Today, November 1st, is a double-header for literary-themed holidays!
Not only does the first kick off National Novel Writing Month (aka: NaNoWriMo), a time when people are enouraged to write a 50,000 word novel), but it's also National Authors' Day, a day to celebrate writers and their books!
With Scholastic's long history of providing educational materials to educators, it's no surprise Deimosa and I found a lot of books with the main purpose of helping kids become writers. Maybe some of these will inspire you this month!
Besides the more instructional texts, we also found a classic biography on one of my favroite Scholastic authors, R.L. Stine!
Write With Feeling by William Longgood, 1970.
Anger... beauty... joy... boredom... all the fillings that fill you up...
You know how you feel, but can you put it in words? Can you write a story or poem – or just some lines – that will make others feel what you feel... see the world the way you see it
With this book of ideas and practice project, a prize-winning writer gives you the chance to WRITE WITH FEELING!
(PS – Do you see that SW17 in the top right-hand corner of the book? That's the ISBN, and the small number indicates that this was the 17th book Scholastic ever published!)
Scholastic Educational Paperbacks Bright Idea: The Craft of Children's Writing by Judith Newman, 1984.
Newman uses children's writing to lead the reader through the process of discovery. The book contains samples of writing reproduced in their original form, followed immediately by translations accompanied by Newman's detailed insightful analysis of the content, structure and creative process evident in each writing. (Description provided by Google Books.)
My Writing Book by Joyce C. Bumgardner, illustrated by June Otani, 1989.
You can write in this book!
Write:
- a strange weather forecast,
- a letter to your favorite food,
- an important notice about something you'd like to change.
Write things you never thought you could write! When you're finished you will have your own book to read over and over again. Happy writing!
It Came From Ohio! My Life as a Writer by R.L. Stine, as told to Joe Arthur, 1997.
Has he had a horrifying life?
- Was R.L. Stine a scary kid?
- Did he have a weird family?
- Did his friends think he was strange?
- Why does he like to terrify his readers?
- Where does he get the frightening ideas for his stories?
All of your questions about America's best-selling author are answered in this STINE-TINGLING story!
For the first time ever, R.L. Stine reveals what he was like when he was YOUR age – and what his scary life is like today!
Special thanks to Scholastic librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her ongoing help with this series.
Gina Asprocolas
