Story Sparkers : A Creativity Guide for Children's Writers

By Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Book Overview

This book shows children's writers how to generate, assess, and apply ideas for fiction as well as nonfiction, short projects as well as long ones. They'll find exercises, worksheets, and guidelines... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158297019X
• ISBN13: 9781582970196
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 3 years and up

Customer Reviews

Story Sparkers: A creativity Guide for Childrens' writers

What a great collection of ideas to start a book or enhance a work in progress! Anyone interested in finding just the right "sparkle" of an idea for a children's book should have this book in their library of resourses. Tina Perry, Author "Where Do Stars Come From, Nana?"

Valuable Info!

The authors of this book come from the Bailey School Kids adventure series. These stories are great for kids aged 6-12, and are fun to read and generally have around 10,000 words each. I mention this because their success in this area establishes their credibility in writing a book for those aspiring to write and publish children's literature. Their book "Mermaids Don't Run Track" served as an inspiration for my first children's book, "Abby and the Bicycle Caper." The premise of this book is that children's stories must be well crafted and tell an engaging story to attract the attention of the young reader. Children are bombarded by a variety of entertainment mediums, and it is up to us as writers to produce a product capable of competing with television, sports activities, and video games. I think all of these activities are fine for young people, within limits, but children in the 5-12 age range can be taught to make reading a part of their daily lives-provided they have quality and entertaining reading material placed before them. The bottom line: Jones and Dadey are good writers. What they present in this book is worth reading and applying.

A pleasure to read, and helpful for new writers!

I purchased this book, along with Creating Characters Kids Will Love, at a local bookstore for full price, but you can apparently buy them both here as a set and save money. I recommend doing so! This are by far the best write-for-children books out there, and believe me, I own almost every one on the market!No book is going to magically turn you into a successful writer--you definitely have to do the work. There are lots of exercises throughout this book, if that's what you're into. I also like the layout--it feels more like a workbook, with the size a little bigger, and more easy to read print than several of the other writing books I own. Plus, it's just fun to read! Don't be thrown by the title--there's much more to it than just sparking some ideas for stories. A couple basic chapters on the elements of fiction and the writing process mean you don't need to buy another "How to Write" book as well, just to learn about structure. Advice on how to overcome writer's block is included. Also, some information on writing non-fiction children's books, too!The authors of this book wrote the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids books, and even though that's not my cup of tea (they certainly sell, though, don't they?), I found this guide to be applicable to anyone who wants to write for children. So what are you waiting for?

The Most Helpful I Have Read

Story Sparkers taught me how to find new subjects for stories, it also sparked new innovative ideas for creative writing as I was reading the book. The authors used many of their own personal experiences to illustrate their points, reading the book never got boring. It is rare that I have found a book on writing that taught me as much as this one. I highly recommend it.