Young Writers and Dreamers: Mama and the Hanalei Sea Turtle
I have a confession: I love it when I walk into an exam room and see a kid reading. We have lots of books to share in our rooms or sometimes someone will bring one in. When the Bookworm family goes out to eat, we often grab a book for each of the girls for the downtime while waiting for our food.
So when I walked in to see Dylan a few weeks ago reading his own book, I was floored! (We have a few copies floating around the office and Dylan happened to be in a room that had a copy in our book bin.) Dylan and his mom gave me permission to review his book--and they told me the story behind it. When Dylan was younger, he wanted to chronicle their experience of seeing a sea turtle in Hawaii, so he wrote a story about it. And that's where Mama and the Hanalei Sea Turtle was born!
Dylan and his family were on the island of Kauai when his mom repeatedly spotted a sea turtle in the water. Of course, neither Dylan nor his dad saw it. Until the day they did.
I love that Dylan wanted to write a story about his family's experience. And I love even more that he and his family made it into a book. The story is in rhyme with illustrations by Rebekah Anderson. A fun read for sea turtle lovers and for those who love the water.
Keep writing, Dylan and all the kids (and adult kids) out there. And keep dreaming and achieving your goals!
For any kids between the ages of 8-13 years old (or younger aspiring writers and illustrators), have you heard of Stone Soup Magazine? We have had a subscription for the last few years (magazine plus digital because Mini Me likes to hold a book in her hands). All the stories, poems, book reviews and illustrations are done by kids between the ages of 8-13 years old! It's delightful, and fun to read.
And, yes, we've been encouraging Mini Me to send something in. She's been a writer since the age of 4 (perhaps earlier) when she wrote her first book entitled I Want To Be a Princess Just Like You. It included a witch in a rolling cage....
