Unlocking Kids’ Brain Power: Semi-Weekly Writing Prompts to Expand Young Minds – Book Review

 

Every child has vivid imaginations, and we as parents could always encourage them to let these imaginations flow on paper. For all those creative minds, we have a very interesting book that provides prompts for 52 weeks of the year. So that ideas do not dry out and your children could continue practicing to write and create! The most fun part of the book is, though it is for kids, the prompts could help adults too who are exploring the world of creative writing or just trying to hone their writing skills.

The book Unlocking Kids’ Brain Power By Jennifer Ayer Drake keeps up to its name. It comprises writing prompts that will make your child think and come up with storylines and ideas to create wonderful pieces of writing. It is a perfect booster for your child’s creativity.

I love to write, and the one thing I struggle with is new ideas and prompts. This book is very helpful for everyone trying to brush up on their writing skills. Jennifer Ayer Drake, the author, has put in a lot of effort to come up with prompts that are not only helpful for creating a story but educational too. They also prepare young writers to learn about history, their environment, science, and so on that would help them succeed. 

About the Prompts

Some of the prompts will encourage your kids to research and learn more about important topics. This will not only help them in school but will also broaden their knowledge. Jennifer has also included grammar exercises for helping kids learn about vocabulary, synonyms, syllables, and onomatopoeia. I also loved that she has ensured to write prompts that would encourage kids to try different kinds of creative writing. While she has offered ideas about creating a fantasy, at the same time she has also provided prompts to prepare a speech for public speaking or writing an official letter on the environment.

As someone who writes poems, I was thrilled to find that the book also touches on poetry forms such as Acrostic, Haiku, and Limerick. What a great way to introduce young minds to the world of poetry and let them learn and create a beautiful string of words.

Personally, my most favorite prompt is the one where Jennifer taps the emotions of young writers. She writes, “What advice or words of encouragement would you give to someone who is now going through a similar tragedy”? Children often find it difficult to express feelings and understand emotions. This prompt could be cathartic while also letting your child think about the concept of death and tragedy. 

Language and Tone

Written in simple English, the prompts are very easy to understand and your kids can follow them on their own and complete the exercises. 

About the Author:

Jennifer Ayer Drake lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband and two sons. In addition to writing and raising her kids, she runs a children’s theatre company that strives to instill public speaking skills, confidence, and courage in kids. She runs two other small companies as well and is a professional actor. She holds a BA from Penn State University and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University. Before having kids, Jen worked as a counterterrorism policy analyst at the Department of Homeland Security.

The book is available on Amazon and you can click here to buy. It is also available on Kindle. It is a helpful book and I am sure you will love the prompts. The only thing I wished from the book is that it would have been great if the author also included a piece of writing as an example for the young readers. Other than that, I enjoyed the book and would be using a few of the prompts for my writings as well.