Everyone has to write at some point in their lives. You might not write a novel or a poem, but you will probably have to write a letter or an email, or a report for work. It doesn’t have to be a chore for you or for your kids either. I teach kids to fall in love with the process of writing and step number one towards that end is reading. There is a quote attributed to Einstein that goes “if you want you want your kids to be intelligent, read them fairy tales, if you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” I’ll go one step further and say that if you want your kids to be good writers, read them funny tales, and silly tales, and scary tales, whatever they like, just read.
This blog is about books. Each week will showcase a different picture book along with a technique used in the book that your child can use to practice writing.
About the Book
This week’s Book of the Week is On Account of the Gum by Adam Rex. It’s a fun, rolicking ride of a book about a little girl (or boy, I’m not sure) who gets gum in her hair and all of the ways her relatives try to get it out. Adults will remember the time they got gum in their hair and the old wives’ method their parent used to get it out. Kids will enjoy the mounting absurdity and the look on the child’s face as her adults try their best to help her.
Writing Exercise
In this book, the author takes a simple, relatable childhood problem and makes the problem worse and worse each time someone new tries to help, leaving the best for last. This is a great exercise for kids in 3rd though 5th grade to stretch their imaginations and build the tension in their story by going bigger with every page, paragraph, or problem.
Happy Writing!