Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
My rating: ★★★
ISBN: 978-1554983827
Publisher: Groundwood
Date of publication: October 13, 2014
Age: 5 - 9 years
Genre: Educational
Themes: Writing process, curiosity, creativity, questions/answers
Marie-Louise Gay gets a lot of questions from kids about her work as an author, and she likes to answer them. Where does a story start? Usually on a blank page. Where do ideas come from? Different colors or words spark an idea. And so the story begins with a shy giant in the forest...
It's a story-in-a-story. Gay illustrates all of these kids asking her questions (just like they do in real life) and takes them on the journey of writing a picture book. So, that being said, it is a little more complicated than your average book, meaning the target age is a little older. It's also harder to read aloud, because there's a LOT of speech bubbles and asides and...there's just a lot on every page. Gay's got a lot of ideas to share!
Overall, it's a pretty valuable insight into how one author may do her work. The little story she writes within this book is okay, but it's more just an example to get her points across. The best part is, she answers all the many questions that pop up at the end of her book. Even her favorite color. It's a bit chaotic for me, but I'd still recommend it.
Find it at your library or on Amazon
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