Five Treasures to be Found in Novels in Verse

By Marci Whitehurst Novels in verse are a hybrid form of storytelling. Novels in verse combine a complete narrative with the structure of poetry, bringing depth and richness to the beauty of stories.  Here are five treasures you’ll find in a novel in verse:  POETRY!  This treasure is obvious on every page of a novel in verse. Each page is a poem. The majority are free verse poems, meaning these poems don’t follow a particular meter, form, or rhythm. The poems can stand alone, but when each page of poetry is read from beginning to end, it weaves a full narrative to make a complete story. Check out this example from our own Rebecca J. Gomez’s forthcoming novel in verse:  Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published We call this car, Sandra’s white clunky car, a marshmallow with wheels. It’s riddled with dings and dents, and the rear driver’s side window is stuck stubbornly up and the tear in the vinyl seat pinches if you sit just wrong while wearing shorts

Snack and Story Time: Sweet Tortilla Snowflakes


By Trine Grillo

Few things are as much fun as catching snowflakes on your tongue. You lift your face to the snowy sky and stick out your tongue as far as you can. Some of the flakes land in your nose and ears, but when you catch one - AHH!  So what do these little miracles of nature taste like? And if you could capture them, what would you do with them?


Here is a sweet story and a delicious snowflake snack to try. And then if you are lucky enough to have snow where you live, get out there and catch some flakes! 


READ: If Snowflakes Tasted Like Fruitcake by Stacy Previn


DISCUSS: 

Have you tasted a snowflake?

What did it taste like?

If you have never tasted a snowflake, what do you think it would taste like?

DO: Make Sweet Tortilla Snowflakes 


Sweet Tortilla Snowflakes


Ingredients:

Flour tortillas

Melted butter

Sugar sprinkles and/or cinnamon sugar


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Fold the tortillas in half and then in half again.



Use scissors to cut designs just like you would a paper snowflake.


Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Brush with melted butter and shake on the sugar sprinkles or cinnamon sugar.
Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown along the edges.
Cool and eat up!

Delicious dips: yogurt or whipped cream


Recipe idea from ourbestbites.com


Comments

Claire Annette said…
What a great idea to go with a wonderful book. I'm looking forward to sharing this book and trying out the fun recipe.
Rebecca Gomez said…
I hope you enjoy your snowflake story time!