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The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection
Book advocate Colby Sharp presents more than forty beloved, award-winning, diverse and bestselling authors and illustrators in a creative challenge!
Colby Sharp invited more than forty authors and illustrators to provide story starters for each other; photos, drawings, poems, prose, or anything they could dream up. When they received their prompts, they responded by transforming these seeds into any form of creative work they wanted to share.
The result is a stunning collection of words, art, poetry, and stories by some of our most celebrated children book creators. A section of extra story starters by every contributor provides fresh inspiration for readers to create works of their own. Here is an innovative book that offers something for every kind of reader and creator!
Colby Sharp invited more than forty authors and illustrators to provide story starters for each other; photos, drawings, poems, prose, or anything they could dream up. When they received their prompts, they responded by transforming these seeds into any form of creative work they wanted to share.
The result is a stunning collection of words, art, poetry, and stories by some of our most celebrated children book creators. A section of extra story starters by every contributor provides fresh inspiration for readers to create works of their own. Here is an innovative book that offers something for every kind of reader and creator!
288 pages, Paperback
Published September 3, 2019
90 people are currently reading
2347 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
August 19, 2017
I sort of helped write and edit this book, so I'm super bias.
I am proud of the book, and I think it will add value to the lives of young readers.
I'm really looking forward to hearing what people think, and seeing how they use it with young readers.
I am proud of the book, and I think it will add value to the lives of young readers.
I'm really looking forward to hearing what people think, and seeing how they use it with young readers.
October 15, 2017
AS A CONTRIBUTOR TO THE CREATIVITY PROJECT, I AM COMPLETELY UNBIASED IN GIVING IT A FIVE-STAR REVIEW (But it is awesome).
September 29, 2017
I loved this! All writing teachers need this book. There are so many creative writing prompts that you can use in the classroom - and all from authors your kids will recognize. I cannot wait to get my own finished copy to add to my arsenal for teaching creative writing.
June 10, 2018
This book is a fantastic resource for English teachers--it is filled with prompts and responses that are phenomenal for teaching both reading and writing to students of all ages.
This book is also fantastic for non teachers because it's funny, sweet, creative, and just an absolute pleasure to read.
10/10 would recommend to any reader of any age and occupation!
This book is also fantastic for non teachers because it's funny, sweet, creative, and just an absolute pleasure to read.
10/10 would recommend to any reader of any age and occupation!
March 16, 2018
I LOVE this book. What a great concept! The basic gist? Colby sent out a request for children's authors to create prompts and then distributed those prompts among the authors- and then published the prompts and responses side by side.
I am thinking of becoming a classroom teacher again just so that I can use these ideas! Each prompt has endless opportunity for response, the responses cross over many genres, the idea itself could be used to create a "creativity project" on campuses or between campuses or when PALS are working with their "PALees." The book could be used in writing institutes or academies...or it can just be used for adults, like me, who need a little push to be creative again.
Perfection. Bravo!
I am thinking of becoming a classroom teacher again just so that I can use these ideas! Each prompt has endless opportunity for response, the responses cross over many genres, the idea itself could be used to create a "creativity project" on campuses or between campuses or when PALS are working with their "PALees." The book could be used in writing institutes or academies...or it can just be used for adults, like me, who need a little push to be creative again.
Perfection. Bravo!
August 6, 2018
Awesometastic. There's no other word adequate enough to describe this book, so I'll use Colby's!
The prompts were equal parts inspiring and mind-boggling. I mean, that song Jenni Holm had to write! Cray-cray!
My heart was so happy when I got to the end and saw all the prompts with no responses, because honestly, I wasn't sure how I'd tackle a response after reading what someone else did, especially when "someone else" was 44 of my favorite and/or well-known authors!
The prompts were equal parts inspiring and mind-boggling. I mean, that song Jenni Holm had to write! Cray-cray!
My heart was so happy when I got to the end and saw all the prompts with no responses, because honestly, I wasn't sure how I'd tackle a response after reading what someone else did, especially when "someone else" was 44 of my favorite and/or well-known authors!
March 16, 2018
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! I laughed. I cried. I totally enjoyed every minute of this book! It is a must have book, especially for teachers and writers. What an awesome concept for a book!!! I will be purchasing a copy for my writer's group to help inspire them even more. I will probably be purchasing a copy for myself too. Yeah! It is that good!!!
March 22, 2018
I've saved the reading of this one for spring break so that I could really look inside of the book and the ideas presented.
Colby Sharp is a friend and one of the many good things that are coming out of the state of Michigan when it comes to educational approaches and strategies.
Here, Colby solicits the help of some of today's most recognizable figures in children's and middle grade and young adult poetry, literature, and illustration. As the title suggests this is generative creativity born of Colby's sending out invitations to his friends in the business and them, in turn, challenging one another to create "texts" from the prompts given to them.
What I like most about THE CREATIVITY PROJECT is the range and scope of the "texts" presented. As a mentor text, Colby's book could encourage classroom teachers to look beyond the traditional prose response to tap into poetry forms and sketching to communicate ideas and to generate new ideas.
Not only does the book present invitations and responses, it does spark some curiosity in regard to who the contributors are. Their information is in the back of the book as contributors, but it would be a good idea to have titles out by the featured writers and artists as these may be go-to mentor writers and illustrators for students in the room.
But, while we are talking about students and classrooms, the book would work just as nicely to charge up our own creative energies. In the introductory letter from Colby, he suggests just this. I found myself wanting to "play along" with the writers, poets, and artists found within THE CREATIVITY PROJECT.
I like that the prompts are not separated by genre or format and this allows the reader to move through the complex weave of creativity and how it often presents itself.
Each prompt and response is separated by an illustrated page which helps to create some separation between prompt/response and the next prompt.
Colby Sharp is a friend and one of the many good things that are coming out of the state of Michigan when it comes to educational approaches and strategies.
Here, Colby solicits the help of some of today's most recognizable figures in children's and middle grade and young adult poetry, literature, and illustration. As the title suggests this is generative creativity born of Colby's sending out invitations to his friends in the business and them, in turn, challenging one another to create "texts" from the prompts given to them.
What I like most about THE CREATIVITY PROJECT is the range and scope of the "texts" presented. As a mentor text, Colby's book could encourage classroom teachers to look beyond the traditional prose response to tap into poetry forms and sketching to communicate ideas and to generate new ideas.
Not only does the book present invitations and responses, it does spark some curiosity in regard to who the contributors are. Their information is in the back of the book as contributors, but it would be a good idea to have titles out by the featured writers and artists as these may be go-to mentor writers and illustrators for students in the room.
But, while we are talking about students and classrooms, the book would work just as nicely to charge up our own creative energies. In the introductory letter from Colby, he suggests just this. I found myself wanting to "play along" with the writers, poets, and artists found within THE CREATIVITY PROJECT.
I like that the prompts are not separated by genre or format and this allows the reader to move through the complex weave of creativity and how it often presents itself.
Each prompt and response is separated by an illustrated page which helps to create some separation between prompt/response and the next prompt.
April 1, 2018
I have been teaching creative writing for nearly twenty years and there are very few books I recommend to my students. (Bird by bird, What If? On Writing) I am not generally a fan of the How-to-write book. In fact, I don't think you can really "teach" creative writing. You can provide opportunities to write, give prompts, lots of encouragement and then give feed back (and even that can be flawed!) ..but basically you just need to WRITE and write and write and get better.
The Creativity Project does just that, it gives traditional prompts and untraditional prompts and then (in a very "creative and unusual way) shows how other artists have interpreted those prompts in traditional and untraditional ways.
After all, writing is an art form..what better way than to show kids, art is about bending and breaking rules. And doing it well! I will be using this book and adding it to my very short list of books I use to inspire me!
The Creativity Project does just that, it gives traditional prompts and untraditional prompts and then (in a very "creative and unusual way) shows how other artists have interpreted those prompts in traditional and untraditional ways.
After all, writing is an art form..what better way than to show kids, art is about bending and breaking rules. And doing it well! I will be using this book and adding it to my very short list of books I use to inspire me!
July 16, 2018
For creative writing teachers, The Creativity Project” offers a plethora of ideas from many of the most popular kid-lit authors whose books students love. Thus it offers insight into the minds of working writers and their processes.
My favorite sections are prompts that promote poetry, such as Naomi Shihab Nye’s conversation w/ the sea in page 71, and sections that offer opportunities for expository writing, such as Tom
Angle Berger’s “The Worst Thing I Ever Smelled.”
It’s also fun to see how professional writers respond to their peers’ prompts.
My favorite sections are prompts that promote poetry, such as Naomi Shihab Nye’s conversation w/ the sea in page 71, and sections that offer opportunities for expository writing, such as Tom
Angle Berger’s “The Worst Thing I Ever Smelled.”
It’s also fun to see how professional writers respond to their peers’ prompts.
August 14, 2018
Oh, I loved this. I've been in a re-reading and romance RUT, and this got me out of it.
Many of these stories and prompts were STUNNING. (They were uneven, but I've never read a set of short stories where that wasn't so. Also - their very variety will attract a variety of students/writers/artists/creators). BUT anyone brave enough to contribute a prompt or response to this book deserves my respect. And any book I read in a single day? It rocked. It made me write, too! It woke up my brain. Thanks to all the authors/illustrators/creators who contributed to this book - WOW.
Many of these stories and prompts were STUNNING. (They were uneven, but I've never read a set of short stories where that wasn't so. Also - their very variety will attract a variety of students/writers/artists/creators). BUT anyone brave enough to contribute a prompt or response to this book deserves my respect. And any book I read in a single day? It rocked. It made me write, too! It woke up my brain. Thanks to all the authors/illustrators/creators who contributed to this book - WOW.
November 25, 2017
I love this book for all the friends it holds inside. #nerdybookclub #nErDcampMI Fantastic writing/illustrating prompts for ALL!
December 6, 2017
I love the format of the book and was excited to see who was responding to whose prompt. It really is a unique creation that projects a feeling of friendship among the contributors.
March 25, 2018
"Awesometastic" is right on the nose, a perfect portmanteau for this hybrid text of challenges and responses from a lovely rogue's gallery of 44 contemporary authors whose works run the gamut of literary styles and text forms. Bonus: there's ample invitation to play along with the 44 answered prompts and 44 fresh ones. Like the "Anti-Coloring Book" my parents gave me in the 70s to spur my creativity for a new generation, the pull to create is irresistible here. In full disclosure, I know Colby, admire his work greatly, and will be proud to serve with him on the Michigan Reading Association Board of Directors over the next few years.
April 4, 2018
Can I rate this book with 10 stars? This is such an outstanding book for teachers, parents, and students. I have so many ideas to bring this to my students to increase their creativity muscles. We are going to start with using the book and then we will branch out to other prompts, to creating prompts and possibly even to compiling our own version of the book.
February 26, 2018
Every teacher should have a copy of this book!
October 23, 2018
This is an amazing idea. So many of my favorite authors are in here, AND it gave me writing ideas. I can't wait to share this book with my teacher.
June 14, 2018
My students and I are enthralled with The Creativity Project. It truly is an “awesometastic” resource for inspiring creativity in your writers. Highly recommend.
December 20, 2018
3.5 stars
November 26, 2018
The most fun part of this, is trying a few of the prompts yourself, or having your students try, and then reading what direction some of your favorite authors took it. Some of my students marveled at just how talented and creative some writers can be (Lemony Snicket's response to Kate DiCamillo was a favorite) and some students felt like they were more creative than some of their favorite authors. Which was inspiring!
November 17, 2018
A book needed to inspire middle grade readers & writers! I devoured this book over the summer! The writing prompts, pictures & short stories are a must for any classroom. An innovate idea & format. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy (or two) fir your classroom!
July 22, 2018
I thought this book was interesting. It is filled with writing prompts and then, responses to these writing prompts. From pictures to texts, these writing prompts were all over the place for they had great variety. I really enjoyed the prompts and the responses were okay. Many of the responses felt off for me, and I just didn’t care for them. There were a few that I really enjoyed and they were very creative. The book is about promoting creativity and that they did.
I really liked the idea behind using picture prompts and writing a response based on the picture. The pictures they included in this book consisted of nature scenes, faces, and drawings. The writing prompts were creative and included: parts of poems, the beginning of a sentence, a conversation, a scenario, and situations similar to these.
These were a few of my favorites:
You’re visiting a distant relative who lives in an old Victorian house. While everyone is downstairs, you sneak away and go upstairs and come across a loose floorboard. You inspect it, the board comes up, and inside it you find…..
“I have everything I needed inside my pockets: twenty-five dollars, Chapstick, a map and …………………….”
“create something that includes a tree looking out of place.”
I remember………..for 5 minutes write down everything you can remember- good and bad memories, funny memories, anything. Then, pick one and write about it.
I liked the variety inside this book, some ideas were more creative than others but their ideas were worth pondering over. Their ideas might inspire you/me to create some great writing prompts yourself/ourselves. This is a fun writing tool.
I really liked the idea behind using picture prompts and writing a response based on the picture. The pictures they included in this book consisted of nature scenes, faces, and drawings. The writing prompts were creative and included: parts of poems, the beginning of a sentence, a conversation, a scenario, and situations similar to these.
These were a few of my favorites:
You’re visiting a distant relative who lives in an old Victorian house. While everyone is downstairs, you sneak away and go upstairs and come across a loose floorboard. You inspect it, the board comes up, and inside it you find…..
“I have everything I needed inside my pockets: twenty-five dollars, Chapstick, a map and …………………….”
“create something that includes a tree looking out of place.”
I remember………..for 5 minutes write down everything you can remember- good and bad memories, funny memories, anything. Then, pick one and write about it.
I liked the variety inside this book, some ideas were more creative than others but their ideas were worth pondering over. Their ideas might inspire you/me to create some great writing prompts yourself/ourselves. This is a fun writing tool.
June 27, 2018
I decided to read this book to prepare for a workshop I'll be attending in two weeks where this book will be featured during one of the presentations. Holy smokes, am I glad it's going to be featured, because I'm not sure I would have picked it up otherwise, and I surely would have been missing out. The Creativity Project is the perfect name for it, because it is one of the greatest celebrations of creativity, individuality, and uniqueness I've read. Having read many of the authors featured, I really enjoyed how each of their prompts and responses reflected their writing style. For example, Chris Grabenstein's story "Fluffle-Picking Time" had me laughing out loud and is just what I would have expected from such a funny author, while Grace Lin's story stopped me in my tracks with the unexpected twist and connection at the end, very reminiscent of how everything comes together at the end of her novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. I also loved how the idea of "creativity" was expanded beyond words and that cartoons, photos, drawings, and even sculptures were included, to show that creativity does not manifest as just one thing. I also am thrilled with the extra prompts included at the end and am already thinking of ways I might be able to use them with my students.
Now, I would LOVE to see a follow-up book where each author responds to a prompt someone else responded to in this book. I would have great fun comparing the responses to see how each author interpreted the prompts in his/her own unique way.
Now, I would LOVE to see a follow-up book where each author responds to a prompt someone else responded to in this book. I would have great fun comparing the responses to see how each author interpreted the prompts in his/her own unique way.
March 21, 2020
Colby Sharp is a teacher in Michigan who loves books. He obviously has a lot of author connections because he was able to get this book off the ground.
Mr. Sharp took his list of well-known authors and illustrators and asked each one to come up with a prompt. They sent it back, and Sharp then divvied them back out to the group. Each person responded to that prompt s/he received.
I think what I loved most about this book is you get to see famous authors and illustrators work with a prompt the same way I would. The results are not perfect, but they aren’t meant to be. Every author I ever come across says something similar to this: “I write a lot of junk before I write something good.” As a reader, you kind of get to see the junk- though none of it was bad. You just get to see what felt to me like “real practice.”
We all have to practice, and it’s validating to see someone who gets paid for their craft actually rehearse the same way all writers do.
I struggle big time writing anything fiction. This book would give me and any writer of any age some great prompts with which to practice. The responses are sometimes in the form of comics or poems or stories. The responses could be anything!
This book has been continually checked out at my school. I said to Miss Keely on Friday, “I’m going to read this to see what the attraction is…” I’m glad I did!
Mr. Sharp took his list of well-known authors and illustrators and asked each one to come up with a prompt. They sent it back, and Sharp then divvied them back out to the group. Each person responded to that prompt s/he received.
I think what I loved most about this book is you get to see famous authors and illustrators work with a prompt the same way I would. The results are not perfect, but they aren’t meant to be. Every author I ever come across says something similar to this: “I write a lot of junk before I write something good.” As a reader, you kind of get to see the junk- though none of it was bad. You just get to see what felt to me like “real practice.”
We all have to practice, and it’s validating to see someone who gets paid for their craft actually rehearse the same way all writers do.
I struggle big time writing anything fiction. This book would give me and any writer of any age some great prompts with which to practice. The responses are sometimes in the form of comics or poems or stories. The responses could be anything!
This book has been continually checked out at my school. I said to Miss Keely on Friday, “I’m going to read this to see what the attraction is…” I’m glad I did!
March 14, 2020
This book is not what I thought it was at first thumb through. I assumed it was a book where different creative children's book people wrote prompts for kids to read and respond to. It is SO MUCH MORE!
Colby Sharp pulled together a club of authors and illustrators and had them submit writing/illustrating prompts. Then, those same creatives had to respond to the prompts and they are nothing short of genius. The end of the book contains more prompts for readers or reader's students/children to use.
Another teacher-friend and I were sharing how difficult it is to share a prompt and have students stare blankly stating, "What do we do? What do you want us to write?" The freedom of creativity has left the school building. With this book, we can share a prompt, have kids do some brainstorming, share an author/illustrator response as an example, and let the students go to it.
Buy this book. Sure, it's in our school library, but I need it for my own use. Parents who encourage creativeness at home - you'll want this, too. Need something to do while stuck at home during a world pandemic? Order now!
Colby Sharp pulled together a club of authors and illustrators and had them submit writing/illustrating prompts. Then, those same creatives had to respond to the prompts and they are nothing short of genius. The end of the book contains more prompts for readers or reader's students/children to use.
Another teacher-friend and I were sharing how difficult it is to share a prompt and have students stare blankly stating, "What do we do? What do you want us to write?" The freedom of creativity has left the school building. With this book, we can share a prompt, have kids do some brainstorming, share an author/illustrator response as an example, and let the students go to it.
Buy this book. Sure, it's in our school library, but I need it for my own use. Parents who encourage creativeness at home - you'll want this, too. Need something to do while stuck at home during a world pandemic? Order now!
March 16, 2018
This book is perfect for all ages. Simple format - prompt then response - but filled with SO MUCH GREATNESS. I had a blast reading through and seeing how these insanely creative minds took a prompt and ran with it. I loved when my mind went a certain way after reading the prompt and then when I'd read the response I was totally mind blown. We (me and my kids) were reading some of them this morning before school and laughing. Great book to gift both kids and teachers. Really a lot of fun. I enjoyed the way it was organized, too - at the back there was a brief bio of each author and then there is an index where you can search by author as well. Makes it a versatile resource.
June 13, 2018
This is a book I will definitely read over and over again. Colby Sharp asked writers to submit two writing prompts. He then sent those prompts back out to the authors. Each other was asked to pick one of the two prompts someone else had written and write. There were no guidelines. The prompts were small cartoons, poems, words, sentences. The stories and poems that came out were wonderful. I read through it the first time in a couple of hours. Now I want to go through and mark those I want to use with my students. I also want to have my students do something similar in the classroom. This book is awesome. I definitely recommend it to anyone young or old who loves to write.
April 4, 2021
I loved the idea of this, but, of course, since Juv Lit is a mixed bag, so is this book. A few really delightful creations, a couple well-written & thought-provoking ones, a lot of O.K., a handful of "meh", and a couple just plain disturbing.
My favorites:
"I want to make myself perfectly clear" by Lemony Snicket
"You've been dead for a long time. Someone who just passed away asks you what to expect" by Grace Li
"Fluffle-Picking Time" by Chris Grabenstein
"You Have A Cow--- A Love Song" by Kate Dicamillo
"Two Peas in a Pod presents: William Shakespeare" by Minh Le
"A Puppy's Best Friend" by Margarita Engle
My favorites:
"I want to make myself perfectly clear" by Lemony Snicket
"You've been dead for a long time. Someone who just passed away asks you what to expect" by Grace Li
"Fluffle-Picking Time" by Chris Grabenstein
"You Have A Cow--- A Love Song" by Kate Dicamillo
"Two Peas in a Pod presents: William Shakespeare" by Minh Le
"A Puppy's Best Friend" by Margarita Engle
February 11, 2018
This is indeed "awesometastic"! I received an advanced copy at NCTE and I regret not reading it sooner. It is way more than a variety of prompts and responses from authors and illustrators. The wide range of art and styles of texts, the unique and original content, and the matches made between contributors all make this a book that readers are going to love. Do yourself a favor- preorder this now.
March 11, 2018
Opening this book is like diving into a lake made of magic. The prompts are outstanding, and the responses even BETTER than you’d expect (despite a line-up of some of the best writers in children’s literature). This should be on the shelves of every teacher’s classroom and in the heart of every creator.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews