Reading twice

I don't usually read a book twice, not even Harry Potter or the Twilight Series. I read Seedfolks in 8th grade, but didn't remember it; so I decided to read it again. I do remember liking it, but couldn't even remember what it was about at all. This lack of memory was a blessing in disguise, because I really enjoyed reading it again. It seemed even more enjoyable, because I'm older now. I was able to really appreciate the garden whereas, in 8th grade I obviously didn't take it to heart or I would have remembered it. I've never read another book that had each chapter about a different character. I love how Paul Fleischman connects the characters too. It's very realistic and heart-warming. Every year I sell my books back to TIS, but I've found that the text books this year are so rewarding and informative that I just may have to keep them, including Seedfolks!

Seedfolks tied into the Allen readings we had as well. Initially, I had a hard time seeing the difference between show, don't tell. I had to reread (something I don't do) to investigate further. It seems to mean that writer's should be very descriptive by using action verbs. An example would be "He sat with his head resting on his hand while reading the newspaper." This gives a nice visual and a sense of action that his body is doing. One of the sentences that was a “tell” didn't use an action verb. The writer wrote, "He seemed to be in his own little world." This is more of an opinion. Being in your own little world wasn't described with an action until after the comma when the writer wrote, "not paying attention to anyone walking around or others having a conversation nearby." Allen’s 34 question activity seemed very similar to a character sketch done in theatre. People who are very serious about their acting write answers to similar questions to Allen’s in a notebook. They always develop their character through writing this way they can go back and reread if need be or add more. I’ve done it several times for characters I’ve played and it’s been very helpful. It gives you a voice, especially when your chorus and don’t even have a name. I always make a name for my chorus parts.

As for chapter 7 in Allen, I learned in more detail about other specific genres. Although they all seemed impressive, I’m not sure that any suit my paper. I may need some help in this regard. I thought about doing a poem from a child’s perspective and a newspaper article from a teacher’s perspective, but that’s all so far. I wonder if I can do something that hasn’t been done before…