Learning from Picture Books: Rocket Writes a Story

Since I’m inescapably drawn to writing picture books when I'm not working on my middle grade novels, I decided I’d better start reading more of them and figuring out what makes them work. So every other Friday, I'll post "Learning from Picture Books" to share what I'm learning.

Rocket Writes a Story

written and illustrated by Tad Hills

published by Schwartz & Wade, 2012

 

From Amazon:

Rocket loves books and he wants to make his own, but he can't think of a story. Encouraged by the little yellow bird to look closely at the world around him for inspiration, Rocket sets out on a journey. Along the way he discovers small details that he has never noticed before, a timid baby owl who becomes his friend, and an idea for a story.

 

My thoughts as a writer:

I liked the way the story brought out some of the realities of the writing process, but I found the story itself a little slow paced and wondered whether it would hold a child’s interest. A little bit of mystery about a nest in a tree helped to carry the story forward and I could study how the illustrations and words worked together to make this effective. Overall, this book seemed best suited for educational purposes, rather than for entertainment.

 

My thoughts as a teacher:

This would be a good book to support a discussion of the process of writing. I appreciated the way the story showed how much hard work goes into writing and how a story can continue to change as the writer thinks of new ideas or re-reads what is written.

This story also showed how we can be inspired by nature, which fits with the Reggio Emilia philosophy of teaching. However, the story itself was a little quiet for me and could have benefited from a bit more action or conflict. This book would be suitable for grades K-2, but in a kindergarten class, I might break up the reading into a couple of sessions, since it’s long for a picture book.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: How My Private, Personal Journal Became a Bestseller

Today’s Pick: How My Private, Personal Journal Became a Bestseller by Julia DeVillers

Published by Puffin Books, 2004

From the Publisher:

Formerly ordinary fourteen-year-old Jamie Bartlett isn't so ordinary anymore. Ever since she wrote a story about Isabella (aka IS), the stereotype-defying, popular-girl-crushing super teen, Jamie's life hasn't been the same. Suddenly she's doing interviews and book signings, flying to L.A. to hang out with celebrities, and dating Marco Vega, the hottest guy in school! But will all of this attention go to Jamie's head? Or will she take a lesson from IS and remember that there's more to life than popularity?

Show more

Show less My Take:

Another book I really enjoyed! The character of Jameson is what drew me into the story and kept me hooked. Reading this book was almost like hanging out with a really good friend. I could relate to Jamie’s ups and downs and dream of becoming a “famous writer”. And I could relate to all the times she did or said something embarrassing. This was a fun read.

From a writing perspective, I’d definitely read this again to study how the author created the voice of the character. 

 
Favourite Quotes:

“When you’re popular, you don’t have to worry about what anyone thinks of you. Because you know they think you’re cool, right?”

“I journal almost every day. And that’s the kind of writing I love to do. When it’s for myself.”

 
Other Info:

Julia DeVillers has an identical twin sister, Jennifer Roy, who is also a writer. They collaborate together on a book series featuring identical twins.

How My Private, Personal Journal Became a Bestseller was made into a Disney Channel Original movie in 2006, called Read It and Weep.

This book was inspired by a list Julia DeVillers made in high school. It included things she wanted to do when she was older, like "be published", "have a really cute boyfriend", and “help the world”.

Other Books by This Author Include:

Triple Trouble (with Jennifer Roy)
Double Feature (with Jennifer Roy)
Cleared for Takeoff (Part of Liberty Porter, First Daughter)
Times Squared (with Jennifer Roy)
New Girl in Town (Part of Liberty Porter, First Daughter)
Take Two (with Jennifer Roy)
Liberty Porter, First Daughter (Part of Liberty Porter, First Daughter)
Trading Faces (with Jennifer Roy)
Princess of Gossip (with Sabrina Bryan)
Lynn Visible
GirlWise: How to Be Confident, Capable, Cool, and in Control
The Tuned In series, exclusively at Limited Too! stores

The TUNED IN series - exclusively at Limited TOO stores The TUNED IN series - exclusively at Limited TOO stores

For more info, visit the website for the book  or check out Julia DeVillers facebook page

 

 

Cool Blog Quote: Emotional Hide and Seek

I've been thinking a lot lately about creating emotions in my writing, since I think that's one of the big reasons why we read. I love this quote from Becca Puglisi over at The Bookshelf Muse:

"...we hide our emotions all the time. And this means our characters should, too."

Becca Puglisi, Hiding Emotions: Just Act Normal, The Bookshelf Muse, May 8, 2013

This is so tricky to capture in a story.

I sometimes show my characters trying act normal (see Becca's discussion of the Just Act Normal technique) but with tiny physical cues that hint at their underlying emotional state. (Thank you, Emotion Thesaurus.)

In the past, I've left it at that and assumed the reader would somehow interpret what I was trying to do. But the more I learn, the more I realize how important it is to make it obvious to the reader what emotion the character is feeling and trying to hide.

This underlines again why it's so important to let the reader in on the character's thoughts and feelings (what literary agent Mary Kole describes as interiority). Of course, this is tricky too, because it has to be done a subtle, polished way to avoid the blatant "She felt..." or "He thought..."

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: The Spindlers

Today’s pick:  The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver

HarperCollins, 2012

From the Publisher:

When Liza’s brother, Patrick, changes overnight, Liza knows exactly what has happened: The spindlers have gotten to him and stolen his soul.

She knows, too, that she is the only one that can save him.

To rescue Patrick, Liza must go Below, armed with little more than her wits and a broom. There, she uncovers a vast world populated with talking rats, music-loving moles, greedy troglods, and overexcitable nids . . . as well as terrible dangers. But she will face her greatest challenge at the spindlers’ nests, where she encounters the evil queen and must pass a series of deadly tests — or else her soul, too, will remain Below forever.

 From author Lauren Oliver comes a bewitching story about the reaches of loyalty, the meaning of love, and the enduring power of hope.

My Take:

I thought The Spindlers was creepy – a book I know would’ve both scared and hooked my daughter when she was younger. It reminded me a lot of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, since Liza went underground and met a number of fantastical creatures on her way to rescue her brother (including a three-headed dog, which reminded me of the Harry Potter books). I liked Liza’s strong devotion to her brother, and the idea that she could tell something about him wasn’t right, when the adults couldn’t.

From a writer’s perspective, I’d study the way the author carefully chose words and phrases to create powerful and vivid images. The writing style was definitely stood out for me.

Favourite Quotes:

“She drew her mouth into a thin white line, and this reminded Liza of many things, none of them pleasant: of ruled notepaper, on which she was expected to write boring things at school; of rulers and long marches through endless hallways, and walls everywhere she looked.”

“Thousands of shadows were swooping and flirting through the air above their heads, until the court was dark with them.”

Other info:

Lauren Oliver lives in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in a house “full of art and towers and towers of books.” As a child, her parents, who were both literature professors, encouraged her to draw, paint, dance and write stories.

On her website, she gives this advice for writers: “First of all—write! Then write, write, write, and write some more. Also, read as much as you can.”

The book’s website has a video about the story behind The Spindlers.

Other books written by this author include:

Liesel and Po (MG)
Before I Fall (YA)
Delirium (YA)
Pandemonium (YA)
Requiem (YA)

For more, visit The Spindler’s website or Lauren Oliver’s website.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was dreamed up by the incredible Shannon Messenger. Visit her blog for an up-to-date list of all the bloggers who are participating and posting about middle grade books today!

Writing Smarter by Writing Different

Although I’ve been putting my writing energy into middle grade fiction for the last couple of years, it’s hard for me to stay away from thinking about picture books too. In my job as a kindergarten teacher, I’m surrounded by little voices with big ideas. Parts of stories creep into my mind, since I can’t help thinking what if…

Or, if only I had a story to show my students about ___________.

The interesting thing I've found about starting to write picture books again is that it has increased my productivity with my middle grade novel. You'd think it'd be the opposite, since I spend less time working on the novel. But I find that writing picture books is great when I need a break from my novel or when I get stuck. It often gets my creative brain in gear again.

I can conceptualize an entire picture book in short space of time, something that's a bit more difficult with a middle grade novel and all the different pieces to weave together. And it helps to bring some fun back into writing when the novel is dragging me down a little. 

Just for fun, this week I've been trying to participate in NaPiBoWriWee - National Picture Book
Writing Week. It's a challenge where you write a picture book a day each day from May 1 - 7. 

I figure if I complete four I'm doing well, but I have a secret hope that I'll get a chance to catch up on the weekend.


 

 

 

 

What Inspires You to Write Better?

Last week, two teen sisters, Julia and Emma Mogus, came to my school to tell us about an amazing project they started to bring books to aboriginal youth in the 49 communities of the Nishnawabe Aski Nation in Northern Ontario. In 2012, these girls collected and organized a way to send over 10, 000 books to these fly-in communties. They are also sending supplies like warm clothing, baby items, crafts and teacher resources.  

Never underestimate teens! I was so inspired, hearing about their goals and dreams and what they have accomplished at the ages of 13 and 14. It makes me want to work even harder to achieve my own goals and to write better books.

If you want to know more about Julia and Emma and their accomplishments, visit them at the Books with No Bounds website or Books with No Bounds on Facebook.

You can also read more about them in this article about Books With No Bounds from The National Post.

What inspires you to keep on writing?

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Sinking Deeper

Today’s Pick: Sinking Deeper Or My Questionable (Possibly Heroic) Decision to Invent a Sea Monster by Steve Vernon

Published by Nimbus Publishing, 2011

From Amazon:

The tiny fishing community of Deeper Harbour is in deep trouble—and so is fourteen-year-old Roland MacTavish. Roland’s mom wants to move with him to Ottawa, away from his father, his weird friend Dulsie, and his even weirder grandfather, Angus. So Roland does what any sane teenager would do: He invents a sea monster. Unfortunately, the scheme quickly spins out of Roland’s control, and he has to go to greater and greater lengths to keep up the illusion. And then Roland must deal with a situation far more terrifying than any sea monster. As moving as it is irresistibly funny, Steve Vernon’s portrait of Roland and Deeper Harbour is perfect for anyone who’s ever been stuck badly enough to do something awesomely, brilliantly, heroically stupid.

My Take:

This book started right into some action, with Roland’s grandfather and as friend breaking him out of jail. It took a little while to get to the main problem of the plot, but I kept reading because of the quirky characters. I was glad I did. Once the story got going, I enjoyed the humor and was rooting for the characters to succeed in their plan to build and deploy a fake sea monster. The author captured the feeling of community and small town Nova Scotia.

As a writer, it was so interesting to see how the author brought together characters of different ages as they worked together on a project. And I loved the way the humor seemed so effortlessly woven into the story.   

Favourite Quotes:

“I was sure what Granddad Angus was saying made perfect sense in some alternative universe, but I still didn’t get it—and I didn’t really need to. He was my Granddad Angus and my very best friend and I would do just what he asked me to.”

“I had experienced more excitement watching paint dry in the sun, but I didn’t want to interrupt Warren’s concentration. If I did, he might start all over again and the two of us would be here until several days past infinity.”

 
Other Info:

Steve Vernon is a writer and storyteller who lives in Nova Scotia with his wife and a cat named Kismet.

Sinking Deeper is his first middle grade novel. He also writes collections of ghost stories.
On his blog, Steve Vernon shares a letter to a fan that describes what inspired the story of Sinking Deeper: “I was also thinking of the Miller Lake monster here in Nova Scotia that was originally nothing more than a torn-up tree stump that somebody painted to look a sea monster – mostly because they were inspired. Then a group of Boy Scouts got together and started painting that lake monster even fancier.”

Sinking Deeper Or My Questionable (Possibly Herioc) Decision to Invent a Sea Monster is nominated for an Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading award in the Silver Birch category for 2013. Other nominated books that I’ve featured include: Dragon Seer's Gift by Janet McNaughton, Cat Found by Ingrid Lee, A Tinfoil Sky by Cyndi Sand-Eveland, The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis, Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, The Dead Kid Detective Agency by Evan Munday, The Grave Robber's Apprentice by Allan Stratton, Missing by Becky Citra, and Neil Flambé and the Crusader's Curse by Kevin Sylvester.

For more info, visit Steve Vernon’s website.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was dreamed up by the incredible Shannon Messenger, author of the middle grade novel, Keeper of the Lost Cities. Visit her blog for an up-to-date list of all the bloggers who are participating and posting about middle grade books today!