Rip, doodle, crunch, scribble, erase... Sometimes great adventures require little more than a pencil, a piece of
paper and an open mind, and that is exactly why I love Karen Benke's new book Rip the Page!: Adventures in Creative
Writing.
Aimed at children 8-12 years old, Rip the Page is full of inventive and exciting activities to make writing fun and get that creativity flowing. With encouragement from the author I opened the book to somewhere in the middle and immediately began switching words around and laughing outright at the hilarious results (Spoonerisms pg. 113). I loved the no pressure, do what makes you feel good attitude of the book, and found that the more activities I did, the more I wanted to do.
Now that may be because I love to write, but that wasn't always the case. I found myself wishing I had more fun activities like these, along with encouragement from other writers (dispersed throughout the book) when I was a kid. Writing should be fun, a way to travel to far off places without ever leaving your room, not just essay after essay. Rip the Page! allows young writers the freedom to explore their imaginations and truly enjoy the act of writing.
{Image courtesy of the author}
But enough from me, why not hear a few words from the author herself. Here is our conversation from the other day followed by 3 chances to win her amazing book!!:
What made you write this book? When did you first "rip the page"?
After teaching with California Poets in the Schools for 17 years my file folders were FILLED with all these wacky writing prompts, zany word lists, and the student poems that had come from them. I couldn't throw anything away! Then I started thinking about how much bravery it takes for some kids to whisper secrets from their imaginations on to the page. I also started imagining how I would even order a book if I were to write one. I needed encouragement--just as some of my students need encouragement--so I started sending out letters of request to authors who speak "kid." I got back the most inspiring notes from the likes of Lemony Snicket, Annie Barrows, Avi (Avi!), Gary Soto, Patricia Polacco and many others. My book started to take shape after that.
What made you decide to do what you do?
I used to play school when I was little. My mom bought 10 desks from a flea market one Sunday and offered me one of the rooms downstairs--we had a big house--so I could turn it into a school. I used to have the neighbor kids come over and sit in rows while I stood at the chalk board and gave assignments. I think I was all of 8 or 9 years old, but the kids kept coming back so something I was doing was fun. As I got older and entered college, my younger sister got sick and had to be hospitalized for nearly two years. I started writing poems about her and our childhood and knew I wanted to work with kids in some way and with creative writing. I didn't want to go the typical teacher credential route and lucky for me stumbled into this amazing organization called California Poets in the Schools after graduate school. With CPITS I got to combine my love of being in a classroom with the desks and chalkboards WITH the dreaming doodling creative writing side of my brain. And kids! The best teachers (for me.)
What kinds of effects have you seen from this style of creative
learning?
Kids who claim they absolutely CAN'T write will often open up with some of my writing experiments, wade out on to the page and write an acrostic poem or leap off a line or arrange a bag of word tickets into something that came from inside of them. then they're hooked. Once the pressure of grades and gold stars are taken out of the equation--and sometimes punctuation and the be belief that there's a "right" way to write--the writing takes off. I love the reluctant writers. And the surprise on their faces when they realize that whats sitting on the page came from inside of THEM!
What is your favorite word?
It changes daily. This morning, at 9:13 in Mill Valley, California my favorite word is pine cone.
Which one of these exercises gets your creativity flowing the most?
I think it might be the leaping off a lofty line experiment. I open a book of poetry or even find a newspaper article, read until a line makes my heart do a little dance and then write it down (giving credit to the poet, of course) then I spill my bag of word tickets and keep finding the poem that only I can find and only I can write at that particular time.
{Image courtesy of the author}
What have you learned from your teaching experiences?
I can plan and plan but have to be willing to follow the lead of the group of students I'm writing with. Each group as a different personality and a different way of working at playing with words. My experiences in classrooms and writing circles help me to keep practicing at playing and letting each moment be new. I'm still a novice at being the guide on the side rather than the sage on the stage. My friend Nancy asks the best questions and recently said, "Karen, do you want to be the messenger or the beauty queen." My poet's heart knew exactly what she meant. I love the role of messenger.
What is the most important thing a child has ever taught you?
To feel your fear, get close to it, welcome it, and then write and share what you're most scared to write or share anyway.
One of our favorite words is of course "imagine", what would you do
with that word?
I'd tip it on its side and see what pours out!
*******************
Thank you so much Karen for sharing a little of your story
with us today it has been a pleasure to have you here! And now for the
Giveaway:
For a chance
to win a copy of Karen's lovely book, simply leave a comment on this
post by 7am MST Thursday September 2nd. Three (count them, 3!!!) winners will be chosen by random
number and announced later that day.
***Comments Closed! Click here for the winners!!***
Find Rip the Page! in the Imagine Childhood Store Here
~Jordan
*Last time in Book Reviews: Mixed up Files
