Poesiealbums

In The Year of Goodbyes, author Debbie Levy chronicles the true story of her mother's life at age 12 in Nazi Germany. That year --1938-- Debbie's mother, Jutta, and her friends try to live as normally as possible despite trouble looming on the horizon and her parents urgently arranging to move to the United States.

Jutta keeps a poesiealbum, where her friends and extended family write messages, sharing their thoughts and wishes. They write poems, offer proverbs, draw pictures. It reminds me of a more artistic version of yearbook messages.

Debbie has started a Readers' Poesiealbum. If you'd like to contribute to it, Debbie says: "Feel free to write in your own handwriting, and to scan the page and send it to me as an attachment to an email. Regular emails are fine, too. Write poetry, write prose. I welcome your drawings. Sign your first name only. (I don't want to post your last name on the Internet, unless you specifically tell me to do so.) Please include where you're from. Send your page to debbie@debbielevybooks.com. Or mail it to: The Year of Goodbyes Poesiealbum Project, c/o Disney-Hyperion Books for Children, 114 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011."