A COOL CONCEPT & COLORFUL WRITING

guest post by Hena Khan

I never realized that writing a concept book would feel like solving a puzzle. When I sat down to write Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors, I first brainstormed objects to represent each of the colors I wanted to include. Some were obvious choices, like brown dates or orange henna designs, but most of the others were not. Next I had to come up with something to say about each object using the formula I had created:

“Gold is the dome of the mosque, big and grand,

Beside it two towering minarets stand”

I continued with “Blue is…”, “Red is…”, “Green is…”, and so on, writing rhyming couplets. After arranging them into an order that made sense, I concluded with a summary page that tied everything together.

I’m going through the process again these days, this time working on a shape concept book. I’ve asked my own children to help me with the process of selecting objects and coming up with rhymes, and they have great ideas even as it often turns into silliness. I’ve realized that working on a concept book of poetry can make for both a fun group and individual writing exercise.

I picked Islam to introduce the topic to young kids, but your students can pick any theme that is special to them, like basketball, the backyard, the music room, or dance. They can choose to focus on colors, shapes, or numbers and use the same formula I do, starting each section with either “Red is . . .” “Square is . . .” or  “One is . . .”

For younger children, it might be enough of an activity to have them write a line about each object and illustrate their books. But it would be fun to challenge older kids to come up with rhyming couplets of their own and see what kind of puzzles they can piece together. At the end of the activity, there should be an opportunity to share a variety of creative concepts.  

Hena Khan is a picture book and middle grade author from Rockville, MD. Her most recent picture book, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns (Chronicle Books, 2012) is a 2013 ALA Notable Book and a 2013 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year. Night Of The Moon (Chronicle, 2008) was a Booklist 2009 Top 10 Religion Book for Youth. Hena has written two middle grade choose-your-own-adventure style novels, Worst Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure: Mars (Chronicle, 2011) and Amazon (Chronicle, 2012); Mars received the 2012 Eleanor Cameron Golden Duck Award for Middle Grade Science Fiction. www.henakhan.com

THE COLOR OF WORDS

by Joan Waites

Having just taught a class that focused on simple color theory with my young students, I started evaluating the color choices I have used in my own work, which prompted me to look more closely at the color palate some of my favorite illustrators have chosen for their work. Color can tell us a lot about the era, season, or mood of a story or poem, even before we begin to read the first word. 

 A wonderful example of deliberate color choice is the book Sharing the Seasons a Book of Poems, (Margaret K. McElderry Books /Simon and Schuster, 2010) selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by David Diaz. Warm, vibrant oranges, purples and greens illustrate the poems for autumn. Crisp whites and pale blues illustrate the winter poems, while deep blue-greens are used for summer. These seasonal color choices make sense and complement the text perfectly.

What about mood or emotion? A sad poem illustrated in bright neon hues would seem too stark a contrast. A poem about love illustrated in muted browns would not capture the right emotion.  The choice of color can also be very important to a story taking place in a different time, place or country.

To use these ideas in the classroom, first have a discussion about warm and cool colors and how certain colors are typically used to illustrate different seasons. Next, talk about which colors evoke certain emotions ex: (red for anger, yellow for happiness, grey for sadness or despair, etc.). Using the book mentioned above or another illustrated book of children’s poems, ask students to talk about the color choices the artist used and if they are (or are not) a good match for the poem. 

For a hands-on exercise, read several poems aloud to students and ask them to create an accompanying illustration using deliberate color choices.  Plain white paper, crayons or colored pencils would work well. Use as examples some seasonal poems, but also challenge students with poems that have an emotional content. Have students share drawings with the class and explain their color choices.  Older students can be given an assignment to write their own original poems to illustrate.

I’m anxious to try this with my students and find out what colors they will chose to color their words!

www.joanwaites.com