I am a firm believer that storytelling in the early developmental years is one of the keys to literacy and literacy efforts. I am not just talking about reading a story to a group of kids, I am referring instead to the art of storytelling, which is more of a performance and less of a recitation. I will share storytelling tips here which are great for writers too, because tips for good storytelling often can directly correlate to tips for good story writing. First tip: Helping kids make predictions while story telling.

Don’t you just love feeling smart? Kids aren’t any different, and storytelling is a great opportunity to make kids feel like little budding Einstiens. Remember, when children feel clever while listening to stories they feel less intimidated by “literature” which makes them more receptive to books and reading. And books and reading make kids smart, which in turn begins the circle anew.

With the right kind of book and the right kind of body language, you can help kids predict lines, story developments, upcoming rhymes, etc… As my example, I will use one of my stories that I regularly perform, Frog in the Bog–rhyming books. In that story I have a repeating, but unrhymed line, “And the frog grows a little bit bigger.” My aim with any repeating line in a story is to get the kids to anticipate the upcoming line and say it, in rhythm, with me.

To help kids anticipate the line I need to firmly set the pattern the first time I say the line, and cue the listener in to what they need to listen for to join in. This means that there is a definite dramatic pause before I say the line, then I scan the audience making eye contact as I sweep my eyes from one side of the room to the other. This lets them know, “Oh, something interesting is going to happen.“ Then as I say the line I emphasize the most important word (bigger) by saying it louder. For Frog in the Bog the cadence is almost like a scale, going higher and louder as the sentence flows: And the frog grows a little big BIGGER!

(Writers tip: Include font cues in your manuscript to indicate when there should be a change in flow, inflection, etc…: In Bear Snores On my font size changes and formatting were written by me into the manuscript.)

The vocal qualities are important, but so is body language. As I say the line I use one of my hands to demonstrate the frog’s growth (palm flat, outstretched, and I raise it up as I speak).

Usually by the second line the audience has come to recognize what to look for (I pause, look across the room, and widen my eyes). They often hesitantly join in. If that happens it is my job to reward their participation with a head nod and a smile signaling approval (kids aren’t always encouraged to speak out during stories–so they need to know in this case it‘s okay).

But if they didn’t quite get it, I have to cue them in that I want them to join. I do this by holding my hand up to my ear as I say the word “bigger”. I have never read the story in a school and had them not join in by the third time I say the line.

But later in the story the line changes to the “And the frog grows a whole lot smaller”. This gives us another opportunity to make children feel ahead of the story. Since I want my reader to be able predict that the line changes, I wrote it so that this time the reating line DID rhyme with the preceding line (holy tongue twister Batman!). In this case:

And right in the middle of his holler,
That frog grows a whole lot smaller!

To further emphasize the change from “bigger” to “smaller” I hush my voice a bit, and bring my hand lower to indicate shrinking. Most audiences guess the word smaller with these cues.

Rhyming books are great for helping children predict, but there are other types of story patterns that also work. Circular stories, unrhymed stories with repeating lines, etc. And of course, when reading picture books you can always point out clues in the art to help clue in your reader, or dramatically pause when you read a line that offers a plot clue.

I’m sure many of you are much better story tellers than I, but breaking down the process can help us understand what makes a great read aloud so successful and hopefully nail it in our own writing endeavors. And there is a special thrill in hearing an auditorium full of eager, bright-eyed little learners yelling your story at the top of their lungs!

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

For all you moms with tween girls…maybe you can relate.

Chrissy

She’s not cute anymore.

Not pretty.  Not adorable.

She’s not toothless.

She’s not thigh-high, tugging my shirt.

She’s not begging for Barbies.

She’s not following her brothers around,

trying to get their attention.

She’s not reading Magic Schoolhouse

or watching Blues Clues.

But damn she’s beautiful.

When did that happen?

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

The master of show, and never tell.

Shel.

Wrote pint-sized sarcasm oh-so-well.

Shel.

Didn’t care that children often rebel.

Shel.

At visual humor, oh how he excelled.

Shel.

Putting kids everywhere under his spell.

Shel.

Sure to inspire, sure to compel.

Shel.

Went up and not down when he fell.

Shel.

KW….

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

I have been asked by many children to write poems about dealing with grief after losing a pet. Here is a poem I wrote shortly after our dog Chip (13 yrs old, loyal family dog) died. This is for every child that has lost a pet. As parents we often try to distract kids from their grief by trying to get them to play, promising them pizza or fun things, etc.. Sometimes they just need grieving time.  The loss of a pet leaves a hole.

I Don’t Feel Like….

My dog died yesterday and I don’t really wanna play

I don’t feel like eating pizza when my dog ain’t here to share.

I don’t feel like riding bikes or digging worms or telling jokes.

I don’t feel like much of anything. This world just isn’t fair.

I don’t feel like making friends, and I don’t feel like making forts.

I don’t feel like going searching for a big, ol’, ugly frog.

I don’t feel like watching movies, I don’t feel like eating candy.

I don’t feel like much of anything but playing with my dog.

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

So whenever you have students compile poetry for poetry notebooks, compilations–allow them a few pages for the lyrics of their favorite songs. This leads you into a great meter lesson by the way. And as something of a meter-cop I always look for good meter lessons!

 Cool Meter Lesson

A lot of great songs don’t scan so well when simply read. Meter is greatly affected by singing–beats can be added to a line simply by singing one word for a longer time or adding “ooooo, ohhhh, ya ya”. A good meter lesson is to have the kids agree on one popular song (of course they must choose only from songs with clean lyrics..ha ha) and see if it scans when read aloud. If not, work with the students on adding words or changing lines just enough to keep true to the original thoughts of the song, while improving meter.  (This lesson requires that the teacher has a basic concept of good meter and poetry rhythm.)

Good Poetry for Kids

Well, I hate to brag…but my new poetry book for kids has quite a mixture of poems, from the contemplative to the outrageously ridiculous, and I try to include a lot of teaching opportunities as well. (Teachers, there’s even a poem in honor of you–since so many humorous children’s poems villanize you–look for my poem called Red Letter Day)

Other great choices are Shel Silverstien, Jack Prelutsky, Doug Florian, Mary Ann Hoberman, Nikki Grimes.  For more classic poems just introduce them to the tried and true–Emily Dickinson, Frost, Lear, Stevenson…and for something entirely different check out Robert Service. His poem “Bessie’s Boil” may be a bit hard for them to understand at first, but if you explain the brogue they will HOWL with laughter.

K….

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

Really, you’ll thank me someday! Hee hee.

K….

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

As of right now I’m working on my newest poetry collection. I can’t believe what a challenge it is to write 120 poems! But what a fun challenge.

That brings me to a question–what poem subjects do you think need attention to?  I’d love to hear your ideas. Remember, think Shel Silverstien (my poet hero).

Looking forward to your entries and ideas!

K…

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

It felt like coming home. And then I became a children’s book author.

C.S. Lewis said: “Someday you will be old enough to read fairy tales again.”

Are you old enough to read fairy tales again? If so, perhaps you are also young enough (at heart) to write them.

K….

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

Here’s a few more to consider, especially when writing poems for kids:

Take common cliches and turn them on end (just from this post I’ve gleaned two poem titles–”Sitting in the Dark” and “Cake Walk). Cliches can make great poems for kids.

Talk to your friends with children and ask them about fun/funny issues they are dealing with currently. Write them down. I did this with an online writing group and literally have dozes of fresh ideas that would never have occurred to me on my own.

Look at your children. Surely something inspires you. Cowlicks? Dirt smudges? Runny noses? Stained shirts? Big eyes? They are a fount of inspiration.

But remember one thing–never write a poem for a child with a punchline that hinges on things that “you” find cute and adorable about children. This makes kids feel like the butt of a joke and it doesn’t take their interests into consideration. It talks down to them and will turn them off every time.  If it makes you go, “awwww, aren’t kids cute” you might want to delete or revise.

And never replace a difficult word because “kids might not know what it means”.  Poetry is one of the best ways for children to learn vocabulary. Dumbing down writing for children is, in my opinion, a crime.

K…

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

In honor of my poor husband being gimped up after his ACL surgery I’m giving away a signed copy of my book Bear Feels Sick, which also works well for National Poetry Month because it is written in rhymed verse (as are many of my books).

This giveaway will be held by lottery. To enter you simply need to answer this question.

What is the title of my upcoming collection of poems for kids similar in style to Shel Silverstein’s poetry books?

You will find the answer somewhere on my website (Hint: Have you read my bio?)

To enter visit my contest entry page http://karmawilson.com/contest.php, read the rules and fill in the required forms. Remember, US and Canadian residents only and you must be over age eighteen. The contest will close in one week on Tuesday, 8th at 11:59 PM MT time. I will number all entries and select a winner using a random number selector. Good luck!

Speaking of my upcoming book of poems, here’s a little preview of the types of poems you may find inside.

Alligator Purse

“Oh dahling, don’t you love my purse,

It’s genuine alligator.”

She said that just this morning

but then a little later

she reached inside for something

and it ate her.

Have a great week!

K…

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.