Category: Realistic Fiction

Book Review: The Girl who Stole the Elephant– A Look at Proper Pacing

~ Kathryn Fletcher

The title is not that striking, but my mother loves elephants, so I noticed this title. I have had several positive experiences with stories set in Eastern Asia or similar setting, like the Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. This was no exception. This is an adorable story. The Girl Who Stole an Elephant By Nizrana Farook Chaya steals from the rich and helps the poor survive an oppressive king. Her best friend tries to reign her in but she is irrepressible. When a theft of some royal jewels goes awry, she tries to set things right, but makes everything so much worse. She’s not sure if she can make things right again. And… she steals an elephant, of course. Read more...

6 Ways You Can Begin a Story

~ Kathryn Fletcher

How do you begin a story? Not in the sense of create, but where do you start? I was always told to start in Media Res. Latin for in the middle of things. There are countless ways to start a story. I'm going to talk about a few ways to start, but this is by all means not exhaustive. When I'm wanting to strengthen a skill, I look to mentor texts. So let us take a look at some excellent stories and see how they begin.

Characters Through the Ages (Well, through 70 Years)

~ Kathryn Fletcher

I hope you are all well! This week has been madness! As you know I'm a 6th grade English teacher. My school was on spring break. It got extended this week, but teachers were required to work from home. Wednesday we started to get information. Thursday we began frantically redesigning our lesson to go online … Continue reading Characters Through the Ages (Well, through 70 Years)

Book Review: Chirp

~ Kathryn Fletcher

First, Mia and her family just moved to live near her grandmother, who owns a cricket farm. Yes, a cricket farm. To make food with them. Barbecue crickets. Maple crickets. and more! Mia and her grandmother are really close, so when she learns that Gram's farm is in danger of closing down due to sabotage and lack of funding, Mia knows she has to do something. Layer one: Who is sabotaging the farm? Mia and two friends go all Nancy Drew to investigate and gather clues.