A Note to the Reader
Full disclosure: I teach writing to kids at schools and libraries. I can’t wait to get my hands on Rebecca’s book to share with my students.
One of my missions–and why I wrote Mightier Than the Sword—was to show kids that there are many reasons and ways to write. Police officers, fire fighters, lawmakers–they all write!
Enjoy this dive into the whys and ways and hows of the writing life!
Teaching Write Here, Write Now
Tell us about your book.
WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW inspires all kids to find joy in writing, no matter what, where, why, when, or how they write. It encourages reluctant writers to tap into their interests while motivating more prolific students to keep doing what they love. This inspirational rhyming picture book presents a plethora of ways for kids to play with words while discovering the type of writing that’s “right” for them.
What are your book’s hooks for teachers, librarians, and community leaders?
WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW is written as an inspirational poem and I hope teachers will use the book, perhaps at the start of the year or the start of a writer’s workshop unit, to encourage kids to experiment with writing in all kinds of ways and about all kinds of topics. Teachers can use the book as a springboard for discussions about how everyone can find joy in writing – once they find a subject and type of writing that taps into their personal curiosities and feels “right” for them. Educators can talk to kids about how writing is much like reading: if you think reading is “boring,” it just means you haven’t yet found the right book (or magazine, or blog, or comic…). Similarly, if you think writing is “boring,” maybe you just need to try a new form, subject, method, or location.
Teachers can use the book to encourage their students to play with different types and ways of writing. Maybe a student who doesn’t enjoy writing straight-forward essays discovers through experimentation that they love writing poetry or plays or speeches or songs! Teachers can also encourage different WAYS of writing, so if a student has trouble with putting pen to paper, they can offer the use of a voice recorder. Or offer the idea of working in groups on a writing project vs. working alone. Or instead of sitting at a desk, allow kids to write sitting on the floor or maybe even outside or in the school hallway, if permissible. Sometimes young writers just need a change of scenery to unlock their creativity!
Can you share an exercise or activity that teachers can do with students after they’ve read your book?
In addition to the above, teachers can use WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW to talk with kids about all the different professions that use writing in various ways. They might ask their students: “When I say ‘writer’ what do you think of?” Often kids will start off with “author” or “poet,” but there are SO many ways to be a writer! Teachers can introduce the idea that writing is an important skill to have for many different careers: comedian, playwright, restaurant critic, lawyer, songwriter, journalist, TV show script writer, comic book creator, scientist, blogger, chef, etc.
A fun classroom activity could be to ask kids to list out all the different “writing” professions they can think of (perhaps start them off with some of the examples above). Then have each student choose two (say “journalist” and “songwriter”), as well as a subject topic (like “baseball” or “ballet”) Next, have students write something about that topic in two different ways, wearing the hat of each career – so, for example, if they choose “baseball” as their topic, have them write the refrain for a pop song about baseball AND then try writing a newspaper article about the last baseball game they watched. This can give them a feel for how writing is different (and perhaps more or less “fun” for them personally, depending on what are writing and what they’re writing about).
In the back of my book there is also a one-page worksheet with activities that teachers can use to jumpstart any writer’s workshop. You can also download it from my website here: https://rebeccagardynlevington.com/books/write-here-write-now/
What book(s) pair well with your book?
Brainstorm! by (me!) Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Kate Kronreif
How To Write a Story by Kate Messner, illustrated by Mark Siegal
Write! Write! Write! by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by Ryan O’Rourke
The Story of a Story by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Hadley Hooper
I Have An Idea! by Herve Tullet
How To Write a Story by Kate Messner, Illustrated by Mark Siegel
Ideas Are All Around by Philip C. Stead
Only An Octopus by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Illustrated by Benji Davies
A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larson, illustrated by Mike Lowery
The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds
About the author
Rebecca Gardyn Levington is a children’s book author, poet, and journalist with a particular penchant for penning both playful and poignant picture books and poems – primarily in rhyme. She is the author of WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW (winner of the SCBWI Atlantic Division Crystal Kite Honor award), BRAINSTORM!, AFIKOMAN, WHERE’D YOU GO? A PASSOVER HIDE-AND-SEEK ADVENTURE, LITTLE DREIDEL LEARNS TO SPIN, and WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW, with seven additional rhyming picture books forthcoming. Rebecca writes reviews and conducts author interviews monthly for the Picture Book Builders blog. Her award-winning poems and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. She lives with her family in Summit, N.J., where she enjoys bouncing on a mini-trampoline, playing Mah Jongg, and eating chocolate-peanut butter ice cream (although not usually at the same time!). Find out more and sign up for Rebecca’s monthly newsletter at www.RebeccaGardynLevington.com.