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.

Cowboy Sam Tips His Hat to the New Grandma

posted by Jenny Ramaley

While Mother Nature has brought us April showers - and February showers and March showers and looks like a whole lot of May showers to come - a special shower has touched our own, much-loved Kitty.  She's recently been blessed with two grandchildren, first Arthur, who arrived in December, and last week, Cecilia.

After getting an email with the new grandbaby's photo, I took a memory trip to when my own girls were young. Kitty's first book, Cowboy Sam and Those Confounded Secrets, has a special place in my heart because it was my daughters' last picture book. They already thought they were a little 'old' for a story book, but because they knew Kitty, my girls cuddled up on the couch while I read this sweet and special book to them. Those 'read-to-me-Mommy' days don't last forever . . .

Just imagine how wonderful it will be when Arthur and Cecilia snuggle with their grandmother to listen as she reads them her own Texas tall tale!

Mike Wohnoutka's illustrations are texas-terrific!

So, a big congratulations to Kitty, and her daughters, Bea and Danika. If you've never had a chance to read Cowboy Sam and hear about his very special hat, you can check it out here:  http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Sam-Those-Confounded-Secrets/dp/0618088547/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304348362&sr=8-1

Mucking About with Fairy Tales and Tall Tales: How to Twist Them and Make Them Your Own

Hansel and Gretel by Arthur Rackham, 1909

This weekend, I'm speaking at the Western Pennsylvania SCBWI conference on "Mining the Folklode." In case you can't make it to the conference, here's a quick overview of the tips I'll be sharing to help you take well known tales and give the reshaping that makes them interesting for modern audiences.

  So, you think you’d like to write a tale or two!

Let’s start with the basic good old-fashioned fairy tale.

You know where to begin--

WHEN

Once upon a time,

But where do you want to go next? Far away? Or far far away? You decide.

WHAT

Once you have your kingdom in mind, let’s give someone or a bunch of someones there a problem. A serious problem.

      A dragon is good.

      An ogre scary.

      A band of outlaws might make for tension.

      So would an invading army.

      And you can always fall back on the very annoyed and ready to do harm step-mom

Illustration by Margaret Evans Price for Cinderella  in Bates, Once Upon a Time: A Book of Old-Time Fairy Tales, edited by Katharine Lee. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 1921.

HOW

      How is the problem going to be solved?

      Remember in picture books there is a series of three.

      If they throw water on the dragon, it turns to steam.

      If they build a trap for the ogre, he eats it.

      If she/he tries to fool the vexed step-mom, that tricky step-mom foils the fooling.

WHO

      If you have a hero, now’s the time for them to start to really work hard. This is a fairy tale so magic is fair! One, two, three. YAY!

      And everyone is happy ever after.

Now, apply this to a tall tale, but let’s make some changes.

WHEN

Just last week…

WHERE

In Pimplepopp, Pennsylvania

WHAT

In a garbage dump, a blob began to grow, and grow, and GROW

WHO

And the only one who noticed was a little boy who rode his bike by the garbage dump as he delivered papers.

      So, what’s going to happen? One, two, three.

And since this is a tall tale, give your kid some super powers.

Remember, a tall tale might sorta could be true, well, here and there. And then it’s stretched and stretched until it’s fun!

Now, what if you have a favorite fairy tale and you want to tinker with it? What do you do?

Use our template.

Do you want to change the WHEN?    

What if Sleeping Beauty took place in 2525?

Change the WHERE.

What if Jack and the Beanstalk took place on Jupiter?

Change the WHAT

What if in Cinderella the Prince was a schmuck and the step-mom was trying to keep Cinderella away from him?

Change the HOW

What if Jack decided to negotiate a peace treaty with the giant instead of killing him? What if Jack felt remorse for stealing the giant’s favorite things?

In fact, what if Jack lived in New York City and his mother told him to go out and sell her cow costume because they needed the money to buy milk. What if a guy on his way to a party needed a costume and wants the cow suit. What if he gives Jack a magic key that makes any elevator open immediately if the key touched the door? What if Jack decides to try the key out on the new office building and he finds himself on the 313th floor and . . . .

Well, you get the idea.

Have fun! If you are laughing as you write, the reader will be laughing as they read.