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Thorfinn and the Gruesome Games
by David MacPhail (Author) and Richard Morgan (Illustrator)

Prepare yourself for the wrath of the Norsemen! That is, if you don’t mind and it’s not too inconvenient… Everyone knows Vikings are ruthless barbarians whose idea of a good time involves pillaging, plundering, and feasting. But Thorfinn is no ordinary Viking! He is always polite and happily offers to wash the dirty dishes. Too bad his dad is Harald the Skull-Splitter, the village chief and the roughest and toughest Viking of them all. Harald, Thorfinn and the other Vikings are preparing to compete in the annual Gruesome Games, held on the Scottish island of Uraig. It falls to Thorfinn to save their village, but in a competition, where belching, axe-throwing, pie-clobbering, and goat-throwing are great point scorers, what help will a terribly nice Viking with a talent for baking be?

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

Readers meet Thorfinn in chapter 1:

One of the women spotted the chief’s son — a boy called Thorfinn — stepping out from behind a large sheet covering the great hall.

“What are you up to, Thorfinn?” she asked.

“Good day, dear ladies,” said Thorfinn, removing his helmet. “You’ll be the first to see my new surprise. Ta da!” He pulled the sheet away.

The women’s screams could be heard on the other side of the village.

Thorfinn’s introduction begins in an unusual way:

One of the women spotted the chief’s son — a boy called Thorfinn — stepping out from behind a large sheet covering the great hall.

That leads to a question:

“What are you up to, Thorfinn?” she asked.

And an unusual answer:

“Good day, dear ladies,” said Thorfinn, removing his helmet. “You’ll be the first to see my new surprise. Ta da!” He pulled the sheet away.

Her reaction is also unusual:

The women’s screams could be heard on the other side of the village.

Introducing the main character in an unusual way catches the reader’s attention. (To find out what was under the sheet, you have to keep reading!)

Finding the Rhyme in a Poem (Write Me a Poem)
by Valerie Bodden (Author)

Booktalk: The BIG Picture

An elementary exploration of rhyme and rhythm in poetry, introducing syllables, rhyme schemes, and sonnets as well as poets such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Includes a writing exercise.

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

The second spread in the Beat and Rhythm chapter says:

POEMS are a lot like music. When you read a poem, you can hear its rhythm (RIH-thum). In music, instruments or voices make the rhythm and keep the beat. But in poetry, rhythm is made by the words.

The paragraph begins with a comparison:

POEMS are a lot like music.

Then the new term is introduced. A phonetic spelling is included:

When you read a poem, you can hear its rhythm (RIH-thum).

The comparison is expanded:

In music, instruments or voices make the rhythm and keep the beat.

The paragraph ends with more information about the new idea:

But in poetry, rhythm is made by the words.

The simplest way to explain something new is to compare it to something that the readers already know.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!