Heather Kinser
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"Fall-In-Love" Lines from Mentor Texts

2/20/2018

1 Comment

 
     As an exercise, I've zeroed in on some of my favorite lines from picture books I love. These are the lines that hooked me, the lines that charmed me, the lines that made me feel I was reading a book made just for me.
     I might keep doing this. I might make it a regular thing.
     If I'm lucky and pay close attention, I might just learn something from this. Yup. I'm banking on it.

There Might Be Lobsters, by Carolyn Crimi / Laurel Molk
“But Suki was just a small dog, and the stairs were big and sandy, and she hadn’t had lunch yet, and her foot hurt a little, and she might get a shell stuck up her nose…”
            Why I like it: Try to read this line out loud without laughing. Here’s where a cute list of small fears and picayune complaints turns ridiculous and so, so funny. The reader knows puppy Suki doesn’t have far to go to conquer her fears, and we’re rooting for her to take that first small step.
 
also:
“So Sukie sat at the top of the stairs with Chunka Munka by her side.”
            Why I like it: This is the first appearance of the book’s funny and charming refrain, “with Chunka Munka by her side.” Chunka Munka is the puppy’s security toy—a floppy plush monkey. This moment is so childlike, so relatable—both the situation and the depth of feeling behind it. Those deeply felt small fears juxtapose hysterically against the name Chunka Munka, which is pure comic relief.
 
The Antlered Ship, by Dashka Slater / The Fan Brothers
“He had so many questions. Why do some songs make you happy and others make you sad? Why don’t trees ever talk? How deep does the sun go when it sinks into the sea?”
            Why I like it: I like how the third question in the sequence shows us the character’s limited world perspective. We know he’s going to strike out soon (onto that sea) and find a bigger world.
 
also:
 “We are going to a wonderful island, with tall, sweet grass and short, sweet trees.”
            Why I like it: I like how this vision captures what a deer’s idea of paradise might be. It's fun and fanciful, and thoughtful to imagine that perspective.
 
After the Fall, by Dan Santat:
“Then one day, I fell. (I’m sort of famous for that part.)”
            Why I like it: I like the candid voice established by the parenthetical. It feels personal and confiding.
 
Blue Ethel, by Jennifer Black Reinhardt:
“Ethel was old. She was fat. She was black. She was white. And she was very set in her ways.”
            Why I like it: I like the sense of her orneriness.
 
also:
“Every day Ethel went outside to survey the land, monitor the weather, chase villains, and explore her favorite sidewalk square…”
            Why I like it: I bring my own childhood associations to the idea of the sidewalk square. I can feel it, earthy and solid and sun-warmed.
 
also:
“It wasn’t easy being Ethel, but she was good at it.”
            Why I like it: This is cute and contradicts the illustrations, which are of a cat being rather lazy.
 
Adele and Simon, by Barbara McClintock:
“Simon, how can you lose things like this?” asked Adele.
Simon shrugged his shoulders. He shook his head. He didn’t know.
            Why I like it: I love the short sentences. I love the realness of this. It’s exactly how a dreamy little child would respond.
 
Bernice Gets Carried Away, by Hannah E. Harrison
“Everyone else had gotten a frosting rose on their piece of cake…but not Bernice. All she’d gotten was a plain white square from the middle.”
            Why I like it: To me this is brilliant. We all know what it feels like to get the piece with no frosting—the hopeful anticipation, and then the disappointment. We know it, yet probably no one has written about it before.
 
Balderdash! John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books, by Michelle Markel / Nancy Carpenter
“Welcome! This book’s for you. Every page, every picture, every word, and even its letters are designed for your pleasure. Lucky, lucky reader. Be glad it’s not 1726.”
            Why I like it: Fantastic voice. It reaches right out and grabs me. I’m so hooked. What were things like in 1726? I have to read on. I know the story will be historical with a contemporary voice that will reach through time and allow me to relate to the past.
 
A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Philip Stead
“He would wind his watch and set a pot of water to boil--saying to the sugar bowl, ‘A spoonful for my oatmeal, please, and two for my teacup.’”
            Why I like it: I adore that he speaks to his sugar bowl, and politely too. When I’m alone, I often talk to myself—and probably also to my household items. This is a cute, tender, intimate moment that shows me the character’s good heart.
 

1 Comment

2018 Valentiny Contest

2/9/2018

47 Comments

 
     What's better than candy or roses or diamonds or anything shiny? It's...
Valentiny!
     There's nothing like a kid-lit writing contest to cheer you up in the thick of winter. With that in mind, here's my entry for Susanna Leonard Hill's annual "Valentiny" Contest. To meet this year's criteria, the story had to include someone who's "hopeful." And as usual, it must be super-duper short--just 214 words or less. Good luck to everyone participating. This is a fun one!
     Now put on your scuba suit. We're going under the sea for this valentine tale...

Love, iKedod
At Little Swimmers Sea-School, Ms. Fish said, “Reach into the shell and choose a valentine pal.”

“I wonder who’ll get me,” squ-eel-ed Elektra.

“I’ll take anyone,” swished Angelica “…except Icky Ichabod.”

Elektra didn’t answer.

It was Ichabod’s turn to choose. He hoped and hoped for…

Elektra!

Ichabod puffed up…poking Angelica.

“Hey! Stay away.”

“Sorry.” Ichabod deflated.

How he wished Elektra’s card could be special. The trouble was…

his untidy writing. Somehow his spines got in the way.

            Bee Mi vaLuntiin.
            Love, iKedod

Ichabod swam, searching for answers.

Here was a sprig of golden kelp.

It might help Elektra remember the day he shared his seaweed sandwich with her.

Here was a many-colored shell—just like the rainbows they drew together.

And here was a pearl—the same kind they used to play catch-of-the-day.

Ichabod made a card...

without words.

“Icky, your envelope’s poky and puffy—like you,” snipped Angelica.

Ichabod didn’t answer.

He set the card on the Elektra’s desk—and hoped for the best.

“Oh!” said Elektra. “Who did this come from?”

She noticed the kelp, and glowed.

She spotted the shell, and shined.

She observed the pearl, and her smile became…electric.

“Look!” said Elektra. “My valentine’s one-of-a-kind. Just like my good friend…

Ichabod!”

Angelica didn’t answer.

Ichabod did…

“Be my valentine, Elektra!”
 

47 Comments

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