A squiggly story
(Book)

From the first pages, festooned with writing utensils, this story invites readers to think and create. The young protagonist, a cheery, brown-skinned boy, watches as his sister, an avid reader and writer, scrawls a story in a notebook. I wish I could write a story, he says, but I don't know many words. His sister encourages him to try anyway, and soon he's using individual letters and doodled squiggles creatively to tell a tale. A circle is a ball, Vs become waves, and soon he and his sister, I and U, are playing soccer on the beach. An upside-down V adds conflict: a shark has arrived! As his story grows with his sister's encouragement It's your story. You're the boss the narrative moves from his scribbled symbols to cartoonish inset images, which become even more elaborate when he shares his story with his class and they begin to offer suggestions. This playful multilayered story about sparking the mind is loaded with opportunities for readers to consider different kinds of storytelling.--Greengoss, Annie Copyright 2016 Booklist

PreS-Gr 2-What happens when you have a story but you're not sure how to write it down? Larsen introduces a boy as he struggles to write a story, even though his sister tells him it's easy. The feeling of frustration at not being able to form letters, the excitement of reading a story aloud to the class, and the just-a-little-bit bossy older sister will all be relatable elements to young readers. Because the book shows the boy employing several real-life strategies for prewriters, like starting to write with well-known letters and drawing pictures in place of words where the letters are unknown, this is especially recommended for school library collections. Teachers may find it can be used as a model text during writing units for preschool and kindergarten. The title is illustrated in a graphic novel-style, with speech bubbles and boxes for different images on some pages. The palette of greens, beiges, pinks, yellows, and blues is cool, and the simply drawn cartoon characters are stylized but expressive. The boy and his sister and the students in the boy's class are illustrated with a wide variety of skin tones, giving this volume an inclusive feel. VERDICT A solid read-aloud for most any children's collection, but especially where writing is emphasized at an early age.-Celia Dillon, The Brearley School, New York © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From the first pages, festooned with writing utensils, this story invites readers to think and create. The young protagonist, a cheery, brown-skinned boy, watches as his sister, an avid reader and writer, scrawls a story in a notebook. "I wish I could write a story," he says, "but I don't know many words." His sister encourages him to try anyway, and soon he's using individual letters and doodled squiggles creatively to tell a tale. A circle is a ball, Vs become waves, and soon he and his sister, I and U, are playing soccer on the beach. An upside-down V adds conflict: a shark has arrived! As his story grows with his sister's encouragement—"It's your story. You're the boss"—the narrative moves from his scribbled symbols to cartoonish inset images, which become even more elaborate when he shares his story with his class and they begin to offer suggestions. This playful multilayered story about sparking the mind is loaded with opportunities for readers to consider different kinds of storytelling. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

PreS-Gr 2—What happens when you have a story but you're not sure how to write it down? Larsen introduces a boy as he struggles to write a story, even though his sister tells him it's easy. The feeling of frustration at not being able to form letters, the excitement of reading a story aloud to the class, and the just-a-little-bit bossy older sister will all be relatable elements to young readers. Because the book shows the boy employing several real-life strategies for prewriters, like starting to write with well-known letters and drawing pictures in place of words where the letters are unknown, this is especially recommended for school library collections. Teachers may find it can be used as a model text during writing units for preschool and kindergarten. The title is illustrated in a graphic novel-style, with speech bubbles and boxes for different images on some pages. The palette of greens, beiges, pinks, yellows, and blues is cool, and the simply drawn cartoon characters are stylized but expressive. The boy and his sister and the students in the boy's class are illustrated with a wide variety of skin tones, giving this volume an inclusive feel. VERDICT A solid read-aloud for most any children's collection, but especially where writing is emphasized at an early age.—Celia Dillon, The Brearley School, New York. Copyright 2016 School Library Journal.