KID-FRIENDLY IDEAS FOR WRITING ABOUT PETS

​Writing about animals and pets can be very rewarding for children and teens, and can spark their imaginations for adventure or adorable, heartwarming stories, and true tales of investigation.


For this post, I have interviewed a multi-award-winning author, who writes with a focus on animals. Here’s what she shares about helping children and teens write—with a Christian perspective and to include animals in their writing. The tips here will be for nonfiction. An upcoming post will address advice for fiction writing with animals.
 
Denise Lee Branco, author of Rabbit at the Sliding Door: Chloe’s Story and Horse at the Corner Post: Our Divine Journey, writes true animal stories to honor these marvelous creatures. She says,
 

​"Every animal comes into our lives for a reason."

Ms. Branco encourages young writers to write about those special reasons for the animals in their lives.

• How have these animals enriched their owners’ lives?
• What lessons have they learned from these special animals?
• What are the milestones in their taking care of these animals that helped them learn loyalty, responsibility, caring, and joy?
• In what special, endearing, or funny ways do their animals communicate to them?
• How well do they observe their animals, so they can understand them better?

 
Before young writers take pen to hand, Ms. Branco suggests handling a pet’s favorite toy, collar, or looking at photos, such as pictures from the adoption day, to remember special scenes to then write about.
 
It helps to have a theme. Ms. Branco is an ardent animal advocate.
 

Her theme is the...

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Ms. Branco encourages young writers to develop each scene based on the writer’s theme.
 
Her goal is to help others grow in respect and appreciation for God’s wonderful animals.

​Ms. Branco's  theme, “animal-human bond,” focuses on this goal of appreciation, so readers see how beautifully people can be connected to animals.
 
 So, one of her key writing strategies is to…

• Show interesting details about her pet, and then
• Show how she felt in reaction to what her pet has done.

 
This is a good strategy for young writers to intentionally use, too.
 
For instance, if a child has been in the hospital, how did the child feel and what did the child do when finally arriving home and being greeted by a family pet?
 
Facts also can help readers appreciate these stories better, by getting an overall view. Young writers may want to use an Internet search engine to gather statistics about their animals of topic and include some important facts in their writing. Your local SPCA,  BestFriends.org, and Rabbit.org may be a good place to start, says Ms. Branco.
 
She also encourages young writers to write a “Gratitude Letter” to their beloved pet. It is good practice for children to learn to write what they appreciate or love about an animal and to explain why.
 
Young writers can find ways to also express their thankfulness to God for His creation and how their special animals enrich their lives.
 
 Many churches have a special service each year for the blessing of one’s pets, both big and small. Children may be fascinated to attend such a service in your area, and then write about this experience. In early October, in honor of Saint Francis, (patron saint of animals), Christian churches worldwide bless animals and have special prayers for creation.

INVITATION TO SHARE
 
If your young writers would like to share their writings about animals that includes a Christian viewpoint, I invite you to send them to me by July 1st. I am sure it would be fun for us to see some of these in an upcoming post. You are invited to send these via the contact page on newSongpress.net. We look forward to seeing these stories!
 

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Author Denise Lee Branco invites readers to go to www.DeniseInspiresYou.com where you can order her books from Amazon and Barnes & Noble and also purchase autographed copies directly from her.
 
Her books make beautiful gift books for teens and young and older adults!

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Would you like to see more blog posts like this, to help young people in your lives have fun writing and include a Christian perspective?
I invite you to click here to go to www.newSongpress.net and sign up on the home page for my periodic newsletters.
 
 
May you all have a great and lovely journey in helping children and teens with nonfiction animal writing, with a Christian perspective,
 
Heidi Vertrees
Author/Educator
Victor Survives Being a Kid!
newSongpress.net