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Ralph Tells a Story |
Writer's block is the number one enemy of writers. It is natural and everyone goes through it. And apparently, even kids do.
When a kid goes through writer's block
Hello again! Time for your regular dose of book review. Here's another picture book I found the other day, the title is Ralph Tells A Story by Abby Hanlon. Unlike the previous picture book that I reviewed which inclined more on the magical and the less humorous side, this one is a bit more humorous and cute. I personally think that, in the midst of all the childish humor caused by Ralph's innocence, this book is a great help in letting your child learn the natural and effortless way of producing a story.
Plot (Warning: Minimal spoiler ahead!)
Let's talk about writer's block. Ever had one? For those of you who haven't yet or does not have any idea what it is, it's when you are trying to come up with a good story and your brain just keeps telling you
And yes, even kids go through it. This is basically what Ralph's problem in the book is. Imagine going through writer's block and having your teacher ask you time and again to make a story. All your classmates are busy having fun writing and illustrating their stories,compiling the ones that they've already completed while you are there sitting uncomfortably right in the middle of the room, staring hard on your paper wishing for it to write a story for you and feeling very frustrated. There's even this funny part where he's so desperate that he tried to search for a story on the floor. He is that hopeless for a trickle of idea so he can get his hands to write something sensible on the paper but still, nada . One lovely day, the teacher asked them to gather for story sharing and our poor, helpless Ralph was forced to join, but then again, there's nothing for him to share. He's been squeezing his brain for something to come up with but to no avail. Now, it's for you to find out what he did or if there was any divine intervention that took place to rescue him out of his misery.
"Meh , I ran out of stories & I feel like resting, so please be kind and bugger off!"
And yes, even kids go through it. This is basically what Ralph's problem in the book is. Imagine going through writer's block and having your teacher ask you time and again to make a story. All your classmates are busy having fun writing and illustrating their stories,
Art Style
I wanna be fair to you guys since with my previous picture book review, I gave you an insight of the art style used for the pictures. This book reminds me a bit of the drawing style used in the Peanuts comic strip where the lines looked like they are made by a child, but in a lovely way and the coloring style is that of the South Korean painter & illustrator Kim Min Ji, especially the gradient technique and soft blending of colors. The drawing isn't that realistic, but the book is really easy on the eyes plus it has this certain factor that brings you back to your childhood days in the classroom. The pastel colors used also gives off a lovely sunny day image of Ralph's story hunting days. With that, let me finish the book review of the day. Enjoy reading!
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