But even if you’re dealing with a child who has only the haziest understand of ice skating, Claire’s life is going to ring true for them. I think a lot of kids have shared in the experience of watching ice skaters during the Olympics leap, and often fall, in their attempts to nab the gold. Messner has brought the world of competitive ice skating to real and vibrant life.

Let’s go back to what I was saying earlier about authors who commit to distinct, one-of-a-kind worlds. In the end, Claire needs to determine if she’s got what it takes to be a serious contender, or if she’s just gonna go back to her cow pond and forget any of this ever happened. She hardly has time to do schoolwork as well as training, and worst of all someone is sabotaging her equipment and confidence. Most of the kids are nice, but some are jealous of her talent. Not a natural competitor, Claire accepts then almost immediately wonders what she’s gotten herself into. In return, Claire will have to sacrifice the life she’s always known. He’s offering her a scholarship to train with other students like herself for huge ice skating competitions. All that changes when Claire’s routine for fun catches the eye of big-time muckety muck trainer Andrei Groshev. And for fun, do a segment during the local competition’s Maple Festival. Help out at the small ice skating rink when possible.

And you don’t have to be a fan of ice skating, Fibonacci, beekeeping, or sugar tapping to enjoy it (though it probably wouldn’t hurt if you were).įor Claire Boucher life is pretty simple. Authors that commit to creating worlds that are outside the experience of your average everyday kid and yet are accessible enough for ALL children to enjoy are rare, but they’re out there. This might be understandable if you were dealing with a writer that played by his or her own rules and failed to let child readers in on the fun, but it’s absolutely ridiculous when you’re dealing with a book like Kate Messner’s Sugar and Ice. Librarians, teachers, and parents can spend countless hours fighting against the sometimes innate understanding some children have acquired that dictates that they can’t read about anything outside of the realm of their own (limited) experience. If you like ballet, get a whole bunch of ballet books. If you’re a soccer fan, only read soccer books. But there’s an unspoken rule amongst children that’s as pervasive as it is harmful: Read what you know. It’s bounced about countless writing groups. Walker & Company (a division of Bloomsbury)

How to write a story kate messner