Show; Don't Tell!: Secrets of Writing

I bought this for a child that loves to write. I couldn't get through the book. I never really felt like it was telling me anything, or showing me for that matter. The books chaotic disjointed conversational style fails to do a good job of communicating. I'm lost in snippets. What was a I told? Often I couldn't even tell what I was supposed to read next. And the scratch and sniff dot made pages stick together and then tore off when I separated the pages.

I am a special education teacher. I am sure this book is great for lots of students, but not for mine. There is too much detail on each page. I like the interactive parts of the book but I could not read it as written to my students. I can use parts of it.

I bought this book due to the positive reviews, and because it looked so cute. I do love the art. It's a pleasure to look at. But the text seems to be too high for very little ones, and way to easy for the age range for which it is advertised. Amazon lists it's age range as 9-12. I have a 10 year old who loves books, both chapter and picture. She never even gave this one a second look. Maybe it would be good for a slightly younger set who are just starting out reading and writing.

Show, Don't Tell is my one of favorite writing technique to teach and this book is great to teach that. I LOVE the sound that's added at the end of the book.

This was a long read for younger students to sit through, especially as a mentor text.I was so excited to purchase this book after reading the reviews, however I found that it was not what I was expecting. Perhaps it can be read over the course of days or the most important passages of the book can be focused on by a teacher and students. Not what I expected.

My students love this book. We work through it slowly, pausing to respond in writing several times.

This is an awesome book! I have used this book with third graders, with the whole class and with small groups. They really enjoyed it...it is somewhat similar in style to a comic book (or diary style that is popular, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid) with different characters speaking, different fonts and sizes. With the whole class, it worked best if they were on the floor, as close as possible to the book because of all the different things going on. It helps writers think about whether they are doing a good job communicating, being specific, and using the different senses in your writing. It incorporates language terms including parts of speech and figurative language (similes and metaphors). My students loved looking at the book again on their own time--it includes things to examine, touch, and even a sound to listen to and practice describing. I would definitely recommend this!

It's good to come across a work that presents possibilities for writing instruction that are unique and 'break the mold'. This book is very creative. It's not the kind of book you hand to a student and say 'Read this.' It's more of a text teachers might use for guided instructional practice. I love the use of sensory details and descriptions to engage students in a multi-sensory approach to writing.

My first surprise was the sound of breaking glass on opening the padded envelope the book arrived in. That's all you need to tell you this is a book that is anything but ordinary. It's intended audience is 9-12 year olds but I would say this is a must for would be writers of any age. Sheer inventive fun and a delight to look at.