skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature was announced this morning.
The 2015 Medal goes to The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. I'm really looking forward to reading it!
The story is about twelve-year old Josh, his twin brother, Jordan, and their exploits on the basketball court. A new girl, a budding romance, a brother relationship, and a family's bonds are all part of this novel chosen as best of the year.
The Crossover is written in verse.
With a bolt of lightning on my kicks...
The court is sizzling.
My sweat is drizzling.
Stop all that quivering.
Cuz tonight I'm delivering.
Have you tried writing a story in poetry form? It's challenging, but it can also be a huge reward for your reader.
For a fun exercise, take a page of your prose writing, and turn it into poetry, verse, or rap--it doesn't matter what you call it.
The verse doesn't have to rhyme. How do you like it? Do you want to continue in verse?
And don't forget to put The Crossover on your "to read" list.
Today was an exciting day! The Newbery and Caldecott Medals for 2013 were announced by the American Library Association.
These two awards are the highest honors a children's book can receive in the U.S. The Caldecott Medal is given to the artist of "the most distinguished American picture book for children." The Newbery goes to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."
That's a lot of words to say that these awards are given to books that are great!
This year the winner of the Caldecott Medal is This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. The Newbery went to Katherine Applegate for her middle-grade novel The One and Only Ivan.
What do these two books share, besides being great? They both tell their stories from an animal's point of view.
In This Is Not My Hat, a small fish says, "This hat is not mine. I just stole it." The One and Only Ivan begins with the lines, "Hello. I am Ivan. I am a gorilla."
Writing a story from an animal's point of view helps us understand and care about animals. How does a fish think? What does a gorilla wonder about?
Try writing an "I" story from an animal's point of view. It could be a fish, a gorilla, a cat, a dog, or your favorite animal. Maybe it's a three-toed sloth or a yellow-spotted salamander.
And don't forget to check out this year's Newbery and Caldecott Award winners!
