writers

A Story is to Share

Sophie Rosen , ,

Higgins, Carter. A Story Is to Share: How Ruth Krauss Found Another Way to Tell a Tale. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2022.
How do you tell a story with a violin? How do you tell a story with paint? How do you tell a story with words when your ideas scatter all over and tumble away? Ruth Krauss, award-winning author of more than forty children’s books includingThe Carrot Seed, grew up to find a way. This playful picture book, whimsically illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault and accompanied by two pages of background information, is cheerfully recommended for readers 6 to 10 years old. It’s also recommended for writers who are curious about how small changes can affect the tone of a story: Nowhere in this book is Ruth’s name mentioned; not once; instead, the author always refers to her to as ‘the girl’ or ‘she’. How does that affect a reader’s connection to the story?

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Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen

Sophie Rosen ,

Hopkinson, Deborah. Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen. New York: Balzer & Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2018.

“Nothing ever fatigues me but doing what I do not like.”

“The real evils, indeed, of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself.”

“For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn.”

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

Jane Austen was born in England over two hundred years ago. But her novels still entertain people all around the world. This biography tells the story of how she grew up to become a famous writer. The style and size of the text, the detailed ink and watercolour illustrations by Qin Leng, and the layout of the pages all combine to create a delightful picture book highly recommended for curious readers 9 to 15 years old.

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A list of classic novels for all ages

Deborah Hopkinson has written many wonderful picture books and novels. You can find more by typing ‘Hopkinson’ into the search box on the right hand side at the top.

 

A Secret Shared

Sophie Rosen , , , ,

MacLachlan, Patricia. A Secret Shared. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2021.
Thanks to the wonders of DNA testing, Norah and Ben stumble upon a secret. Their younger sister, Birdy, is adopted. Should they tell their parents what they’ve discovered? Should they tell Birdy? This 145-page present-tense novel, printed in a relatively large font with widely spaced lines and short paragraphs, is a wonderful story for readers 8 to 12 years old. As with all Patricia MacLachlan stories, the language flows gracefully and the ideas linger in the mind long after the book is closed. Highly recommended, of course.

More novels for younger readers