Poetry Friday: Takedown Launch

Greetings and salutations, friends. Happy Poetry Friday!This week, I'm celebrating the launch of my second book for children, TAKEDOWN. (Read a review at the Nerdy Book Club.)I think of this novel as a friendship story set in the world of youth wrestling.It's told by two sixth graders: Mikayla, who wants to be a wrestler like her older brothers -- until their coach says a girl won't cut it on his team; and Lev, who is determined to beat his nemesis and make it to the state wrestling championship. Neither one of them is happy when they end up on the same team ... as training partners.The book covers the story of their season, how Mickey and Lev learn to work together.Though this book is written in prose, its genesis began with poetic sketches.I used to sit with my notebook at my son's wrestling practices and tournaments, writing down what I observed. I couldn't *not* include some poetry, so I gave my wrestling notebook to Lev. When he needs some downtime between matches, you'll find him sitting at the top of the bleachers with a notebook in his lap and a pen in his hand, writing.Lev has a handful of poems in the book. Here is one that came out of those early poetic sketches. Wrestling season is in the winter. Athletes often spend one or both days of their weekend at tournaments, arriving for weigh-ins before first light, and leaving (if they wrestle well) as the sun sets. This is Lev's draft of a poem he's working on for school.Wrestlers Are VampiresBy Laura Shovan, from TAKEDOWNWrestlers are vampires.Gyms are their caves.They shut the doors,stay locked inside,and don't come outuntil day submits to night.Wrestlers are vampires.They never see the sun.They push your faceinto the mat untilyour nose oozes blood.They crush you flat,break you down, bury you.***If you're local to the Baltimore/DC area, I hope to see you at the book launch event this Sunday, 12 pm. The Ivy Bookshop is hosting.  Launch details and the address are here. We've got something really special planned.Don't know anything about wrestling? We've got you covered! Young athletes from Beat the Streets Baltimore will be on-hand to give a wrestling demonstration. We're running a "Buy a Book/Donate a Book to Beat the Streets" program, so kids at Beat the Streets summer camps will receive a copy of the book.Because food is very important to wrestlers, we're going to have Lev and Mickey's favorite tournament day treats: Twizzlers and donuts. ASL interpretation will be provided.Thanks for all of your support during this book's progress, Poetry Friday friends. It's been two years since I first shared a poem from TAKEDOWN, which was not even a complete draft! You can read "Tournament Rap" here.