This Is a Good Story

by Adam Lehrhaupt, Magali Le Huche (Illustrator)

Overview

Parents’ Choice Recommended

From E.B. White Read Aloud author Adam Lehrhaupt comes an inspiring new picture book that takes apart the pieces of a story—hero, heroine, setting, conflict—and asks the reader to put the story back together again. This is a good story…or is it?

As a child takes her pencil and begins to draw pictures for a story, the narrator takes her and the reader through a rollicking sequence of events in this classic tale of bad guys and townsfolk and dungeons. With simplicity and flair, Adam tells a story and then a meta-story of the parts of the story at once! This Is a Good Story is a wonderful primer on the parts of a story and an imaginative way to encourage creative thinking, writing, and storytelling.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481429368
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Adam Lehrhaupt’s first picture book, Warning: Do Not Open This Book!, received the E.B. White Read Aloud Honor Award, was an ALA Notable Book, and a Huffington Post Notable Book. School Library Journal called it, “More fun than a barrel of monkeys.” He is also the author of Please, Open This Book!, which was named a Wanda Gag Comstock Read Aloud Honor Book and Idea Jar. Adam has traveled to six continents, performed on Broadway, and lived on a communal farm. He currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his wife, sons, and two bizarre dogs. Visit him online at AdamLehrhaupt.com.
Magali le Huche was born in Paris. She studied illustration in Strasbourg then returned to Paris where she works on children’s books and for the press. She regularly teaches workshops for children.

Editorial Reviews

It’s true. This is a good story. The picture book is great for starting to talk with young readers about the elements of a story, and what makes one “good” or “bad.” In this case, a story starts with a “Hero.” After a moment’s consideration about whether it should focus on a “Heroine,” the storyteller settles on “both.” Then, our thinking turns to the setting, which is described as “a good town, filled with good people.” This may feel a little too generic for even young readers, but Lehrhaupt’s persistent use of the adjective “good” throughout the story is a gimmick meant to engage. After a few bumps and stalls along the way, the Hero and Heroine manage to overcome the “evil bad guy” and create a happy ending. The interplay between an unseen storyteller and the illustrator who moves from being just hands on the page to a character on them is amusing. The story elements and the way it evolves are likely to remind children of their own play. This book would be useful in a preschool or early elementary classroom, to talk about story elements—protagonist, antagonist, setting, conflict, climax, resolution—before writing a joint story. (Readers may need to be nudged to leave the simple good-bad-fight trope employed in this book.) Note that use of the gendered term “heroine” is becoming less common, which may limit the book’s appeal in some settings. Reviewer: Heidi Hauser Green; Ages 4 to 8.

Children's Literature - Heidi Hauser Green

09/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—A young girl is drawing a story as an unseen narrator coaches her and takes her (and readers) through a classic tale of good vs. evil. First the hero and heroine are introduced, along with a discussion of where they live ("Setting"). Next comes a direction for where the narrative will go: "As with any Good Story, ours has a Conflict, a problem that needs solving. And it's a good thing, too, because without a Conflict there would be no Plot." They must save the townsfolk from an evil overlord. The narrator corrects and questions the young artist's choices along the way, encouraging her to "try again" as her hero and heroine get sidetracked and make choices that are not conducive to making a "good story." So, this is a story within a story about the parts of a story—are you confused? Well, potentially, young readers may be as well without the help of a teacher or imaginative adult. A "Friendly List of Words Used In This Book" is included at the back with accessible definitions of parts of a story. The colorful, whimsical, and childlike illustrations are reminiscent of Ed Emberley's, and are thus very kid friendly and appealing. VERDICT An imaginative and creative way of educating readers about effective storytelling and elements of style. Great for sharing one-on-one or in a language arts classroom.—Megan Kilgallen, Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn

School Library Journal

2017-07-02
A young white girl writes and illustrates a story, which is critiqued by the narrator as it is created. The girl begins her story by drawing a Hero. Then she thinks maybe a Heroine would be better. Then she decides both will work. She places them in "a good town, filled with good people, called our Setting." The narrator, an unseen editor who lurks over the artist's shoulder, tells the storyteller she needs to put in some Conflict, make the Evil Overlord scarier, and give it better action. This tongue-in-cheek way of delivering the rules of creative writing is clever, and paired with Le Huche's earnest, childlike illustrations, it seems to be aimed at giving helpful direction to aspiring young creators (although the illustrations are not critiqued). But the question needs to be asked: do very young writers really need to know the rules of writing as determined by adults? While the story appears to be about helping young readers learn writing—there is "A Friendly List of Words Used in this Book" at the end with such words as "protagonist" and "antagonist" (glossed as "Hero and Heroine" and "Evil Overlord," respectively)—it also has a decidedly unhelpful whiff of judgment. Rules, the text seems to say, must be followed for the story to be a Good one. Ouch. Best for readers who have clearly indicated they would like to take their writing efforts to the next level. (Picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews