Sometimes you know at first sight that you were destined to meet.  That happened to me today.

The SDAWP Summer Institute (SI) is in full swing, which means my head is full and my schedule is packed.  There is lots of reading and writing and thinking and talking going on…and I love it. Today at lunch I had a few minutes to myself, so I headed off to the coffee shop to treat myself to a latte. When I walked in and saw that there was no line, I immediately thought–jackpot!  I can take a few minutes and walk through the bookstore, just to look.

Coffee in hand, I headed toward the children’s book section.  And there it was…

I couldn’t resist.

One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail grabbed me and wouldn’t let go!

I was drawn in by this brilliant little girl who knows what she wants…and has a plan to get it.

Sophia’s birthday was coming up, and she had five things on her mind–One True Desire and four problems.

This girl is a student of rhetoric and knows how to make an argument.  She knows her audience and how to tailor her reasoning and evidence (love the variety and types!) to convince.  And she takes her feedback as information essential for revision and iteration.

I don’t want to spoil the story by giving away all the details here…but if you are a teacher of writing, of argument, of debate…or just love a great story…you will want to read and study and probably even own this book!

And there’s more…rich vocabulary, compelling characters, and a surprising ending.  And this is not a book just for children.  I can see community college instructors using this book in their composition classes and kindergarten teachers too.  And you don’t have to be a teacher…this is a book for readers and definitely for writers.

I think this will be a relationship that will endure…right now, it’s love at first sight!

Here’s Jim talking about the story: