After I read this book, I wanted to read this to my kindergarten students right away! I loved the way it recognized their beginning stages of writing. This book
was one of the nominees for the Blue Spruce Award from The Forest of Reading in
2018.
Summary from the publisher:
A young boy
wants to write a story, just like his big sister. But there's a problem, he
tells her. Though he knows his letters, he doesn't know many words. “Every
story starts with a single word and every word starts with a single letter,”
his sister explains patiently. “Why don't you start there, with a letter?”
So
the boy tries. He writes a letter. An easy letter. The letter I. And from that
one skinny letter, the story grows, and the little boy discovers that all of
us, including him, have what we need to write our own perfect story.
A
Squiggly Story was written by Andrew Larsen and illustrated by Mike Lowery.
It was published by Kids Can Press in 2016.
Opening:
My sister loves to read.
Big words and little words.
Page after page, word after word.
My sister loves to write.
My Thoughts as a Writer:
I liked the
way this story showed the writing process. The emphasis on the ideas in the
story, rather than the mechanics of forming the words, showed how imagination
plays a huge role in storytelling. I also liked the way the author showed the boy
listening to the suggestions of other children, thinking about them and then
sticking to the ideas that fit the story he wanted to tell. The comic style
illustrations are cute!
My Thoughts as an Educator:
This is a
wonderful book to encourage beginning writers, including even very beginning
writers who can tell a story but can’t write it down themselves. I really liked
the way squiggles and zigzags were shown as a way to help tell a story. The
book nicely explains that a story needs a beginning, middle and an end, and
shows how to brainstorm ideas. A great book to have in a primary classroom.
Ages: 4 - 7
Grades: K – 2
Themes: writing, storytelling, brainstorming
Activities:
Write your
own squiggly story!
Make a list
of ideas for different ways to end the boy’s story. Which ending would you
choose?
What is your
favourite “big” word? Your favourite “little” word? Can you draw a story that
includes your words?
