Five YA Story Starts-- Do they work magic for you? by Kitty Griffin

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

How do stories draw you in? Do you appreciate the quick slap, the story that drops you into the volcano as the earthquake cracks the world? Or do you prefer Hoovering-- the slow pulling and when you go to look away, you can't you just have to find out what happens next?

Here are five story starts. These are recent YA fantasy stories with an anchoring to a familiar fairy tale.  

Just by looking at the covers to "Cinder" and "Scarlet" you can immediately find the anchor story-- Cinderella and the slipper (only look at that ankle, what's up with that?) and Red Riding Hood.

Here is how "Cinder" starts-- see what you think, the slap or the suck...

     The screw through Cinder's ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle. Her knuckles ached from forcing the screwdriver into the joint as she struggled to loosen the screw on gritting twist after another. By the time it was extracted far enough for her to wrench free with her prosthetic steel hand, the hairline threads had been stripped clean.
     Tossing the screwdriver onto the table, Cinder gripped her heel and yanked the foot from its socket. A spark singed her fingertips and she jerked away, leaving the foot to dangle from a tangle of red and yellow wires.

   Does that grab you?

   How about the pitch line?

   "Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population.  From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl...Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg."

Let's look at the sequel, "Scarlet"

     Scarlet was descending toward the alley behind the Rieux Tavern when her portscreen chimed from the passenger seat, followed by an automated voice: "Comm received for Mademoiselle Scarlet Benoit from the Toulouse Law Enforcement Department of Missing Persons."
     Heart jumping, she swerved just in time to keep the ship's starboard side from skidding against the stone wall, and threw down the brakes before reaching a complete stop. Scarlet killed the engine, already grabbing for the discarded port screen. It's pale blue light glinted off the cockpit's controls.
     They'd found something.
     The Toulouse police must have found something.

A livelier start, but are you drawn in? You decide.

Read each of these openings. Which one do you want to keep reading? Why? When you understand why, then you are on your way to understanding what you like. When you know what you like to read, you'll know what you'll like to write.

Believe it or not, some writers never understand that lesson. All they want to do is write something that sells, not realizing that if they don't like it, no one else will. If your heart isn't in it, people will know. Especially editors. 

A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

     I'd try to hold on to my stass dreams as long as I could. It's a game I would play, struggling to keep track of those misty images that were so easily lost. I'd try to keep mysef in stasis, keep my heart beating to slow to feel, refuse to wake up my lungs. Once or twice I managed to hold on so long that Mom panicked and turned on the resuscitator.

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

(Please note: "Fathomless" has a long prologue, but for this exercise, we're starting with chapter one)

     My sisters love this place.

     It smells like sand and cigarettes and cotton candy, like sunscreen and salt. The scent builds up all summer, and now, at the height of tourist season, it's so thick that I think I could wave an empty bottle around and it would fill with liquid perfume.

     We cut through the Skee-Ball parlor and emerge on the main drag of the Pavilion, lights and sounds everywhere, crowds of people with terrible sunburns. My sisters giggle to each other, the two of them perfectly in step ahead of me. We are triplets, but they are the twins, a perfectly matched set with high eyebrows and pretty lips. To most people, we look identical; to one another, my features are a little different. A little off, a not-quite-right replica of Anne and Jane.

Dust City byRobert Paul Weston

          Once upon a time, fairy-dust came from where you'd expect. From fairies. I was only a cub, so I don't remember much of what the City was like back then. But I have a strong sense that things were different. Dreams could come true. You read about it in the paper. I've seen the clippings. Mrs. L. has some of them pinned up in her office: PAUPER GIRL GETS A FAIRY VISIT, ELEVATED TO A LIFE OF LUXURY! 

     PUMPKIN INTO PARLOR CAR OVERNIGHT! 

     Then one day, the miracles dried up. The fairies stopped drifting down to bless us with their charms. All at once, they were gone.

     What draws you in? What excites your imagination? What feeds your dreams? 

Helping kids to Let their Imagination Loose--laughing all the way

A presentation for Keystone State Reading Association by Kitty Griffin

 Use the familiar to help unlock the imagination. Take what you know and begin to s---t------r--------e----------t------------------c------------------h as far a you can. If you find yourself laughing, you're on the right track. Bounce!

 There was an old lady who swallowed a fly…I don’t know why she swallowed that fly.

Wait a minute! This isn’t just an old lady she should have a name. Now, let’s giggle. What if her name is Ida Swallow? Names can really help pull out the smiles.

Now, let’s push this into a tall tale. We know she swallows a fly, a spider, a bird, a cat, a dog, and a hog. What if you create a super hero who helps save all of the critters she’s swallowed?

Now you play what if…

What if the hero gives her a bowl of Grandpa Chickenpops Stinky Soup, it’s so stinky that you throw up just smelling it?

Or what if the hero tickles Old Lady Swallow with a special feather and she sneezes them out?

Create your own tall tale!

Give your student a problem or a list of problems that they will be familiar with.

Global warming, water pollution, poor nutrition, etc.

Have them think carefully about a super hero who could help solve that problem. A good name is important. What makes them super? Or is it just a regular kid who has one special ability? Maybe it can be more than one kid.

Your character has a problem.

What will the character do to solve the problem?

How difficult can you make the situation for your character?

Fun with Fairy Tales

Let your students pick a favorite fairy tale and bounce it! Change the main character. What if in Red Riding Hood the Wolf was really kind and suspected that Little Red was after Granny’s hidden money?

What if the Three Little Pigs were bullies, trying to take over the neighborhood? Give them names like Spike, Pounce, and Chopper. Do you see how that changes the story?

Make a change in Jack and the Beanstalk by making Jack a Jackie. What if she sold the cow for magic potatoes that led down into the ground where a magic dwarf lived?

There is a reason children love to see the familiar flipped. Give them a chance to do the flipping. But always remind them, start with a good character and make sure your character has an interesting problem. Using the familiar can help lead them into all sorts of fun mischief.

Fairy tales, Scary tales! by Kitty Griffin

Mercer Mayer's illustration from

Beauty & the Beast

Trina Schart Hyman's illustration

from Snow White

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Boo!

Boo hoo?

Don’t cry little girl!

An oldie, but one that leads to a question I have for you. Why do we like things that scare us?

Let’s follow with this question, at what age can you read a scary story to a child?

I’ve noticed a resurgence of complaints against the fairy tale lately, so let’s talk about it. Let’s go back to the fire circle as the wooly mammoths lumbered about. As our ancestors made up stories, what do you bet they were scary stories? Of course they were! They didn’t want to talk about why Og picked flowers for Thog. They wanted to talk about the big booming noise that came when the skies turned black.

“Whoa, something is very very angry,” is how that went. "What could it be?"

We still have campfires and we still tell scary stories.

But what about children and picture books? How young is too young to hear about that silly Goldilocks breaking and entering into the bear’s house and stealing their food and vandalizing the house? Do kids need to hear about Jack’s thefts from the giant?

Of course they do. But, I’m also the first to admit that there’s a time and place for each and every tale. If a child has had a fright, perhaps gotten separated from you in a store, you certainly don’t want to add to their troubles by reading Hansel and Gretel. You are the best judge of what your child needs and wants. Always pay attention to that “mommy” sense (or daddy sense). (My daughter has a sixteen-month old little boy and she knows, if she gets that mommy tingle and doesn’t think he should have something. She’s learned the hard way to make sure to follow through, even if it means some tears).

Hearing the story is just part of the picture book experience. Looking at a scary picture gives a child the chance to study it. To say, “No, you can’t scare me!” And then if they want, close the book.

The debate over whether or not they’re for children began with the Brothers Grimm and continues today. One Grimm said, “Yes! Children can learn a lesson from these tales!” and the other said, “No, they are too frightening. They should only be for academic research.”

The debate isn't going to be settled with one post. But I urge parents not to be afraid of scary. Don't be afraid of fairy tales because your child needs them just like they need geography. Fairy tales are part of the human map. You can start with funny retellings and gradually add in the darker sides. For beautiful artwork look at the work of Trina Schart Hyman or Mercer Mayer. Go through the story and make up your own words the first time through.

You'll find what's right for your child. There are many retellings.

Here are two witches from two retellings of Hansel and Gretel.

Notice how the one on top by Paul O. Zelinsky is a kindly, sweet woman while the one on the bottom is terrifying. The scary one is from a German retelling and the illustrator is Dorothee Duntze. Your child, you decide which one they can handle. I like the German one. But then, I like a little fright now and then.