic rhyme, this story sensitively and lovingly tells of the heartbreak of the Nez Perce tribe and how they managed to stay proud and stand tall in spite of their hardships.
HOMESPUN SARAH
By Verla Kay
Illustrated by Ted Rand
ISBN 0-399-23417-9
32 page Picture Book
published by Penguin - Putnam
This text opens with:
Homespun Sarah,
Braided head.
Warm quilt, snuggle,
Feather bed.
Experience the hardships and daily chores of life in the early 1700's in colonial America. See how Sarah lived and struggled to get new clothes in a land without nearby towns or stores. Written in Verla Kay's own special style of cryptic rhyme, Homespun Sarah brings this early period of colonial history alive to children in a fun and exciting way.
Ken Stark Copyright © 2002 All Rights Reserved
ORPHAN TRAIN
By Verla Kay
Illustrated by Ken Stark
ISBN 0-399-23613-9
32 page Picture Book
published by Penguin - Putnam
At least 150,000 orphaned, abandoned, and destitute children were placed on trains heading for farming towns in the mid-west beteween 1854 and 1929. It was hoped that they would find loving, caring homes by the families who took them in. Some of the children did. Some did not. Follow the joys and heartbreaks of three "placed out" children in this delightful historical fiction book written in Verla Kay's special style of cryptic rhyme.
What books of Verla Kay's are coming next?
Forthcoming 32 page Picture Book
to be published by Tricycle Press
Rough, Tough Charley - Illustrator: Adam Gustavson
This non-fiction biography, written in Verla's signature style of cryptic rhyme, tells the life story of Charles Darkey Parkhurst, a rough and tough stagecoach driver from the 1850's. Charley was noted as one of the best and safest drivers in the motherlode area of California during the 49er's gold rush days. Charley led an exciting life, filled with everything from stagecoach robbery attempts, to losing an eye when a horse kicked it out, to having a bridge collapse under the stagecoach during a storm. But everyone that knew Charley was amazed when a most astonishing thing was discovered after Charley died!
Forthcoming 32 page Picture Book
to be published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Release date TBA
This book will show today's children what it was like in 1750 to attend a one-room schoolhouse. The story tells how John Paul begins school with his big brother, Peter, and how he struggles to learn using the common methods of the day, such as a hornbook, birchbark paper, an inkwell, and a feather pen. Another historical fiction picture book written in Verla Kay's trademark style of cryptic rhyme, this story is still "under construction." Verla expects to be finished writing it in July of 2002.
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Forthcoming 32 page Picture Book
to be published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Release date TBA
Hornbooks &
Inkwells
- Illustrator
TBA
This book will show today's children what it was like in 1750 to attend a one-room schoolhouse. The story tells how John Paul begins school with his big brother, Peter, and how he struggles to learn using the common methods of the day, such as a hornbook, birchbark paper, an inkwell, and a feather pen. Another historical fiction picture book written in Verla Kay's trademark style of cryptic rhyme, this story is still "under construction." Verla expects to be finished writing it in July of 2002.
&Mac195;
Forthcoming 32 page Picture Book
to be published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Release date TBA
This book will give children a glimpse of what it was like to be a drummer boy during the civil war. From lines of soldiers marching, to smoking cannons and bayonets, this period of history comes alive in Verla Kay's unique style of cryptic rhyme.
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Cryptic rhyme will not be found in rhyming textbooks. You won't find it listed in the dictionary or your poetry books. Why? Because it's Verla Kay's own term for her own style of writing. When she started writing verses like this, Verla didn't have any way to describe it to people, so she coined her own term for it - cryptic rhyme.
She calls it cryptic rhyme because she writes short, clipped, descriptive verses that paint vivid, concise pictures using almost no full sentences. Much is left up to the imagination of the reader, who has to "fill in the gaps." Hence the term, cryptic -- verses with hidden meanings.
At first, Verla thought she'd "invented" a new style of writing. She has since discovered that many others have also written in a style similar to hers -- they just didn't "name" their style "cryptic rhyme." :-)
Hopefully, this will clarify cryptic rhyme and will save some of you hours of research...looking for information on cryptic rhyme in poetry books...which won't be there.
She might be. If she isn't scheduled to speak somewhere close you, she would probably love to be invited! Go to the Author Talks page on this website to find out where Verla Kay has upcoming talks scheduled, or to set up a visit with her in the future in your area.
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All Rights Reserved