One Giant Hug
It’s not new in town,
hoping to make a first friend.
It’s been around.
It never picks a fight with me
or pokes at me
or calls me names.
It doesn’t go places without me;
I know where to find it
every day.
It keeps me warmer than a coat,
drier than an umbrella,
and safer than a good luck charm.
It gives me corners to hide in,
closets to whisper in,
and quiet places where I can think.
It’s one giant hug,
wrapping itself around me,
no matter what.
It’s my house.
Copyright © 2004 Betsy Rosenthal. From the book My House is Singing. HMH Books for Young Readers. Reprinted by permission of the author.
About this Poem
A teacher’s guide to poetry, which uses poems from My House is Singing, is included on my website.
About The Author
Before she began writing children’s books, Betsy Rosenthal was out there fighting the bad guys as a lawyer for the Anti-Defamation League. She left that career behind to raise her three children and concentrate on her writing. She is the author of three picture books: My House Is Singing, It’s Not Worth Making a Tzimmes Over!, and Which Shoes Would You Choose? and has poems included in two Phonics Through Poetry anthologies. Her fourth picture book, A String of Ponies, is due out in 2015. Looking For Me… in this great big family, her first novel, is a Junior Library Guild Selection, has been designated a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Older Readers and is the winner of the 2013 Children’s Literature Council Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry.
Ms. Rosenthal has also had many essays published in national and local newspapers and magazines, and is a writer for WriteWisdom, Inc., a memoir writing business. In addition to her writing, she has a business helping high school students with their college application essays.
She lives with her husband and kids in Los Angeles. Her extended family is spread out all over the country, but she has so many local relatives that she’s convinced she’s related to every other person in L.A.
To learn more about Ms. Rosenthal, you can visit her at: www.BetsyRosenthal.com.
Where to Buy this Book
