Today’s fun writing activity comes from Reading Rockets.
Do you have a favorite author?
[Parents: Here's a great way to engage kids in a conversation about books they love and wonder about the real person who wrote those books.]
Children's writer Mary Amato offers this advice on how to write to an author:
- Write a thoughtful, personal letter. Tell the author something about yourself and why you enjoy his/her books.
- Ask thoughtful questions, like how did you come up with the setting for a particular book, or why did a character behave a certain way in the story. (Your child might also share that he/she, too, wants to be a writer, and what was the path the author took to get there?)
- Learn the five parts of a formal letter: heading (address and date), greeting, message, closing, and signature — and where each of those parts are placed on the paper. Which punctuation mark follows the greeting and the closing? This article, An Introduction to Letter Writing, is very helpful.
- Write a rough draft of the letter using the letter format. Help your child edit the letter by checking spelling, sentence and paragraph construction, and capitalization.
- Write the final draft. A handwritten letter is especially personal.
- Send the letter to the writer "in care of" his/her publisher. Here's how to find that: look for the publisher's address inside the book. Usually, the mailing address will be listed in the first few pages of the book. (If the complete address is not shown, you can always find it on the publisher's website.)
- Include an envelope with your name and address and a stamp, ready to go. Make it easy for a busy author to respond.
To get to know some of your favorite children's authors and illustrators, watch the author interviews on Reading Rockets.
Give it a try!
Select an author and write them a letter.
