Review by Booklist Review
K-Gr. 3. Leedy offers young writers tips for publishing their own works in this informational picture book, which considers everything from brainstorming for ideas, considering possible genres, conducting research (if necessary), and planning the setting, characters, and plot to choosing a title and revising the work. A final section describes various book formats, layout possibilities, art supplies, lettering techniques, and binding methods. With the current emphasis on teaching basic skills, this resource will help teachers engage their students in authentic (as well as fun) activities that impart fundamental rules of rhetoric. The inviting layout, which includes lots of lists, captioned illustrations, and thought bubbles, makes the book accessible even to emerging readers and writers. A list of age-appropriate books dealing with writing and illustration, research skills, and getting published rounds out a welcome resource for teachers and parents with aspiring writers at home, as well as for young authors. --Kay Weisman Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Prospective young authors get a step-by-step guide (with an inviting design similar to the author's Follow the Money) in Look at My Book: How Kids Can Write & Illustrate Terrific Books by Loreen Leedy. Beginning with brainstorming ideas and research tips for aspiring writers, Leedy suggests ways of inventing characters, writing and revising text, and experimenting with different styles of artwork. The spreads brim with examples of possible settings, formats and layouts for books, while encouraging the audience to develop their own ideas. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-In this companion to Messages in the Mailbox (1991) and The Furry News (1990, both Holiday), Leedy focuses on the creation of a book from start to finish. In an easy-to-follow format, she lays out the basics of producing a fiction or nonfiction book, offering practical suggestions and clever ideas that will encourage kids to pick up a pen or pencil and start writing. Following the writing process fairly closely, from brainstorming ideas to binding the book, she takes readers through a step-by-step formula that almost guarantees a successful product. With pages that include discussions of lettering and artwork, this title becomes more than just a "how-to" book; it is a jumping-off point for all kinds of projects. Both teachers and students will find helpful hints here. Lively, colorful illustrations expand and interpret the text, keeping kids entranced with an ever-evolving process. It's difficult not to get caught up in the excitement generated by this creation.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
From ""Ideas"" through ""Rough Draft"" to ""Lettering"" and ""Binding,"" Leedy certainly knows all there is that goes into a book, although her implication that the process follows a certain order (""Layout"" before ""Art,"" for example) is both specious and soul killing. Still, her writing is clear (if oversimplified), and the cartoon vignettes of a boy, a girl, and a dog following the various suggestions are fun. Reading list. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Kids can write, edit, illustrate, and bind their own books. Leedy answers every young author's questions in this abundantly illustrated how-to. Readers follow three authors, a boy, a girl, and a dog, from idea to storyboarding to editing to layout through illustration methods and finally to binding their creations. Most topics get a page; a few fill a two-page spread. Leedy's signature illustrations, bright and friendly, use vignettes to show each author thinking and working through the writing process with text of thoughts or speech in cartoon bubbles. The young authors instruct by doing and a list of tips complements each of the lessons. A page of further reading, resources, and publishing ideas completes the package. Most youngsters will need help with some vocabulary and ideas, but elementary teachers couldn't hope for a better invitation to the art and craft of writing. (Nonfiction. 4-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
