I am thankful for…

I am thankful for creativity and the stories that surface from inspiration and hard work. Check out these fabulous picture books about WRITING!

Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter; illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker - A series of eclectic characters give Eva writing advice on 90th Street: observe, use words in a new way, imagine, add action. She discovers that things really do happen on 90th Street!

S is for Story: A Writer's Alphabet by Esther Hershenhorn; illustrated by Zachary Pullen - Now there is an alphabet book for writers of all ages. Each letter describes a component of writing in a short rhyme. The facing page includes expository text to elaborate. "Y is for Your Story,/ yours to live and grow,/ of all you do,/ and where you've been/ and where you hope to go."

Aunt Isabel Tells A Good One by Kate Duke - In this collaborative tale, Aunt Isabelle encourages her niece to come up with the details of a good story, starting with Where and When and prompting her with questions along the way. An excellent example of story writing demonstrated within a story!

The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane and Herm Auch - "One day Henrietta said, 'Reading books is so much fun. Writing books must be eggshilarating.'" Filled with puns in text and illustration, this clever story on writing a story offers up writing rules in the setting of an opinionated henhouse. Henrietta's manuscript, "The Perils of Maxine," is typed in full on the final page.

The Little "READ" Hen by Dianne de Las Casas; illustrated by Holly Stone-Barker - In this creative writing version of The Little Red Hen, Little "Read" asks for help brainstorming, researching, outlining, drafting, editing, and proofing. Of course, her friends won't help. Will she keep the story to herself?

Little Red Writing by Joan Holub; illustrated by Melissa Sweet - "Once upon a time in pencil school, a teacher named Ms. 2 told her class, 'Today we're going to write a story.' 'Yippee!' said the birthday pencil. 'Slammin.' said the basketball pencil. 'Sharp! said Little Red." Little Red wants to go on a journey to write a story about bravery. Her teacher gives her some advice: "Stick to your basic story path so you don't get lost." Along the way, Red meets action words, adjectives, conjunction glue, adverbs, and an especially fearsome foe. Finally, her story is finished: "Once there was a brave red pencil…"