"Karen Benke gives young writers permission to explore the illogical, the heartspace, the wilderness of the imagination. Unlike other books, she offers guidance in centering and being kind to yourself--prerequisites to freeing your voice. The clear, compelling writing adventures she presents gently pull down any guard, any walls you might have in order to release the unexpected within."--Betsy Franco, author of "Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers"

"Writing is always work, but it is also play--something most of us forget as we grow up. In this most engaging guide Karen Benke reconnects us with the mind at play: imagining and observing, listening and remembering. She nods to our hesitations and then encourages us to leap write in! With her lively and gentle invitations we find our stories and poems are everywhere--in hair and bones, backward poems and imaginary paintings."--J. Ruth Gendler, author of "The Book of Qualities"

Karen Benke has inspired children in the art of creative writing for sixteen years as a freewrite facilitator, creative writing coach, and poet-teacher in the California Poets in the Schools program, where she specializes in leading creative writing workshops for children seven to fourteen years old. Her writing has appeared in many anthologies and national literary journals. She is the recipient of two teaching grants from "Poets & Writers" and is a four-time grant recipient from the Marin Arts Council Fund for Artists.