The Photography of Bruce Davidson (3/20/25)

"They danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop..."

- Jack Kerouac, "On The Road"

In class, we discussed Kerouac's use of the word "mad" as it refers to the people in life who seize life and choose to live it fully - completely - madly.

The photography of Bruce Davidson is stark and displays the vibrant youth culture of the late 1950s - just as the young people in this country were beginning to become restless and ready to shrug off the values of their parents.

For you next writing assignment, choose one of these photos and tell me who these people are.

Where are they going?
What are they doing?
What are their names?
Where do they come from?

Fill in the details that are missing....
Photo 1



Photo 2



Photo 3



Photo 4

The Plot Pitch (3/14/25)

Here is what to expect in the coming days…

You will be working on your proposals for your children's books.
When your proposals are complete, its time to start thinking about your “pitch”.

You will now begin to outline the most basic elements of the book you intend to pitch. However, you can take this a step further.

We are going to focus on developing the characteristics of effective plots, characterization, and illustrations (as appropriate).

During today’s class, I would encourage you to collaborate and share your ideas as you develop them. During this time, I will be circulating to answer any questions you might have. I will also be available to provide feedback if you have anything you want me to read.

Remember – the basic plot of a children’s book is no different than any other work of fiction. The only difference is the audience and their reading level. You still have to have the basic elements of an effective plot.

Those elements are:

Exposition (beginning) – Rising Action – Climax (middle) – Falling Action – Resolution (end)

Without these elements, your plot will not really help a child improve their reading comprehension skills.

If you would like, you can use the following online tutorial. It basically offers a visual for your plot diagram. It also offers tips to developing that plot if you find yourself struggling to find that elusive passage that will bring your story to a successful resolution.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/plot-diagram/

In the days ahead, you will be storyboarding your ideas.

Then, its time to get down to the business of writing your stories.

Great Examples of Illustrations (3/14/25)

Several members of the class of 2012 created various storyboards for their books. Of course, these are only a few examples. These are good ones.

If you click on each image, you can see a bigger picture of it.

Check it out.

The following illustrations were done by Melissa Mutter. As you can see, two different artists drew pictures of the cat named Miles.











"Marshall's Misadventures" was drawn by Maura. She did her own illustrations.

As you can see Jacob Fagliano drew something that is very similar to Curious George.

Bella Wattles was another talented illustrator who wrote a book called "Finding Fresco."

Brandi Spering wrote a story about Amos that was actually very good.

Finally, Rachel Purdom wrote a great story called The Sea Robot. It was awesome. It reminded me a lot of The Iron Giant.