Mentor Texts for Writers: Meet My Mentor Texts by Linda Bozzo

I’m so excited that Linda Bozzo is on my blog today because I’ve actually met her in REAL LIFE. Linda and I met at the WOW Conference in Georgia last summer. I always learn so much by how others study mentor texts, and Linda is no exception.

WHAT IS A MENTOR TEXT?

In the same way a mentor teaches or helps someone who has less experience, mentor texts can help teach writers how to improve their writing. No matter where you are in your writing career, using mentor texts can be a powerful tool.

HOW DO I USE MENTOR TEXTS?

I use mentor texts to explore everything from examples of exceptional writing, to ideas, organization, voice, and even writing style. So I’d like to take this time to introduce to you some of my mentor texts . . .

I often use several mentor texts for one manuscript. For example, when writing my biography about an inventor, I searched for mentor texts that would help me decide on the structure of my story, including where I wanted it to start.

The first one I found was MANFISH: A STORY OF JACQUES COUSTEAU by Jennifer Berne. The story starts with Jacques’ birth and how much he loved the water.

Similarly, ON A BEAM OF LIGHT: A STORY OF ALBERT EINSTEIN, also by Jennifer Berne, begins with Albert’s birth. It talks about how growing up he didn’t talk and instead he looked and wondered about everything.

These two mentor texts helped me write the opening of my biography starting from, you might have guessed . . . the inventor’s birth.

In this same biography, I wanted to include a page spread of my inventor as he imagines the possibilities of his invention. All inventors must dream, right? Again, I looked to MANFISH for a similar scene where Jacque dreams he would someday be able to breathe underwater. In ON A BEAM OF LIGHT Albert has one of his biggest, most exciting thoughts ever; riding on a beam of light.

Then when I discovered STAR STUFF: CARL SAGAN AND THE MYSTERIES OF THE COSMOS by Stephanie Roth Sisson, I fell in love with the scene of Carl looking out at the night sky and imagining the possibilities.

I knew I wanted to use the same exceptional writing and format that each of these books used for what I consider to be one of the most important scenes in my biography.

All three of these books feature a fold-out page to create depth, height, and expanse, respectively. While I know this is a decision for the book designer, I imagined my book benefiting from a fold-out page as my inventor performs above his audience. So I addressed this scene in my story in a similar fashion as shown on these three fold-out pages. I can dream too, can’t I?

WHERE DO I FIND MENTOR TEXTS?

I find mentor texts in various places including the new book section at the library, the bookstore, new book announcements, book reviews, and recommendations from writers and librarians. Another great place to find mentor texts is at writing conferences where editors are showing off the latest books they’ve edited.

Sometimes I purchase the books I use as mentor texts and other times, when I use books from the library, I type them out and save them in a file so they can be read over and over again.

Mentor texts continually help give me direction (especially when I’ve lost my way), keep me focused, and help me figure out what works, as well as what doesn’t, for my stories.

Linda Bozzo is an award- winning author of more than 50 nonfiction children’s books. Linda was selected as the Outstanding Author for 2013 by the New Jersey Association of School Librarians. She is a member of SCBWI and enjoys presenting her writing journey to both children and adults. To learn more about Linda and her books visit: www.lindabozzo.com