From a cognitive standpoint, I'm very aware that you have no room for error in a picture book. Every word counts.
Interpretation
Every word in a picture book is crucial and cannot be wasted.
This quote by Kate DiCamillo emphasizes the importance of precision in writing, especially in the context of children's literature, where each word must contribute to the overall impact and meaning of the story. It reflects a deep understanding of the craft of storytelling, illustrating that in the art of picture books, clarity and conciseness are essential for engaging young readers effectively.
In practice
A children's writing workshop could use this quote to inspire participants to choose their words carefully.
If you sit down and read with your kid, either having your child read to you or you reading to your child at a regular time each day, it deepens the relationship. You don't have to talk about stuff; the story will do that work for you.
I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everybody involved.
If you want to be a writer, write a little bit every day. Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and your heart.
I was lucky enough to have a mother who took me to the library - the public library - twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays. And also bought me books. And also read aloud to me.
There is no right or wrong way to tell a story. You have to find your own way. You can get your idea from listening, looking, or imagining. Stories are everywhere. All you have to do is pay attention.
Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.
Everyone agrees that the failure of our high schools is tragic. It's bad business, and it's bad policy. But we act as if it can't be helped. It can be helped. We designed these high schools; we can redesign them.
The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves
It is easier to build a boy than to mend a man.
Schools shouldn't have to choose between serving a student with special needs or cutting an art class, laying off teachers or using outdated textbooks. But these are the positions that far too many schools have been placed in, and only a meaningful acknowledgment of the problem can begin the process of getting them out.
The greatest gift that Oxford gives her sons is, I truly believe, a genial irreverence toward learning, and from that irreverence love may spring.
It's important to read a book, but also to hold the book, to smell the book... it's perfume, it's incense, it's the dust of Egypt.
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