Once Upon a Time

[Richard Stone]

Richard Stone cleared the whiteboard from his last class and picking up the marker, in large letters he wrote CREATIVE WRITING, in two lines across the top of board, and he could already imagine the reaction he'd get from just those two words. While some of the kids loved the idea of free writing, others hated the fact that what they had to do wasn't clearly written out in black and white for them; that they would have to use their own intuition was often a little overwhelming. Under the header he wrote, in slightly smaller letters: 'Begin a Children's Book' and left it at that as he capped the pen and walked to sit on the corner of his desk as he waited for the students to enter the room.

Once the tardy bell had sounded, Richard walked over and closed the classroom door, which was his way od signalling that class had begun and all eyes were to be on him. "Good morning." He greeted the small class with a smile as he walked back to his desk and picked up a well-loved book. "This was one of my favourite books as a child." He said as he turned the book around so that the students could see that it was The Velveteen Rabbit. "It describes the quest of a tattered old rabbit to become “real” and be loved. And this is how it starts:" His smile deepened as he opened the book to the first page and began to read. “There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen.” He stopped there and closed the book again, his eyebrows lifting before he placed the book back on his desk.

"Your job today, is to create an outline for a children's book." He looked around the class to gauge reactions. "Before we start that though, let's talk a little about books that are written for children. What are your opinions on books that start with the words Once upon a time?" He dropped his voice for the four words for dramatic effect. "Which genre of book did you prefer when you were much younger?" He walked to the whiteboard to jot down the genres called out.

"When you're writing your outline The outline should contain the names of the main characters and several details about each character, at least three or four main plot events, details about the setting of the story, and a sentence or two describing the theme of the book." He paused in case there were any questions. "This doesn't have to be done in silence, though I do ask that you respect your other classmates and keep your discussion to a minimum level and please don't shout across the classroom. The only rule I have for the book is that it must be something you would want to read to your three year old cousin." Forget PG13, it had to be cleaner than that. "If you have any questions, that's what I'm here for."

Tag:
Ashley Andrew Stephens
@running9
Danielle A. St George
David Adams
@running5
Nevaeh Lincoln

[Ashley Andrew Stephens]

Drew had a sort of love-hate relationship with English. The English language and all its little complexities was fascinating. The literature, not so much. He had a scientific mind and preferred empirical data over anecdotes and hearsay. The took his time to get to class arriving only a minute before the bell rang. He sat down and pulled out his notebook. Creative Writing...joy. At least he wasn't supposed to write an essay about some life changing event and how he felt. Then again, writing a children's book sounded a bit childish. This was an advanced English class. Why weren't they reading Dickens or Austen or Wilde? A unit on Chaucer or the Arthurian Legends would have made his heart soar.

As the class started, Drew tried to hide his displeasure by finishing his sketch of a bird of paradise. His mother sent him a fully illustrated book about the different species of bird of paradise, and that inspired him to draw. He was listening to the teacher's exposition, but there was nothing to write down. At the prompt, he nearly snorted. His parents dumped 'advanced' books on him. Or at least that's what his first grade teacher said when she saw him walking around with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

"Once upon a time reminds me of the Disney adaptations of the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen. The originals are far superior. Pushkin's fairy tales are good, too. And there's also just classic children's literature like C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carol, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Rudyard Kipling is good--who can forget Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and The White Seal? Though, I prefer history and biographies. Livingstone, Magellan, Darwin, all fantastic characters with real adventures."

Was it unusual to receive a copy of The Voyage of the Beagle as a tenth birthday present? Of course, after reading it, he wanted to get a beagle to name Darwin. The teenager had great memories of begging his father for one more chapter in Through the Looking Glass. He wanted to write something with a main character like Kotick. Maybe something to do with the Christmas Island Frigatebird. He started scribbling down ideas and sketches. A world where there is no Christmas Island Frigatebird, and there's a story about how a male bird took the frigates away from Christmas Island to save the population. He included a couple rough sketches of the main character with his iridescent plummage and large white breast patch. He drew a single black iridescent feather as the last reminder that there used to be a special kind of frigatebird on Christmas Island.

[Richard Stone]

Richard nodded as he listened to the few students who answered his question.

While the kids began to think about and jot down ideas for their story, he uncapped a pen and began to write on the whiteboard:

Genres: Definitions for Children's Literature

Contemporary realistic fiction includes stories that could happen to people or animals. The characters are made up, but their actions and feelings are similar to those of people we could know. These stories often take place in the present time and portray attitudes and problems of contemporary people. Realistic fiction includes family stories; realistic animal stories; sports stories; adventures; and mysteries.

Historical fiction is set in an historical time period which blends authentic historical settings and facts with imaginary characters and plot. It may include real historical figures as secondary characters. It is generally considered to be a story written about a time in which the author has not lived or set in a time no later than one generation before the composition.

Nonfiction or Information books emphasize documented facts. They inform and entertain young readers by the excellence of presentation, illustration, and research. They can be written about any aspect of the physical, biological, or social world.

Biography tells the story of an actual persons life, or portion of his or her life. Often the person's life is notable for his or her accomplishments or a significant triumph. An autobiography is simply a biography written by a person about him- or herself.

Traditional literature, the ancient stories or poems of many cultures, originate in the oral, or storytelling, tradition. These books are often attributed to different groups and cultures, but have no known original authors. Traditional literature has been used as a way of passing down traditional wisdom and knowledge necessary for the survival of the group as well as a way of explaining myths, epics, legends, tall tales, fables, and religious stories.

Poetry is the artistic expression of ideas and feelings though a rhythmical composition of imaginative and beautiful words carefully selected to achieve the desired effect in the listener or reader. Types of poetry include Mother Goose and nursery rhyme books; anthologies of many kinds of poetry in one volume; poetry books in which all the poems are on one theme or topic; and single, illustrated poems.

Modern fantasy refers to works of literature in which the events, settings, or the characters are outside the realm of possibility. The author must convince the reader to suspend disbelief by creating an internally logical and consistent world. There are many types of modern fantasy, including the modern fairytale (by a known author); animal fantasy, personified toys and objects; quest stories and high fantasy; time travel; and stories about miniature worlds and people.

Science fiction is a type of imaginative literature in which the author convinces us that something unusual could happen because the story is grounded in scientific principles or technical possibility. It is sometimes called futuristic fiction.

Picture books (which are a format, not a genre) are profusely illustrated books in which the pictures are essential to complete understanding and enjoyment of the story. The illustrations may provide clues to setting, plot, characterization and mood. Types of picture books include baby and toddler books; alphabet, counting and other concept books; wordless books; picture storybooks; pattern books; and beginning readers.

Capping the pen again, he walked over to sit at his desk.

As the end of the class approached, he walked to the front of the room once more. "Good work one and all." He said with a smile. "Does anyone have any questions while you're packing your things up?" Once any questions asked had been answered he dismissed the class so that he could clear the board as he waited for his next class to arrive.