Do you have a child wanting to learn to write? OR perhaps you need some inspiration for yourself? Check out Sara Varan’s newest book “My Pencil and Me”. A rollicking ride into the word of Sara’s pencil, don’t you wonder what it has to say?
Learning about My Pencil and Me
:01 FirstSecond Books produced this fun-loving stroll through the story of writing a book when you really don’t know what to write about. Just what does one do when you don’t know what to write about? Well…. you could just ask your pencil…. Thus, a story is born!
48 pages of creatively illustrated pencil musings spelling out the creative writing process. A user-friendly guide for both children and adults wanting to write their own tale. Struggling with writer’s block is a difficult thing regardless of how old you are. In My Pencil and Me, Sara wants to help young readers combat it.
I received an ARC copy from Raincoast Books in order to do this review.
What Do You Get?
Clever prose, a helpful pup, and a talkative pencil. Three elements for a highly successful story. Which as it progresses, becomes an even better story as certain necessary elements for the story fall into place.
Bright and clean lines with simple colours help tell the story. Aren’t the images fitting? Don’t they just bring the story to life? Not a whole lot of white space on the pages, but the light blue sets up a similar feel doesn’t it?
From the Cover
Sara loves to draw and tell stories, but sometimes it can be difficult to get started. What if she doesn’t have any good ideas or her drawings turn out terrible?!
Lucky for Sara, she has a friend who is always by her side – her pencil. With a little help from Pencil, Sara learns it’s okay if her story isn’t perfect, as long as she’s using her imagination and having fun.
Who is My Pencil and Me for?
Although it’s geared to elementary students, honestly.. anyone struggling to write could find good value here. Simple language and spot-on illustrations show how letting your imagination run, can bring a story out you didn’t even know was there!
You’ll love the real-life pictures at the close of My Pencil and Me with Sara working at her desk with her pup at her side. It was a really nice touch.
Should you get it?
Yes, not only does My Pencil and Me tell a good story, making it fun to read with your students, it teaches a good lesson. There are lots of “talking points” contained within and it would be so easy to read with a group of children gathered round.
It would be good to stop and ask yourself (or your listeners) what’s the first thing that your pencil is thinking about? Do you want real characters or pretend ones? Would you create a game to play, or a position to fill, or what will your characters do? What sort of conflict might occur? Do you want a happy or sad ending? What do you think of the story Sara’s pencil came up with? What would you change? Or of course, you could just read the story and then say “Go make your own!” 🙂
Oh, that looks like a fun one for youngsters.