Adaline Writes
Every story has a beginning, middle, and end.
This is written by my Dad. He takes a lot notes when I make stories because he has to type them into the computer. He turned my first four stories into lessons that other parents can use to teach their kids to write their own stories.
When Adaline was three, she said that she wanted to make a book. I told her that I was happy to help her, but it had to be good. So, we must begin with the story.
What does every story have? Every story has a beginning, middle, and end. So, we discussed her story.
Me: How does your story start?
Adaline: Princess Adaline and Princess Casey and Princess Gabby have a picnic.
Me: What happens in the middle of your story?
Adaline: A storm comes and it rains.
Me: How does your story end?
Adaline: A rainbow unicorn comes and takes everyone home.
Now, Adaline has a story worthy of a three-year old. It has a beginning, middle, and an end. In my opinion, it is acceptable to correct basic grammar as long as you explain to the child why you are correcting the grammar. With very minor corrections, Adaline's story is:
Princess Adaline, Princess Casey, and Princess Gabby have a picnic. A storm comes and it rains. A rainbow unicorn comes and takes everyone home. And they all lived happily ever after.
She was three at the time, so we couldn't end it with "The End."
Describe your characters.
I wanted to add depth. I asked Adaline to describe Princess Adaline. She said that Princess Adaline lived in a castle. There was a forest behind the castle. There was a mountain with a waterfall.
Notice that I asked her to describe Princess Adaline. She described the castle and the lands around the castle. It was obviously important to her that she described the character by describing where the character lived. There is an important lesson for the adult at this point:
What if I asked, "Does Princess Adaline wear a pink gown?" How about, "Does Princess Adaline have blue eyes?" All I knew from what she said is that there was a character named Princess Adaline. She could have told me that Princess Adaline was a hedgehog if she wanted to. However, she wouldn't have done so if I asked a leading question by placing the princess in a specific gown or giving the princess a specific eye color. When asking questions, keep them as general as possible.
Now, her story was updated.
Princess Adaline lived in a castle. Behind the castle was a forest and a waterfall. Princess Adaline, Princess Casey, and Princess Gabby have a picnic. A storm comes and it rains. A rainbow unicorn comes and takes everyone home. And they all lived happily ever after.
Use pictures.
I had a feeling that Adaline wanted to describe the castle more than the princess, so I asked her what the castle was like. She said that it was a castle. I didn't want to ask a leading question such as, "Did the castle have tall towers?" Instead, I asked if she wanted to draw a picture of it. She drew a picture of a yellow castle with two large towers. On top of each tower, she placed a red flag.
Now that she had a castle to look at, I could discuss it with her:
Me: Can you tell me about her castle?
Adaline: It is a big yellow castle with pink flags.
(I did not argue that her picture has red flags.)
Me: That is good. Do you want to say anything else?
Adaline: There is a forest behind it by a tall waterfall.
Me: Is the forest important?
Adaline: That is where Princess Adaline likes to picnic.
That isn't really why the forest is important. It is important because, at the same time, her older brother was working on a story about a dragon. His story had a forest, a mountain, and a waterfall. Therefore, Adaline wanted to include a forest and a waterfall in her story. It was OK. She was only three. Let her take ideas from others.
I could feel that she was becoming a bit annoyed with my questions about the castle, so I put what she said into her story's beginning.
Princess Adaline lived in a big yellow castle with pink flags. Behind the castle was a forest by a tall waterfall. Princess Adaline liked to picnic in the forest. Princess Adaline, Princess Casey, and Princess Gabby have a picnic. A storm comes and it rains. A rainbow unicorn comes and takes everyone home. And they all lived happily ever after.
You need action.
Her middle section involved a picnic. However, it was rather boring. For a story to be interesting, you need action. The beginning served the purpose of introducing the main character, Princess Adaline. While we don't know much about her, we do know where she lives and that she likes to picnic. Now, we need to know more about this picnic.
Me: You said there is a picnic, correct?
Adaline: Yes. Princess Adaline asked Princess Casey and Princess Gabby to have a picnic in the forest.
Me: Can you describe the picnic?
Adaline: It was wonderful.
Me: I haven't had many wonderful picnics. What was their picnic like?
Adaline: They had chicken and pizza and apples and bananas and jello.
Me: That is wonderful. So what did they do?
Adaline: I told you. They went on a picnic.
Sometimes it is hard to express what you want without leading the child. I was trying to get her to describe the actions, but she was describing what they brought for the picnic. It is important that the child does not get frustrated, so I wrote down what she had said so far.
Princess Adaline lived in a big yellow castle with pink flags. Behind the castle was a forest by a tall waterfall. Princess Adaline liked to picnic in the forest. Princess Adaline asked Princess Casey and Princess Gabby to have a picnic in the forest. It was a wonderful picnic. They had chicken, pizza, apples, bananas, and jello. A storm comes and it rains. A rainbow unicorn comes and takes everyone home. And they all lived happily ever after.
Act it out.
My first attempt to get some action failed. I didn't think that drawing a picture would help, so I asked her to act out her picnic. She got three dolls. Just as she said, Princess Adaline asked Princess Casey and Princess Gabby to have a picnic. Adaline described what they were eating. Then, she said that the clouds got dark. It started to rain. The three princesses ran to the mountain and found a cave. They went in the cave.
This isn't the action I was looking for, but it was action. I asked her to continue.
The cave was a home for a rainbow unicorn. The rainbow unicorn was hungry. The princesses let him eat their apples. Then, the rainbow unicorn flew everyone back to the castle.
Did you know rainbow unicorns could fly? I didn't. I added it to her story.
Princess Adaline lived in a big yellow castle with pink flags. Behind the castle was a forest by a tall waterfall. Princess Adaline liked to picnic in the forest. Princess Adaline asked Princess Casey and Princess Gabby to have a picnic in the forest. It was a wonderful picnic. They had chicken, pizza, apples, bananas, and jello. The clouds got dark. It started to rain. The three princesses ran to the mountain and found a cave. They went in the cave. The cave was a home for a rainbow unicorn. The rainbow unicorn was hungry. The princesses let him eat their apples. Then, the rainbow unicorn flew everyone back to the castle. And they all lived happily ever after.
Be a thesaurus.
Children have a limited vocabulary, but they want to use more words. As you read your child's story, be a thesaurus for them. Help them learn new words and how to use them. Adaline stated that the clouds got dark. That isn't proper English. I suggested that the clouds became dark.
After discussing words and grammar, Adaline finished her story. The final product was:
Princess Adaline lived in a big yellow castle with pink flags. Behind the castle was a forest by a tall waterfall. Princess Adaline liked to picnic in the forest. Princess Adaline asked Princess Casey and Princess Gabby to have a picnic in the forest. The three princesses had a wonderful picnic. They had chicken, pizza, apples, bananas, and jello. The clouds became dark. It started to rain. The three princesses found a cave to get out of the rain. The cave was the home of a rainbow unicorn. He was hungry, so they let him eat their apples. Then, the rainbow unicorn flew Princess Adaline, Princess Casey, and Princess Gabby back to the castle. And they all lived happily ever after.
Print it!
What fun is writing a book if you don't print it? It isn't very hard to do. First, write the book in your favorite word processor (I use OpenOffice, but you probably use Microsoft Word). Then, print two sheets to a page, front and back. This is where the planning comes in. Most printer dialogs have an option to do a "book print" for you. If not, you need to work out which pages of the book go on each sheet. Finally, fold each sheet in half and put the book together. Then, press a couple staples through it to bind the book. I make holes for the staple with a safety pin and the push the staple in by hand because my stapler is too short to staple it directly. When you are done, you have a book!
Depending on the age of the child, you probably need pictures. Adaline drew many pictures for this story. It makes sense. At age three, children mostly experience picture books. So, they create picture books. This is the reward for all the hard work. Let them create.
If you would like to see Adaline's finished book, Click Here.
I also turned this story into a coloring book that you can print or color online, Click Here.
If you would like to purchase this story in a book of four short stories, Click Here.