A CHOICE-FILLED ADVENTURE STORY
THE DRAGON QUEEN—
Queen Scarlet the Crystal Eater Written by Students of MS. CROWLEY AND MS. KRING’S 5TH GRADE CLASS at ERICKSON ELEMENTARY
FIRST EDITION PRINTED AND BOUND AT 826MICHIGAN
Copyright © 2021 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 in a fantasy kingdom inside of a chip bag on a cat’s belly, when you see swords and dragons around you. The dragons eat rocks. You suddenly feel hungry so you eat the chips. They are barbecue Cheeto chips. You learn that the dragon is the queen of the kingdom. The queen’s name is Queen Scarlet the Crystal Eater, and she can turn into human form. The queen dragon invites you to go flying with her and eat chips together. If you eat the chips, you will turn into a dragon. She asks you to come to her kingdom for a feast. Do you eat a chip to turn into a dragon, or do you go with the queen dragon for a feast?
If you decide to eat a chip to turn into a dragon, turn to page 2. If you decide to go with the queen dragon for a feast, turn to page 3.
1
When you turn into the dragon, you feel magical and floaty. Your dragon form fits your personality. You are a young dragon that is small, and you are blue because you have ice powers! People around you try to get on your back and fly with you, which causes some problems. You feel really different as a dragon but you want to try flying for the first time. You start to float into the sky. It is a bit scary, but you can see the whole world and explore! Once you learn how to fly, you can visit new places. You fly out of the chip bag and you can see New York and tiny baby dragons in Iceland.
If you decide to fly to New York, turn to page 4. If you decide to fly to Iceland to visit the baby dragons, turn to page 5.
2
You choose to accept Queen Scarlet the Crystal Eater’s invitation to go to her kingdom. The kingdom floats and is futuristic, marble, and gold with neon windows. The queen takes you to a prison and traps you there. She makes you mine for crystals to eat. The crystals are white, purple, blue, and green, and they are all different shapes and sizes. They are the most royal crystals. There are emeralds, obsidian, and a giant red crystal with a bunch of other crystals around it. You find a shadow crystal that is very rare. They all taste different.
If you decide to bring the dragon a shadow crystal, turn to page 6. If you decide to bring the dragon an emerald, turn to page 7.
3
You choose to fly to New York City in the snowy winter. You need snow to survive. Thankfully, you have a layer of fur on your back to help keep you warm and to carry baby dragons. In New York, there are a lot of people and noises. You can hear people talking, horns honking, and phones ringing. The little kids in the city see you and start screaming and crying because they are scared. People see you flying and try to get you to come down so they can ride on your back. You don’t want the people to fly on your back because they could fall. You try to tell them they can’t fly with you but they don’t understand your ice dragon language. They are taking pictures of you and waving you down, and then one kid jumps on you! When you fly with the kid, they fall off and you have to save them! Once you save the kid, you want to land somewhere safe in the city. You try to land on a hill, but you injure your wing and accidentally land on a movie set and become part of the movie. It is a super villain action movie, and they ask you to play the role of a dragon. They don’t know you are a real dragon. They think you are an actor in a costume! If you become an actor, you’ll make millions and billions of dollars. Do you join the movie?
If you decide to act in the movie and become a star,
write your own ending. If you decide to fly away, write your own ending.
4
(start again at page 1)
You choose to fly to Iceland to visit baby dragons. Since you are an ice dragon it doesn’t feel too cold to you, but you are surrounded by ice. You see 400 small baby dragons. They are only one foot tall and they are white, gray, and blue. Some of the baby dragons are triplets. Two of the baby dragons are half red and half blue with polka dots and they have special powers. One of them has ice powers. The other dragon has fire powers and can create heat in the cold. You decide to adopt these special dragons so they can stay together. They are a little shy at first, and you want to take them to see their new house so they can get more comfortable. You take them to an ice hut so they have room to grow. It also has a heater so they can stay warm. When they get larger they will need a new house. You realize it will be a lot of work to take care of baby dragons. Once they start to feel comfortable with you, they need to learn how to fly and you must choose how to begin their training.
If you decide to to bring them up in the air but hold them over something bouncy so they will be safe if they fall,
write your own ending. If you decide to train them before flying with them,
write your own ending. 5
(start again at page 1)
You decide to bring the dragon queen a crystal. The Queen eats the shadow crystal and disappears before your eyes! Even though you can’t see her, you can still see her shadow. The Queen is shocked and is very sad. You feel bad for her and decide to find her a cure. You decide to ask a yellow dragon with orange spots named Patches for help. Patches leads you to a wizard. He looks like an archer with a big beard, but he’s a powerful wizard named Amadeus. Amadeus gives you a bucket full of a white potion to pour on the Queen to make her visible again. He’s never made an unshadow potion before and needs another ingredient. The last ingredient is Zombie DNA in the form of hair, which is very rare. There is only one zombie left with hair. You can either accept the wizard’s quest to get the last ingredient or go back to the kingdom with the queen with an unfinished potion.
If you decide to accept the wizard’s quest,
write your own ending. If you decide to go back to the kingdom with an unfinished potion, write your own ending.
6
(start again at page 1)
You decide to bring the Queen Dragon an emerald. The Queen Dragon eats the emerald and it gives her the power to take over the world. She can even take over the galaxy. After the queen eats the emerald, you run as fast as you can over to a barn. The barn is painted all black and camouflaged. When you open the door to the barn, it squeaks open. EEEKKK. An old farmer guy says, “What are you doing in my barn?” You say, “We are hiding from a mystical dragon that is trying to take over the galaxy!” The farmer responds, “I have a magical weapon for that. Here is a map. The weapon is in a cave.” You decide to go on the quest. On the quest, you mine for more emeralds and eat one. You tame a bear and a 15 foot spider. They give you gems to help complete your quest. You put the gems on pedestals and find a sword stuck in a rock.
If you decide to go back and find the farmer to get help with the sword, write your own ending. If you decide to go back to the dragon and stop her from taking over the world, 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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