Elmer’s Special Day

Subtitled ‘inspiration and techniques for young writers’, this book is as useful to teachers thinking of ways to inspire their young pupils as to the young people themselves.

A generous and eclectic mix of stimuli, loosely collected into topics, alongside technical know-how useful to all aspiring writers, I found this fascinating to dip into and something I would definitely use in my English teaching. The writer, author of a number of novels for young people, uses pieces of her own and others’ writing, both prose and poetry, to illustrate different effects for different purposes; she suggests myriad ways a young writer can find inspiration and practise their craft and makes reference to other useful sources.

My 11-year-old loved it; when I showed it to her English teacher she immediately ordered a copy. Enough said.