Published on 03/8/2010

After watching the film “Walking the Line,” Jared Tinlin was inspired to try writing a Johnny Cash style song, so his parents bought him a guitar and taught him some chords. Soon Jared was asking Mom for help with spelling words for the lyrics and he had written down verses about a train and the yellow sun along with simple guitar chords over some words. When his mother, Sandra Tinlin, suggested they compile his words into a book, Jared was excited to begin the process. As Jared wrote, he talked out loud to come up with ideas. The musical rhythm he created and his brainstorming writing process are reflected in the book’s title "Hey…Hey…Think Out Loud!" Expanding upon the Fundations process he learned in kindergarten and first grade, Jared ran through the alphabet to create fun rhyming words. “I wanted to write about things outside,” said Jared in a recent interview. The subjects explored in the book include the sun, a flower, a cloud, a train and a race car. A farmer and a dog are the next animals questioned. Other subjects examined in the book are a standup bass, guitar and a drum set. The book is concluded with a t-shirt, socks and all the subjects of the day.

Hey…Hey…Think Out Loud! by Jared Tinlin: Book Review

Kid Adventure Pack Publishing (2009)
ISBN 9780984224715
Reviewed by Cayden Aures (age 5 ½) and Mom for Reader Views (02/10)

Cayden’s comments:

I like the title of the book, “Hey…Hey...Think Out Loud!” It is a funny title. In the book there is a boy and he talks to different things and sometimes they talk back to him. He asks the flower when it is going to grow and it asks him the same thing back. He also asks a dog why he wags his tail and asks a cloud why it is so fluffy. He always starts by saying the words “Hey, hey” and everything that he says rhymes. I really like things that rhyme.

My favorite picture in the book is the one with the standup bass and the drum set because they have faces and because we have a drum set too except it is a little bit different. I also like the sun picture because it is smiling and the cloud picture because it looks like cotton candy.

I like that the book is written by a boy who is seven-years-old. That is only two years older than I am. Maybe I can write a book someday too! This book was a fun book to read!

Parent’s comments:

We enjoyed the creativity expressed in the “Hey…Hey...Think Out Loud!” by Jared Tinlin. The rhyming text was very catchy and fun. After reading the book my son created rhyming verses of his own beginning with the words “Hey, hey.” It is always great to see books authored by children. They prove to be very inspirational to other young, ambitious children like my son.