The Heart of a Teacher

Sixty-four poems by former teacher and award-winning poet and children's writer Laura Purdie Salas capture moments--silly, bizarre, heartbreaking, and humorous moments--in a teacher's life. They were inspired by her childhood teachers, her own teaching experience, her children's teachers, her sister (a long-time elementary school teacher) and all the fabulous educators (teachers, librarians, media specialists, reading specialists, etc.) she knows who give everything they've got to make their students stronger, happier, and smarter.

Notes at the end of the collection share inspirations or thoughts about the poems and also identify the poetic form.