SHARE YOUR SMILE

A guide on how to distill the
extraordinary from your own life and find a story to tell.

The unabashed Telgemeier (Smile, 2010, etc.) once more shares her
personal experiences on storytelling in a how-to book on finding your own
story. Explaining that for her, “the process of creating Smile was
therapeutic,” Telgemeier coaxes readers to think about their own experiences by
posing questions that will encourage closer looks into themselves, their
environments, their families, their personal travel and school stories, their
sources of inspiration, and even those supernatural elements that fascinate
them. Although the book focuses heavily on creating stories from personal
experience, the skills developed are meant to naturally translate into other
types of storytelling. By beginning in the known world, Telgemeier gives readers
a solid foundation from which to launch their artistic exploration. The book
focuses mostly on the brainstorming process, offering lists of questions with
space for answers, but it also provides other spaces to write full stories and
to storyboard ideas. Readers also get useful tips, such as starting with loose shapes
when drawing faces, with step-by-step instructions on how to illustrate faces and
facial expressions. It’s very much a place to start rather than a full-on
manual, and it does not offer a bibliography for kids who want to pursue
graphic storytelling further.

Honest and encouraging, this will
get young storytellers started—and perhaps leave them wishing for more. (Nonfiction
novelty. 8-12)