Wandering among the bookstands at Hubbub Boston earlier this year, my son picked up two books at the Usborne booth and begged me to buy them: Write Your Own Adventure Stories, and Write and Draw your own Comics.
I parted with my cash somewhat grumpily (let’s just say it wasn’t the first purchase of the morning), but once we got home and took a closer look at these books together, I was super impressed. These are GREAT activity books, folks. They are thoughtfully designed, beautifully laid out, and give kids aged 8-12 a host of ideas and prompts for creative writing and cartooning.
In Adventure Stores, various daredevil topics are suggested, ranging from shipwrecks, to alien landings, even to encounters with radioactive rats. Each suggestion is accompanied by ample writing space and colorful vocabulary prompts.
Draw your own Comics lays out a diverse range of plots (from superheroes-vs.-robots, to dinosaurs, to time-travel), preceded by engaging guides on drawing, facial expressions, speech bubbles, and sound effects. Both books include many useful story-telling tools, such as pages for planning plots, trying out good opening lines and practicing catchy titles. My son and I have been having a lot of fun working on these books together, in small chunks, when time and inclination allow.
Here are some thoughts on using these books effectively:
- Guide: Go a step beyond just handing your child the books and sending them off to write or draw on their own. Consider spending a little time to discuss the introductory pages and work on the first few stories or comic strips together.
- Plan: For each book, think about making photocopies of the “planning” or “plotting” pages. For instance, page 9 in Adventure Stories contains a great template for plotting a story, as does page 25 in Draw your own Comics. Encourage your child to use a fresh photocopy to plot out each of their stories. You will likely double the yield of completed pieces as a result.
- Unfreeze creativity: I don’t know about you, but a blank page in a beautiful new journal can freeze me up completely. I’ve noticed that kids feel the same way sometimes. Give your child a fat sheaf of recycled paper for rough drafts. Better yet, emphasize that there is nothing sacred about these books or any activity books – they are all meant for mess-ups, practice, and experimentation, not perfection. As an artist who once hoarded supplies in the pursuit of masterpieces, I’m learning that the only way to achieve any body of work at all, is to use it all up and to abandon perfectionism.
- Have fun: Make a family activity of it – write and draw your own stories and comic strips side-by-side. Compare notes for laughs.
Have you tried the books above, or other activity books like these? Did they work without tears? Do share with the rest of us…
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