Under the Freedom Tree
by Susan VanHecke, illus by London Ladd
Charlesbridge, 2014
Part 1 here?and Part 2 here?and Part 3 here.
Last week, I shared my reading experience of this book in the above posts. Now I want to think about it as a writer.
As a writer, I like trying things that I see other writers do well. When I read Under the Freedom Tree, I saw things that Susan VanHecke did that I want to do, too. Here are two of them.
I’d like to try writing about a real event in free verse poetry. By using so few words and so many sentence fragments (?Heads bowed,/hopes bold.?), she puts me right there in the moment. I’m holding my breath to see what happens.
I also want to try writing about a nonfiction topic with figurative language. I tend to avoid figurative language in a lot of my nonfiction, even though I see over and over again how powerful it is! (?To his shores they came,/wrapped in night,/to stand bravely before him.?) That ?wrapped in night? makes me see the scary journey across the night river, their dark skin, and the way that maybe only secrecy can protect them. All with only three words! I love poetry.
What do you find in this book that you might want to play with in your own writing?
CCRA.W.3, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.W.5
In this blog feature, I share something about my writing process or thoughts I have about writing while reading a picture book I really like.?I’m hoping this will be useful for those of you who are?educators working with young writers.