Stella: Poet Extraordinaire

Janiel Wagstaff has done it again! In Stella, Poet Extraordinaire, she has managed to use all her experience as a teacher and writer to create two engaging characters that help young writers, as well as teachers, discover the joys of poetry. Stella and her teacher, Ms. Merkley, take readers on a journey through the process of writing poetry, from finding inspiration by taking a poetry walk to a final Poetry Jam where all the young poets share their work. Stella is genuine, making her a perfect mentor for young writers. Initially, she encounters many of the same struggles with writing that teachers often see with students lack of confidence, confusion, and uncertainty. But with Ms. Merkley s guidance, Stella is able to work through those difficulties and emerge as a poet extraordinaire. As she says, I look more closely at things; I linger so I can pick just the right words for what I m observing, thinking, or feeling; and I discover thoughts I didn t know I had when I write poems. Janiel has a special way of creating books that are must-haves in the writing workshop. Both teachers and students will embrace Stella and Ms. Merkley as their personal writing mentors, and will soon find themselves hooked on poetry, too.