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The Slowest Book Ever
by April Pulley Sayre (Author) and Kelly Murphy (Illustrator)

A book about some of the slow things in life. Did you know that there’s a bird that flies so slowly it falls from the sky? (page 40) And that a saguaro cactus takes fifteen years to grow its first inch? (page 66)

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

HOW SLOW CAN YOU GROW SAGUARO?

Saguaro cacti start slowly and grow slowly. It takes about fifteen years before they grow 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) high. It is forty or fifty years before they reach 10 feet (about 3 meters) tall and flower for the first time. At seventy-five to one hundred years old, saguaro cacti grow their distinctive side arms. These plants live to be more than 150 years old.

The big idea is stated first.

Saguaro cacti start slowly and grow slowly.

Specific details follow –in chronological order. Readers see the first inch:

It takes about fifteen years before they grow 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) high.

. . . and the first flower:

It is forty or fifty years before they reach 10 feet (about 3 meters) tall and flower for the first time.

. . . and the side arms:

At seventy-five to one hundred years old, saguaro cacti grow their distinctive side arms.

The final sentence shows the lifespan of this v-e-r-y S-L-O-W plant:

These plants live to be more than 150 years old.

BONUS! Talk about S-L-O-W! The last Square Root Day was 3/3/9. Look at the calendar–today is another Square Root Day! It’s 4/4/16. (There are only 9 Square Root Days in a century. The next one won’t occur until 5/5/25!) Enjoy!

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Their Great Gift: Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land
by John Coy (Author) and Wing Young Huie (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The BIG Picture

With lyrical text and thought-provoking photography, Their Great Gift explores the experiences of immigrants in the twenty-first century, focusing on the lives of children. Images of families who came to the United States from many different parts of the world celebrate the diversity of our country and contain a vision of hope for the future.

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

The book begins:

My family came here from far away . . .

TURN THE PAGE

because they dreamed of more.

This story is told in the first person voice with clear, spare, lyrical language. Most immigration stories are told from a single point of view, but this one is not. On each book spread are multiple photographs of immigrant families who came to the United States from all around the world.

How was this accomplished? The author and the photographer worked together to create this book. In the back matter the author writes:

I wrote text that was revised many times as we decided on pictures. While each family’s arrival story is unique, I wanted to focus on the overarching connection between immigrants–and between us all.

BONUS! Read an interview with the author and the photographer

Snippet: “This was the first time I’d ever worked directly with the artist.”

It’s Nonfiction Monday!