Patricia Hopkins taught elementary education in Illinois for over thirty years. She holds a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in elementary education. In 2...view morePatricia Hopkins taught elementary education in Illinois for over thirty years. She holds a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in elementary education. In 2007, Hopkins was selected as La Salle County's teacher of the year. Hopkins used her love of music in teaching the students in producing a drama to present to the students' parents and friends. Following the drama, students would recite animal poems. Each student would dress as the animal presented. Students would select the animal poem they wished to recite. At some point, rather than selecting poems from her archives, Hopkins started writing poems for her students to recite. A total of 110 poems are part of her collection. The poems are in a variety of styles. Thirty-two are humorous short poems like "Hey Bernie!" The others are more educational and more appropriate for a slightly older audience. "Hey Bernie!" is the first poem Hopkins has created for publication.view less