BRAINSTORM

A student finds the way out of the clouds of writer’s block.

“Teacher says it’s time to write,” muses the brown-haired, light-skinned protagonist. Other students seem to be finding their way. One child has several crossed-out words; two more have begun stories. But “I peek outside— / it’s gloomy, gray. / Cloudy. / Like my brain today.” Thinking produces nothing at first; the pencil sits unused, the child’s head slumped into a folded arm. But then, “KER-PLINK! / I feel a drop. / One tiny thought.” Words, images, and phrases begin to fall like raindrops, and the illustrations gain color and energy as inspiration grows. The young writer dances, kicking up legs clad in striped tights and yellow boots as possibilities swirl around. The pages grow dark as in a big storm: “Huge ideas flowing fast!” And finally, after some joyful splashing in puddles of words, the sun appears, and a rainbow arches over a “flood of possibility.” The metaphor nicely captures the creative process—from the frustration of waiting for inspiration to the anticipation of something gathering in the distance to the sought-after deluge of ideas. A page of writing prompts and a glossary of writing terms follow. Pair this with Andrew Larson’s A Squiggly Story (2016), illustrated by Mike Lowery, or Peter H. Reynolds’ The Word Collector (2018) to stoke creative fires. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Entertaining reassurance and lighthearted encouragement for those tough first moments of putting pencil to paper.