Childhood’s everyday moments came lyrically to life when poet Erik Korhel’s new rhyming picture book The Kid with the Red Juice Mustache and Other Nostalgic Companions was released. “I write my poems for children, but I know adults relate to them. I see them smile and know they are remembering a feeling from long ago,” says Korhel, whose latest book includes tales of having a brand-new bike stolen, science projects, pranks, braces, babysitters, haircuts and the intricacies of catching a fast-moving Ice Cream Man before he is sold out.
“Elementary school was the best time of my life and writing about my experiences gives me the opportunity to re-live it, even the embarrassing things,” says Korhel who spent his early school years in the South King County town of Covington.
Erik Korhel’s first book of children’s poetry, My Tooth Fell in My Soup (2009), impressed New York City’s Education Department so much, it’s listed as a “must have” for teaching poetry to 3rd through 5th graders.
My Tooth Fell in My Soup also inspired Kent’s South Side Dance Force director Joselito Castillo to turn all 21 poems in the book into a show! The troupe appears with Korhel at book stores to act out titles such as Sleepover, Saliva Napkin and First Love. Their live-action collaboration has also toured local schools, libraries and a hospital.
Article by Erik Korhel
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