From Reader to Writer: Teaching Writing Through Classic Children's Books

by Sarah Ellis

As a child, Sarah Ellis made up plenty of stories but could never think of any when called upon in school. As an adult, she discovered a way to encourage children to express their creativity. The result is From Reader to Writer, a trove of suggestions and activities that use classic children’s literature to inspire and liberate kids’ imaginations. Each of the 17 chapters consists of an intriguing anecdote about an author, from Louisa May Alcott to Susan Cooper, that describes their childhood, what they read, and the sources for their books. Each anecdote leads into a writing activity, which can range from simple to sophisticated and can be adapted to different classroom situations. Letter and journal writing, wordplay, fantasy and riddles, and “story-starter” ideas are among the entertaining and original techniques for encouraging a young person to take up a pen and start writing.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Writer, columnist, and librarian Sarah Ellis has become one of the best-known authors for young adults in her native Canada with titles such as The Baby Project, Pick-Up Sticks, and Back of Beyond: Stories of the Supernatural. In addition to young adult novels, Ellis has also written for younger children and has authored several books about the craft of writing. Praised by Booklist contributor Hazel Rochman as "one of the best children's literature critics," Ellis "writes without condescension or pedantry. . . . Her prose is a delight: plain, witty, practical, wise."

Ellis was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1952, the youngest of three children in her family. As she once noted, "[My] joy in embroidering the truth probably comes from my own childhood. My father was a rich mine of anecdotes and jokes. He knew more variations on the 'once there were three men in a rowboat' joke than anyone I've encountered since.

Reviews

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Ellis opens her book, From Reader to Writer: Teaching Writing Through Classic Children’s Books, by asking the pertinent question: “Can creative writing be taught?” She outlines two types of writers: those that believe it can be taught through hard work, those that believe it is all risk and determination, something that cannot be taught, and a third more gentle option. This third option focuses on the community aspect of the creative process, highlighting that “writing grows from reading and that writers are not alone.” Writing is, or can be, collaboration and community.

Whether Ellis is outlining worldbuilding tenets framed by Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island or how to build your own conlang as inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien, she focuses on real-world applicable writing projects from a variety of genres. Perhaps my favourite, I humbly declare, is Beatrix Potter’s Letter-writing Tips from the Great Correspondents. Here, Ellis has gleaned from extensive research into Potter’s communiques such writing gems as ‘Write As If You Are Talking,’ ‘Notice Things, Then Share Them,’ and ‘Be Immediate.’ From these lessons, often collaborative, she suggests further reading to capture the imagination.

Most interestingly, Ellis paints a humanizing portrait of the artists she features. She focuses on a biography of the author, showing how they went from reader to writer themselves, developing a voice and their craft along they way. Suddenly, Beatrix Potter becomes a contemporary of Lewis Carrol, and J.R.R. Tolkien a friend of C.S. Lewis. This demystifying of the author helps hopeful writers to see that readers, just like Kit Pearson and Jean Little, can be writers, inspired by the very same works of literature.

Quotes of Note:

“The first is that all writers were readers. Writing and reading are inextricably linked." (Ellis, 2001, p. 10)
“One of the satisfactions of writing lies in the opportunity to make use of everything in your life. Everything you experience, think about, study, investigate, encounter or invent is potential material.” (Ellis, 2001, p. 102).

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me by Dr. Brad Wilcox the day I defended my thesis, so it holds a bit of extra sentimental value for me.

I think this book has good strategies to invoke the inner creative writer in all of us, and great teaching strategies. I found it interesting to discover some excellent works of literature were not necessarily meant to be excellent works of literature. For example, Lewis Carrol's timeless Alice in Wonderland, was originally told to a set of girls verbally, on the spot, while they were in a rowboat until the girls begged Carrol (pen name) to write it down, which he did. It's hard to fit many of these strategies into the curriculum that I teach, but if I had a creative writing class this would be a great place for ideas. Perhaps I can create a mini-creative writing unit????

[Ashlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great handbook on developing writing skills. Written with children in mind but anyone could benefit from the ideas and tools in this book. You could design writing activities or programs for home, classrooms, or libraries with this book as a guide.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about teaching kids to write, but I’ve been using it for a totally different purpose. Each chapter skims the life of a famous author, and then tells what books that author read as a child. I’ve found this fascinating, since I always like to know what books other people like. But even better, at the end of each chapter is a list of young people’s books based on a major theme of that author. This has been a gold mine for me, since I’ve found several new favorites to add to my own library. With a slew of grandchildren looking over my books every week, I have a lot more to offer them now.

[Isabel Bryan [the Bookmark Hoarder] · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little old, but still a great resource for upper elementary and middle school teachers. Each chapter is a mini lesson (or series of lessons, depending on how you want to use it) complete with a story or summary of a famous children's author's childhood, and ends with sections with writing prompts and other books about the same topics as the first book mentioned.

[Yoshiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nicely written book, but just bored to me.

[Jake Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn’t what I expected. I was in fact not invigorated nor entertained. This book is one suited for a teacher, not Jake

[Carmyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reread this book in connection to a workshop I participated in "Authors as Mentors" with the Red River Valley Writing Project. This book features 17 famous authors in 16 chapters each offering a lesson from their works, their methods, their starts. Some authors include: Beatrix Potter, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lewis Carroll, P.L. Travers and more.

Each chapter includes various features like, "What did J.R.R. Tolkien Read?" or "A Read Aloud Suggestion." Some of the chapters end with book lists of titles that are either structured similarly or contain a similar feature. Nearly every chapter contains a "Classroom Script" that offers a way a teacher might incorporate a writing prompt or method for the reader or a classroom of children.

I love classic children's literature and so I was fascinated by the stories behind the stories, but this book is so much more than that. It broadens those stories into WAYS that a writer can use the stories as seeds to grow a story of their own. I would recommend this to anyone interested in children's literature and writing and how those two worlds meet.

[Colleen Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich resource for exploring classic children's books. There are lists of books written by the authors, books the authors liked read, and books of similar styles by less known authors. Books! Books! Books! Also writing exercises that evoke different styles and genres.

[Staci von Harten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting life stories behind some famous authors, activities to get kids thinking about writing based on some of their famous novels. More likely for upper grades. Too old for my five year old.

[V · Rating 2 out of 5]

(As of 2012), outdated. Some interesting sections, especially the book lists. Other than that, generally applicable to teachers.