Idea Jar

by Adam Lehrhaupt, Deb Pilutti (Illustrator)

Overview

“Seems destined to help jump-start classroom writing assignments.” —Publishers Weekly
"A good starting point for creativity in various forms.” —School Library Journal
“This imaginative book is likely to inspire more Idea Jars in classrooms.” —Booklist

From the author of Warning: Do Not Open This Book comes a lively story about a teacher’s special jar where her students keep their story ideas—but watch out when those ideas go on the loose!

The idea jar is where students keep their ideas—anything from a Viking to a space robot to a giant dragon. These ideas can be combined to make new exciting stories. But watch out when the ideas escape the jar—they might get a little rowdy! Adam Lehrhaupt’s newest picture book is sure to inspire creativity, imagination, and adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481451666
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	298,468
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Adam Lehrhaupt’s first picture book, Warning: Do Not Open This Book!, received the E.B. White Read Aloud Honor Award, was an ALA Notable Book, and a HuffPost Notable Book. School Library Journal called it, “More fun than a barrel of monkeys.” He is also the author of Please, Open This Book!, which was named a Wanda Gag Comstock Read Aloud Honor Book, and Idea Jar. Adam has traveled to six continents, performed on Broadway, and lived on a communal farm. He currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his wife, sons, and two bizarre dogs. Visit him online at AdamLehrhaupt.com.

Deb Pilutti is the author and illustrator of several books for children and has worked as a design partner at Oliebollen.com, where she designs toys and products for kids. Her design and illustration work has earned her many awards and has been published in several magazines including Step Inside Design, HOW Magazine’s Best Digital Designs issue, and Print magazine. She enjoys spending time in the woods near her home in Michigan. Visit her at DebPilutti.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/20/2017
An unseen student narrates Lehrhaupt’s celebration of storytelling creativity, pointing out the teacher’s Idea Jar. “We keep our story ideas in it,” the child explains—scraps of paper with words such as dragon, robot, pirate, and Viking written on them. “There’s no such thing as a bad story idea,” the student continues, and many ways to tell a tale: “You can write it. Draw it. Talk it.” At one point, a red-bearded Viking climbs out of the jar, offers pointers (“That ship should be way bigger”), and generally advocates for Vikings to be part of every story. After the mischievous Viking tips the jar over, a dragon, robot, and other creatures explode into the room, creating chaos that can only be resolved by a story that brings the ideas together. Pilutti’s goofy visual comedy—speech balloons with smart-alecky comments, ocean water flooding the classroom—provides laughs, and although Lehrhaupt doesn’t really explore or explain how ideas come together to create a story, it seems destined to help jump-start classroom writing assignments. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"The humorous text provides plenty of useful writing tips and models for the multiethnic group of children and, in consideration of varied learning styles, mentions that stories can come in written, drawn, or spoken form....This imaginative book is likely to inspire more Idea Jars in classrooms." — Booklist

Dec 15, 2017 - Booklist

"The humorous text provides plenty of useful writing tips and models for the multiethnic group of children and, in consideration of varied learning styles, mentions that stories can come in written, drawn, or spoken form....This imaginative book is likely to inspire more Idea Jars in classrooms." — Booklist

Dec 15, 2017 - Booklist

12/01/2017
Gr 1–3—This quasi-instructional picture book introduces the concept of an idea jar for creative writing/storytelling/drawing prompts. Ideas like being in stories (it makes them happy) and things can go sideways when they get bored. When an idea (a Viking) escapes the teacher's idea jar, he wanders around the school attempting to get the students to add him to their stories ("Pssst! Put a Viking in it…Everything is better with a Viking."). Since no one will put him in a story, he gets bored and sets all the other ideas (dragon, robot, cat, giraffe, monster, etc.) free by pushing the idea jar off a desk. Chaos rules until the children, working together, put the ideas in a story—the happy ideas then willingly go back into the idea jar. The instructional aspect of the book is pretty straightforward and melds nicely with the story to keep it effective and interesting. Pilutti's illustrations successfully depict a lot of concepts using fun colors, action sequences, appropriate details and kid-friendly labels. The use of text bubbles, white space, various fonts, idea labels, and dynamic text placement make for a successful mix of text and illustrations. VERDICT An engaging read-aloud that also serves as a good starting point for creativity in various forms. Kids (and their teachers) will be inspired to start their own idea jars!—Catherine Callegari, Reston Regional Library, VA

School Library Journal

2017-10-28
A child directly addresses readers and potential writers to share one way of getting stories started. The unidentified student narrator shows off their male teacher's idea jar, a place where all the kids contribute story ideas on slips of paper, and his words of wisdom: bad story ideas don't exist; you can write, draw, or recite your tale. In Pilutti's gouache-and-pen-and-ink illustrations, the slip-filled jar gradually morphs to contain the characters indicated on the papers ("Viking," "monkey," "unicorn"): the space robot uses rocket boots to escape the jar; the horseless cowgirl climbs over the rim into a desert landscape. But then the characters start to intrude a bit, giving advice to the diverse class and demanding to shape their stories. And when the idea jar gets tipped over? Watch out! Teachers will certainly welcome the notion of story ideas as living things that need to be written about in order to be happy, and the mix-ups that happen when the ideas escape and interact reflect some of the creative writing already going on in classrooms—for example, each student contributing a single sentence in turn. But unfortunately, Lehrhaupt and Pilutti don't avoid didacticism, and their audience isn't clear; the narration reaches for a younger audience than the snarky comments of the characters seem to imply. A stellar idea for the idea jar, but the result may stay on the shelf. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews