If dogs are #wolves
that time has tamed,
then cats are pharaohs,
just renamed.

#vss365

It's an important and eye-opening book- I have recommended it to many other readers. Thank you for the work you put into it.

Catch, a children's book by D.C. Swanson

If you sweat them, words can shake you.
If you let them, words can break you.
If you fight them, words can #jade you.
If you write them, words can aid you.

#vss365

Every #word you say, once said,
is carved into your past;
Be careful with your future words
in case they are your last.

#vss365

We’re specks upon a spinning rock
that loops around the sun;
What counts is how we treat
our fellow specks before we're done.

#vss365 #loop

Nouns are sturdy subjects but the pronouns think they’re better.
Adverbs ostracize the verbs for having fewer #letters.
Clauses, in conjunction with their commas, fight with phrases. Grammar fights ignite inside the ruckus writing raises.

#vss365

🙏🏼

There’s not much risk of flying high if you stay on the ground.
There’s little chance of being heard if you don’t make a sound.
There's #water, but you won't make waves if you won't leave the shore.
So don't live life avoiding what makes life worth living for.

#vss365

When your bookshelf hits its limit,
it will buckle from the strain;
lots of books can #sink your shelving,
but they’ll help lift up your brain.

#vss365

Catch: A Kids Book about Baseball, Family, and Growing … Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

Every heartbeat, every breath,
Delays the day we’ll meet our death.
But life rewards the joys we bring,
So why just breathe, when you can #sing?

#vss365

www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...

I think there’s more to life than what we sense and hear and see.
I bet we only grasp the edge of all this world can be.
Perhaps in time we’ll find we can perceive what more is there, Or else stay deaf and #blind to truth by choosing not to care.

#vss365

Thanks Maria- much appreciated.

Catch: A Kids Book about Baseball, Family, and Growing … Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

You can’t get to work without gas in the tank.
You can’t buy a house without cash in the #bank.
You can’t find your best without leaving your worst.
You can’t write a book without living life first.

#vss365
#Catch

www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...

You've been giving us great prompts, though!

Many thanks!

Catch: A Kids Book about Baseball, Family, and Growing … Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

The secret to writing is not what you think,
but what you convey when those thoughts become #ink.

#vss365
#Catch

www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...

Some claim to show strength
when they’re safe at arm's length,
but when peril comes near
in their eyes you’ll find fear.

#vss365 #arm

The #hand you're dealt has more appeal
when you're the one who gets to deal.

#vss365

I’d like to sail across the sea
but only if you sail with me.
We’ll see two shades of endless blue
but my eyes will stay drawn to you.
If storms rise up and waves crash down,
I’ll bail us out so we don’t drown.
And when we reach the sandy shore,
we’ll build a home and sail no more.

#vss365
#sand

Maybe an engraving on a watch or in a #ring,
Maybe with a tape-recorded poem or song you sing,
Maybe in a letter sealed and folded into thirds,
Find a way to give the one you love your love in words.

#vss365

Don’t try to erase what you’ve written in #pen
You’re only here now because you were there then
Our pasts and our paths are uniquely our own
Look back, then move forward and see how you’ve grown.

#vss365

When riches are all you #exalt and extol,
you're running the risk you'll impoverish your soul.

#vss365

The years go by and go by fast
and every one could be your last
and so, each year, since that's the case,
#conduct yourself with class and grace.

#vss365

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, CATCH by @dcswanson.bsky.social, illustrated by Clint Hansen (Black Rose Writing) out on April 2.

To enter, L + RP and confirm your entry in our Friday update: kidlit411.com/2026/03/the-... (+ more ways to win)

It’s kind of strange that flame-lit cakes
Are how we mark the time it takes
To each #revolve around the sun,
But hey, birthdays are pretty fun.

#vss365

A.I. may tempt and #fascinate,
but I prefer what minds create.

#vss365

When swept by the tide,
reach out for a hand.
When tempests abide,
then swim for the sand.
When lost out at sea,
go search for a shore.
Let hope always be
what you’re hoping for.

#vss365
#tempest

This life's no breeze, but with each breath
I still resolve to #frustrate death.

#vss365

My best decisions come when I consult my conscience first.

When I don't make that ask before I act, I do my worst.

I try to slow things down to let my conscience choose my course

And walk back steps I've taken that my conscience can't #endorse.

#vss365

When I stumble, you don’t judge.
When I #waver, you don’t budge.
You’re my rock, my strength, my guide-
I am blessed you’re at my side.

#vss365