By Kate Phillips
I believe in
supporting writers of all ages so I’m recommending Word After Word After Word by Newbery Medal-winning author Patricia
MacLachlan. While written for children ages 8-12, this book is inspirational
for writers of all ages.
In summation: Miss Cash’s
fourth grade class welcomes Ms. Mirabel, a writer who will be speaking to them
for six weeks about how writer’s work. On her first day with the children, Ms.
Mirabel was asked if what she wrote was real or unreal. She replied, “Real or
unreal. They’re just about the same…They are both all about magical words!”
(page 16)
Later Ms. Mirabel whispers
to a student named Lucy who isn’t sure she has anything to say, “You have a
story in there…Or a character, a place, a poem, a moment in time. When you find
it, you will write it. Word after word after word.” (pp. 20 & 21)
“Remember this if you
remember anything from our time together,” said Ms. Mirabel. “Writing…is…brave.
You are brave.” (page 114)
Great advice for writers of
any age!
In this book, five of the
students meet under a lilac bush to discuss writing and the happenings in their
lives. True to real life, the children are experiencing happiness, tragedy, and
changes they have no control over. As words come to them, they write poems and
stories.
When I was
a child, I dreamed of being a writer. I had stories and songs and poems inside
me that I jotted down. Yet, as I’ve grown older, I only write essays and
articles. Where are the songs and poems and stories that poured out of me in
the beginning?
This book
inspired me to grab a notebook and pen, sit under my favorite tree, and write songs,
poems, and stories about life and love—word after word after word.
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