Class

Magical Worlds of Wonder for Ages 9 to 11

Welcome back to Summer Youth at Open Book! Join us for a week of writing and all day creativity!

-Session 1: Fairy Tales, Magic and Bookmaking: Write Your Own Story for Ages 9 to 11 with Marie Olofsdotter
Explore the timeless territory of magic as you write your own myth-inspired fairy tale! Students will record the hair-raising adventures of a main character, who sets out on a magical journey to save a troubled world, and along the way, encounters menacing villains and mystical beings. Students invent their own settings, characters, and plot, then create a classy hardcover accordion book to house their story. This class is perfect for anyone who loves to write, loves magic, and likes bookmaking. Students discover the adventures as they go along, uncovering new twists in the plot every day. The sessions are constructed using fairy tale archetypes, students create a main character, a hero/heroine, who goes on a classic Hero’s Journey. Within this format, there is ample space for everyone to express their unique literary vision.

-Lunch & Enrichment: We'll break for lunch with more activities that will inspire us to express ourselves while having fun! We may explore Gold Medal Park to seek creativity outside the classroom! Please bring a packed lunch.

-Sesson 2: Poems for Peace for Ages 9 to 11 with Ellen Fee
Poetry can help us imagine a better future. In this class, we will use poetry to express our dreams for a different world. We will learn about poets and artists who use their voices for peace and justice and write our own poetry to share with our communities.

Students will study examples from real poets and artists, like Lucille Clifton, Joy Harjo, and Naomi Shihab Nye. We will write our own poems and learn how to use poetic forms and literary devices to make our words more powerful. We will also explore different ways of getting our words out into the world, like zines, posters, and performance.

Students can expect to write about topics that are meaningful to them, listen to others’ ideas, read the work of famous poets, work on writing and art projects, and practice sharing their writing with others.

Aspiring writers, grab your notebooks and pens, and let’s write at the Loft!