Good Writing

L M N O peas by Keith Baker is a book I mentioned last week in my blog as a suggested title to consider. I could not resist buying such a clever alphabet book. The illustrations are so imaginative as alphabet peas have a variety of adventures in the alphabet world. The brief text compliments the illustrations and is easy to follow. And I even learned a new word when I came upon the phrase We're yogis in a pose!

A new chapter book which I could not pass up purchasing was The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz. This book has few illustrations, but it's the rich text draws you into the world of night fairies. This is the opening page.

Flora was a night fairy. She was born a little before midnight when the moon was full. For the rest of her life-and fairies can live hundreds of years-that hour, a little before midnight, would be the time when her magic was the strongest.

Flora was at home in the dark. Like all night fairies, she cast a silver shadow, which helped her hide in the moonlight.

Exploring a bookstore can be a very fine adventure as one discovers new titles as well as rediscovering the old.

This book exploration brings me to another rich experience. Yesterday I had the privilege of listening to some graduating education students from a local college read their thesis (action research papers). Their dedication, earnestness and enthusiasm was impressive to watch as each shared their projects. The importance of teaching the fundamentals of good writing was a recurring theme in the topics addressed. Certainly a worthy goal building a solid foundation of writing fundamentals will help produce good writers in their classrooms. Understanding these fundamentals will help students strive to become the best writers they can be.

I thought this quote from an eighth grader in the book A Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher was quite poignant and certainly reinforces the goals these future teachers hope to achieve in their classrooms.

When I pick up the pen it changes me. I'm not the same person. The way I talk, think, and everything changes. I feel more natural, more relaxed, and more like myself. That is the true power of the pen. p. 127

Who knows...maybe someday these future writers will write a book and we will pick it up to enjoy.

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The sun is out... my flowers survived the frost!!!!

I wish all of you ...

Happy Mother's Day