24 Carrot Writing
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Book Picks
  • About

SOMETHING GOOD by Marcy Campbell

8/9/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Review by Megan Litwin

​The first page of SOMETHING GOOD (LBYR, 2021) written by Marcy Campbell, illustrated by Corinna Luyken, starts like this:
 
“The day the custodian found the bad-something on the bathroom wall…”
 
With those words, Campbell drops us right into this beautiful, powerful story – and into the tangle of feelings and questions that circle through an entire school community. As readers, we never find out exactly what was written on the wall. But the students do (as kids always do) - and everything changes. In the aftermath we see varied emotions, as children and adults process those emotions in different ways. Ultimately, the community finds a way to move forward and toward healing as they create “something good” together.
 
There is so much to love about this book – from Campbell’s sensitive and careful approach to difficult subject matter to Luyken’s signature color-forward approach. Huge double-spreads on each page swirl with colors that evoke emotion. Everything feels immediate – the writing, the feelings, the faces.
 
Much like ADRIAN SIMCOX DOES NOT HAVE A HORSE, another layered title by this same dream team, SOMETHING GOOD is a timeless picture book that can help build better humans. And that is something VERY good.

On Writing: 
Marcy Campbell is a strong writer, and she makes two conscious and powerful decisions here that make readers feel connected from the start.
 
First, even though there is a singular narrator, that narrator (a girl) is a collective voice for the school. She uses encompassing plural pronouns like “we” and “us” and focuses on the things that are happening to and with the group. Consequently, the story becomes everyone’s story; everyone in the book – and everyone reading it, too.
 
Second, note Campbell’s straightforward prose. There is no extra imagery or description just to be pretty – the beauty is in the direct language that allows WHAT is happening to take center stage. It leaves room for readers to feel all the things they need to feel. A lesson in “less is always more.” 

Use SOMETHING GOOD to consider the nouns you assign your manuscript's narrator and the power that gives your narrator and your story. Finally, be brave and follow the example of SOMETHING GOOD- cut the flowery language in your prose to allow the beauty of an underlying message to shine. 

To learn more about Marcy visit her website here. To explore Corinna's portfolio visit her website here. 
0 Comments
    Our favorite mentor texts to guide your writing and revisions. 
    Join Our Email List
    Join Our Facebook Group

    Categories

    All
    Amanda
    Annie
    Biography
    Book Review
    Contemporary
    Craft
    Early Chapter Book
    Fiction
    Fractured Fairy Tale
    Francine
    Graphic Novel
    Historical Fiction
    Kelly
    Kristi Mahony
    Magical Realism
    Megan Litwin
    Middle Grade
    Narrative Nonfiction
    Nonfiction Picture Books
    Novel In Verse
    Picture Book
    Point Of View
    Rhyming
    Young Adult

    Archives

    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    December 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Book Picks
  • About