Ralph Fletcher

3.75 Stars. When I first read this book in elementary school over 20 years ago, there was something about it that stuck with me long after I finished it. It was one of few books I encountered that showed kids around my age dealing with something bigger than trying to fit in, do well in school, be themselves, and/or get along with their families. I loved plenty of books that focused on those other themes, but this book always felt more affirming of my own experiences as a kid who felt things show more deeply and reflected intensely on my thoughts and feelings.

With all that in mind, I finally decided to reread this book to see if it held up to my childhood memories. Fortunately, for the most part, it did.

Despite not having as tight of a narrative arc as I would have liked and not having much explicit diversity beyond socioeconomic status, this book was just as funny, heartfelt, and interesting in a nuanced yet kid-friendly way as I remembered it. More significantly, it still did a really solid job of showing how kids are impacted by different kinds of loss and how much kids silently carry unbeknownst to those around them. This was the message that was most important to me as a kid and remains the best part of the book for me as an adult.

Although I don’t know that I’d recommend this book to modern day kids because it feels very nineties in a way I don’t know that they could appreciate, I am glad I read it as a kid and glad I took the time to reread it as an adult. Also, this book 100% should have been made into a 90s movie because I would have worn that VHS out. show less

Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices by Ralph Fletcher is a misguided treatise on teaching writing in the classroom. I read it in conjunction with the older and better When You Are Alone/It Keeps You Capone by Myra Cohn Livingston.

Fletcher's thesis is that the school system is so over run by gentle, nurturing women, that there's no room for the rowdy natured boys. Apparently teachers across the country are actively discouraging boys from truly expressing themselves through their writing show more which because of their boyish nature leans towards gross out jokes, violence, superheroes and the like. Instead, teachers are encouraging girls and their boring stories about families and domesticity.

Are you mad yet? You should be. I certainly am. This book falls into the frustrating gender trap and is doing its best to further marginalize anyone who isn't someone likely to grow into a well off, privileged, white man. Here in a book about teaching are the seeds of bullying, rape culture, racism, sexism, and homophobia.

Think I'm off my rocker? In a chapter on social media (especially chat), there's a section on why boys love to write, especially when it's anonymously and online. The author includes a sample chat where a boy discusses his break up. The conversation quickly devolves into name calling and slut shaming on the part of the girl who isn't there to defend herself. This is conversation is held as a GOOD example of getting boys excited about writing.

And where is the author's hard evidence that there's such an anti-boy conspiracy? Are there any actual scientific or sociological studies cited? No. Any case studies of actual schools? No.

For better examples of the challenges of teaching writing to children any gender, personality, or background, I recommend the older books: When You Are Alone/It Keeps You Capone, and Teacher by Sylvia Ashton-Warner (who has some interesting theories about fear motivating violent writing, rather than it just being some natural "boyish" thing). show less

All teachers should read this book. Repeat: All teachers should read this book. I am a mom of boys and a 4th grade teacher who tries really, really hard to run an equitable classroom. I love stinky, naughty, squirrely, squirmy boys. After reading Fletcher's book I will be changing some of my practices.

I knew there was an "issue" among boy writers, but didn't get it until my 1st grader brought home a terrible piece of writing about stuffed animals. I was crabbing at him when he said, "But I show more thought it was supposed to be about tea parties and dress up, and I don't do that mom!" That hit me like a ton of bricks. He has a fabulous, fabulous teacher and I know that she never expressed that sentiment. After discussing how he could have written about playing army or knights with his stuffed animals, I picked this little gem up.

Let me repeat it one more time: All teachers should read this book!!! show less

I love Fletcher's emphasis on rhythm, emotion, image." ?áHis advice is summarized on the cover art:

Capture a moment.
Read it aloud.
Get in the habit of observing the world.
[Build] a Word House.
Think small.

Learning how to write, to make your ideas sing, can most definitely help you read, to appreciate what makes someone else's good poem (or prose) vigorous & memorable.

Learning to write effective poetry can improve the writing of a novelist, or even (as made evident here) an instruction show more manual.
As J. Patrick Lewis said "Verbs are the muscles of good writing (and adjectives are the fat)."

Writing poetry can be an effective part of keeping?áa journal or daybook.

I love that Fletcher includes lots of samples of kids' own writings. ?áAnd that he interviews three other published poets to get their take on the ideas. ?áAnd that he covers a *lot* of ground, in a carefully outlined step-by-step sequence, but boils it all down to an essence that is clear and fresh. ?áAnd that he includes an *annotated* bibliography, of several pages, of poetry books.

I highly recommend this book to everyone except hoity-toity *L*iterary types who over-emphasize forms, historical & cliqueish?ácontexts, and classical & other obscure allusions." show less