I only recently discovered just how popular squishy toys have become. These soft, stretchy, squeezable toys come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors, including cute animals, funny faces, and even pretend food. Kids love to squeeze them, stretch them, squish them, and watch them slowly return to their original shapes. They’re fun to play with, and squeezing them can even help some people relax or relieve stress.

When I learned how much kids love their squishies, I thought it would be fun to write a poem about someone who absolutely adores theirs. After all, a favorite toy can feel almost like a best friend, and what better way to celebrate that friendship than with an ode, a poem of praise?

But then I started thinking about something funny. When you really love a squishy, you don’t just admire it or cuddle it. You squeeze it, squash it, stretch it, twist it, and generally put it through all sorts of terrible treatment. If squishies had feelings, they might have a very different opinion of the relationship!

So I decided to write a poem in which the narrator makes one loving declaration after another, while casually admitting to some rather questionable behavior. The result is “Dear Squishy, I Love You,” a poem about a friendship that’s full of affection, even if it might not always look that way. This is…

Dear Squishy, I Love You

Dear Squishy, I love you.
(I yanked on your nose.)
I treasure our friendship.
(I stomped on your toes.)
You’re thoughtful and caring.
(I stretched out your skin.)
You’re endlessly cheerful.
(I twisted your chin.)
You never get grumpy.
(I pushed in your eyes.)
You never hold grudges.
(I mangled your thighs.)
You make me so happy.
(I pounded your ear.)
You’re one in a million.
(I sat on your rear.)
I’m lucky to have you.
(I scrunched up your cheek.)
I’ll love you forever.
(Except if you leak.)

— Kenn Nesbitt

When I was a kid, I had lots of toys, including toy cars, trucks, and airplanes. I loved imagining that they could go on incredible adventures, racing down highways, flying through the clouds, or speeding away from bad guys in daring escapes.

I also had quite a few pets growing up. Over the years, my family had cats and dogs, a parakeet, an aquarium full of fish, and even a snake! But there’s one pet I never had: a hamster.

That got me wondering what might happen if I combined two things I loved as a kid: pets and toy vehicles. What if a hamster got hold of a whole collection of toy cars, boats, and airplanes? What would he do with them? And why would a tiny little hamster need so many different ways to get around?

I started imagining a hamster with some pretty fancy transportation, including a monster truck, a limousine, a submarine, and even a hovercraft. Before long, I had a poem about a very unusual pet with a mysterious collection of vehicles. I hope you enjoy it. This is…

My Hamster Has a Hovercraft

My hamster has a hovercraft.
I couldn’t tell you why.
I think he’s on a secret mission.
Maybe he’s a spy.

He also has a monster truck,
a long black limousine,
a motorcycle, speedboat,
and a snazzy submarine.

He has a helicopter
and a supersonic jet,
a Lambo, a Ferrari,
and a cherry-red Corvette.

His cage contains a hamster wheel
he uses every day,
but when he saw my toys,
he snatched them up and ran away.

It seems he doesn’t need to be
the fastest pet alive.
He’s just so tired of exercise,
he’s learning how to drive.

— Kenn Nesbitt

The beginning of a new school year can be exciting, but it can also be a little scary. You might wonder who you’ll sit with, whether you’ll make new friends, or whether the other kids will think you’re cool. That was one of the ideas that got me started on this poem.

The other idea has been bouncing around in my head for years. Once, during an assembly at an elementary school, I was speaking to about 200 fourth- and fifth-graders. We were going to write a poem together, so I asked for a volunteer to tell me their favorite thing ever… something we could use as the subject of our poem.

I called on one student, and they enthusiastically shouted, “Space llamas!”

I thought that was hilarious and I told them so, though I heard a lot of other kids groan, which just goes to show that we don’t all like the same things and that’s okay. We ended up writing about regular llamas that day, but I never forgot those space llamas. Every so often, they would wander back into my imagination, waiting for the right poem.

Well, I finally found a place for them. Here’s a back-to-school poem about feeling nervous, trying to fit in, and, of course, Space Llamas.

Space Llamas

I dyed my hair green for the first day of school.
I wore my new Space Llamas shirt to look cool.
I stepped on the bus, but then felt like a fool.
It only had one empty seat.

It looked like I’d have to sit right next to him;
The kid who would always get picked first in gym.
My guts did a backflip. The world seemed to dim.
I gulped and looked down at my feet.

My legs turned to noodles. I whispered a prayer.
I trudged to that seat thinking, “This isn’t fair.
Oh, why’d I decide to have neon-green hair?
I’d rather be home with the flu.”

I plodded along for what felt like a mile,
then took off my pack and stepped out of the aisle.
He glanced at my getup, then gave me a smile
and said, “I like Space Llamas too.”

— Kenn Nesbitt