Home

Kathryn Apel (a well, a bell, Apel) is a born-and-bred farm girl who’s scared of cows. She lives among the gum trees, kangaroos and cattle on a Queensland grazing property. Kat paints pictures with words, because much as she’d love to, Kat can’t draw. She loves pumping poetry because she can flex her muscles across other genres, to bend (and break) writing rules. A trained teacher and literacy consultant, Kathryn shares her passion for words at schools and festivals. Kat was the 2019/2020 Primary Judge of the prestigious Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards.

Kathryn specialises in poetry workshops for kids and adults – and staff professional development sessions across grades and curriculum area.

Click the tabs to find out more about The Kat’s Whiskers and her words. Read about Kat’s Books, with links to Teachers’ Notes, reviews, interviews, and activities specific to Kat’s books, or to Buy Books.

Download Kids’ Stuff activities for home & classroom use. Again, there are tabs here specific to Kat’s books – and so much more! (Kat will always be a teacher at heart, and loves to inspire creativity in kids. And make your role as parents and educators easier!)

Kathryn was the recipient of a 2018 May Gibbs Creative Time Fellowship in Adelaide, and a Bundaberg Region RADF Grant, to attend the 2019 3-day CYA Conference and associated activities. Kathryn’s 2020 Celebrating Our Stories book tour was with the assistance of a Gladstone Region RADF grant.

Recent Releases: 

Information and images on this website are copyright Kathryn Apel. Not to be reposted or published without prior written permission.

 

Bee a Honey – Be Kind

Last week I did a Kids’ Segment in church, and talked about kindness – and kind words, in particular. I love Proverbs 16:24, where it likens kind words to honey; sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. To help kids remember to use kind words, I wrote this little shape poem, ‘Bee a … Continue reading →

Cloud Nine

A picture speaks a thousand words. Here are four pics, that speak to my week. And despite the fact that Tanita is hosting the Poetry Friday round-up today at {fiction, instead of lies}, not a word of my post is fiction, or lies. 🙃  

Feathers and Wings

Well – the wheels fell off my blogging cart – again. Blame ongoing computer issues. (Turns out replacement Mac parts aren’t actually new – just refurbished. And my replacement logicboard was faulty, so another stint in the repair shop.) And another fall… I’d only been out of the collarbone sling for 2wks!🤦‍♀️ No breaks this … Continue reading →

New Year – New Logic Board

Happy New Year! My 2022 ended with a little stress – my computer crashed… A failed logic-board, meaning that I was completely reliant on my back-ups. To be honest, my initial feeling was relief. I’d really struggled to get to a creative place, typing one-handed, so I wasn’t sorry not to try anymore. I was … Continue reading →

DIY Nativity Story Stones

I love this simple story-stones activity in the lead-up to Christmas. I’m just wishing I thought of it when my boys were small – they’d have made a lovely, sentimental keepsake – and they’d be adorable painted in a child’s hand! My first set is more detailed – and has more pieces. I was having … Continue reading →

S-CAT-terings of Kat Poems

The simple fun of magnetic poetry – playing with a limited palette, just for fun! (Click pic to view.) Amazing what you can come up with, using a collection of cat-words. Today’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Michelle at Michelle Kogan – where you will find art, poetry, and more poetry! Thanks for hosting, Michelle.

Peewee Alarm

Who needs an alarm clock, when you have courting peewees? This week we’ve become reacquainted with our resident peewee (up with the sun!) and I’m reminded of this poem & pic from 2019. The form is a fib – based on the Fibonacci sequence – but it’s no fib that we’ve been losing sleep over … Continue reading →