When Ben’s best friend Peter moves away, Ben decides that he will move, too–into a “cave” under the kitchen table. Caveman Ben doesn’t need any friends except his tame (stuffed) lion. He hunts for his food (thoughtfully left on a plate by Mom and Dad) and communicates in grunts. And in the safety of his cave he can imagine a world where friends control their own destinies and distance is no obstacle.
The sales copy on the back cover sums it up nicely:
What does Ben do after his best friend moves away?
Ben decided he would move too. Not across the world. Not across the country. Not across town. He would move under the table. He would become a caveboy.
Notice the use of threes. There are three “he would move” phrases. The first sentence has one:
(1) Ben decided he would move too.
There are two more at the end:
(2) Not across the country.
(3) Not across town.
In between the three “he would move” phrases are three “Not across” phrases:
(1) Not across the world.
(2) Not across the country.
(3) Not across town.
#kidlit Writing Lesson: This page uses threes (twice!) to show the main character’s emotional reaction to the story problem.
Tell your mother to do as we say… or we go to the police.” Frightened by these chilling words of blackmail on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 16 years old, Celine Caldwell is threatened as she raced from her tony school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side to her internship at the Museum.
She wants to go screaming to her mother’s office at the Museum, where she just happens to be the powerful curator, Julia Caldwell, but Celine doesn’t dare tell her mother about the threats. These days she doesn’t tell her mom much. Their relationship has been strained once her parent’s divorce was finalized last year. Since then Celine’s mom work at the Museum ballooned into an obsession that placed Celine dead last.
Rumors are flying inside the Museum about two mysterious paintings that have disappeared from an upcoming exhibition. Julia’s outrageous insistence that the paintings be removed from the exhibit has made her the number-one target of a criminal investigation, and her diva personality does little to move the police to consider alternative suspects. Celine knows her mother is innocent and vows to find the paintings and keep her mother out of jail.
Celine’s life gets very complicated when she learns that these two paintings are more than priceless works of art – they are evidence of a long buried murder. The closer Celine gets to the truth, the more dangerous each step becomes for her. Until she finds herself face-to-face with a killer so desperate to keep these secrets buried, right along with Celine herself.
After Celine overhears two Southeby art reps talking about a private sale, her inner thoughts sum up the situation for the readers:
Two paintings go missing. My mom is blamed. And now two paintings are about to somehow find their way into private hands by way of a major auction house? A coincidence? You bet. But it’s no coincidence that someone wants a fast private sale for two paintings.
I’m scared. If those two paintings sell privately, neither the buyer or the seller will be announced. If these are the stolen paintings, they’ll disappear forever. My stomach begins to churn at the thought.
In the second paragraph Celine reacts to what she has overheard. Before and after she explains why the information is important, she has a visceral reaction to it.
The paragraph begins with emotion:
I’m scared.
It continues with information:
If these are the stolen paintings, they’ll disappear forever.
