ELA-Author-WC-F

Author's Craft - Word Choice - Print - Fiction Resources

Patricia MacLachlan brings out lovely language evoking memories of favorite places. //On the day I was born my grandmother wrapped me in a blanket made from the wool of her sheep. She held me up in the open window so what I heard first was the wind. What I saw first were all the places to love; The valley, The river falling down over rocks, The hilltop where the blueberries grew...//  Tadpoles quiver... Denise Fleming uses minimal word choice to illustrate life in a pond using noun/verb combinations. //It comes up round, ripe and huge over autumn fields of corn and wheat. Hello, harvest moon.// Ralph Fletcher paints wonderful pictures with his lyrical words. Jane Yolen's poetic language speaks of a father taking his daughter for her first owling. You will feel as if you are there owling with them. //The trees stood still as giant statues. And the moon was so bright the sky seemed to shine.// A young boy, who has neven been to the seashore, wonders what it would be like. His mother describes it for him using beautiful language that inspires the senses and evokes the images.
 * K-2**
 * //All the Places to Love,// by Patricia MacLachlan, ISBN 0-06-0210098-2
 * //In a Small, Small Pond,// by Denise Fleming, ISBN-10: 0805081178
 * //Hello, Harvest Moon,// by Ralph Fletcher, ISBN 0-618-16451-0
 * //Owl Moon,// by Jane Yolen, ISBN 0-399-21457-7
 * //The Seashore Book,// by Charlotte Zolotow, ISBN 0-06-020213-0

 Pedal...pedal...pedal... Lester Laminack strategically chooses and places his words in this fictional read aloud to engage readers in experiencing times with their grandmothers.
 * 3-5**
 * //Saturday and Teacakes,// by Lester Laminack, ISBN-10: 156145303 X

Billywise is an owlet who is scared of all things in the world until his mother reassures him. Pacing is a must for this read aloud. Take the time and enjoy the way the language sounds. //From a mole-black hole in the oldest oak, deep in the heart of the fern-brushed wood...a scritch, a scratch, a tap, a crack!//
 * //Billywise,// by Judith Nicholls, ISBN 1-58234-778-6

Using the Holocaust as the event in this book, a Jewish family is split and sent to different concentration camps. Holding on to a harmonica that his father gave him, a young boy finds comfort in playing his harmonica even when an officer orders the boy to play for him.
 * //The Harmonica,// by Tony Johnston, ISBN 1-57091-547-4

The baseball diamond has never looked as different as Ralph Fletcher makes it using his magical words. This book depicts the transition from day to night and night to day and the happenings in it.
 * //Twilight Comes Twice,// by Ralph Fletcher, ISBN 0395848261

With well-chosen words, Cynthia Rylant makes the reader realize that the scarecrow finds his life to be a lovely one. //His hat is borrowed, his suit is borrowed, his hands are borrowed, even his head is borrowed. And his eyes probably came out of someone's drawer.// But he enjoys the beauty of his surroundings.
 * //Scarecrow,// by Cynthia Rylant, ISBN 0-15-201084-X