M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Books to Teach the Love of Words
By Holly E. Newton

Words! How can they be so important in the written language? Why must we continually edit and revamp our written work? What’s so important about learning how to write better? Kids ask these questions many times when handing in written assignments.

As a response, I’ve gathered some of the best books to help kids understand this process, along with the importance and motivation for writing — and improved writing. I also have some outstanding books for your young budding illustrators to help inspire them in their pursuit of drawing.

First, let’s begin with the semantics of how to write better. Woe is I Jr.: The Younger Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English, by Patricia T. O’ Conner, is the perfect handbook that all middle school teachers should require that kids read. This ingenious book presents the important lessons needed to become a better writer without cramming it down a kid’s throat.

O’Conner presents each vital concept in a fun, and sometimes even funny way. For instance, while discussing the importance of communicating correctly in her introduction, she brings out the “Bad News Rule,” stating that if you place words incorrectly or misspell a word, your meaning can be completely misconstrued. Chip has fallen off his skateboard and broken his arm. You send him an instant message: “I heard you’re bad news.” But the author points out that instead of sending sympathy, you just insulted your friend.

The context of this important book covers all facets that the modern child can relate with, which includes emailing, typing on the computer, and even spell-check. (She points out that spell-check doesn’t find miscommunicated words. That’s something you need to do yourself.). The humorous drawings, by Tom Stiglich, support O’Connor’s wry sense of humor of just how complicated our language can be. For a subject that can be so dry, here’s a fresh look into becoming better at communicating — and can’t we all use some of that!

And for all you budding writers (and isn’t there a little of that in all of us?), here’s a handbook that delightfully and quite simply takes you by the hand through the tangles of authorship. How to Write Your Life Story, by Ralph Fletcher, takes you through the simple steps of brainstorming your ideas, and eventually on to your final words. Each chapter is easy to understand, and the author’s promptings and encouragement provide motivation that you really can begin to write down your life story. (He also states that you don’t have to wait until you’re old to begin to write about what you know best — your life!) This really could be the starting point of a lifetime of writings! Fletcher has included insightful interviews with three outstanding kids’ authors — Jack Gantos, Kathi Appelt and Jerry Spinelli.

And for children who are really interested in becoming authors, The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy, compiled and edited by Leonard S. Marcus, is a must-read! This book has more insightful information that should compel the budding author into writing down his/her story outline. Here are some of the very best kids’ fantasy authors with their thoughts and impressions of how they became writers.

The questions posed by Marcus are thoughtful and insightful, and I learned two important ingredients that underlined and seemed to help each of these authors as they answered his questions: 1) they loved to read, and 2) other famous authors seemed to help spur them onto writing their own stories. Some of these outstanding authors include Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, Brian Jacques and Ursula K. Le Guin. (I especially love the original writings with crossed out and edited pages illustrated throughout the book.)

Marcus has written two other books that will surely inspire young authors. And they will likely inspire those talented budding artists as well. Pass it Down: Five Picture-Book Families Make Their Mark, demonstrates how talented families and their inherited abilities to illustrate and link stories have created famous picture books. There are pencil drawings, early photos of the young budding artists as well as some of their best colorful works illustrated throughout. Included in this book, which is the size of a picture book, is the Pinkney family with Jerry and son, Brian, with artistic drawings of “The Ballad of Belle Dorcas” and “Mirandy and Brother Wind.”

There’s also the Rockwell family — with the mother, father and daughter team, Harlow, Anne and Lizzy. Their works include The Toolbox and Papa Small. Side by Side: Five Favorite Picture-Book Teams Go to Work, has a similar format with five more famous teams — only this time they’re not necessarily related. Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney, and Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, are two of the representative pairs in this outstanding book.

The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats, introduced and annotated by Philip Nel, will take your budding author/illustrator through the steps of Dr. Seuss’s creation of one of the most highly successful series in history. If this book doesn’t inspire the genius inside, I don’t know what will!

And lastly, Big Fat Little Lit, edited by Art Spielgelman and Francoise Mouly, is filled with some of the most beloved comics that kids love to read. Even though I’m not a proponent for kids reading comics instead of books, it’s a nice quick read that’s also usually funny. It’s also another outlet for illustrators. The book includes Neil Gaiman, Crockett Johnson and Ian Falconer.

So what are you waiting for? With these books, you’ll surely have the tools to write or illustrate better!

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