A second-person narrative leads a brown-skinned boy through the preliminary stages of writing a story. Much of the book focuses on the difficulty of coming up with an idea for a story, showing the boy becoming more and more discouraged. When he notices a chickadee outside his window at a winter bird feeder, an idea slowly takes shape. His observations of the bird also serve as a metaphor for writing a story, as he watches the determined bird pick at one seed, carry it to his nest to eat, then come back for another seed, over and over, until it’s had an entire meal. An author’s note at the end encourages children to think about what the boy’s story, entitled “The Chickadee,” might say, breaking it down into The Beginning, The Middle and The End. There’s a brief description of each part of a story, including three writing prompts for each section, e.g. “The chickadee loved sunflower seeds, but whenever … ” The concise text offers both information and encouragement. (Ages 7-10)

Help young readers become young writers with this sweet picture book about a child finding the words to tell his own story!

If you’ve ever tried to write a story of your own, you know it’s not as easy as it looks. Words get tangled, pencils get broken, piles of pages get crumpled up. It’s so much easier just to read all the lovely stories other people have written. . . . But their stories aren’t your stories, and your tale is worth telling.

A mostly empty page
Then another.
And still another.
There are squiggles.
There are doodles.
But the words won't come.

With the gentle reassurance of experience, two-time SCBWI Golden Kite Award Winner Deborah Hopkinson writes a story that encourages persistence, and celebrates the strength of every child’s unique voice and the story they have to tell. Charming illustrations by Hadley Hooper detail the child’s efforts-- and the stroke of inspiration that helps him get going.

This is the perfect picture book for kids who love stories and have big ideas of their own. Young readers who don’t know where to start will be encouraged by the gentle humor, and a page of story-starting ideas offers the opportunity to expand the experience beyond the book.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A CCBC Choice