When I shared author Jerry Pinto’s reel on Instagram yesterday, I remembered that I had brought home a new ‘book’ from school, one that I was supposed to read, review and display on our little ‘Authors of Abacus’ shelf at school.
Watch Jerry's reel here https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkkYvSqDUkf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
While the image above shows a display of self ‘published’ books, this display now has quite a few hand-made books written by the children.
Wanting to break the children’s belief that in order to be an ‘author’ you needed a ‘printed’ book, I began to encourage them to write and share their handwritten ‘books’. These contributions to our library shelf began slowly trickling in, and the one above is the latest contribution.
The author of this book is an avid and eclectic reader, always questioning and open to suggestions.
The illustrator loves his graphic novels and comics and spends most of his time at the riddle and joke book shelf.
Both quite different, but readers nevertheless.
I love this collaborative effort and am proud to display it along with the others, when I go into the library this week.
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Children, especially those who love to read, also find the need to write. I find that the library is a wonderful space to foster this creativity.
A handwritten book is as special as one that is published, sometimes more so. There is often no adult hand involved…which makes these books absolutely precious.
I love that the children are motivated enough to write…sometimes over a few days, illustrate and figure out the little extras like the cover, or in this case a little sketched introduction to themselves and a review page at the end.
Each child comes up with such unique ideas, that we need to show them that we value their work, treasure their contributions and make sure that they keep creating.
One way to do this is to read, display, talk to them about their work and get them to book-talk their own work.
I love the little wonkily stapled and snipped contributions to out shelf…they are filled with so much promise that my heart just bursts with pride!
All that is needed to create a hand written book is in this image.
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As parents we do not need to publish their work, often at a prohibitive cost, but you can encourage them to keep creating...simple home-made books.
Let your child take the lead in their creating.
Help them see that authors works are edited and are often sent back to be reworked in different ways. It is never just the first draft that is published.
Then put them through the grinder of correcting their spelling, grammar, reworking the plot, developing the characters.
Children love to stop by here and read their school mates writings.
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