Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook

There are many books out there about writing, including some decent ones for young people.  I especially like Ralph Fletcher's How to Write Your Life Story.  When I read this book, though, I knew it was the winner.

Two funny, successful authors of young reader novels have teamed up to write this excellent guide for writers of any age, filling it with wisdom born of their own experiences.  The writing is down-to-earth and easy-to-read, and the authors' passion for their subject and the way they approach the difficulties of writing with both humor and humility make this not only a useful, but an enjoyable book to read.

It's split into helpful chapters, so it's easy to pick out just the sections you are interested in, but it's also fun to read straight through, as I did.  There are enough ideas and bits of inspiration in this book to send any curious writer scooting along on their way to their own first book.  If you are a young writer or know somebody who just needs a nudge, or perhaps a good book to spark their interest, call the bookstore or go online and find one of these at the library.  You'll probably have to special request it, since not everyone is as aware of its awesomeness as you and I.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer - by James Swanson

If you're looking for an action-packed historical drama, all of it true, then you've got to check out this amazing book.  It's the story of President Lincoln's assassination back in 1865, what led up to it, and how the killer James Wilkes Booth escaped and was caught.  This book takes us into both the assassin's mind, and that of his pursuers, so that we are both fully aware of what's happening at any given moment, and also eager to see what happens next.  It's an excellent piece of writing, accurate and informative, not to mention hard to put down.

I've read a lot of books about President Lincoln, but this one really paints a clear picture of his life and important accomplishments for young readers.  Of course, it also focuses on the crime that ended his life and the ensuing manhunt, which is far more fascinating and complicated than I had been aware of.  This is a great book for history and mystery lovers, and may be the book that creates some new junior history buffs.

Harry, a History - by Melissa Anelli

I came across this book by accident, browsing the shelves at my local library.  When I found it, I had already read all of the Harry Potter books at least twice, and I was definitely fan.  This book, however, rekindled my fascination with and love for the Potter series, turned me on to a new branch of music (Rock out to Wizard Rock!), and gave me a new appreciation for the community-building power of literature.

Melissa Anelli runs a Harry Potter fan website, The Leaky Cauldron.  My first visit to this interesting site was after reading this book, and I was amazed at what I found.  There are a ton of Harry Potter fans who have taken their fandom FAR beyond the level of my own, which consists mainly of reading the books, talking to freinds about them, and then reading them again.  Harry Potter fandom has become a universe of its own, it seems, with communities, websites, bands, conferences, and a host of truly fanatical fans.  This book chronicles the rise of this Potter-fan universe from the very beginning, and includes captivating interviews with J.K. Rowling herself.  I thought I was well-versed in the history of the series, but this book showed me the REAL story, and it's amazing.

If you're a Potter fan of any age (perhaps teen and older, actually), pick up a copy of this memoir and rekindle your own love of the (arguably) greatest series of all time.  In the meantime, look up my new favorite band, Harry and the Potters, and get ready to rock, Wizard-Style!

Knucklehead - by Jon Scieszka

What are the weirdest things can you do to your little brother?  That's the kind of question that gets answered in this funny memoir of Jon Scieszka's childhood.  This is the guy who wrote The Time Warp Trio books and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, among others, so you know he's funny.  Sorry, I'm not going to tell you what Jon did to his brother when he was young, you'll have to read the book yourself. 

Jon had many brothers growing up, and that gave him plenty of hilarious stories to tell about life with his family.  This book also features photographs of his family, so you can picture yourself right there with him.  The chapters are pretty short and the writing is somewhat simple, so this book will appeal to a broader range of people than a typical memoir, and I think it woul interest third graders and up.  Warning:  It's not as exciting as the cover makes you think.

P.S.  The author's last name is pronounced something like "SHESS-ka"

You Wouldn't Want to be... - by Various Authors

How terrible is your life? Chances are, it could have been worse. There are many ways to learn about history, but this series takes one of the most interesting views: How awful life was for people living in different places and times throughout human history. Want to know how rough it was to be a Roman Soldier, or to be an American Colonist or Egyptian King? This series will tell you.

With hilarious and descriptive pictures and only a couple paragraphs per page, these books get a lot of information across in a very simple way. They're not easy books, but will hold a lot of appeal for young readers (think fourth grade reading level and up) who want to learn more about the world.

To see a full list of titles in the series, visit your library website, or go to the publisher's site.

Woe is I jr. - by Patricia T. O'Conner

How do you know whether to use the word which or that? How do you choose between I and me in a sentence about you and your friend going to the library? What are the correct rules for using that pesky apostrophe? Why wasn't a grammar book this simple written a long time ago? The first three questions can be answered by reading Ms. O'Conner's Woe is I jr., the fourth is pointless, since the book has obviously been written.

This is a fabulous grammar handbook for students, most appropriate for fourth graders and above. The author clearly lays out all of the rules that parents and teachers not only want their children to follow, but often forget themselves. Rules are taught in a fun, simple way, with many useful examples. In addition, the book is full of poems and pictures to illustrate the rules, and to help them stick. Although the author seems to have tried a little too hard at times to appeal to children (lots of name-dropping of characters from children's books, and a lot of silly little comments in parentheses), I haven't yet used the book with children, and this may be the perfect approach to take. In a dark sea of grammar guides, this one shines!

Eats, Shoots and Leaves

What good IS a comma? In this children's version of British punctuation fiend Lynne Truss's bestseller, pictures and simple sentences are imaginatively combined to answer this question in a clear, funny way. Rather than replace the original book (a punctuation guide for adults), this picture book supplements it nicely.

Though this is a very short and simple book, targeted toward young audiences (3rd grade, it is said), I think it is a must-read for readers and writers of every stripe and age.