“Encourage
children to write their own stories, and then don't rain on their parade. Don't
say, 'That's not true.' Applaud flights of fantasy. Help with spelling and
grammar, but stand up and cheer the use of imagination.”
– Gail Carson Levine
Born in New York City on this date
in 1947, bestselling writer Levine grew up wanting to be either a painter or an
actress. “I didn't want to be a writer,”
she said with conviction. “Most of the
authors I liked were dead, so it didn't seem like a safe occupation.”
An avid reader as a girl, she
immersed herself in fairy tales and loved the artwork that often accompanied
those stories. Gravitating toward art,
she actually started her career illustrating for kids’ books before realizing
that she really enjoyed doing the words more than the pictures. That led to her re-working the Cinderella
story into her first published book, the massively successful Ella Enchanted. Since it’s publication in 1997 the book has
sold millions, won the Newbery Award (for best children’s literature), and
spawned an equally successful movie. She
now has written nearly two dozen best sellers, the most recent being 2017’s The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre.
Common messages from her books
include the importance of kindness, selflessness, self-confidence and courage
in the face of danger, but she said the most important thing she would share is
that reading is crucial and kids emulate adults. “If a big person invests time in
reading, kids learn reading is important, the child is important, words are important,
stories are important.”
Share A
Writer’s Moment with a friend by clicking the g+1 button below
No comments:
Post a Comment