This book is written in verse and expresses the message that "you've got to write, so try." I really enjoyed that the verse didn't rhyme, as I find many poetry books for children do. I think this would be a great book for students learning to write, learning about poems, and who have writing anxieties (such as me). ( )

Written in free verse poetry, "You Have to Write" encourages readers to write. As a student, you have to write, but you don't always know what to write. This book offers a whole list of ideas of what to write about. It says to about your life, the good times and the bad. "Write about the fights. Write about the holes in your socks, your grandmother cracking her knuckles, your father snoring all night long." Write about anything that comes to your mind. When you think of an idea, write it down anywhere you can. If you aren't happy with what you wrote, take a break and come back to it later. You can always improve your writing. Most importantly, try your best to write.
This book offers great encouragement for young children who seem to struggle every time there teacher tells them to take out their journals and write. The way the book breaks down the writing process makes it seem much easier to children, making writing more bearable. ( )

In "You Have to Write," Wong focuses on the positive aspects about writing. I think this poetry book does a really good job of making writing sound fun. I think a lot of times children think that they only have to write about happy things, and this book focuses on the students writing about bad things that happen too, not just happy. In my past, I turned to writing as an out from what was going on in the real world. I was able to write about these fictional characters and live vicariously through them, and I hope that I can show that to my students one day, and I think this book in particular is a great way to show that to students. ( )

A poem about the process of writing and being inspired to write about what's around you, personal experiences, the everyday, the good and bad. Nicely addresses the obstacles of not having anything to write about, thinking one's life isn't that interesting, and the importance of drafts and rewrites. Multicultural illustrations.

Summary:
This book is a poem all about overcoming the difficulties of writing and ways of coming up with topics to write about. It is writing inspiration for children. Instructional Use:
This book would be perfect for including in a writing workshop mini-lesson on what to do when you don't know what to write about. ( )