Award-winning Author and Editor Marco Fraticelli of Canada, whose work often appears on this blog, has just released a unique book.
Dear Elsa, a children’s novel, is the first children’s book for ages 9-12 by this longtime haiku poet who spent nearly 50 years teaching Grade 5 in Montreal. Adult readers believe that young readers, teachers, and other adults will find this book engaging and educational.
The story is about Leo and Elsa who become pen pals via email for a school assignment. Their pen pal exchange takes place during their 5th grade year, and readers will find it’s funny and poignant. Leo writes haiku because it’s one of his school lessons. Subsequently, he begins to enjoy it. His poems become better as he keeps writing it, and also with the help of a mentor who provides him with a guide of eight simple rules about how to write this poetic form.
“Leo has just moved from Montreal to Toronto, and hates his new school, his teachers, and the other students,” Fraticelli explains. “Elsa lives in Boston, navigating her parents’ divorce and her dad’s relationship with his new girlfriend.” The author says it’s a book about “friendship, haiku, and finding one’s gifts.”
Samples of haiku from the book:
the fat squirrel
greedily eating
last night’s jack-o-lantern
weekend homework
forgotten
at her dad’s house
snow day
school cancelled
in my dream
for everyone to see
on the teacher’s desk
my open report card
in the snowy schoolyard
the tracks
of her wheelchair
There are also fun limericks in the book.
To learn more about Dear Elsa and Fraticelli’s other books, you may visit his website: http://www.marcofraticelli.ca/.
Further, to reach the author about ordering his book, email him at mapletree67@hotmail.com . Dear Elsa has 240 pages, and it includes an interview with Fraticelli at the end. It’s published by Red Deer Press of Canada and the USA.
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About Charlotte Digregorio
I publish books. I have marketed and/or published 55 titles. These books are sold in 46 countries to bookstores, libraries, universities, professional organizations, government agencies, and book clubs. In 2018, I was honored by the Governor of Illinois for my thirty-eight years of accomplishments in the literary arts, and my work to promote and advance the field by educating adults and students alike. I am the author of seven books including: Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All; Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Homes; You Can Be A Columnist; Beginners' Guide to Writing & Selling Quality Features; Your Original Personal Ad; and my latest, Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing.
The first four books have been adopted as supplemental texts at universities throughout the U.S., Canada, India, Pakistan, and Catalonia. They are sold in 43 countries, and are displayed in major metropolitan cultural centers. These books have been reviewed, recommended, and praised by hundreds of critics, librarians, and professors worldwide.
I am also the author of a poetry collection: "Shadows of Seasons: Selected Haiku and Senryu by Charlotte Digregorio." Two of my books have been Featured Selections of Writer's Digest Book Club. I am regularly interviewed by major print, radio, and television organizations throughout the U.S. I regularly sign books at libraries, chain bookstores, and university bookstores, and do poetry readings at art centers, cafes, tea houses, and galleries.
I was recently nominated for two Pushcart Prizes in poetry. I have won fifty-nine poetry awards, writing fourteen poetic forms. My poetry has been translated into eight languages. I do illustrated solo poetry exhibits 365 days a year in libraries, galleries, corporate buildings, hospitals, convention centers, and other venues. My individual poems have been displayed at supermarkets, apparel and wine shops, banks, botanic gardens, restaurants, and on public transit.
I have been nominated and listed in "The International Authors and Writers Who's Who" in Cambridge, England and in the "Who's Who In Writers, Editors & Poets U.S./Canada." I hosted my own radio program, "Poetry Beat," on public broadcasting. My poetry has been featured on several library web sites including those of Shreve Memorial Library in Louisiana and Cornell University's Mann Library.
My background includes positions as a feature editor and columnist at daily newspapers and as a magazine editor. I have been a public relations director for a non-profit organization. I am self-employed as a public relations/marketing consultant, having served a total of 118 clients in 23 states for the past several decades .
In other professional areas, I have been on university faculties, teaching French, Italian, and Writing.
I regularly give lectures and workshops on publishing, journalism, publicity, poetry, and creativity to business and professional groups, and at writer's conferences, universities, literary festivals, non-profit organizations, and libraries. I have been a writer-in-residence at universities.
There have been about 400 articles written about me in the media. I have served on the Boards of writers and publishers organizations. My positions have included Board Secretary of the Northwest Association of Book Publishers. I served for five years as Midwest Regional Coordinator of The Haiku Society of America, and for two years as its Second Vice President.
Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog 
Good luck Marco, congratulations and huge success. Love the story and the haiku!
Thanks for commenting, Barrie.
Many thanks, Barrie.
Marco
Most American teens have no clue what a pen pal is and certainly would not have a care to engage if they did.
Could be. Thanks for commenting.
Hey Carl, I agree that kids today don’t understand the term in the same sense that we old farts do, and yet they are constantly texting to each other. (That’s why the teacher gave them the assignment). Certainly they write to each other much more than I ever did as a kid.
Thanks for commenting, Marco.