Picture Perfect Poetry: An Anthology of Ekphrastic Nature Poetry For Students is a volume of never-published nature poetry that was inspired by photographs each author took. The works of twenty-five author-photographers are included. Each picture is in full color.
Instructional resources are included in the back matter of the book, along with website references for each style of poem included in the anthology. Extra photographs (without poems) are included for students or any interested reader to try to write an Ekphrastic poem. The book is intended to be enjoyed by middle-grade (5-9) students, teachers, parents, and community members, including homeschoolers. It can also be used as a mentor text.
The author, Carol J. Labuzzetta, has been writing poetry with children for fifteen years. She founded and led a third-grade writer's circle which lasted for six years. Thirty-three of her thirty-six students had poetry published in anthologies during that time. Her interest in poetry was sparked by leading this enrichment group. This is her second book of published poetry.
Carol holds one Master's degree in Environmental Education and another in Child Health (nursing). She believes that our youth need to be engaged in nature early and that her two advanced degrees help her to forge that bond. Carol lives in the Wisconsin Northwoods on a small lake surrounded by a mixed pine and hardwood forest. She is inspired by the nature that surrounds her.