Published by Simon and Schuster
Summary: “This is my teacher’s Idea Jar. We keep our story ideas in it.” The narrator explains how ideas can be about anything. They can be used to create stories that are told, drawn, or written down. There’s no such thing as a bad story idea. But if the ideas stay in the jar, they can get bored and rowdy. So it’s important to keep them under control by using them in stories, where they want to be. On the last few pages, the class works together, starting with one idea, then weaving in others to create one big story. 40 pages; ages 4-8.
Pros: The story jar is sure to find a home in many classrooms. This would be a good read-aloud to encourage young writers.
Cons: It looks so easy…just pick an idea, and you will be able to create a story.