writing

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook

| Tasha

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, illustrated by Matt Phelan.

Two veteran authors take their years of writing, their know-how, and their energy and offer it happily to new authors, both young and old.  What could have been a dry subject is definitely not in their hands.  Simply starting the book will have you hooked and make you wonder why you never wrote that book that you know you have inside you.  Mazer and Potter take on all of your excuses, throw in some great advice, and really inspire you to go for it!  Written with lots of humor, this book has I Dare You sections to get you started, funny stories of both failure and success, and offers a refreshing look at the process of writing.

There are so many parts to love in this book.  It has real information about subjects like metaphors, perspective, setting, and plot.  At the same time it is light-hearted and very personal.  Mazer and Potter have created an invitation to join them in both the success and failure of writing.  Their personal stories make the book a pleasure to read, carrying the information easily to readers.  Once you start reading, you will find it reads as easily as one of their novels, which is rare in a nonfiction book on the writing process! 

Phelan’s art suits the writing well with its organic and natural feel.  The illustrations and the fact that the chapters are broken into small bite-sized pieces contribute to the welcoming feel of the entire book.

Highly recommended, I see this as the ideal book to share with writing classes, to encourage young authors, and to hand to adults who want to start writing for children.  Not only will it offer those adults the tools they need to write, it will also show them exactly what a great book for children should be.

Appropriate for ages 10-14.  (I had to pry it out of my 13-year-old son’s hands to get to finish it.  And only by promising not to touch his bookmark!)

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy received from author.

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The Dreamer

| Tasha

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan and Peter Sis

Released April 2010.

Neftali is a boy with the spirit of a poet.  He loves to write series of words anywhere he can, he collects small objects like stones and keys, and he daydreams amazing adventures.  He is also a boy with a father who wants him to focus on the real world and become a doctor or dentist, definitely not a writer.  His father is a domineering force in his world, blowing a whistle to call him to attention and sneering at his scrawny build.  Despite this, Neftali continues to dream and write, eventually becoming one of the most read poets in the world, Pablo Neruda.

Ryan’s prose is profound and exquisite.  She has created here a book about a real person that takes you directly into that person’s mind, allowing a deep understanding.  She has taken some of the seminal events of Neruda’s life and written scenes that sear into your mind with their beauty and importance.  She writes to honor a great poet but also to allow people to understand him on a new level.  Beautifully done.

Combined with Ryan’s prose, Sis’ illustrations exude a simplicity and delicacy that work marvelously with the subject matter.  His illustrations verge on the surreal, taking us into Neruda’s thoughts and dreams.  The illustrations are deceptive in their simplicity, revealing far more than they seem to.  The partnership of these two has created something magical.

The Author’s Note at the end of the book is interesting and important.  I also appreciated the inclusion at the end of some of Neruda’s poems, because readers of this book are sure to want to read his poems.  I know that this book will reconnect me with his writing again.

A moving and beautiful tribute to a poet’s youth and development, this book also shines because of its focus on self-esteem, social consciousness, and individuality.  I can see it being used as a read-aloud in classrooms, though part of its beauty is reading it and savoring it.  Appropriate for ages 9-13.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy received from Scholastic.

 

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Chester’s Masterpiece

| Tasha

Chester’s Masterpiece with NO help from Melanie Watt

In this third Chester book, Chester has completely taken over and is writing the book all by himself.  He has taken Melanie’s art supplies and her computer mouse.  But writing a children’s book isn’t as easy as Chester thinks.  He has to come up with original ideas, select a genre, illustrate the book, and then work on a happy ending rather than a gloomy one.  Luckily Melanie is right there with helpful criticism along the way, even demonstrating her skills as an artist with just a pencil.

I know this is going to sound odd, but I love the dynamics between Melanie and Chester.  Their quibbling is such fun to watch.  Here Melanie is confined to writing post-it notes to Chester as he creates his masterpiece.  Along the way, readers learn about what goes into creating a children’s book, though they will be having far too much fun to notice that they are learning things too.  Watts’ illustrations are done with such differing styles that it is easy to forget she is also drawing Chester.  The book design is a large part of its success and that is thanks to her art.

Highly recommended, but make sure you enjoy the other two Chester books too.  All three are such fun.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

| Tasha

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

At age 13, Susy, the daughter of Mark Twain, was annoyed that people writing biographies of her father got things wrong.  So she decided to write her own biography of her famous father because she truly knew him.  At first Susy’s biography was a secret but soon her parents had discovered her book and her father helped by offering quotes at opportune moments.  In her biography, Susy told of her father’s childhood, his public side and his private life.  She documented his finer qualities and also his lesser ones.  She also wrote about his writing practice and how her mother cleaned up the racier passages.  This is a biography that shows us Twain as a family man and father as well as an author.

Kerley’s biography of Twain is immensely readable and inviting.  She has incorporated passages from Susy’s biography in an inventive way.  They are placed in inserts that look like small books on each page.  Readers will be delighted by the passages and the insights they offer.  Fotheringham’s illustrations are a creative mix of vintage and modern.  Done digitally, they have a warmth and strong graphic quality. 

Highly recommended, this is a great biographical picture book for elementary-aged students.  It is also ideal to share with children who want to be writers since it shows not only Twain’s process but gives readers a young writer to model themselves after as well.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Kiss the Book, Sommer Reading, and Young Readers.

You can read about Barbara Kerley’s own writing process for this book at INK.