Title: Wild Words! How to Train Them to Tell Stories
Author: Sandy Asher
Reviewed by Isabel Kelly

ìWild Words!î is a book about writing, written with kids in mind. Asher tackles the elements of writing, like characterization, plot, descriptions, and point of view with a friendly and entertaining style, like she is talking to students. The chapters are short and full of images, anecdotes, and examples that kids (4^th through 8^th grade) can relate to. She uses a bigger font which makes it for an easy read, and humorous cartoons are scattered throughout the book. Even the titles she uses for each chapter, are attention getters:

1.    Wild Words! Proceed with Caution
2.    Pin Down Ideas
3.    Bring Characters to Life
4.    Line Up a Plot
5.    Line Up Another Plot
6.    Show; Donít Tell
7.    Fine-Tune Each Sentence
8.    Pass the Final Inspection
9.    Whatís in It for You?
10.    More Books for Young Writers

I particularly enjoyed the many samples of student writings that Asher includes in this book. They are the kind of stories that will make students think, ìI can write a story like that too.î They are motivating, fresh, and unpretentious.

This is the kind of book I would like to have in my library for students to check out. I would definitely recommend this book to upper elementary or middle school students who like to write, are interested in improving their writing, and like to read what other students write.