Part One: What is an Author?
The segment introduces Alane to the students, giving a little bit of her background and how she became an author, and introduces the importance of imagination. Then Alane magically transports to a barn where she reads from her award-winning picture book The Egg Thief. The segment ends with the task of students thinking about the things an author has to think about in order to write a good story.
Part Two: What Makes A Good Story?
In this episode, Alane discusses some of the important concepts an author has to think about in order to write a good story. Concepts covered include title, characters, setting, and the importance of a big problem for a story to be interesting. With fun illustrations and side-by-side comparisons of her picture books, students will be able to quickly master these concepts and develop a deeper understanding of what author’s do when they are writing stories.