A young girl realizes that she doesn’t have to wait until she’s grown-up to stand up for what is right and make a big impact. While playing on the beach in her coastal town, a young girl comes across a sea turtle ensnared by a wire. Her town is home to a factory that has provided jobs for many of her neighbors, including her mother, but it has also been dumping garbage from a pipe into the waters, threatening the creatures that live in them. Children are used to being asked what they’ll do and be when they grow up, but the girl knows there is so much she can do today to help. Unable to forget the sight of the struggling turtle, with a fantastic act she inspires the townspeople to compel the factory to change its destructive ways. Written in spare and evocative poetry, I Am Today is an empowering story for children who want to be the change the world needs.
As a New Hampshire and Vermont radio broadcaster, Matt Forrest Esenwine spent a good part of his time writing and producing commercials and comedy bits. He also wrote poetry, which was published in various national journals and anthologies including the Donald Hall tribute, “Except for Love” (Encircle, 2019). Little did Matt know all this short-form writing would lead to his debut picture book, “Flashlight Night” (Astra Young Readers, 2017), which received numerous positive reviews including a Kirkus star and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the Best Books for Kids 2017. Encyclopedia Brittanica also featured it in their list of“11 Children’s Books That Inspire Imagination!” Other childern’s books fllowed, including “Don’t Ask a Dinosaur” (POW! Kids, 2018), co-authored with Deborah Bruss, “Once Upon Another Time” (Beaming Books, 2021), co-authored with Charles Ghigna, and “I Am Today” (POW! Kids Books, 2022), recipient of the 2023 NH State Literary Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature. Meanwhile, Matt’s children’s poetry can be found in numerous anthologies like “The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry” (National Geographic Children’s Books, 2015), “Construction People” (Wordsong, 2019) and ‘Highlights for Children’ magazine. Feel free to connect with Matt at www.MattForrest.com.
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