Basher Basics: Creative Writing

Part of the expansion of the Basher series into topics other than science, this concise guide breaks down stories and storytelling, illustrated by Basher’s recognizable brand of cute, animesque cartoon iconography. The book is divided into five sections: “What’s the Story?” examines nine genres of writing, including adventure and horror (“Scads of my once wild predictions have collided smack into ordinary reality,” boasts Science Fiction, wearing a spacesuit and balancing a futuristic city on its head), and subsequent chapters cover theme, setting, plot, structure, viewpoint, diction, and more. Each topic is explained clearly and with light humor—“You can’t shut me up!” says Dialogue, represented as two sharp-edged sets of lips—and a foldout poster underscores how these many parts come together to create a story. Ages 8–up. (July)