The Story of a Story
by Deborah Hopkinson (Author) Hadley Hooper (Illustrator)
Writers young and old know it's hard to create a story of one's own, here's a simple, elegant picture book that might help them find the key. Hint: It involves persistence.
A mostly empty page
Then another.
And still another.
There are squiggles.
There are doodles.
But the words won't come.
If you've ever tried to write a story of your own, you know it's not as easy as it looks. Words get tangled, pencils get broken, after a while you'll do anything just to distract yourself! The Story of a Story follows a boy with just the same problem as he struggles to find inspiration and get his words flowing.
He tries everything, scribbling, scrawling, and crumbling pages. He reads stories he loves and eats a cookie reaaaaaally slowly, just to pass the time. But just when he's about to give up hope, he sees a little chickadee collecting seeds outside his window. He admires its concentration and commitment as it picks away, one seed at a time, determined and unstoppable. The boy knows this is what it takes to create something special, so he comes back to his desk and writes just one word, and then another.
Two-time SCBWI Golden Kite Award Winner Deborah Hopkinson writes with the gentle reassurance of experience in The Story of a Story, with the help of the buoyant illustrations of Hadley Hooper.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
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School Library Journal
K-Gr 4--This poetic narrative, with quiet, thoughtful illustrations, depicts a young boy in winter trying to find the right words to start a story. Voiced in the second person, the sequence of events will feel utterly familiar to writers of any age and especially reassuring to new, young ones as they watch how finding ideas takes time and focus. Uncluttered spaces between text lines and illustrated elements within the boy's room match the purposeful pauses from the task at hand: the boy gets a snack, reads other stories, and doodles as he waits for words to come.The white, gold, and blue-toned colors lightly infuse the careful, penned outlines of the spare walls, crumpled papers, and cheerful, pensive expressions flitting across the boy's face as he thinks. Inspiration strikes unexpectedly, as a small form flits outside the boy's snowy window, echoing how, little by little, authors' words can piece together a tale experienced or imagined from their own point of view. Hopkinson's words gently encourage readers to remember that this craft takes patience, but also how there is something remarkable about finding your unique voice. VERDICT A comforting read for anyone who writes and a precise, essential "hook" book for elementary writing lessons, this book will ease young scribes into their next story.--Rachel Mulligan, Westampton, NJ
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JNF029010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Language Arts | Composition & Creative Writing
JNF013120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Concepts | Words (See Also Headings Under Language Arts)
