A CHOICE-FILLED ADVENTURE STORY
THE CANDY OASIS— Finding Your Way Through the Desert
Written by Students of MS. CRAWFORD-MOOK’S 5TH GRADE CLASS at UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS
FIRST EDITION PRINTED AND BOUND AT 826MICHIGAN
Copyright Š 2020 by 826michigan and Blotch Books. All rights reserved by 826michigan, the many whims of Drs. T & G Blotch, and the authors. The views expressed in this book are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of 826michigan. We believe in the power of youth voice and are thrilled that you picked up this book. No part of this book may be reproduced without express written permission from the publisher, except for small excerpts for the purposes of review or scholarly study. By purchasing this book, you are helping 826michigan continue to offer free student programs. For more information, please visit: 826michigan.org
You are walking through the desert when you approach an oasis with many types of pools. There is a slime pool, a candy pool, an ice cream pool, a French fry pool, a hamburger pool, a basketball pool, a pineapple pool, a chocolate pool, and a banana pool. “What?!” you say, surprised. “This defies the laws of physics! This is like a dream!” You aren’t sure if this is real or not.
If you decide to test food from one of the pools, turn to page 2. If you decide you’re getting dizzy and keep walking, turn to page 3.
1
The pineapple looks like it might be safe to eat. You wonder if you can trust it. This food has been in the desert for a long time. It could be poisonous! You wonder what the pineapple will taste like. It must be juicy and delicious. You wonder what you can use to cut into the pineapple. A rock might work! You find a big orange hard rock. You lift the rock into the air and bring it down on the pineapple. It makes a “slslsls” sound that sounds like it’s breaking glass. Inside the pineapple, there is a golden egg! You think it must be worth a lot of money!
If you decide to break open the egg and find out what is inside, turn to page 4. If you decide to take the egg and sell it, turn to page 5.
2
You’re not feeling so well. Your stomach hurts, and your knee is swollen and feels terrible! It burns, and feels numb. It makes it hard to walk! You wonder if you ate something bad, but you usually eat good food, so you’re confused. You wonder if sand got into your pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast — or it could have got into your chicken and waffles! You remember that you took some medicine last night, and now you might need some more. You also worry that you’ve gotten bitten by a snake, a scorpion with a long tail, a tarantula, or even spit on by a camel while you were sleeping! You wonder if you should take a nap, or look for medicine — maybe even cactus juice? You’re worried about sleeping in the desert — it might be dangerous!
If you decide to take a nap, turn to page 6. If you decide to take some medicine, turn to page 7.
3
You decide to break the egg open and find out what is inside. To your surprise, out of the egg come 100 tiny golden ducks! You are surprised that there could be so many ducks inside that egg. The ducks begin to chirp at you. They must think that you are their mother. You have to do something! They start talking to you and say, “There is someone after us! We were hidden inside the golden pineapple to keep us safe.” You say to the ducks, “I will keep you safe until your mom returns.” The ducks say, “We can hear the pirates from miles away; they are coming to find us now! Don’t let them find us!” They add, “The pirates have four eyes, can hear very clearly, and are very mean. Also, they are allergic to candy and turn into aliens if they get too close to it.” How can you keep the ducks safe?
If you decide to hide the ducks in the pool full of candy,
write your own ending. If you decide to hide the ducks in the banana pool,
write your own ending. 4
(start again at page 1)
You wonder where to go to sell the egg. While looking for a bus to take to you somewhere to sell the egg, you find some magical candy and eat it. The candy makes you fall asleep and you wake up on a platform in space! You gasp, “Aghh!” because there’s no air to breathe! You try to dash into a house, but the door is locked. You ram into the door to break it down. You notice a helmet with an air tank. You put the helmet on as fast as you can! Finally, you can relax! You say, “Weird, why was the helmet over there? What is that clinking noise?” Suddenly, there’s a black hole! There’s a tall monster and you run away.
If you fall into the black hole and end up in the desert,
write your own ending. If you stop running and realize the monster is friendly,
write your own ending. 5
(start again at page 1)
Since it is so hot in the desert, you have a crazy dream! You’re in a pool full of spiders. It’s terrifying! Some of the spiders are huge, like spiders from the Amazon, and it is so scary you jolt awake. You feel better and are no longer hurting. You realize you are still in the desert and need to find a way out and get to a village. Luckily, you have a compass and a map on you! You look at the map and notice that the closest town north of you is a french fry village. You also notice that there is a lake to the south. You love Moana and think it might be fun to swim like her.
If you decide to go to french fry village,
write your own ending. If you decide to go to the lake, write your own ending.
6
(start again at page 1)
You have to get some medicine from the store. Stores are usually in cities, so you aren’t sure what to do, but you know that cactus juice can make you feel better. You wonder if you should start looking for a cactus! You also need a sharp object to cut open the cactus. As you walk around to look for a way to feel better, you come across a village in the desert. Some of the people are mean, and they make fun of you and call you names. They are also selfish, because they aren’t helping you.
If you decide to trust the villagers to help you,
write your own ending. If you decide to keep walking, write your own ending.
7
(start again at page 1)
inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities. Our writing and tutoring programs uphold a culture of creativity and imagination and support students in establishing strong habits of mind. Through publication and community engagement, we provide students with an authentic and enthusiastic audience for their writing. Our programs provide an energizing creative outlet for students and meaningful volunteer opportunities for community members. We believe that with one-onone attention from caring adults, students improve their academic performance, develop a sense of belonging, and discover the unique value of their voices. We also believe that the more fun a student has, and the more directly we speak to a student’s interests, the more we can help students find the fun in learning. That’s why our programs are more than just extra homework. All of our programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student’s power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in their individual voice. ONLINE LEARNING LAB In the spring of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly transitioned all of our programs online. Our priority is to ensure the safety of our community, while continuing to offer engaging, high-quality opportunities to students. Each of our main programs—Schoolwork Support, Workshops, Field Trips, and In-school Projects—has been reimagined for the virtual space as part of our new Online Learning Lab. For the 2020–21 school year, our programs will remain virtual. When is it safe to return to our in-person programs, we plan to continue to offer virtual program opportunities as well! SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT The program formerly-known as tutoring has been given an updated name, but the same great foundations remain. We organize trained volunteer tutors to work with students one-on-one with their homework after school. Schoolwork Support is available for all subjects, for students ages 8–18. Generally, we offer this program at three locations: at our Liberty Street Lab in Ann Arbor, at the Michigan Avenue Branch of the Ypsilanti District Library, and at our Winder Street Lab in Detroit’s Eastern Market, though in-person programs are on pause this year. We have added a Virtual Schoolwork Support program. Students are paired with two tutors to work on assignments for school and writing projects of their choosing.
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