Dreyer's English for Young Readers: Essential Writing Tips & Advice – Perfect for Students, Homeschooling & Creative Writing Classes

Let’s talk quickly about why students hate writing. Younger students are often given very specific instructions on how to write (eg, the 5-paragraph essay; don’t ever start a sentence with “but” or “and”), which stifles creativity and makes their essays feel wooden and formulaic. As students get older, writing curricula tends to focus more heavily on grammar, which, aside from being maddeningly dull and often confusing, can make students terrified to put pen to paper for fear of making a mistake. (There are other reasons that students hate to write, such as not being given writing topics that they care about, but I’m focusing more on mechanics here).Dreyer’s English for Young Readers is not that kind of writing advice. I own a copy of the original version of this book—if you do not, please go purchase one immediately and thank me later—and was relieved to see that this “young reader” edition has not been dumbed down. It is still the same witty, accessible advice, though it’s been shortened and many of the examples have been changed.You will not find pompous, intimidating writing advice here. You will find immensely funny chapters on things like punctuation and unnecessary words—and yes, even grammar—presented in bite-size lessons that can immediately be applied in writing assignments as you go, without reading the entire book.I think this book would be a fantastic companion to middle-school and high-school language arts classes and would make a wonderful gift for the young writers in your life. I do want to quibble briefly with the publisher over the suggested age range here: I think this book is going to be slightly advanced for the average 10-year-old. I think teachers could easily apply many of these concepts in lessons for middle-grade students, but I don’t think too many of those students would enjoy reading the entire book on their own (yet). I think it’s more appropriate for 7th-10th graders (while still being completely appropriate for many older high-school students too), but as the author says, you know your readers better than I do.And finally, on a personal note: We are covid homeschoolers this year, and my 14-year-old is enjoying this book more than both of the writing programs we’ve tried thus far. Dreyer’s English for Young Readers isn’t a substitute for a full writing curriculum, but it is full of useful tips that will free us up from some of the fussier parts of our writing curriculum and allow us get on with the actual writing.I think Dreyer’s English has been so successful because Dreyer has managed to make writing advice a) incredibly entertaining, and b) equally useful and accessible for prolific and reluctant writers alike, and his newest book for young writers is no exception.