Write2Ignite

When teachers want better writers, they can connect students with authors through Twitter (now called X) and other social media. In that way, author Laura Numeroff inspired and transformed the writing of my kindergartners and first graders. Little ones squealed when I sat in our Author’s Chair to read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (or its sequels). 

Everything Starts with a Great Book

You know the stories.

• Most of them start with an “If” title.
• The premise of each is “If you give an animal something, then he’s going to need…” The plot is a domino effect. A chain of events follows as each action flows into the next.
• The story builds until the author winds down with these words. “And chances are…”

My students pointed out that each book ended the same way it started. “Kinda like a circle,” one said. From then on, we called Laura’s books circle stories. The ending always circled back to the beginning.

The Author’s Ideas Give Us Ideas About Our Own Writing

How did these conversations happen? After our read-aloud each morning, we’d begin Writing Workshop by chatting about humorous parts, their favorite pages, and the mouse “bossing” the boy around. After I read aloud Laura’s second and third books on subsequent days, young authors noticed different things Laura did. We wrote our new knowledge on a chart: Things We Notice About Laura Numeroff’s Writing.

“Hey, maybe I can try some of this stuff,” a little voice said. Other students joined after several more days of reading and conversations. Each child set out with a handmade stapled booklet to draw and write. They had lots of ideas. After all, they’d been thinking like Laura for weeks.

As I wandered through the workshop, children identified their main characters, starting points, and humor. “If you give a bird ice cream, he’s gonna want some juice…”

“If you give a dog a cookie…”

“If you give a mouse a bunny…”

Smiles and giggles emerged as children shared their ideas with each other.

Showcasing Individual Author Expert Projects

After experiencing similar inspiration from many authors, each child chose an author of their own to research independently, discover more about their lives and books, and complete a book using that author’s style. Mason selected Laura as “his” author. As a part of the project, he read more books and analyzed similarities he noticed across them. Check out Mason’s analysis, written in his own words:

1. The main character is a animal.
2. They allwas (always) want food.
3. The beginning and the end are the same. The story gos in a cercle.
4. The mane karekter (main character) allwas maks a mess.

Twitter as an Author Platform

While my students engaged with books and studied Laura Numeroff, Corey Rosen Schwartz, and Doreen Cronin, I searched author accounts on Twitter.

Should I try tweeting? I wondered. As I watched my young writers, I saw how clearly authors impacted the choices they made in their writing. That’s when I realized the best things I could share on Twitter would be the children’s handmade books that showed their favorite authors’ impact. I sought permission from my students’ parents and decided to try connecting with several inspiring authors.

We had a new podcast at the time, so I asked children to talk about how they grew as writers. Towards the end of the podcast, hear how young Hugh shared his admiration of Laura:

“Laura Numeroff wrote the book over thirty years ago and she sold over four million books around the world. She got so much books around the world they put it out in other languages now!”

Once the podcast was complete, I posted it on Twitter.

Making a Real Connection Between Twitter and Laura Numeroff

Just four days after I reposted and nervously tagged the authors, I was surprised to see a response from Laura Numeroff! My children cheered that she saw them and their hard work.

Just think. A busy author found time to write to children! That was the day we fell in love with Laura and that’s when I fell for Twitter.

Top 4 Things Children Wish Authors Knew

As I reflect, I realize there are things that children wished authors knew.

1. Children admire you and consider you a friend.
2. They read and reread your work. Make sure you’ve given them your best. This recent post from Erin Greneaux gives elements that turn books into classics. Believe me, kids notice. Every. Single. Thing.
3. Children mimic your style, imitate your stories, and develop your characters even further.
4. Children and teachers hope to connect with you. How can little people find you?

Have you found successful tips on Twitter or other social media? Please share a comment here – and leave your Twitter handle if you’d like. If you wish to connect on Twitter, simply tag @Write2Ignite and me in your comment. We’d love to connect with you and build a community there.

To see how our connections with another author, Jerry Pallotta, changed our class, revisit those stories here and there.

If you’d like to hear the podcast where my first graders talked about Laura and other authors, click here.

Jennifer Mills Barnes invested her life in children, teaching mostly kindergartners and first graders for three decades. She was blessed to coach 41 student-teachers and welcomed over 2000 visitors into her inquiry-based classroom. Jennifer had the privilege of speaking at more than 20 conferences and served as an adjunct professor for two semesters at the University of South Carolina. She garnered national and state awards while maintaining National Board certification. But Jennifer’s passion was authentically teaching little kids. 

These days, she feels called to write stories for children. As a retired teacher, she also captures her most powerful teaching moments to share with a new generation of children through helping their parents, grandparents, and teachers. The rest of the time, you can find her road-tripping with her husband, delighting in her garden, or hanging with her adult children and grandson, Tucker. Connect with her on Pinterest, Twitter, or her website, jennifermbarnes.com. Plus, check out the podcast “KidTalk” that was created with her first graders.