Customer Reviews

The Best Story

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Eileen Spinelli, a master of capturing the poignant moments in children's lives has done it again with, The Best Story. The girl, seeking the advice of all family members, is writing a story to submit to The Red Brick Library story contest. None of the advice produces the story she can believe in until her mother suggests that, the best story, is one that comes from your heart. The author doesn't name the girl, nor give us the results of the contest which makes us think about what is important in life.

Ellen Nathan

When we first saw this book at the library this week, the author's name did not sound familiar to me. After reading The Best Story, we will definitely be on the lookout for more Eileen Spinelli books! The Best Story is a tale of a young girl who wants to enter a story writing contest at her local library. She goes home determined to write a fabulous story and win the grand prize. This book is about her realization that all the help she tries to get from her family members does not help her create a fabulous story. In fact, only when her mother says, "I think the best story is one that comes from the heart. Your own heart." does she realize the true purpose of creating a story of her own. I love the fact that the author never says whether the girl wins the contest or not. Because that's not the point! The point is that she created a work of art from within.

My daughter loves to write and illustrate her own books. I enjoy reading them, because I know that even though they may not be the next best seller, they have a little piece of her in each page. I really like this book, and I'm so happy that we stumbled on it. What a great way to encourage your child to "create from within"! Sometimes our children sadly look to others (family, their peers, teachers, etc.) for ideas when it comes time to create or make decisions. I hope that somewhere along the way, I encourage my children to look to themselves for inspiration.

Eileen Spinelli does herself proud in this wonderful little story about a girl who has to write and essay and is not sure what to write. This is a great read aloud for children who are learning to write narratives.

I use this book for Kindergarten, First, Second and Third grades to help stimulate their desire to write. The humor is just enough to set off the beautiful advice from Mom (Eileen).
I love it!!

Just the right amount of text per page and overall length of story for a 3.5-4 year old, and exciting illustrations. Great message about persistence and finding your own voice, not to mention the love of writing and reading. The supporting characters were a little too stereotyped for my taste (boy likes action books, females like romance and crying) but in the end the main character seems to synthesize all that, so that redeems it for me.

When Quantz stops to pet a big red dog, he gets fleas - and when he trades them for a talking uncle, too much talk provides yet more troubles. He keeps trading up - until he reaches a surprising end. A tall tale combined with whimsical drawings makes for a hilarious story spiced with Britt Spencer's zany drawings. Eileen Spinelli's THE BEST STORY is enhanced by Anne Wilsdorf's fun drawings as it tells of a library contest for the best story written. A girl believes she'll win - but what elements contribute to a 'best' story line? Her survey of action, drama, and writing elements is inspirational and fun.