Make a Splash! with Kate Klise

For the next five days, we will be posting Kate Klise's speech from the Youth Reading Across Rhode Island/Summer Reading Kickoff held on June 12th at Rhode Island's State House. If you missed the event, you can still hear her message. And she has some great ideas for how each of you can Make A Splash this summer with reading and writing!

Make A Splash by Kate Klise

How can you make a splash this summer? It's easy, says Kate Klise, author of Regarding the Fountain. Kate was in Providence recently to kick off our summer reading program. While here, she shared with us some cool ideas for splash making. "You don't need money or credit cards or a driver's license or even a swimming pool," Kate said. "All you need is time and a library card. And if you have tose two things, you can make a HUGE splash this summer."

Here are five fun ideas from Kate:

1. Get Funny.

Do you like funny books? So do I. Do you know that you can be funny, too? It's a trick you can learn. You just have to go to the library and check out the Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish. Remember Amelia Bedelia? When she's asked to dress the turkey, she puts a dress on the bird. When she's supposed to draw the drapes, she sketches the curtains. I loved those books when I was young. And so I re-read them all several years ago when I wanted to learn how to get funny. I realized that the secret to humor is often a misunderstanding. Mix-ups are comic gold - maybe not in real life, but certainly in books and movies. You can learn how writers use misunderstandings to make readers laugh. Because once you learn how to be funny, once you get funny, you can write a funny book. You could do it this summer. Whouldn't it be cool to go back to school in the fall with a funny book that you wrote? You would make a splash with your classmates!

Note: Click on the picture to enlarge.