• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Janice Beetle Books

Writing, editing, book development, and publishing help

  • Home
  • About
    • My Books
    • Clients’ Books
    • Privacy Policy
  • Services
    • Creative Writing Review/Coaching
    • Book Development /Writing
      • Book Development Sampler
    • Book Editing
    • Copy Editing
    • Book Design
    • Publishing Guidance
  • Blog
  • Poem Pods
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Order My Book
You are here: Home / Poem Pods / Pod One: Meet Janice, Eli, and the Family

Pod One: Meet Janice, Eli, and the Family

June 23, 2020 by Janice Beetle 8 Comments

Note: In Pod One, you’ll meet your narrators, Janice (known as Grammy in Poem Pods) and her 11-year-old grandson, Eli. They explain what Poem Pods are, and Grammy reads a poem to introduce you to people in her family—who you’ll meet later in interviews about their work and their writing! Please share this post! Click here to start at the beginning.

https://janicebeetlebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Pod-One_Audio.m4a

Grammy: Hi everybody. I’m Janice Beetle, and this is my grandson Eli.

Eli: Hi, everybody.

Grammy: We are excited to bring you the first installment of Poem Pods—fun poems for fun people! Keep in mind we are doing this outside to social distance—so you might hear traffic and other noise, like birds. And we are low-tech, so just accept us as we are!

I’m a writer, and I’ll tell you more about that over the next few days. I love writing because I think it’s fun to tell stories. Poems are really just short stories that can rhyme. 

Here’s how I got the idea to share my poems with you: 

I have two daughters, Sally and Molly, who are all grown up. Sally has two kids of her own.

Eli: I’m one of them, and now I also have a baby sister named Phoibe!

Grammy: Phoibe was born in March, when the coronavirus came. She is very small and had to stay in the hospital for awhile, so I couldn’t meet her. I still haven’t.

Eli: Neither have I!

Grammy: I started reading storybooks to Phoibe so she would get to know me. I recorded them on my phone, and texted them to Sally and Phoibe’s dad, Tommy. They played the stories for Phoibe when they visited her. I sent the recordings to Eli, too. He’s almost 12. I wasn’t sure if he was listening. 

Eli: I wasn’t. I knew all the stories.

Grammy: When I read in the newspaper that there would be no school for the rest of the year and no summer camp either because of the virus, I started thinking about children who were at home, either alone or with parents who were trying to work in the house. I thought they might not have many new stories either. I wanted to give them something new to listen to, or read. I remembered the poems I’d written years ago for Sally and Molly as birthday and Christmas presents. I dug them out. I showed them to Eli to get his opinion. Did you like them Eli?

Eli: I did! They were funny, and weird.

Grammy: Ah, like Grammy!

Eli: Yes, and mommy. And dad.

Grammy: Now, we’ll start sharing a few with you every day as Poem Podcasts, or Poem Pods. 

Today, I’m offering one long poem that I wrote recently to help you meet my family. Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to the family pets. Later, we’ll get to the silly poems I wrote over the years for my girls. They’re about things like fairies and clowns, being tired and playing games, and friends and love.

 

Today’s poem is One Big ’Ol Family

When I started out in life

My family was two brothers— 

Plus, a mom and dad.

Now, I have girls, boys,

Three grandkids, and a hubby.

Their antics bring me joys.

 

Sally is my oldest girl.

She’s a medical assistant.

She nurtures her two kids.

And her patients too.

She also walks, plays games, and

Tells good jokes on cue.

 

Molly is a sweet teacher.

In a classroom in Vermont.

She jogs around a lot, 

And paddles a canoe.

Molly’s short; her boyfriend CJ tall.

They’re a great pair, those two.

 

Sal, she married Tommy, and

They had three little kids.

Eli is a smartie pants,

Playing sports at top throttle.

Phoibe is a baby, 

Sucking on her bottle.

 

Eli has a big brother.

And his name is Darrian.

He’s great at baseball.

Also, rather shy.

He draws intricate pictures—

An all-around good guy.

 

Steve is the man I married.

A gray beard upon his face.

He has three tattoos.

On a bike he flies,

When not at work as a controller,

Talking planes down from the skies.

 

Steve has three kids of his own.

Amanda is the youngest;

Alan and Brandon, twins.

All our kids are friends.

We all do things together,

Sharing laughs and grins.

 

The matriarch of the gang,

I am both mom and Grammy.

A long time ago,

I sang in a band,

Now, I read and write all day,

And sometimes fly across the land.

 

Grammy: That’s what I’ve got for you today. I hope you liked the story of my family told in a poem.

Eli: Here’s something YOU can do… Make a list of who is in your family. Who are your grown-ups? Your brothers and sisters? Everyone who lives in your house? Write down what they like to do. Try turning it all into a little story, and maybe draw a picture to go with it. If you don’t write yet, draw a picture!

Grammy: I’d be so happy if you posted your story or picture—or both—on my blog site or Facebook page, or if you told Eli and me who is in your family! 

Eli: We want to get to know you, too!

Grammy: If you sign up for my blog, you’ll get an email every day with a new Poem Pod. 

Eli: And a new activity idea from me, too!

Grammy: By the way, Eli and I are tired of social distancing and seeing people wearing masks. It’s hard when you can’t see peoples’ faces. When you can’t see their smiles. We want you to know that we are always smiling under our masks. We hope these poems make you smile under yours.

See you tomorrow!

← Previous Post
Next Post →

Filed Under: Poem Pods Tagged With: children, covid19, family, literature, poem pod, poems, reading, stories

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathleen Lutz says

    June 23, 2020 at 9:29 am

    Sweet! Nice job Janice and Eli!

    Reply
    • Janice Beetle says

      June 23, 2020 at 10:43 am

      Thank you! Eli thanks you too! More to come!

      Reply
  2. Ilene says

    June 23, 2020 at 2:29 pm

    Nice!

    Reply
    • Janice Beetle says

      June 23, 2020 at 2:30 pm

      Hey thanks, Ilene. Eli and I make a good team.

      Reply
  3. Shannon Dillard says

    June 23, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    I love this. Eli is an impressive young man – very poised. Janice, you are a smart woman. Thanks for doing this for children. I enjoyed it too.

    Reply
    • Janice Beetle says

      June 23, 2020 at 5:58 pm

      Thanks, Shannon, for that great feedback!Really appreciate it!There are 19 more! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Maureen says

    June 25, 2020 at 1:53 pm

    I felt like I just had a real visit with you both! What a nice theme about families. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Janice Beetle says

      June 25, 2020 at 2:06 pm

      Thanks, Maureen. Thanks for taking the time to listen. They are all quite fun! Feel free to share!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe

Please enter your email address to receive blog posts by email.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Larceny in the Aisles is Hot Off the Press!
  • Ten Tips for the Travel Writer-Wannabe
  • Thrilled to Meet My Client From London

Archives

  • October 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • November 2012

Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

© 2023 Janice Beetle Books · Privacy Policy
Content by Janice Beetle Books · Site by Turn Signal Media