Sunday, February 15, 2015

14:14 PB Word Play & 10 Essential Elements in Picture Books

Nana Kathy and Grandson Tobin at play finding eggs at Easter.
Hopping about w/Christie Wild's craft study of 10 Essential Elements, today I choose WORD PLAY. Picture books are meant to be read aloud, They are aural, auditory. They appeal to our ear. The sounds must be pleasing and fun to say. Add the kid element and there's the play. Play is what Mr. Rogers called kids' "work." Kids learn so much through play. 
I choose this picture of my grandson Tobin and I playing last Easter when he was old enough to understand the whole bunny business. Running, spying, gathering eggs, opening plastic eggs, counting eggs, and eating chocolate eggs. All play, all fun. Finding the best word "eggs" is what we do as writers. We want kids to savor them, to explore them, to mimic them and to try them on in order to learn to read, to enjoy and play with language for a lifetime. That's important business for children's writers and kids!
Enter my favorite word play book....FROODLE.
 This imaginative language romp will get you creating words.
Title: Froodle
Author: Antoinette Portis
Illustrator: Antoinette Portis
Publisher:Roaring Book Press
Year:2014
Word Count:262
Top 10 Essential PB Element: Word Play
Go ahead, say it. I know you want to say it. Froodle, froodle froodle. That was fun, right? This ALSC Notable Book is oodles of fun and exhibits as ALSC states in their critia, "notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity." Yup, there is "venturesome" creativity in a book that dares, in its plot, to turn the animal world's speaking patterns upside-down. Why should cats meow, dogs bark and birds chirp? Little Brown Bird knows it's much more fun to make up language, just as little reader do. 
Now read these lines aloud from FROODLE: "Tiffle biffle/just a little /miffle,"and "ickle sickle," and finally, "oobly snobby." My grandson Tobin was splurting all sorts of nonsense babble after we read this book!
 As writers we need to give ourselves permission to make up nonsense words like Little Brown Bird does, too. Our rhyme, onomatopoeia, and lush language makes readers happy and playful. 

Add to your writer's toolbox w/Angie Karcher's RhyPiBoMo, a free "master class" on poetry this April. Right now grab that rhyming dictionary, read a PB with playful language and WRITE. If you have recommendations for great PB word play, add to the comments section, please.

19 comments:

  1. Kathy, I am going to look up this book! Love when they are grandkid tested!!

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    1. Yup,Janie, you know it's the real goods then. Right? I am glad you came over to comment.

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    1. Juliana, I hav enot had chance to stop at all the blogs today. Busy revising.

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  3. Antoinette Portis is so great at being wildly imaginative while keeping things really simple! Thanks for sharing, and for the info on RhyPiBoMo.

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  4. Oh, how fun is this book! Thanks for sharing the book and the word play :)

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  5. This sounds like a lot of fun! My students have gotten really into alliterative/nonsense poetry, so I am sure they would love this one!

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    1. What grade, Katie? I'd use this w/7th graders, even.

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    2. I have third graders. The book just arrived today, and I know they'll love it! The Book with no Pictures is their current nonsensical favorite.

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  6. Ooh! sounds like fun! I'm looking forward to reading this one. I love playing with language, and I love that you suggest giving ourselves the freedom to create our own words! Why not? :)

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    1. Lindsay, just listen to Raffa and you'll have plenty. lol

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  7. Oh, great one, Kathy! This book echoes the one I did yesterday, Once Upon a Twice. It also reminds me of an oldie, Rain Makes Applesauce. My kids and I quoted lines from that book lots of times and made up stuff all the time. Not all "Word Play" books are nonsense though. Some are simply lyrical in nature, or have lots of puns. Great example!!! (And of course, Word Play is my personal favorite element!)

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    1. Mine, too, Christy. Plot is my challenge.

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    2. I've never heard of Rain Makes Applesauce. I'll have to look for that one.

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  8. I love the way this book liberates the reader's mind! That's the fun of word play. Thanks for this review, Kathy. Enjoyed it tremendously.

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    1. Great phrase, Dean, "liberate your mind." Thanks for stopping by and reading.

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  9. Silly word play? Well, I think that book sound yippety-dippety-froodle-kersplickety! LOL. Just trying it out. ;-)

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