Writing Like Our Mentor Authors, Karen Hesse and Christopher Myers

We have been working on a Realistic Fiction unit in writing. We have done a lot of work around craft, looking as writers as Karen Hesse's "Come On, Rain!" and Christopher Myers, "FLY!" Some of the craft moves we have looked closely at include, comparisons, alliteration, onomatopoeia, sophisticated words, and descriptive/sensory language. Some of the reasons we thought a writer might use these craft moves are...
comparisons to help the reader create an image in their mind,
alliteration (words that begin with the same letter or sound) to create rhythm,
onomatopoeia (words that sound like their meaning) to create rhythm and sound that captures attention and allows the reader to hear what you are writing,
sophisticated/ fancy words to turn ordinary language into extraordinary language and make the writing more interesting
descriptive language to really allow a reader to create a clear picture of the setting or character and really connect with your story.
Below are some examples from the texts that have served as mentors.

comparisons
COME ON, RAIN! - "I am sizzling like a hot potato." "Her long legs, like two brown string beans."
FLY - "His head swims in circles, his hips jump, his wrists twist. The pigeons are floating, swimming, jumping, and twisting with him."

alliteration
COME ON, RAIN! - "I aim a spoonful of sugar into my mouth, then a second into the drink."
FLY - " 'Newk's got bebop in his blood. He be bobbin' his head up and down when he walks."

sophisticated/ fancy words
COME ON, RAIN! - "And that's when I see it coming, clouds rolling in, gray clouds, bunched and bulging under a purple sky."
"Wet slicking arms and legs, we splash up the block, squealing and whopping in the streaming rain."
FLY - "He is flying, swooping, soaring"

onomatopoeia
COME ON, RAIN! - "...while the music from Mrs. Glick's phonograph shimmies and sparkles and streaks like night lightening."
FLY - "I can hear the warm twittering of pigeons in the sun."

descriptive/sensory language
COME ON, RAIN! - "Mamma lifts a listless vine and sighs. 'Three weeks and not a drop," she says, sagging over parched plants.
FLY - "A bird with a little tuft of feathers jutting from his head dips and struts in a circle, puffs out his chest, and whistles a twisty tune."
"I creak up the stairs, toward the door to the roof, nervous as the light that falls into the hallway where the bulb has been burned out for a month."