Ellen Senisi – Writing Steps and How a Book is Created

Creative Writing, ELA, Visual ArtsLeave a comment

How is a book created? How can kids get motivated and organized for writing? These questions are answered with the help of a spunky special needs child, an iguana, and lots of photographs.

Ellen Senisi, author and photographer of 18 books for young readers and former teacher, walks students through how a book is created and steps of the writing process. She shows the book creation and production history for her title All Kinds of Friends, Even Green while using a graphic organizer of steps to good writing. The book’s development is followed from the first scratch paper draft through writing, editing, and production to final printed copy. Along the way she emphasizes the importance of the creative process and editing. Her sub-themes are drawn from the featured book (which children can have free access to ahead of time) and include special needs awareness and pets as friends and inspiration.

The theme of the book aligns with the theme of the presentation as Moses, a boy with spina bifida, struggles with how to write about a friend for a school assignment.