Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan

I am soooo impressed with MacLachlan's writing. She is a new author to me although I have known and heard about her work for years. I loved loved loved Kindred Souls, enough so that I reread it recently and fell in love with it AGAIN. Here she captured me again.

Sher wrote Word After Word After Word after an editor invited her to create a book about writing and what life is like as a writer. Engaging topic for sure as she noticed from her myriad of experiences speaking with students about writing, MacLachlan takes it to a new level by turning what she knows into a story of fourth graders who have the pleasure of a writer-in-residence in their classroom. Artfully weaving academics and life into a few key moments in time, the author offers us a clear window into her life as a writer. She has embedded keen details for writing into the actual story, making the art form both approachable and tenable for all. MacLachlan writes in a way that I believe many "tween" students-- maybe third and fourth grade-- can really grab onto. Worthy as a read aloud or solo read, I imagine a number of young people turning dreams into the beginnings of reality as their ideas come into synch with the author's fine work.

Speaking of fine work, MacLachlan has new books coming out all the time according to her listing on the HarperCollins' site. I saw one title in particular that caught me by the shirt collar and fastened me to the page with great interest: Through Grandpa's Eyes. Seriously: another grandparent book? I can't wait to read this one. My grad students might hear one of hers read aloud soon!