Blog: #kidlit Book of the Day - Page 1344 of 1360

The Sculptor
by Scott McCloud (Author/Illustrator)

Booktalk: David Smith is giving his life for his art–literally. Thanks to a deal with Death, the young sculptor gets his childhood wish: to sculpt anything he can imagine with his bare hands. But now that he only has 200 days to live, deciding what to create is harder than he thought, and discovering the love of his life at the 11th hour isn’t making it any easier!

Snippet:

DAVID: Harry, what’s happening??

HARRY: When the sun comes up, you’ll get your wish.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Organization Most fiction stories are divided into three acts. In Act 1, the curtain opens and readers see the story setting. They meet the main character and find out what the story problem is. David wants gets his childhood wish: to sculpt anything he can imagine. In order to do that, he has to agree to die in 200 days.

This scene happens after David has made his decision with Death (in the form of his dead Grand Uncle Harry) in the restaurant. Now they are out on the street in New York. As they walk from one place the next, the story moves from one act to the next.

Now the story moves into Act 2. (On the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, this step is called Break Into Two.) The long middle of the book has now begun. The main character has left his familiar world. No one knows what will happen next–but we keep reading to find out!

Swimming, Swimming
by Gary Clement (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Drawing on his own memories of the best days of summer in the city, Gary Clement brings us an illustrated version of the beloved classic “Swimming, swimming in a swimming pool,” full of fun and humor.

The illustrations show a young boy and his friends spending a carefree day at the neighborhood pool. We see them walk to the pool together, change into their trunks and then spend hours swimming, cavorting, splashing and diving. The pool is full of moms, dads, other kids and babies, all enjoying a chance to cool off on a hot summer day. The boy returns home, tired but happy, and falls asleep holding onto his goggles in anticipation of another delightful day at the pool.

Snippet:
Swimming, swimming,
in a swimming pool.
When days are hot,
when days are cold,
in a swimming pool.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Ideas The word in this classic song are the inspiration for an oversized hardcover comic. You don’t see any words until the boy and his friends are in the pool in the middle of the book.

Trait: Organization The story in the art shows the boy’s entire day. It begins when he wakes up and ends when he falls asleep. But this is not a typical “day in the life” story. It goes beyond what most “bed to bed” stories do.

Most “bed to bed” stories begin when the main character wakes up and end when the character goes to sleep. That’s a story arc pattern we all recognize, because we live it ourselves every day. The middle of the book, the day itself, is what makes the book work . . . or not.

So let’s look a little deeper. Is there really a story here? Or it is just a collection of random events (like most of the days we experience in real life)?

If you look closely you’ll see a swimming image on every page of this swimming story. There are swimming posters above his bed in the beginning and the ending. On the refrigerator in the kitchen, there is a photo of the boy and his friends wearing swimming medals. This is a story about “a day in the life” of a boy who loves to swim.

The words from the song only appear when the boy and his friends are in the water. Most of the story is in the art and that story works because it is focused, because it is clear. Each and every page shows the boy’s day and how much he loves to swim.

Watch the video to learn the melody and hand gestures for the song!