MMGM: Moo, by Sharon Creech

This peek out of the Pitch Wars revision cave is brought to you by:

Moo, by Sharon Creech, a.k.a. one of the reigning queens of middle grade novels! I know some writers don't read much while they revise on a deadline, but I find that the best way to keep up my enthusiasm for my own story--and to keep my standards high--is to read truly excellent books in all my free moments.

Here's what the publisher has to say about Moo:

When twelve-year-old Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and one very ornery cow named Zora.

From Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech comes a lovely and uplifting story of how a little kindness can change lives, reminding us that if you’re open to new experiences, life offers surprises.

I learn something different from every great writer, and Sharon Creech taught me two important lessons this time around:

1) Keep it simple.
Sharon Creech is a master of "show, don't tell." Sometimes I read her sentences over and marvel that she didn't offer any explanation of the way a character is feeling. She just paints the situation with her words and trusts her readers with feeling the emotion on their own.
When I revise, I get very caught up with filling in emotions. This was a timely reminder to let the scene speak for itself.

2) Use the white space.
The greatest painters in history have known that the space they leave blank is just as important as the space they fill with detail.
Sharon Creech, especially with the partial-verse format of Moo, does the same thing. In my efforts to craft beautiful sentences, I forget that the paragraph break is just as useful (okay, more useful) a bit of punctuation than the semi-colon. (Don't worry, semi-colon. I still love you best.)

Writing and revising lessons aside, you will love Moo for its beautifully crafted story, its emotionally resonant situations, its honest character depictions, and the way it will make you feel like the book fairy just picked you up and deposited you on the salt-breezy, lobstah-boiling, "riot" lovely coast of Maine.

Bonus! It's a perfect book to read in this Fair season!

(If you love Fair books, you may want to consider two I've reviewed in the past: 

The Universe of Fair, by Leslie Bulion

and

Steering Toward Normal, by Rebecca Petruck)

Visit Shannon Messenger's blog for more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations!