Rebecca Reads

Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature

  • About
  • Blog
    • Non-Reviews
    • Reviews
      • Child/Young Adult
        • Board Books
        • Chapter Books
        • Early Chapter Books
        • Middle Grade
        • Picture Books
        • Young Adult
      • Fiction
        • Drama
        • Short Stories
        • Poetry
      • Nonfiction
  • Reading Lists
  • Contact
  • Line upon Line Learning

Fireflies: A Writer’s Notebook by Coleen Murtagh Paratore

August 6, 2014 by Rebecca Reid


Fireflies: A Writer’s Notebook by Coleen Murtagh Paratore (Little Pickle Press, July 2014) is a delightful full-color journal for the aspiring writer.

Filled with writing prompts and ideas, Fireflies is compared to a jar full of fireflies for you to watch for “sparks.” I loved this analogy. Although I am primarily a nonfiction writer (i.e., educational materials and summaries, book reviews, personal essays about my homeschooling experience, and so forth), I too find that brainstorming ideas helps “spark” even more ideas.

Fireflies gives writing prompts on about half of the page. The other pages are a combination of both lined and unlined pages for writing ideas down. I love how there was a variety of different pages to choose from for writing ideas. It is helpful to have writing prompts, but it is the open space and the gorgeous layout that makes this a book that creative writers will love to doodle in!

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book for review consideration.

Poetry Matters by Ralph Fletcher

May 21, 2014 by Rebecca Reid


When I was young, I wanted to write. I wish I’d found a book like Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out by Ralph Fletcher (HarperCollins, 2002). In this book, Fletcher writes for kids, directly focusing on what poetry is and what young writers can do to learn to write it. I loved his basic approach to teaching writing as finding the “spark” inside of you and then nurturing it. I’ll talk briefly about these two sections in his book.Continue Reading

Aimless Love by Billy Collins

August 14, 2013 by Rebecca Reid

I have been struggling to write this post for a week now. I really like reading poetry but I feel a little clueless as to how to talk about it! Here is my attempt.

I love Billy Collins’ poetry, so I can honestly say I was delighted to receive a digital copy for review consideration. Aimless Love is a collection of poems centered around love, poetry, and death or dying. From the first poem (“Reader”) to the last (a tribute to the victims of September 11), Collins has a casual but careful way of capturing life and love.Continue Reading

Good Prose by Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd

January 26, 2013 by Rebecca Reid

Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction by Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd (Random House, January 2013) is a volume about what makes nonfiction great. Using their own experiences as a writer of nonfiction (Tracy Kidder, bestselling author) and an editor of creative nonfiction (Richard Todd, Atlantic editor), the two friends provide a compelling tale of what makes good writing good, and what makes a good writer a good writer, covering everything from how to begin and how to structure a narrative to the more complicated specifics of memoirs, essays, style, and writing as job in today’s society.Continue Reading

Next Page »

Rebecca Reads Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature

Reflections on great books from an avid reader, now a homeschooling mom

Search for a Book Review

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

open all | close all

Authors, Publishers, and Publicists

Please refer to my review policy before sending me a request to read your book for review.

Disclosure

Occasionally, I accept copies of books for review consideration. All such books will be tagged "Review Copy". Accepting a book for review does not affect my opinion of the book.

I am also an Amazon affiliate. Items purchased via Amazon through a link on any of these pages may result in a commission to me. Thank you for your support.
All content © Rebecca Reads 2008-2015 All Rights Reserved.
Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Detector

About This Blog
Privacy and Disclosure Policy (on Line upon Line Learning blog)
Book Review Policy
Contact Rebecca Reid

Advertisement



Browse My Educational Products Shop!

Copyright © 2021 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in