Friday, April 3, 2015

Writers Need Models ~By Suzy Leopold


What do you love to do? What do you think you are really good at? All of us recognize our strengths and believe in what we can do. The thing that you are good at is probably something that you enjoy doing often.

Stop for a moment and think about something that you believe you are good at or at least have some level of fluency or mastery. You probably had an excellent model who taught you how to do what you feel you are good at. This individual may have encouraged you, inspired you, and believed in you.  

The first time you tried playing baseball perhaps you were unsure and nervous. When it was your turn to bat, did you hit a homerun or strike out? With practice you improved upon the sport. Your coach shared tips with you and encouraged you. You practiced daily. Soon you became stronger and more confident.
Grandson Lane
Who taught you how to bake a great loaf of bread? Perhaps you watched and learned at first. Then an experienced baker showed you how to measure all of the ingredients needed and how to work with the yeast. You were taught how to kneed the bread, shape the loaf and how long to bake it.
Like many of you, I learned how to ride a bike as a kid. I have a memory of riding a bicycle for the first time without training wheels when I was five years old. I've always enjoyed riding my bike. Sure I knew how to ride a bike. At least I thought I did. However, my husband Perry taught me and inspired me to be a better cyclist.
Suzy Rides
My Pink Marin Portofina
Riding together, Perry modeled for me. The rules of the road were explained to me. Perry taught me the importance of staying hydrated and fueled. Words of encouragement were shared. He helped me to improve my form on a bike. Together we buildt my stamina and over time I have achieved many 50+ mile bike rides with Perry. It's been a journey and continues to be.

Writing is a journey. Becoming a published author is a journey. A writer learns through great models by using mentor texts that model great writing.

Never hesitate to imitate another writer. Imitation is part of the creative process for anyone learning an art or craft. Bach and Picasso didn't spring full-blown as Bach and Picasso; they needed models. This is especially true of writing.
~William Zinsser

Mentor texts have power to help a writer grow. Studying great picture books before writing is what I did during the month of March for Research for Reading Month ReFoReMo with Carrie Charley Brown. Many of you, too, participated in this first annual writing challenge.

I now have a better sense of reading picture books with a purpose and studying them while looking at the entire book page by page from cover to cover. Studying these high quality, currently published picture books as models are encouraging me to be a stronger, better writer. I no longer just read quality picture books I study them.

Here is an example of how I now study picture books:

The Right Word Roget and His Thesaurus
By: Ben Bryant 
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
42 pages
Ages 7 +
Genre: Creative nonfiction/Biography
Published by: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2014
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Cambridge, UK 
Awards: 
2015 Caldecott Honor Book
2015 Sibert Medal Winner 
2105 Orbis Pictus Honor Book and many more

The Right Word Roget and His Thesaurus
  • Beautiful, unique illustrations created with watercolor, collage and mixed media that depict imagery of classification and scientific illustrations. Old botanicals and vintage papers are used throughout the book. 
  • A picture of a page from Roget's orginal word book is included.
  • Illustrations and page layouts contribute to the story line.
  • The Back Matter includes: List of Principal Events [timeline], Author's Note, Illustator's Note, Selected Bibliography, a section For Further Reading and Sources.
  • The endpapers list Roget's thousand words with abbreviations.
  • The author shares with the reader Peter Mark Roget's childhood, his precocious intellect, his nervous habits and much more through the drama and contradictions and historical details of Roget's fascinating life until his death in 1869.
  • Some pages are written as a columns depicting lists that Roget kept in his notebooks.
  • Story is written in a lyrical text.
  • Speech bubbles are used to support the text.
  • Rich vocabulary acquisition for students.

End Papers
Page on right is written as a column.
Consider using great picture books that model great writing. Great picture books are excellent mentors that teach a writer to be a better writer. Do you read picture books to become a better writer? How do you read and study great picture books?

Happy Easter to you and your family.
An Easter Treat for You!

24 comments:

  1. Great article Suzy. Roget...is one of the books on my TO READ list. Thanks for sharing this.

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    1. This amazing award winning book is a must read, Darlene. An interesting fact that I learned is Roget's Thesaurus is one of the most widely used reference books ever published.
      ~Suzy

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  2. I am so happy to hear that mentor texts are leading you on your writing journey, Suzy, and also that ReFoReMo was a terrific experience for you! Excellent! Keep up the awesome work! You mentioned finding talents that you are passionate about, and therefore, I want to again, give your beautiful artwork a shout-out! I hope you will soon infuse your artistic talents with your writing- your prairie passion would make a beautiful, educational picture book! Lots of love and well wishes to you!

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    1. You cease to amaze me, Carrie. Your generosity for the kid lit community is appreciated. Thank you for your words of encouragement as I continue to read, write and create every day and instill the love of reading in my students on the Illinois prairie.

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    1. If I had to state one favorite picture book, I could not do it, Christie. The Right Word Roget and His Thesaurus is definetly on my long list of favorites.

      Thank you for all that you do for the Kid Lit community with your writing challenge Picture Books 14:14.
      ~Suzy

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  4. A great post Suzy. Thanks for setting out so clearly your approach to and method of studying picture books.

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    1. Thank you, Elaine, for your commet on our GROG Blog. Perhaps the tips I shared with you will help you with your research.

      I admire your beautiful photography of nature, animals and insects.
      ~Suzy

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  5. Still waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail. Great choice, Suzy!

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    1. Well, I hope the delivery of your book will be soon, Jarm. You will enjoy this award winning picture book.
      ~Suzy

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  6. Thank you Suzy for sharing how you study mentor texts. This is thorough, thoughtful and very helpful.

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    1. Thank you, Cassie, for your thoughts. My hope is that my thoughts will help you and others with your writing.
      ~Suzy

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  7. Yes, reading for pleasure is very different than reading to learn. Although, I often do both! Teachers often use mentor text to teach a specific skill. They may use the same book for several different lessons, and they may use the same book they taught with as a read-aloud for pleasure.

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    1. Juliana: Demostrating and modeling for my students is just good teaching. It's what I do.

      Studying mentor texts for many purposes encourages my students to be better readers and writers. There are many high quality picture books that support Common Core Standards. Mentor texts have the power to help students grow and learn as the titles are studied and listened to through a read aloud.

      Mentor texts support a writer to write quality stories.
      ~Suzy

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  8. I love your pink bike and accessories! (my favorite color) Great analogy!

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    1. Well, you and I share a favorite color, Tina! As you may know, analogies are an effective learning strategy. Thank you.
      ~Suzy

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  9. I'm queued up at the library for THE RIGHT WORD -- after months, I still have a few more in line before me. So thank you, Suzy, for giving me a detailed insight into the book. Happy Easter to you and your family!

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  10. Your long wait for this book, The Right Word, will be worth it, Patty. You'll have to let me know what you think once you have a chance to read it.

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  11. Thanks for sharing your example of how you study picture books, Suzy. Everyone's process is similar, yet different. I have a worksheet that I use. Write on...ride on...(I'm a cyclist too, though I can't say I'm good at it.)

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    1. So true, Romelle, every writer has their own way of using mentor texts to encourage better writing. Your worksheet sounds like an excellent tool. I thought about creating a graphic organizer. Ride/Write, Romelle, ride/write.
      ~Suzy

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  12. Thank you Suzy! Excellent topic. We all can learn from others. Thanks for reminding us that even though we learned to read, we can all still read to learn!

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    1. Thank you, Pam. You have stated the words perfectly, "Read to Learn."

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  13. I was on spring break with my family, so I'm a little late to this party. But you are so spot on. I will never just "read" a picture book, or any book for that matter, again. Thanks for the great post!

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    1. You are never too late, Jilanne. We can always extend the party as we extend our reading. Hope you and your family enjoyed spring break.
      ~Suzy

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