Welcome to day 27 of 40 craft lessons. Math storytelling isn’t biographies of mathematicians. It also doesn’t refer to nonfiction books about math themes or math concept books. It’s exactly what the title implies: tell a story that familiarizes the young reader with math in a fun way. That means the narrative structure (beginning–middle–end) should […]
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Welcome to day 26 of 40 craft lessons. Picture books have dual narratives: text and illustration. Wordless picture books have only one narrative—illustration—which is a big advantage, especially for young readers who don’t need an adult to read the book aloud to them. Most wordless picture books are created by the author-illustrator. However, I still
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Welcome to day 25 of 40 craft lessons. Picture books that focus less on action and more on the feelings and emotions of the characters are called quiet picture books. They are the perfect medium for discussing social-emotional learning and other challenging topics with children. That said, the lack of action doesn’t mean the main
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Welcome to Day 24 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. An interactive picture book invites young readers to participate in the story. Through activities like tapping or blowing on the page, shaking or tilting the book, or clapping their hands, the reader isn’t just a listener but an active part of the storytelling. The
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Welcome to day 23 of 40 craft lessons. High-concept books are like El Dorado: agents and publishers seek them, and writers love to write them. But what are they? High-concept books are commercial, easily pitchable ideas with a unique twist that anyone can understand instantly. You can summarize a high-concept film or book with a
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Welcome to day 22 of 40 craft lessons. Traditionally, concept books were used to introduce basic ideas or concepts for toddlers: alphabet & basic vocabulary, colors, counting & numbers, etc. Those books had a few words and were mostly written by the publisher’s staff. In recent years, we’ve seen concept books with broader, mixed topics,
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Welcome to day 21 of 40 craft lessons. Another popular type of epistolary narration is a diary. The word ‘narration’ after epistolary reminds us of an important fact. Many people actively do daily journaling. If we create a child character who does so, would the diary be a picture book, or would it be a
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Welcome to day 20 of 40 craft lessons. Epistolary narration refers to any story told through written communication. For example, letters, diaries, or collections of documents such as postcards, emails, or text messages. Many picture books that use diaries, postcards, or letters take a humorous approach. However, this type of narration can also be used
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Welcome to day 19 of 40 craft lessons. Most stories are told chronologically because our brains better understand the consequences of events. The story of Before She Was Harriet (2019, Lesa Cline-Ransome, James E. Ransome) doesn’t follow this order. It opens with Harriet as an old woman and then moves backward, stage by stage: she
Day 19: Reverse Chronology Read More »
Welcome to day 18 of 40 craft lessons. Metaphor is another powerful asset in your writing toolbox. It allows you to convey complex emotions and ideas in the story without explicitly naming them. The Big Bad Wolf in My House (2021, Valérie Fontaine, Nathalie Dion, Shelley Tanaka) is a story about a heart-wrenching topic: child
I will write here later
I read this book merely because of its title. My reasoning was that when an author is so careful with the title, the story will most likely be good. And it was not good, but brilliant.
Seven resin collectors
The story happens in a small, impoverished fictional village called Dukuh Paruk in the middle of Java Island. The main character, the 14-year-old Rasus, is in love with an 11-year-old girl, Srintil, whose grandfather believes she has a talent for Ronggeng—the Javanese dance. Moreover, in Rasus’s imagination, the girl is a replacement for Rasus’s mother, whom he had lost in childhood. A Ronggeng dancer isn’t a simple entertainer. The dancer is considered a sacred vessel for the village’s ancestral spirit and is expected to be available to the men of the village! I am not sure if it is comparable to the “sacred prostitute” in the temples that we read in the ancient Sumerian stories.
I read the first book in the trilogy in German—Die Tänzerin von Dukuh Paruk. Sadly, the other two volumes aren’t available to buy. In English, the trilogy is published in one volume with the title “The Dancer”.
The central conflict of the story is that Rasus has to emotionally put up with the tradition that everyone in his village believes in or benefits from. Rasus grows out of this calamity; he criticizes his village and its culture. In a nutshell, the story is the classic archetype: a boy becomes a man.
Tohari’s writing voice brings this archetype to life, especially his descriptions of nature and animals, which immerse me in the atmosphere of a Javanese village. The main theme of the story is the battle between tradition and humanity. In spite of the dire atmosphere in the story, it is very optimistic. Poverty and tradition cannot kill the humanity in Rasus.