Poems with Lois Letchford: Happy Brithday Dear Dragon

22 Sept 2020 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:10

In this YouTube video, author and literacy advocate Lois Letchford introduces herself as the writer of Reversed: A Memoir and a practitioner who uses poetry to engage vulnerable students. She explains how poetry serves as a transformative tool in her literacy work, then reads the poem “Happy Birthday, Dear Dragon” from the collection Dragon Poems, crediting its author Jack Palutski. The poem depicts a fantastical birthday celebration for a dragon, featuring a chorus of mythical creatures. Lois concludes with a call to action, urging viewers to like, subscribe, and comment to support literacy promotion through her channel.

Chapters

Hello, I'm Lois Letchford, an author of the book Reversed: A Memoir, and a literacy problem solver who loves using poetry with some of the most vulnerable students. I find it really transformative. And this week I'm reading from the book Dragon Poems. The first poem is called Happy Birthday, Dear Dragon. There were rumbles of strange jubilation in a dark subterranean lair, for the dragon was having a birthday and his colleagues were gathering there. Hurrah! groaned the trolls and the ogres as they pelted each other with stones. Hurrah! shrieked the sphinx and a griffin, and the skeletons rattled their bones. Hurrah! screamed the Queen of the Demons. Hurrah! boomed a giant. Rejoice! Hurrah! piped a tiny hobgoblin in an almost inaudible voice. Hurrah! cackled rapturous witches. Hurrah! hissed a basilisk too. Then they howled in a cacophonous chorus. Happy birthday, dear dragon! To you! They whistled, they squawked, they applauded, as they gleefully brought forth the cake. Oh, thank you! He thundered with pleasure in a bass that made every ear ache. Then, puffing his chest to the fullest and taking deliberate aim, the dragon huffed once at the candles. And the candles all burst into flame. Thank you, Jack Palutski, one of my favourites. Please hit like, hit subscribe, and leave a comment because all of these things make a difference in promoting literacy and my channel. Thank you.