Youth Classes
FEBRUARY BREAK
Ages 6-8
Magic Tree House Adventure Club
W12-Y5
ALL DAY: February 20-24, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
$165 W&B members/$178 general public
Instructor: Marna Rossi
Take part in wonderful magical adventures from the Magic Tree House Series. Join Annie and Jack as they solve problems, help people, and travel around the world and through time. Visit the Swiss Alps with Annie and Jack where they search for a mysterious flower. Find out if Barry, a St. Bernard dog in an ancient monastery, can help Annie and Jack find the flower. Like Annie and Jack, we will learn about the animals and people in each environment we visit. We will read some of the stories and act out some of the scenes. You will illustrate stories through art activities and with a team, create your scenes and act them out for your friends and family on the last day. Pack a lunch each day.
Ages 9-12
Percy Jackson’s Magic Pen
W12-Y6
ALL DAY: February 20-24, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
$165 W&B members/$178 general public
Instructor: Wendy Low
Percy Jackson is mighty with his sword, and his creator, Rick Riordan, is mighty with his pen. Uncover and try the methods used to weave a siren spell on you as a reader! You must prepare by reading the first two books in the series. We will mine them for models: of how to develop vivid characters, of how to hold readers across chapter breaks, and of the benefits of borrowing story elements from past literature. We’ll craft beautiful sentences and humorous wisecracks like those in Percy’s narration. Meanwhile, we’ll enjoy examining ancient Greek culture: we’ll attempt some Greek literary forms, explore the Berkeley Gallery of Ancient Art, try on tunics and helmets, design your own hoplite shields, and concoct ambrosia! We will also look at how we borrow from ancient Greece in our language, government, culture, architecture, and art—to see that ancient Greece still lives, in us. Pack a lunch each day
APRIL BREAK: A TASTE OF WRITERS & BOOKS!
AGES 6-8
April 9-13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Full week: $165 W&B members/$178 general public
Single day: $37 W&B members/$40 general public
Full Week W12-Y3
Monday: Magic Tree House
W12-YR7
Instructor: Marna Rossi
Immerse yourself in the world of Annie and Jack for one day! We’ll explore the magical adventures of these two child heroes through dramatic play, crafts, songs, and poetry while learning about the historic times and diverse environments they visit!
Tuesday: Storywriting
W12-YF8
Instructor: Debra Lewis
Have a story stuck in your head that you can’t get out on the page? Do exciting adventures occur in your daydreams? We’ll get a taste of the art of storyboarding, which will help you tell the story in pictures first, then worry about the words later. In just one day you can jumpstart your story!
Wednesday: Read Around the World
W12-YR14
Instructor: Cathy Buyer-Davis
Wish you could travel around the world? At Writers & Books you can! Read stories from lands near and far! Creative crafts and engaging activities will deepen our understanding of the stories we read and help us celebrate our diversity.
Thursday: Fantastic Superheroes
W12-YM13
Instructor: Marna Rossi
Read about spunky, fantastic comic book heroes like Spider-man or Wonder Woman (from the I Can Read! Series). Act out brief superhero skits. Create your own superhero and supervillain and begin the writing process for your own superhero story!
Friday: Headstart to the Stage
W12-YD9
Instructor: Chris Fanning
Get your creative motor going: Theatre games will be the focus of this engaging workshop! We’ll try out silly tongue twisters, dramatic play, and investigate creative secrets of the stage. Working as a team, we’ll jump into the basics of theatre!
APRIL BREAK: A TASTE OF WRITERS & BOOKS!
AGES 9-12
April 9-13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Full week: $165 W&B members/$178 general public
Single day: $37 W&B members/$40 general public
Full Week W12-Y4
Monday: It¹s All About You: Journaling
W12-YJ8
Instructor: Almeta Whitis
For most writers, the journal is a discovery tool. Many novels and poems begin in a journal! In fact, some journals, like The Diary of Anne Frank, become books themselves. Using best-seller novel excerpts, poems, quotes and personal letters, we will jump start our creativity and write about those things nearest to our hearts. Remember—it is all about YOU!
Tuesday: Adventures in Poetry
W12-YP7
Instructor: Sally Bittner Bonn
Take a taste of poetry: image, sound, line. Do somersaults with your creative mind as we play with words . Discover that poetry is for everyone! Uncover what found poetry is. By the end of the day, you will have written several new poems!
Wednesday: Character Building
W12-YF1
Instructor: Debra Lewis
Who are these characters? What do they want? What do they say? How will they change throughout the course of the story? The heart of good fiction can be found in the art of making believable, lovable characters that our readers will be excited to journey with through our stories. We will begin to get to know our characters in this one day workshop.
Thursday: Realistic Fiction: Diary of a (you fill in the blank) Kid
W12-YF11
Instructor: Cathy Buyer-Davis
Do it yourself and tell the whole ugly truth. Break the rules and bring your dog days to life. Tell your stories in the writing and cartooning style of Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Avoid cabin fever by writing your own journal! Nothing is more fun than the story of your own life, even on days when you feel like it’s the last straw!
Friday: Nature Writing: The Fantastic World Around Us
W12-YG4
Instructor: Angela Cannon-Crothers
Using observation, exploration, and hands-on activities to create memorable writing about the natural world and our place in it. Students will practice using sensory, image, and detail in writing poetry and prose using themes from the amazing world of animals to the folklore of flowers and trees.
General Youth Classes
ages: 13-16
Teen Writers’ Circle
W12-Y1
Six Saturdays 10-noon
1/14; 1/28; 2/11; 3/3, 3/17 & 3/31
$139 W&B members/ $150 general public
Instructor: Wendy Low
Twice a month, avid and accomplished teen writers meet to explore new approaches to their craft, give each other feedback under the guidance of published writers, and plot world domination…or at least the future domination of the publishing industry! Guests are brought in by the facilitators according to the interests and needs of the group. Optional assignments will also be offered according to genre, and free tickets to targeted events will be given.
Ages: 8-11
Fiction Writers’ Club
W12-Y2
10 Wednesdays, 3:45-5:00 p.m.
January 18-March 28 (no class February 22)
$110 W&B members/$120 general public
Instructor: Wendy Low
You enjoy writing stories and developing characters. Join a group of young writers who are eager to develop new skills. We will look at how to begin and finish works of fiction that will draw in and delight readers by collaborating on fiction pieces within a setting which we create as a group. This course will allow you to dig in, explore new approaches to craft of fiction, share your work with others, and learn to give effective feedback under the guidance of an encouraging teacher. Inspiring writing prompts will help generate new work, and revision feedback will help turn a good piece of work into a great one. We’ll sharpen our skill with words through creative exercises, and try our hands at dramatic dialogue. A final reading and/or play will celebrate our writing collaborations. Optional “fieldwork” assignments |
