It's Book Week at Woodlands Park School. On Monday, Des Hunt visited whanau pohutukawa and whanau harakeke in the hall. He is a multi-award winning and much loved New Zealand author who writes "Kiwi Stories for Kiwi Kids". We have most of Des Hunt's fiction novels in the school library, and many teachers use his books for novel studies.
It was interesting to hear about the author's life and writing journey. The children and teachers were thoroughly engaged and thrilled! He cleverly demonstrated the idea of plot structure through magnets, with a metaphorical reader (metal ball) shooting through the story.
He showed us the build-up of tension through an inflating balloon that grew... and grew... and burst! Judging by the cheering children, they loved it too!
We learnt a little about chemistry and physics and about how stories work. A story needs conflict to hook the reader in, but it also needs things to go right at the end (in children's fiction anyway). There needs to be dramatic tension - a climax (balloon popping) and a release of that tension. I'm sure the young aspiring writers and readers picked up some tips.
We organised Des Hunt through the Writers in Schools programme. Thank you to ReadNZ Te Pou Muramura! And thank you to Des and his lovely wife, Lynne, for your time and energy in sharing a love of reading and science with the children.
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