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September 22, 2015September 22, 2015

Buddy and Earl

Buddy and Earl
by Maureen Fergus (Author) and Carey Sookocheff (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Buddy does not know what is in the box that Meredith carries into the living room. But when the small, prickly creature says he is a pirate — and that Buddy is a pirate too — the two mismatched friends are off on a grand adventure.

Snippet:
“Uh-oh,” said Earl. “We’re heading into a storm.”

“Uh-oh,” said Buddy.

“Can you hear the wind howling, Buddy?” cried Earl.

“I can hear it, Earl!” cried Buddy.

“Can you feel the waves crashing down on us, Buddy?” shouted Earl.

“I can feel them, Earl!” shouted Buddy.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Traits: Organization How you organize the ideas in a story affects how readers experience each scene. This page has three character interactions. Earl talks like a pirate three times.

One:

“Uh-oh,” said Earl. “We’re heading into a storm.”

“Uh-oh,” said Buddy.

Two:

“Can you hear the wind howling, Buddy?” cried Earl.

“I can hear it, Earl!” cried Buddy.

Three:

“Can you feel the waves crashing down on us, Buddy?” shouted Earl.

“I can feel them, Earl!” shouted Buddy.

Buddy repeats Earl’s words each time he replies. Buddy is acting like a pirate, too.

Traits: Word Choice The verbs used in the dialogue tags help the writer build tension in the story. The first verb is the simplest one, the “invisible” verb said:

“Uh-oh,” said Earl. “We’re heading into a storm.”

“Uh-oh,” said Buddy.

The next verb used in the dialogue tag, cried, reflects the rising tension:

cried Earl.

“I can hear it, Earl!” cried Buddy.

The third dialogue tag verb, shouted, shows readers that the tension has risen even higher:

“Can you feel the waves crashing down on us, Buddy?” shouted Earl.

“I can feel them, Earl!” shouted Buddy.

One, two, three–with three examples the imaginary pirate ship sails into a storm. With three verbs, the story tension rises. With three interactions, both characters participate fully in the world of their own imaginary story.

In Western stories, three is the number that feels complete. Three is the number that feels just right. Give it a try in your next story.

September 16, 2015

Tulip and Rex Write a Story

Tulip and Rex Write a Story
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Author) and Sarah Massini (Illustrator)

Booktalk: When a package arrives from Grandma with a notebook for Tulip and a new leash for Rex, these two friends gallop to the park for a very special kind of walk–a word walk!

Snippet: “What would you like to do today, Rex?” asked Tulip. “We could read our storybook, or play pretend . . .”

Rex scratched his ear. Those both sounded fun.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Voice How do you bring a dog character to life in a story? You have to make a choice. Will the dog act like a real dog? Or will the dog be a human in disguise? How your dog “talks” in the story will let readers know who your dog really is.

This picture book page begins with a question. The human child in the story is talking to her dog:

“What would you like to do today, Rex?” asked Tulip.

Notice the use of quotation marks. These words are spoken aloud. This is dialogue.

After the initial question, the child offer some suggestions:

“We could read our storybook, or play pretend . . .”

The quotation marks in this sentence tell us that it is also spoken aloud. What will Rex’s answer be?

Rex scratched his ear. Those both sounded fun.

There aren’t any quotation marks here. Rex is NOT speaking aloud.

But we know what Rex is thinking:

Those both sounded fun.

The third person limited voice brings readers inside a character’s mind. This is the perfect voice for a dog character that acts like a real dog. This dog scratches, barks, and wags his tail throughout the story. On every page of the book, Rex acts like a real dog.

At the same time, the third person limited voice shows readers what Rex the dog is thinking. This allows the writer to fully develop Rex’s character while following the rules of the real world, a world where dogs don’t talk.

Throughout this story, the little girl speaks aloud and then readers see what the dog thinks. The third person limited voice is used on every page to bring this delightful story to life. (Read it to see how Tulip and Rex gallop to the park and use the new notebook to write a story with the words from their word walk. Yes, this story keeps the promise made in the book title!)