Award-Winning Author Speaks to Art of Storytelling Class

Award-winning author Kyle Lukoff visited MBS on Wednesday, April 19 to speak to Assistant Librarian Kaitlyn Meehan’s Art of Storytelling class about the importance of using precise language when crafting a story. Lukoff is the author of several children’s books including Too Bright to See, which won the Stonewall award and a Newbery honor.

Using his books Too Bright to See and Different Kinds of Fruit as examples, Lukoff discussed how even the most subtle language can give us a glimpse into the inner workings of a character. He spoke about how verbs impact a story, and he emphasized the technique “show don’t tell” as a way of adding drama to a novel.

In a Q&A with students, Lukoff spoke about how his characters are often derived from real people in his life and how he comes up with ideas for his books. “The easy part is coming up with the ideas,” said Lukoff. “The hard part is coming up with a beginning, middle, and an end that people want to read.”