Inspired by a mentor text

In Up North at the Cabin by Marsha Chall, the narrator is a grandchild who spends the summers at the cabin with her grandparents. With wonderful simile, metaphor, specific nouns and verbs, hyphenated adjectives, and personification, the author takes the reader through her myriad experiences at the cabin. There are many “I” statements throughout the book, leading readers through the summer days from the beginning of her stay to the time when she must leave.  The powerful comparisons anchor images in the reader’s mind.

Up north at the cabin,
I am a smart angler.
Grandpa tried pink spinners, leeches, and dragonflies – but I know what fish like.

I bait my hook with peanut-butter-and-worm sandwiches, then jig my line and wait.

 

 

Up north at the cabin,
I am a great gray dolphin.
The lake is my ocean…

I wish I could share more with you, but the book is worth owning and could be used with second graders through middle school. Here is one of my examples from my notebook:

Up north in the Poconos,
I am a silent deer,
cautiously crossing the narrow road
as the sun sinks behind the edge of the lake
and spreads its golden light on the surface of the water.
Pines darken and become silhouettes just as
the glowing cabin lights suddenly appear in our view.

When Rose Cappelli and I co-facilitated Writing and Children’s Literature for the PA Writing & Literature Project, we often used this book as one of our mentor texts. Today, as I was rereading this picture book, I discovered a note written to me by one of the participants. Valerie wrote:

7/9/10

Dear Lynne,

Thank you for getting me started on ideas
for my own future children’s book. This story
has inspired me to write about my childhood
memories with my grandparents.

Sincerely,

Valerie

I hope this book inspires you to write summer memories and more!

 

I am participating in #SOL20. Thanks to twowritingteachers team for creating this space for writers to share and grow.