Speak Up! Listen Up!

guest post by Kathy MacMillan

What does it mean to raise your voice? It can be a lot more than screaming or shouting– it also means defending yourself or a cause you believe in. 

The women profiled in She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World, written by Kathy MacMillan and Manuela Bernardi and illustrated by Kathrin Honesta (Familius Press, 2019), faced all kinds of hardships, obstacles, and even violence – but they didn’t let those things stop them from speaking up. The book features activists Dolores Huerta, Suzan Shown Harjo, Leymah Gbowee, scientists Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Jane Goodall, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, trailblazers Shirley Chisholm, Abby Wambach, and more. The built-in sound card allows readers to hear the inspiring words of these groundbreaking women at the touch of a button.

The unique audio format of She Spoke makes it an engaging resource for the classroom, but it can be used beyond Women’s History Month! Here are some suggestions:

-After sharing each profile and audio clip, use the accompanying discussion questions to prompt your students to connect the lessons learned to their own lives. The discussion questions could be used as writing prompts or a launchpad for group discussion.

-Discuss how hearing the voices of the women impacts you. How is hearing the person’s original voice different from just hearing someone else read the words?

-Explore more quotes from these women and other trailblazers at our She Spoke board on Pinterest:

-For a more in-depth project, have students write their own profiles in the style of She Spoke. Start by having them find a quote that exemplifies what their subject stood for. (Please see some great research resources we have compiled.) Once they have selected a quote, they can write a brief profile that shows how that quote exemplifies their subject’s life. This exercise is an excellent way to practice thesis statements and supporting evidence. You could incorporate an artistic element by having students create a portrait of their subject to accompany their writing.

About the Authors:

Kathy MacMillan is a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter,

writer, teacher, librarian, and storyteller. She is the author of the Little Hands Signing board book series (Familius), the young adult novels Sword and Verse and Dagger and Coin (HarperTeen), and nine books for parents, librarians, and educators, including Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together (Huron Street Press). She lives near Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Find her online at KathyMacMillan.com

Manuela Bernardi is a film and TV writer based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she was born and raised. She has collaborated on award-winning feature films and has written on shows for TV Globo, TBS, GNT, Multishow, and the History Channel. Her screenplay for the short film The Healing Tree won USC's Peter Stark Special Project grant and went on to be selected for Cannes’ Short Film Corner. With a BA in journalism from PUC-Rio, Manuela got her MFA in writing for screen and television from USC in Los Angeles, which she attended on a Fulbright/CAPES scholarship.

 

Summer Memories & Quilts

by Karen Leggett Abouraya

Summer is a time for lemonade and summer camp, ball parks and swimming - and perhaps a visit to Grandma's house, with scrapbooks, old photos, soft quilts and other treasures with stories. Like the quilts of Gee's Bend. 

Susan Goldman Rubin celebrates The Quilts of Gee's Bend in her new picture book filled with colorful images of the practical artistry of several generations of women in Gee's Bend, Alabama.  In 1928, "when Nettie Young was eleven years old, her mother gave her a pile of cloth strips and told her to make a quilt all by herself." The cloth came from old work shirts, dress tails and aprons. Nettie arranged it all into a design she called "Stacked Bricks."

“When I was growing up, you threw nothing away,” said Nettie Young. “You found every good spot for a quilt piece and that’s how you made your quilts.”

The women of Gee's Bend, descended from slaves on the Pettway Plantation, have been making quilts for generations. The quilts had a practical purpose, but they were also beautiful works of art.  "Ought not two quilts ever be the same," explained Mensie Lee Pettway.

"How did the women come up with original ideas? Annie Mae Young said, ‘You find the colors and the shapes and certain fabrics that work out right, kind of like working a puzzle.'"

The Gee's Bend quilts can be inspiration for young writers too, whether they are writing at camp, in class or surrounded by trunks in Grandma's attic.

·       Help children collect a few pieces of old clothing - especially shirts or skirts that can be cut into strips or squares.  Have them design a quilt, individually or as a group, using these pieces. Give them time to think about their design. Then ask them to write about their designs:

o   What do you like about the colors you put together?

o   Does your quilt tell a story?

o   Write a true or imaginary story about some of the fabric pieces: who wore that shirt? Where has that dress been? In the kitchen? At a party? If possible, talk to the person who wore a piece of clothing and then write down your "interview." 

o   If the quilt includes pieces of cloth from your own clothing, write about something you enjoyed doing while wearing that shirt or dress.

·       Alternatively, have children talk to an older friend or relative about some special item – a vase, a photo, a piece of jewelry, a quilt – and then ask the child to write down that story, like a journalist bringing another person alive with words.

If you are feeling very ambitious, you can help youngsters make real quilt squares and then a real quilt following the directions in Rubin's book – making their own little piece of history.  

Mensie Lee Pettway said, “A lot of people make quilts for your bed, for to keep you warm. But a quilt is more. It represents safekeeping, it represents beauty and you could say it represents family history.”

 https://childrensbookguild.org/karen-leggett-abouraya

Ready for Inspiration? Try Balloons Lit. Journal

by Jacqueline Jules

I was first introduced to Balloons Lit. Journal in 2015 when I saw a call for submissions for Issue 2. Investigating further, I was pleased to find a beautifully designed online magazine of writing and art. This rich resource is appropriate for a wide audience and features authors from all over the world, including student writers. As an educator myself, I am immediately drawn to how this magazine could be a boost to classroom instruction. The first selection, “The Best Poem You’ll Ever Read” is followed by a challenge to the reader to write his or her own poem.

So many pieces in this issue would make excellent classroom writing prompts. “Message from a Stone Buddha to Izzy and Benjamin” is a delightfully clever letter from a garden statue. Using this piece as a model, classroom teachers could ask students to write their own letter to a person from an inanimate object.

An inspirational short fiction, “From Chopin’s Memoirs” could spark meaningful discussions of how to get through hard times. The imagery in this story is profound—reminding us that we must use all the keys of a piano, both black and white, “to play a beautiful tune.”

        

“Untitled” by thirteen-year-old Ava Caudle lyrically compares a blank canvas to “a symphony yet to be played,” capturing the emotional sphere of every young person contemplating the future. The inclusion of student authors alongside adult writers makes Balloons Lit. Journal  an especially unique publication. And if one did not read the bylines carefully, the reader might not be able to identify work created by young people rather than adults. All the selections are thoughtful and finely tuned.

The dynamic artwork in this issue is not to be missed—particularly Alexandra Bowman’s oil on canvas “Pomegranate” and Sam McCready’s acrylic on paper, “Evening Trees.” I can see using these images as prompts in both writing and art classrooms.

Like previous issues of Balloons Lit. Journal, Issue 5 is a visual and textual cornucopia. Every reader will find something to love. Check out this magazine, available online.  Take the time to enjoy it from cover to cover. You will be uplifted by the variety and depth of the material included. And like the last piece in this issue, “Take the Time to Dream,” you will be tempted “to lose yourself in clouds and sky” where your own creativity will soar.

www.jacquelinejules.com

Learning from Fictional Child Writers

Guest Post by Claudia Mills

          Just as it can be inspirational for young writers to have a published author visit their classroom, it can be inspirational to read about child characters who love to write and who take seriously the development of their craft.

          My most recent middle-grade novel, Write This Down, stars Autumn Granger, a seventh-grade writer who is determined to impress her scornful older brother, Hunter, by achieving her dream of publication. She is taking a middle-school journalism class from a charismatic teacher. I put various bits of writing advice into the mouth of Ms. Archer and showed how Autumn responded to them in her own writing.

          In Chapter 4, as the class begins their study of the personal essay, Ms. Archer opens with the provocative statement: “A personal essay is not about you.” Instead, “people read personal essays to learn something about themselves.” A personal essay is more than a report of what happened to somebody; it’s also about its larger significance for a more universal audience –what that incident means. She then has the class do a free-write on the topic: “The worst – or best – gift you ever received.” Autumn comes up with her own list of best and worst gifts, finding herself grabbed by one that leads into a reflection on her troubled relationship with Hunter and the bond between siblings.

          This scene could be a jumping-off point for asking students to write their own list of best and worst gifts. Autumn thinks, as she begins her brainstorming: “Bad things are always good to write about.” Ask your students:  Is this true? If so, why is it true? Might it be because the heart of a strong story is some problem or conflict? Autumn writes about a best gift instead – but one that leads her into dark early childhood memories.

          As students work on their lists of “best gifts and worst gifts,” encourage them to do more than simply think about what a disappointment it was to receive, say, an electric toothbrush (as Autumn received one year from her dentist father), or joy to get a coveted video game. What does the best or worst gift say about the relationship between giver and recipient? (When Autumn’s Aunt Liz gives her the same book three years in a row, what does this say about Aunt Liz?) Does a “worst” gift show indifference on the part of the giver? Or desire to send a not-so-subtle message about who the giver wants the recipient to be? Why might the same item be the best gift for one person but the worst gift for another? Why might what seemed to be a bad gift turn out to be a wonderful one, after all?

          Autumn learns that even a simple list of best gifts and worst gifts can lead to powerful personal reflections on the nature of families, love, heartbreak, and healing. Maybe this same exercise can lead your students there, too.

BIO: Claudia Mills is the author of over 50 books for young readers, including How Oliver Olson Changed the World (an ALA Notable Book of the Year) and The Trouble with Ants (which just received a starred review in Publishers Weekly), as well as the Franklin School Friends series of chapter books from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Claudia lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her family and her cat, Snickers. Visit www.claudiamillsauthor.com.

30 Day Creative Challenge

by Joan Waites

The new school year has officially started, and classrooms are buzzing again!

A fun way to get the creativity flowing after the summer break is to initiate a 30 day creative challenge for your students.

Using 5x7 index cards (or other small pieces of paper), pick a simple one word prompt for children to do a quick drawing or doodle. Emphasize that the drawings don’t have to be realistic; they can be funny, whimsical or anthropomorphized. On the back side of the paper, have students do a short writing exercise. For example, using the word “paintbrush,” have students draw a paintbrush and then on the back of the drawing either describe the object using the five senses, write a poem about the object, or turn the object  into a character for a story and list character traits. 

Do this every day for 30 days allowing about 10-15 minutes per day. At the end of the 30 days, have students look over their collection of challenges. Have them pick out their favorite drawings and creative writing. Ask students to expand these simple exercises into a short story or picture book. These 30 day challenges can be kept in an envelope and used throughout the year as inspiration for other artistic works or writing assignments.

Happy September!

www.joanwaites.com

Back to School with BALLOONS Lit. Journal

by Jacqueline Jules

In August, I was very pleased to see my poems, “The Math Beast” and “Thunder” featured in Issue 2 of a new online publication called BALLOONS Lit. Journal.

After reading the journal in its entirety, I would like to recommend this rich resource to teachers and young readers everywhere. BALLOONS Lit. Journal features work from both established and young writers from all around the world. It also includes work appropriate for a wide age range of students.

The inclusion of work by young people makes this a wonderful model for young writers. Share the poem, “Rain,”by ten-year-old Sage as an excellent example of using descriptive details and then ask students to write their own weather poems.

Two fiction stories in this issue are told from the viewpoint of inanimate objects. “Knight Errant” is a clever chess story set in medieval times with a twist ending.

“Carnival Balloons” follows the worried thoughts of a balloon watching over a lost child.

Both of these stories could be used as models for writing from an object’s viewpoint, particularly a toy or game.

The art in Balloons Lit. Journal is utterly delightful. “The Earth—A Miracle” by Hyonju (Karen) Ahn could inspire writing about the earth, the solar system, and/or ecology.

Ahn’s “City Lights” could make a terrific writing prompt and discussion for sensory details. Project the art on a smart board screen and brainstorm descriptive words for the busy sights and sounds depicted. Ask your students to describe a visit to the city or write a story about someone who is experiencing New York City for the first time.  

Attractively designed and available for free to educators, BALLOONS Lit. Journal, should be on your back-to-school list for writing workshop ideas. Check it out at 

http://www.balloons-lit-journal.com/issue-2.html

 www.jacquelinejules.com

SHOWING CHARACTER THROUGH ACTION

by Claudia Mills

          One of the cardinal rules of writing is “Show, don’t tell.” This means that rather than telling readers that your character is bossy, you need to show her actually being bossy. Rather than telling readers that another character loves to daydream, you need to show her lost in reverie – and show us what the content of her fantasy is.

          

             In my new series, Franklin School Friends, my characters are defined by their interests and passions. Kelsey (Kelsey Green, Reading Queen) loves to read. Annika (Annika Riz: Math Whiz) loves math. Izzy (Izzy Barr, Running Star) loves to run. You get the idea! In each book, my challenge is to find a way for the girls to support one another (in trying to win a reading contest, a Sudoku contest, or a race) while using their own distinctive talent and abilities.

           So: as Izzy is trying to win a 10K race, Kelsey inspires her with the story of Atalanta’s famous race in Greek mythology and Annika helps her calculate how fast she needs to run each kilometer to beat her rival. When Kelsey suspects her rival, Simon, of cheating during a schoolwide reading contest, Annika figures out how many pages Simon would need to read in an hour to make good on his reading claims; Izzy spies on Simon with the plan of running fast if she gets caught.

       

   Here’s a way to share this characterization challenge with students.

1)    Let students pick a fun activity to be the focus of a scene. Examples might be: running a race, baking a cake, building a snow fort, starting a lemonade stand.

2)    Choose names for three characters to be part of the scene, preferably with a mix of boys and girls (and not using names of any kids in the class).

3)    Give each kid a character trait (e.g., shy, imaginative, clumsy, funny, determined, impatient, reckless, conceited, talkative). Or: give each kid a passion/talent (loves sports, science, math, music, reading).

4)    Then: how can we SHOW this in the scene? If our characters are baking a cake, what would the shy character be doing? The imaginative one? The clumsy one? The funny one? What would the sports-lover contribute to the baking? Maybe she’d volunteer to use her arm muscles doing the mixing or she’d be jogging in place as the cake bakes. What would the scientist kid contribute? Maybe wondering how differently the cake would turn out if they left out the flour or baking powder? What would the musical kid be doing? Maybe making up a cake-baking song for them all to sing?

The takeaway point for the students is: character is shown through ACTION. We know what kind of person someone is by seeing what he DOES. So: provide a fun activity, gather together a group of imaginary kids, and let them reveal themselves to us!

Claudia Mills is the author of over 50 books for young readers, including How Oliver Olson Changed the World (an ALA Notable Book of the Year) and The Trouble with Ants (which just received a starred review in Publishers Weekly), as well as the Franklin School Friends series of chapter books from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Claudia lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her family and her cat, Snickers. Visit her at www.claudiamillsauthor.com.

LET ART INSPIRE WORDS

by Karen Leggett Abouraya

During a recent visit to a Van Gogh exhibit with my young adult daughter, we listened to a cell phone description of the technical differences among the artist’s numerous paintings of a postman. Then we picked up a pamphlet describing the friendship Van Gogh enjoyed with the postman Joseph Roulin and his wife. “That’s what’s important to know!” proclaimed my daughter, who promptly bought the Washington, D.C., subway card displaying Van Gogh’s postman.

So why not let a work of art inspire youngsters to write their own stories?

Find paintings in a local museum or art gallery, online or in an art history book. Ask children to look at a painting with several questions in mind as they imagine their story:

-     who are the people in the painting?

-     how are they related or connected to each other?

-     what were they doing just before the painter fixed them on the canvas? what will they do next?

-     is the weather or atmosphere in the painting important to your story - is it a bright sunny day or a spooky, stormy night?

-     does the story have a happy ending or is there mystery or sadness?

If children choose a landscape or building, they can create characters to fill the space. Or children can read an artist biography and then write their story.  Two of this year’s Caldecott Honor books are biographies of artists - The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mary Grandpré and Yuyi Morales’ Viva Frida. In the Noisy Paint Box we read how Vasya Kandinsky saw “Thundering arches of aqua and ebony, with shrill points of cobalt and saffron…Vasya heard the colors singing…and saw the music dancing.” With those noisy colors in mind, what words and stories could be inspired by Kandinsky’s Two Ovals or White Zig Zag?

 http://childrensbookguild.org/karen-leggett-abouraya

Writers--RETREAT!

by Jane Harrington

I’m just finishing up a month at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), my first foray into a residency at an artists’ colony. My days have been all writing-writing-writing, punctuated by peaceful walks and reading books in a porch swing. Evenings have been centered around enjoying the creative works of my fellow artists—poetry, prose, paintings, drawings, installations, performance pieces, and musical compositions. To sum up the experience: WOW!

Packing up now, I’m concocting ideas to bring to the upcoming summer months this same kind of inspiration and creative energy. Here are some suggestions for how to turn whole days into personal writing retreats, for you and/or a young writer in your life. In preparation, trawl local newspapers and other event listings, and keep an ongoing list of gallery openings, free concerts, theater and dance shows, author visits, etc. in your local area. Also, reacquaint yourself with the offerings at your nearest parks—nature trails, wetland walks, swimming lakes and the like.

On a day you designate a writer’s retreat—

1.      Write for [you fill in the blank] hours in the morning, with no distractions. (Yes, that means turn your phone off.) (No, not on vibrate—off.) (Actually, put it in another room entirely.)

2.      After that, go enjoy some nature—a walk, for instance, in your neighborhood or at a local park. Alternately, cook a favorite food or crochet a bookmark. Those are inspired activities, too!

3.      Write some more. You decide on length of time.

4.      It will probably be evening by this time. Take in an art event: go listen to music, browse a gallery, watch a show, or attend a reading.

String a few of these days together, and I bet you’ll be feeling creative and cranking out some great writing! That’s my plan.

www.janeharrington.com  

Writing Humor: Parallels with Advertising

by Pam Smallcomb

Hello, my name is Pam Smallcomb, and I have been hitting my head against the writing wall for twenty years (even more, but that would make me feel really old to admit). I have the dents in my forehead to prove it. I work really hard at coming up with ideas that don’t make me cringe. Maybe some of you have that problem, too, or your students do. So, in the spirit of piggybacking on to Joan Waites’ great post about Story Starters, I thought I would share part of a presentation I did for an SCBWI workshop.

My inspiration for the workshop came when it occurred to me that writing a humorous picture book has some parallels to advertising. The original brain jiggling thought I had was this: advertisers cram a lot of story into a short amount of time and space.

Advertisers are highly creative and innovative. They get a message across in a fresh way. Advertisers love humor and are very good at it.

So how do they go about making their advertising magic?

First, they decide on their target market. They define who their product is for.

As a picture book writer,  our target is a young child. But we have another target, too, because it is an adult that buys the book. Having something in your humorous picture book for a parent or an adult to chuckle over is a big bonus.

Think about Knufflebunny by Mo Willems. Both target markets are touched with this story. If you are a little kid and you lose your lovey, it’s like the world has ended. If you are a parent, and your kid loses his lovey,  you know you are in for a rough ride.

Advertisers also focus on the message they want to get across.

As writers, we should think about our ‘message’ or theme, too.

Here are some things to ask yourself when developing the theme of your humorous picture book:

Is my story of value to a young child (will it resonate)?

What are the worries of young kids?

What are some things that parents have to help their kids with (sleeping through the night, etc.)

Is the humor something a child will ‘get’?

Did you leave a little nugget for that parent/adult who is reading the book to the child?

Another thing that advertisers do when they get a new project is to brainstorm ideas.  We can brainstorm to generate ideas for humorous picture books as well. There are lots of ways to brainstorm. One way is to blend two unlike things.

Think of the Geico Caveman ad: cavemen and insurance. Not at all alike, which is why it is funny. Make two lists of items (just let your imagination run wild!). Then draw lines between unlike things. Connecting unlike things can help you find a jumping off point for a funny story. There is humor in incongruity. Take two things that are incompatible and build a relationship between them.

Here are some picture books that blend unlike things:

Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Vernick

This is a fun book about the first day of kindergarten with one's own buffalo. Buffalo and kindergarten – couldn’t be more different!

Todd’s TV by James Proimos

An affable TV takes over the parental duties of busy parents with hilarious results.

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton

An humorous imaginary battle between a shark and a train. Two unlike things pitted against each other, and two things that boys will especially love.

So the next time you get stuck trying to come up with an idea for a funny picture book, break out a pencil, make two lists, draw lines between unlike things and see what happens! All our brains need a good jiggle now and then.

http://www.pamsmallcomb.com/

P.S. Don’t forget! To enter our book giveaway, just leave a comment here. A winner will be picked on September 30^th!

PENCIL TIPS GIVEAWAY!
Win a signed copy of I'm Not by Pam Smallcomb
To enter, leave a comment on a Pencil Tips blog post
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"...a fresh take on friendship/reassurance stories and is, for sure, not boring"

- starred review Kirkus Reviews December 2010

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FINDING INSPIRATION AT THE LIBRARY

by Joan Waites

I hate to admit it, but until recently I had not been to the library for a very long time. In the days when my three children were younger, like clockwork, we would pull up in the old blue van every three weeks with our canvas bags, ready to empty the shelves of about 40 books, videos, and audiobook tapes. Before the days of internet research, I went even more frequently, gathering reference for my latest project. As a children’s book illustrator, I loved pouring over the large selection of picture books, probably even more than my children did. On a recent rainy day during spring break, it seemed the perfect time to revisit this old friend.

A lifetime ago, in a one room “library” housed in my New York elementary school, I eagerly waited for Wednesdays, when I could check out the next Nancy Drew mystery. My love of reading started there, and in each town or city that I have lived in since, the library has been an important stop. The hushed voices, hum of the air conditioner, moldy smell of the books, and the endless possibilities to lose oneself in a new adventure, mystery or biography was a welcome retreat from the hectic pace of everyday life.  It is sad think that so many of our nation's libraries are facing closings, budget cuts, or cuts to their staff. Will the next generation of children get to experience all a library has to offer? Will they read only from electronic devices? Will a real live person guide them expertly to find just the perfect book? 

As I stood in line to check out, I remembered fondly the days of putting those stacks and stacks of books on the desk, the clerk eying me suspiciously. The two teenagers I had with me now were many years beyond those young children I juggled while trying to manage our large haul. As the considerably smaller pile was being scanned, I happened to glance over at the display of children’s spring books, featured on a shelf by the desk. Much to my surprise, I noticed a worn and dog-eared copy of a book I illustrated, at least ten years ago. It had obviously been checked out many times, and one of the children’s librarian’s had thought it worthy enough of displaying with the other featured titles. Knowing it was appreciated by the library patrons as well as the librarians themselves made my day.

If you, your children or students haven’t been to the library in a while, take the time to make a trip. It will be well worth it to visit this old friend.

http://www.joanwaites.com/

PENCIL TIPS: PROPS FOR IMAGINATIVE WRITING EXCERCISES

by Laura Krauss Melmed

Joan Waites blogged recently about using an egg to jumpstart inspiration in a writing class.  An inspired idea!

I, too, have found that props are a useful and engaging device for helping kids make the leap from “what is” to “what if.”  For example, at an urban elementary school where I tutor students in reading, I and a group my fellow tutors took our twelve tutees, ages six through ten, to a children’s theater production of The Dancing Princesses, a musical adaptation of the Grimm’s fairytale. 

In preparation for our trip, I shared with the children a beautifully illustrated picture book retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Rachel Isadora, set in Africa where Isadora once lived.  I asked the children to keep the book in mind when viewing the play and notice how they might be similar yet different.    

A post show group session provided a good opportunity for a writing exercise.  Seated in a circle, we reviewed the play (universally declared a hit) and talked about the differences and similarities between it and the storybook.  We agreed that one common important element was the princesses’ journey to a magic land.  Then I asked each student to imagine his or her own version of the magic land they would chose to visit if they could.  They were to describe it to the group and then write an illustrated page about it.  This is where the prop came in:  To spark the student’s imagination in a fun way, each one in turn got to put on a bejeweled and gilded cardboard crown that transformed the wearer into a princess or prince ready to begin a journey of the imagination. 

The children came up with magic places ranging from the seashore, to a huge playground, to a Transformer-land where a fearsome but “good” robot stood ready to fight the “bad guys.”  They eagerly illustrated their ideas, and with help from their tutors, wrote sentences explaining their pictures. 

To spur a writing exercise that spins off of traditional tales, props might be a pair of boots for Puss-in-Boots (where would they take you?),  a pumpkin for Cinderella (what besides a coach might it turn into?) or Aladdin’s magic lamp (what would you wish for?).   

In planning such an exercise, just go where your imagination takes you. 

http://www.laurakraussmelmed.com/