K is for Kate DiCamillo

" Edward's heart stirred. He thought, for the first time in a long time, of the house on Egypt Street and of Abilene winding his watch and then bending toward him and placing it on his left leg, saying: I will come home to you."

--The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Kate DiCamillo is my favourite authors of all time. Although she writes books for younger children, her writing is magnificent. When I was younger, I used to read her books over and over again. My favourite book from her was The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, my favourite book of all time. I still read her books every once in a while because they were so well written. Kate DiCamillo is not a very well known author, as opposed to J.K. Rowling, for example. Her most popular book was Because of Winn-Dixie, another one of her great books.

I love to write stories and I admire Kate DiCamillo for her creativity. She thinks of herself as a storyteller, telling many children about her wonderful stories through her books. Her books are very different from a typical book, but that's what makes them so awesome. I have read many books in my life, and never have I read a book like hers. I love them so much because they are not like other books. They are unique. You wouldn't normally find her ideas in a bestseller book. She may not be the most famous author, but I admire Kate DiCamillo and hope to become like her someday.

One of Kate DiCamillo's books, The Tale of Despereaux, is about a mouse who is different from the rest. His body is small, but his ears are really big, like Dumbo. He acts differently, for example, he likes to read in the library, but it is a law that mice do not read. He is a very brave mouse. Mice were forbidden for a health issue, but Despereaux wanted to find out what it was like in the "human world", so he ventured out into the human world and became a hero.

LIFE LESSON: In life, you may be faced with many fears or danger. The best way to fight through them is with bravery.

Empathy

Then, late one afternoon, Parvana came home from work to find two men gently helping her father up the steps to the apartment. He was alive. At least part of the nightmare was over.

pg. 154, The Breadwinner

Addiction. When I feel empathy while reading a book, I get addicted, and I can't stop reading.

Parvana saw her father being half carried up the steps to her apartment. Her father was home and alive. Somehow he was released from the prison, and finally free to return to his worried family. As I read this passage, I felt empathy for Parvana. My father goes away for business many times, and he is gone for the longest time. I know how Parvana felt when she saw her father. The same way I feel when my father comes home from work, happiness.

That passage is an example of good writing, and I felt empathy when I read that because I could relate to what Parvana was feeling for I have felt that feeling many times before. Creating empathy in a book is very challenging, but makes the story interesting and it makes the reader want to read more.

I think one way a writer can create empathy, is with the character or situation. Of course, the character would have to be realistic, someone a reader can easily relate to, along with the situation. If the situation they are in is common, then the readers may feel empathy for them because they might have been through the same thing, or something similar. For example, I felt empathy for Parvana because I feel the same way when my father comes home from long business trips. I'm sure many people felt empathy for Parvana because that situation is very common for working dads. It was a common situation many people could relate to. To create empathy through the situation, try to think of a situation you have been through, or a character like yourself, so that you feel empathy when you read the story. That is one way you can create empathy in your writing, by making the character like you, and the situation something similar to something you've been through.

Another way a writer can create empathy is describing the character and situation well. Whenever I feel empathy from a book, it's usually because it is very well written. The writing has to be descriptive so the reader can fully understand it and picture it in their mind. For example, when Parvana's father came home, Deborah Ellis (author of The Breadwinner) described Parvana's emotion on how she felt about her father's homecoming. She used lots of description, and I could imagine what Parvana was feeling because of how many adjectives and adverbs she used. Whenever I see someone I haven't seen in a long time, I feel the way Parvana felt. I could really imagine what Parvana was feeling because of all the description and adjectives used. That is another way a writer can create empathy, using lots of description.

With these ways in your writing, you will surely create empathy in your writing. Writing empathy is very challenging, but creating empathy in your stories makes the reader enjoy your stories at a higher level.

A Life of Horrors

Parvana was tired. She wanted to sit in a classroom and be bored by a geography lesson. She wanted to be with her friends and talk homework and games and what to do on a school holiday. She didn't want to know anymore about death or blood or pain. She was tired of living in an endless nightmare.

In our Language Arts class, we are reading the book, the Breadwinner. This was a passage from page 130 which I think was very well written. It would be very hard to live a life like Parvana. It would be very hard for me if I were Parvana. I would wake up early every morning, step outside and worry the whole day that if someone recognized me as a girl, I would be sent to jail, or maybe even be killed by the Taliban. I would grab my tray, and start the day by selling items I won't even be able to afford to have myself. I shove through the crowds, praying that I will make a sell, but no one is interested. When I'm finished with a full day of selling few things from my tray, I would count my money earned, and hope that the next day will make more profit. The days would feel endless with a heavy tray hung around my neck, standing outside in the hot sun all day all the while wondering if the Taliban has overtaken my one room where my family lives, and take them away. A girl dressed up as a boy living in Afghanistan with a father who was taken away to prison, and an endless nightmare of my life, would be horrible. It would be awful having to live through all the terrors of Afghanistan, being a little girl only wanting to be filled after a meal. Everyday, I would be risking my life, worrying that someone from the street would call out girl! and some Taliban men would march my way to beat me until death. Barely making through the days on what I make with my job. If I were Parvana, everyone would be counting on me to keep the family from starving to death. Parvana's life is really a life full of horrors.

Out on the street, she kept waiting for people to point at her and call her a fake. No one did. No one paid any attention to her at all. The more she was ignored, the more confident she felt.

Now with her face open to the sunshine, she was invisible in another way. She was just one more boy on the street. She was nothing worth paying attention to.