Borrowings: A Longitudinal Look at Three Student Writers

In Borrowings, consummate teacher Claudia Brancato settles once and for all the question of the power of and need for literary borrowing. As she traces the literary lives of three students who had been in her first grade through twelfth grade, the reader learns ways that best support a life of literacy. Borrowings references a wealth of children's books and provides frequent examples of the work of these three students. This is a book of enrichment and enchantment, a testimony to a sometimes neglected writing strategy some call "text innovation." Brancato makes the case that literary borrowing helps youngsters become mature, independent thinkers and writers. After all, she herself engaged in literary borrowing as a child. This book will be a great resource for all teachers.