Read Episode 2 of "The Exquisite Corpse" on Read.Gov

Use the Reading, Writing, and Art Activities Created to Support The Exquisite Corpse Adventure to Inspire Young People at Home and in the Classroom

 

Are you reading the exciting online story game The Exquisite Corpse Adventure with the young people in your life?!  Episode 2 was written by National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Emeritus Katherine Paterson and illustrated by James Ransome. Click here to read Episode 2 on Read.gov.

 

Teachers, librarians, homeschoolers, and parents interested in FREE reading, writing, and art educational materials should check out the NCBLA's The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Education Resource Center. Designed to support The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, these extensive materials provide a gold mine of literacy articles, web resources, classroom activities, games, reading lists, art activities, discussion questions, many of which can be adopted for use with books, stories, and art beyond The Exquisite Corpse Adventure. You won't want to miss "A Guide to Progressive Stories" and "Creating Your Own Exquisite Corpse Story Adventure" for instructions on how you can create the magic of a progressive story game in your home, classroom, library, or next camping trip.

 

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, Episode 2
(c) 2008 James Ransome

The Exquisite Corpse episodic materials include thematic reading lists, classroom activities,  and art appreciation articles and activities. For example, the art activity for Episode 2 is titled "Wet Washes and Rich Color - Creating an Illustration Layer by Layer" and invites students to take a closer look at James Ransome's watercolor illustration then try the technique for themselves. Click here to check out this art lesson! 

 

And to watch a video demonstration of James working with watercolor, click here. 

Katherine Paterson is the author of more than 30 books including 16 novels for children and young people. She has twice won the Newbery Medal, for Bridge to Terabithia in 1978 and Jacob Have I Loved in 1981. The Master Puppeteer won the National Book Award in 1977 and The Great Gilly Hopkins won the National Book Award in 1979 and was also a Newbery Honor Book. For the body of her work she received the Hans Christian Anderson Award in 1998, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2006, and in 2000 was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress.  Katerine is a vice-president of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance and is a member of the board of trustees for Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the 2010-2011 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Katherine's most recent book is The Flint Heart (Candlewick Press), written with her husband John Paterson. 



The Children's Book Council named James E. Ransome as one of seventy-five authors and illustrators everyone should know. Currently a member of the Society of Illustrators, Ransome has received both the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and the IBBY Honor Award for his book, The Creation. He has also received a Coretta Scott King Honor Award for Illustration for Uncle Jed's Barbershop which was selected as an ALA Notable Book and is currently being shown as a feature on Reading Rainbow. How Many Stars in the Sky? and Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt were also Reading Rainbow selections. PBS's Storytime featured his book, The Old Dog. 

Ransome has exhibited works in group and solo shows throughout the country and received The Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance award for his book, The Wagon. James lives in Rhinebeck New York with his wife Lesa Cline Ransome, a writer of children's books. James' most recent books are My Teacher (Dial), which he wrote and illustrated, and Christmas Tugboat (Clarion), written by George Matteson and Adele Ursone.

What Is The Exquisite Corpse Adventure?

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is a progressive story just like the one many families play on road trips, at camps, at parties, at home when there is a power outage. It is a game where one person begins a story, stops at a cliffhanging moment, and the next person picks it up, continuing on until everyone in the group has the opportunity to contribute. And just like in those games, in The Exquisite Corpse, characters spontaneously erupt out of our authors’ imaginations; plot lines tumble forth, some realized, some lost; and we are often poised at the edge of a cliff with no logical solution in sight! The Corpse is now being published for a second time on Read.Gov.  Click here to read it on Read.gov.

 

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure authors and illustrators are:  M.T. Anderson, Natalie Babbitt, Calef Brown,  Susan Cooper,  Kate DiCamillo,  Timothy Basil Ering, Jack Gantos, Nikki Grimes,  Shannon Hale,  Lemony Snicket, Steven Kellogg, Gregory Maguire,  Megan McDonald,  Patricia and Fredrick McKissack,  Linda Sue Park, Katherine Paterson,  James Ransome, Jon Scieszka, and Chris Van Dusen. 

To learn more about The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, click here.

Ask for The Exquisite Corpse Adventure at a library or bookstore near you!

To buy The Exquisite Corpse Adventure from the bookseller of your choice, click here.