Frogs are neat/The way they croak/They sound defective/But they ain’t broke!”

That cute little poem was written by Sandy Hill. Sandy wrote all kinds of poems for small children. She started writing them in 1992, but gave her poems only to friends and family so they could be read to their children.

Unfortunately, Sandy died May 15. She was 57 years old.

Her poems for children were collected into a book and put on display during visitation for her at a funeral home. People stopped to read those poems. A few laughs were heard from that corner of the funeral home, and it was not at all inappropriate.

Sandy died from Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS). She had worked for several state agencies, including as director of personal standards and education for the state fire marshal until her retirement in 2002. She was diagnosed with ALS in 2006. One of the first things the disease took was her voice, but it never took her spirit, much of which is included in her poetry.

“Grape to raisin/Plum to prune/Girl to grandma/All too soon.”

After the visitation, Sandy’s husband, Kent, heard from people who wanted copies of Sandy’s poetry book. That gave Kent an idea. He decided to print 25 copies of the book, give some away and sell others for $10 each. The proceeds would go toward research for the prevention and cure of ALS so that someday other people would be spared what he and Sandy had to endure.

Lou Gehrig’s is a pitiless disease.

“Having this form of ALS has been described as being buried alive,” Kent wrote in the introduction to the book. “No one should have to die like this.”

Since first getting the idea, Kent has printed about 300 copies of the book, which is called “The Toy Lion and Other Children’s Poetry.” The book is on sale at Blades Unlimited, 1524 W. Jefferson St., (where Sandy used to have her hair styled) and at Scrapbook Your Story, 313 Stevenson Drive, and also, at least through the holidays if not longer, in White Oaks Mall.

Kent keeps copies of his wife’s poetry book in his car. If, as he drives around Springfield, he sees small children with their parents, he frequently pulls over and gives the book to the children. For every book Kent gives away, he puts $10 in his ALS fund.

Sandy and Kent never talked about this. It all came about after Sandy’s death. “She had no idea hundreds of people would be reading her poems,” Kent says. But that is what has happened.

“Do fleas have birthdays and if they did/What would you buy for a little flea kid?/Think hard and give your brain a jog/Maybe he’s ready for his first dog!”

If you think these poems I am quoting sound familiar, there is a reason for that. Shel Silverstein was one of Sandy’s favorite poets, and many of her poems have that same flavor.

Though “The Toy Lion” sells for $10, some people have given Kent more than that. A dentist gave him $50 for a copy of the book to put in his waiting room.

“Just a lot of nice things have happened,” Kent says about distributing the book. He knows of a family in which the kids have been taking turns reading Sandy’s poems to each other. People who learn the story behind the book give him hugs.

“As long as there will be people who buy it,” he says, “I’ll keep printing them.”

Anyone who wants a book can buy it at Blades or the scrapbook shop, or call Kent at 787-8677 or e-mail him at khill326@aol.com.

Money from the book sales has been given to ALS and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The MDA has a division for research into ALS.

“If I knew who had the best shot at curing the disease,” Kent says, “I’d funnel the money to them. I’d like to see it cured in my lifetime.”

Sandy will be remembered for a lot of things and, now, for the poems she wrote for children. Though she and Kent never had children of their own, through her art she will bring joy to a lot of young kids.

I will leave you with one more of Sandy’s poems. This one might be for grown-ups. It’s called “Dumb Mice?”

“Mice in a maze/Cheese surprise!/Humans in a maze/Without any prize.”