Lessons in Writing Letters: Contacting Authors David McPhail and Elvira Woodruff

An interesting twist on the penmanship assignment, and a great way to include grammar, literary analysis, and spelling in one measure.

by Kathleen Blease

This year marks our seventh year of homeschooling. We started when Ben was entering third grade and Max first. Over the years, I've relied on some of my own educational concoctions, instead of turning to time-tested and prepackaged plans.

One year, I was trying to convey to the boys the importance of writing letters. Yes, it's old fashioned, but basic letter-writing etiquette and format are still necessary--even in this day of emailing, twittering, and texting.

To make the lesson more fun and less of a chore, I collected the names and addresses of the boys' favorite authors. One such address came to me in a funny way.

I was standing in line at our local pharmacy, when I noticed the woman in front of me. "Excuse me," I said sheepishly, "but are you, by any chance, Elvira Woodruff?" With a big smile and a ready handshake, the author made me feel right at ease. When I told her that my oldest son was a big fan, she quickly gave me her home address and encouraged me to have Ben write to her. With a little prompting, he did. Elvira responded very generously with several signed copies of her books, made out just to Ben.

If you've never heard of Elvira Woodruff, and you have a child who is between nine and twelve (especially a boy), then you owe it to your kids to go to the library and check out her books. At our local library, her titles take up just about as much shelf space as the books by Avi. What, you don't know who Avi is? Don't feel badly, I didn't either. Check him out, too. (To find these two authors, either click on their links, or click here to visit Kathleen's Book Shop for Kids.)

Back to the letter writing...

It was a penmanship assignment that, granted, was not all that sparkly at its onset. Boys are boys. They don't enjoy the details of forming proper letters in size, shape, and spacing. Their rewards came later, some sooner.

While Ben made contact with Elvira Woodruff, Max connected with picture-book great David McPhail. Tucked away in snowy New England, Mr. McPhail put together a little packet just for my son.

Here's an original piece of art from David McPhail. Remember Pig Pig?

And his note thanking Max for writing to him.

 He also sent along a signed copy of Henry Bear's Christmas, a real treasure. I always loved Mr. McPhail's picture books. In response, Max quickly wrote a thank you card. Grateful for his kindness, I included one, too, and mailed them off. Much to my surprise, he sent back another packet of art, this time with an original piece that had his handwritten note on the back, and it was just for me!

I never considered that my children--and myself--would benefit so much from this crazy penmanship/letter writing assignment. It was fun and a pleasure to connect with authors. Being a writer and editor, and after working in a major house in Manhattan, I also had the underlying objective to impress upon my children that creative people (in both the sciences and the arts) are living and breathing individuals just like ourselves. And in this way, I was hoping my boys would see that they, too, can create and affect other people's lives in a positive way.

Making contact brought the people behind the creations to front and center!

Maybe you'd like to try the same assignment, so here are a few of the steps/requirements we followed. This lesson can easily fill a week. Take it slowly; don't try to squeeze it all into a day or two. If your child is overwhelmed, the value of the lesson will be lost.

Letter Writing  and Penmanship Assignment: Steps to Writing to Authors 

(and how to include grammar, literary analysis, and spelling lessons)

1. Mom hunts down authors' mailing addresses. Many times (most times), I simply used the publisher's address, which is found on a book's copyright page. Publishers have assistants who forward all the mail.

2. Child is taught the proper form of a letter.

3. Child drafts a letter with mom's help. His letter introduces himself, tells the author which book he likes, and explains why he likes it. He finishes the letter by thanking the author for his work. This is an excellent way to discuss stories, both picture-books and chapter books, and introduce your child to literary analysis in an informal yet effective way.

4. Mom sits down and checks all spelling and grammar. This is a good time for a simple grammar lesson. For younger children, it's great to ask questions like, "In this sentence, can you point out all the nouns?" For older children, you can discuss proper tense and usage, and so on, to help them grasp strong writing. (Need a brush-up yourself? Check out Strunk's and White's  Elements of Style.)


5. After all spelling and grammar is checked and corrected, your child then copies the final letter in his best penmanship. Lined paper appropriate to your child's age is just fine. Pencil is fine, too, unless your student is in high school.

6. Child is taught how to address an envelope, and it's first done on scrap paper. When all is checked, it's carefully copied onto an envelope. Again, pencil is fine. For small children, you might want to pencil in exactly where the postage stamp must go.

That's all there is to it! Again, take your time and spread the assignment over a week, to avoid tears. You will find, if you are diligent, that you can mark your day schedule as completing the following subjects: penmanship, grammar, literary analysis, and even spelling. By collecting the words your child consistently misspells while drafting the letter, you can create a personalized spelling list to study the following week.

Have fun! And happy letter writing!

Mario Andretti... Is He?

by Kathleen Blease


or The Racer Slows Down, For Just a Second

Last night, my husband and I took a well-deserved break and went out on a date.  Imagine, a date! We went to a restaurant tucked away just outside the little town of Nazareth, and was served the most delectable dinners of roast duck and filet minon topped with lumped crab meat. Mmmm. Unbelievable. The memory of the aromas and flavors can easily tempt me to get off track here, so let me jump right into the story.

Sitting at the corner table was a man and his wife.

Roger lowered his voice and informed me, "That's Mario Andretti."

I looked over my shoulder, trying to be casual. (Yeah, right. What else was in the corner to look at?) From a distance, the man strongly resembled the real-life papa Andretti. For you fans of the speed racer, you will recognize that Nazareth is where the Andrettis have made their home. Still, I wasn't convinced.

I looked again. (Good, Kath, real smooth.) "No, Honey. I'm tellin' ya, that's not him."

But it sure did look like him, and I almost changed my mind when the man got up, put on a very expensive leather jacket and politely walked out.

My husband asked me, "What kinda car do you think he's driving?"

"I'll bet a truck or a Wrangler."

From our window table, we could see him drive off in a gorgeous white king-cab.

Our waiter came by with my glass of wine, and Rog said, "That's Mario, huh?"

"Who? Andretti? Oh, no. That's not him. He comes in, and he was here last week." Then he informed us where he usually sits. (Nope, I ain't sayin'.)

Later during the night, I couldn't sleep. With a full stomach and tucked under warm covers, I let my mind race. (No pun intended.) Ideas were flying about. Random thoughts were criss-crossing. Then finally two smacked into each other.

Mario Andretti..........post on thank you cards. Mario Andretti......post on thank you cards. Mario Andretti...thank you. Mario said thank you.

Yes! That was it! In the morning, I went downstairs to the drawer where I keep special items and keepsakes. There it was.

Four years ago, Roger won a balloon ride in a silent auction. It took weeks to make the arrangements and find perfect weather, and when he finally floated above the valley, his camera went with him. Surprisingly, he and the pilot flew over Mario Andretti's home. Rog snapped a beautiful shot. He then had it printed--not out of a home photo printer, but the real thing--and sent the picture to its rightful owner.

Soon after, and to our surprise and delight, Mr. Andretti responded with a thank you.

From the man himself.

And now I get to my point.

The next time someone balks about writing a thank you card, consider this: If the master of the race track can slow down for just a second to be gracious and show his appreciation, then surely so can you...and me...and all of us. 

God bless!

Got Thank-You Cards?

by Kathleen Blease

During Sunday's homily, on The Feast of the Epiphany, Father reminded us that there is a special gift that only you can give, and that is the gift of common courtesy--to say Thank You.

I was writing my thank-you cards today and thought about the year gone by. Of course, I do know that when I give a gift to someone I shouldn't expect anything in return. All adults know this. But I humbly suggest that we have gone too far with this as a society, and we forget when we receive.

I heard somewhere that it is blessed to give without remembering and to receive without forgetting. So I'd like to offer this post today in this light of "receiving without forgetting." Just how many thank-you cards did we send out this Christmas season?

It's so easy to think that a quick verbal "thanks" and a hug--is enough. Or to pretend that an email is good enough and complete. Truly, they are not enough.

I've fallen into that trap as well. Just one of many examples: Years ago, my husband, children, and I moved into a little Victorian in an historic neighborhood. Our new neighbor surprised us by leaving an ice bucket filled with wine and goodies on our kitchen counter, and her husband offered us their lawnmower which he stopped using upon hiring a mowing service. They were very generous, and my husband and I both thanked them in person: I did so twice and Roger twice. But somehow our gratitude wasn't at all absorbed, and our new neighbors called another to complain about our ingratitude. It got back to me very, very quickly.

There is one fact I cannot deny: That is, had I written a quick thank-you note all the hard feelings would have been avoided. People do need that little extra measure of the thank-you card. It makes a difference.

Dear Reader, of all the gifts you have given out this year, how many thank-you cards have you received? Of all the gifts you have received, how many cards have you sent out? When I was in my late twenties and still single, my grandmother surprised me one day. She went to her desk and pulled out a little pile of cards wrapped in a ribbon. "Kathleen, these are all the thank-you cards you sent me over the years. You know, each year we give our grandchildren Christmas money, and you are the only one to write to us to say thank you." I was touched by how much the small gesture meant to her. I didn't think much of writing those little cards, but my grandmother thought the world of receiving them.

I do remember, too, that when my mother received a thank-you card, she displayed it on the side board in the dining room for all to see. It was not unnoticed. Today, I do the same in my home, and I'm sure you do, too.

Of all the gifts my husband and I have considered, bought, and given with love, there are only two people from whom we can count on receiving cards after Christmas--my mother and our mail lady, both thank me verbally and in their own handwriting. They are so consistent, I would be more than willing to bet our very last dollar on receiving their cards in a timely fashion. There just might be a shift in my paradigm if I don't receive those cards each year!

Sadly, some recipients don't even acknowledge receiving gifts, not even by saying a quick "thank you." At birthday parties, it's not uncommon for a gift to be put on a table, piled with others, then opened only after the festivities. No thank-yous are given in any manner. (Mothers, where are you?) Very sad, indeed. At one party, I asked the mom if her son would be opening gifts. She told me that he was embarrassed by the attention, so he didn't want to. I looked at the huge pile and said, "Wow, you're gonna have a lot of thank-you cards to write." She responded with a frown, "Hey I don't have time for that!" Not one thank-you was doled out.

It is blessed to give without remembering and to receive without forgetting. Let's not forget when we receive. Send out your cards. It's old fashioned. It's loving. It's Catholic. It's common courtesy. It's a little gift that can come only from you. And it's remembered. I never expected my grandmother to remember, but she surely did and wrapped the cards in a ribbon.

I suspect, too, that the act of writing a thank-you card might very well be contagious. So...my New Year's resolution is to do a better job of getting out those thank-you cards on time...to buy a stock of them on a regular basis. Michaels  is now selling 8-card packs for less than a dollar. We can afford that, right? I just bought three packs for $1.75. Got Thank-You Cards?

God bless!