Page 20
Voice ■
A writer’s voice reveals personality, interest, and connection to the reader. Josie Phillips’s voice conveys excitement and awe, inviting the reader to discover a mysterious wonder.
In the White Mountains of eastern California, a path leads up through a parched landscape to a pine grove that holds a secret: Methuselah is a 4,855-year-old bristlecone. It started growing before the Great Pyramid was built, while mammoths still roamed Wrangel Island in the Arctic Sea. To protect this ancient wonder, the U.S. forestry service refuses to tell precisely where Methuselah lives. . . .
Discussion: Josie’s voice reveals her interest in the topic, an interest that becomes contagious. She unfolds her ideas gradually to draw the reader in.