Linda D. Labbo
Reviews Section Editor
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia, USA
Beth Matlack
Guest Reviewer
Editor's Note: This area of the Reviews section provides ROL readers with reviews of books that can support either their professional development or their efforts to invite students into the world of literacy. The book described in what follows does an excellent job of meeting both these goals. Indeed, Speaking of Journals has the potential to help teachers gain special insights into the crucial role that journal writing might play in their own lives, as well as in the lives of children of all ages. The reviewer, Beth Matlack, shares key elements of the book that make it useful on both personal and professional levels. Readers who enjoy this review might also be interested in Beth's reviews of children's books that facilitate writing activities in the classroom.
Speaking of Journals: Children's Book Writers Talk about Their Diaries, Notebooks, and Sketchbooks. Written by Paula W. Graham. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1999. ISBN 1-56397-741-9 (paperback). 240 pages.
When journals and diaries are viewed from this perspective, stated in the preface of Speaking of Journals, it is easy to understand the role they often played in the professional and personal lives of authors. While not all authors keep journals, many confess that, to them, the journal is much like the laboratory is to a chemist or biologist -- the place where it all happens. But how? Why?
The answers to these questions -- and much, much more -- are found in Paula W. Graham's recent book, Speaking of Journals. This text explores the influence that keeping a journal has had on more than 20 contemporary children's authors and illustrators, including Jack Gantos, author of the Rotten Ralph series of picture books, and Jean Craighead George, author of Julie of the Wolves.
The book is divided into 27 chapters, each focusing on a single author or illustrator. Graham provides a brief introduction to each chapter, including a list of the author or illustrator's well known works. Photos often depict the featured person in childhood -- the time when many of them began their first journals.
Following Graham's introductions, the authors and illustrators speak in their own voices in interview format, revealing individual perspectives on the importance keeping a journal has had in their lives and divulging the purposes and procedures behind their journals and diaries. Many chapters feature excerpts -- both words and sketches -- from the authors' and illustrators' personal journals. From Eileen Spinelli, who confides that she writes in her journal each night while reclining in bed with a cup of hot tea, to David Harrison, who confesses that his journal-writing habits are sporadic at best, each contributor provides a unique personal viewpoint on the process of journaling. They discuss their histories, experiences, uses, and routines with journals, and even their preferences regarding types of paper and pens.
Suggestions and recommendations are made both for the aspiring writer and for those who teach writing to children. With such a wide array of personalities represented, the reader can easily find personal connections to his or her own challenges as a writer or writing teacher, in one -- if not many -- of the interviews. Although the book is intended primarily for adults and may prove a bit too difficult for children to read on their own, teachers and caregivers can make many of the contributors' thoughts about journal writing accessible by reading aloud or selecting key sections for retelling.
While no interviews are alike, three themes emerge in several of them: recognizing the drive to become a writer; understanding the importance of writing every day; and, above all, placing high value on honesty in journal writing. These themes are a source of good advice for any writer, no matter the age, no matter the ability, no matter whether student or teacher.
When I first encountered Speaking of Journals, I was struggling to keep a journal for a graduate course that focused on writing composition. I felt pressured to follow an “ideal” journaling procedure, but after reading Graham's book, I became more at ease with my approach, less concerned with what I was “supposed” to be doing, and definitely more committed to being honest in my journal entries. I was so inspired by reading the book and by daily writing, that I continue to keep a journal -- even now, long after the writing composition course has ended. If I was asked to create extension activities to undertake after reading Speaking of Journals, I would suggest using the format of the chapters to write about and reflect on the role that journal writing plays or could potentially play in your own life. But the best activity of all is to keep a journal yourself.
Paula W. Graham is a writer of children's fiction whose work has appeared in child-oriented magazines such as Guideposts for Kids and Highlights for Children. She has kept a journal since her own childhood and has keen insight into the role that her journals have played in her own writing process. In addition to her career as a writer, she also serves as director for the Flambeau Writing Project at Mount Senario College in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, USA.
Matlack (e-mail georgiabam@mindspring.com) holds a bachelor's degree in speech correction and received her M.Ed. in early childhood education in Spring 1999 from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. She believes that children need to be offered authentic opportunities to write, both at home and in the classroom, and finds that the most meaningful instruction -- even for preschool children -- bridges reading and writing. Beth is currently working at her journal writing at home while caring for her young family. She looks forward to returning to the education profession some time in the future.