For the longest time, my daughter included “author” in the list of professions she wanted when she grew up. She spent hours writing stories followed by time illustrating them.

This past summer, she decided that she wasn’t going to be an author or an illustrator. She started thinking about all the other things she could be. She stopped writing stories, but wrote a poem now and again. She fell in love with science and found a stronger taste for math.

(As I write I find myself thinking… is this still my daughter?)

Before her writing test last week, I handed her a copy of Spilling Ink. “You can read this to prepare for writing your essay.”

Having rejected reading the hard copy I bought when it was first released (donated to her class library) and showing no interest in reading the paperback I bought for her at home, she decided to give it a try, for the test.

And she is still reading it.

And she is writing stories.

And she has discovered new creativity and imagination – stories with humor and a completely different voice than in the past.

This book, Spilling Ink, at the right time… opened her eyes and her mind and reminded her of the delight she found in writing.

When I found the book in her pack last night, I assumed she had finished it. “Oh no,” she said. “I accidently put it in.”

So back to school it went today. She reads a little, writes a lot, and returns to the pages of the book.

She found a new copy of Stone Soup – the periodical written by kids – last night… reading and enjoying it cover to cover – appreciating, a new, what it takes to write a story. Perhaps she was even reading the kid’s stories with a different perspective.

Thank you to the authors of Spilling Ink and to the blogs I have read that encouraged me to buy the book and to donate it to the class library. Several kids in the class have read it – and now my daughter is finding the magic it offers to those who dare to open the cover!