Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Some Writer: The Story of E.B. White

Title: Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White
Author: Melissa Sweet
Published: October 4th 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 176 pages
Genre: Childrens
Age Range: 7 - 10 years
Source: My thanks to Amazon Vine for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book

When I first picked up this book, I put it down right away, I am not a fan of the scrapbook style, but giving it a couple of days, I tried again and loved what I had found the second time around.

Coming from a large family that was more like a small kingdom unto themselves, young En lacked for nothing except confidence. As the youngest son of a piano man, there were many instruments but no real talent in the White household and as a creative outlet, Elwyn Brooks White began journal writing and would always end his entries with a question so he would have something to think about when he fell asleep.

Being full of curiosity, he had missed the first couple of days at Cornell University because he was drawn to the city and all it had to offer. It was during his senior year that this young man decided to take up writing as a career since he was in no hurry to have a regular job.

Thus begins the writing adventures of one of the most beloved authors of our time. Not quite hiding away in Maine, but being where he was meant to be, enabled “a spider, a pig, a gaggle of geese and all the other animals (including a rat)” to come to life.

Told in traditional and scrapbook style with copies of original manuscripts and in depth research, Melissa Sweet once again brings this beloved man to life. From his quips regarding Stuart Little “would seem to be for children, but I’m not fussy who reads it” to his studying spiders for a year to get them just right, E.B. “Andy” White comes alive once again.

As William Shawn once wrote, “he was ageless and his writing timeless” and because of that, both parents and children alike will be drawn to this brilliant book.

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