My first draft of Breakout had a more traditional structure. Why did you choose to tell the story in letters, poems, text messages, news stories, and comics? Everyone had a story, and that was the spark for the novel that would become Breakout. I sat at the coffee shop across the street from the prison and talked with people-police officers who had just come in from searching the woods, neighbors of the prison whose kids weren’t sleeping at night, relatives of inmates who couldn’t visit their loved ones while the prison was on lockdown. So after the escape, I spent several days hanging around the prison in Dannemora. But as a former journalist-I was a TV news reporter and producer for seven years-I was absolutely fascinated. As a person who lives just fourteen miles from the prison, I was completely unnerved by the idea of two murderers lurking in the woods. The spark for this novel was a real-life prison break, when the escape of two inmates from Clinton Correctional Facility in Northern New York in June of 2015 launched a 23-day manhunt, all through the Adirondack Mountains and beyond.

What inspired you to come up with the plot and characters for this novel? Young readers who love We Are in a Book!, How Rocket Learned to Read, and Also an Octopus will love the reading and writing lessons and inspiration in How to Write a Story.Our Storytelling & Advocacy Coordinator spoke with Kate Messner, an award-winning author of children's books and middle-grade novels and a long-time World Read Aloud Day advocate (or WRADvocate) about her writing process, the power of reading aloud, and her latest novel, Breakout, which hits the shelves on June 5th this year.

Helps teach Common Core Curriculum skills.

Great read-aloud book for preschool- and kindergarten-aged children interested in learning to read.

Perfect for educators, librarians, and parents who are helping children develop early writing and reading skills.

From choosing an idea, to creating a problem for their character to resolve, to coming to The End, this empowering picture book breaks down the writing process in a dynamic and accessible way, encouraging kids to explore their own creativity-and share their stories with others! Don't be afraid to mix things up.Īccomplished storytellers Kate Messner and Mark Siegel playfully chronicle the process of becoming a writer in this fun follow-up to How to Read a Story, guiding young storytellers through the joys and challenges of the writing process. The inspiring sequel to the 2015 Parent's Choice Winner, How to Read a Story!

How to write a story kate messner