Portal Upon Portal by Students in Ms. Fincher's Fifth Grade Class at Haisley Elementary

PORTAL UPON

PORTAL: In the Book of Mysteries

Written by students of Ms. Fincher’s Fifth-grade Class at Haisley Elementary

FIRST EDITION AN 826MICHIGAN PUBLICATION

A CHOICE-FILLED ADVENTURE STORY

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.

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One day, you go outside for a walk in the park. You see a purple bus book lying on a bench outside of the library. You grab it and start reading. It’s a book about a field trip, and you start to feel kinda dizzy. Suddenly, the book sucks you inside and you find yourself floating through a portal into space! The portal looks purple like the book, with a bunch of floating books around. When you get to the end of the portal, you are on a giant purple bus. You see three of your friends there, Eli, Sara, and Derek, who also got sucked into this story. When they see you, they exclaim “how did you get here?!” And you say “I got sucked into a book.” You and your friends will need to figure out how to get out of here. You walk up to the driver’s seat and see two portals–one green and one blue. The blue portal has three keys floating above it, and the green portal has the book floating above it. You wonder if this is some kind of weird treasure hunt.

If you choose to jump into the blue portal, turn to page 2. If you choose to jump into the green portal, turn to page 3.

1

You look near the blue portal and there are three keys: one red, one green, one blue. The green and red keys are smaller and close to you. The blue key is the biggest of all but very far away. You throw the green key into the portal and it explodes into a million tiny purple and green dust pieces. You think to yourself, “the blue key will open the blue portal. But this key is very hard to reach: to get to the blue key, you have to climb a ladder or go through a mud pit. Vines are growing from the mud pit. Some of the vines are blue and white striped like tigers, some are green and brown striped like tigers, and some are poisonous. So you have to be careful.

First, you try to go through the mud pit but it’s actually quicksand! You try to grab a vine but you can’t reach it yet, but if you try really hard you can reach it.

You see a crocodile falling towards you. It’s yellow with purple dots, and also sandy, boney, and medium-sized. It licks its lips. It has glowing red eyes. When it opens its mouth super wide, it sounds like a creaky door. CRRRRRKKKK! It has a glowing white tongue with red cracked edges of sand, and the tongue feels like sandpaper. Its teeth are broken and dull, so it won’t hurt. But when it opens its mouth, you see a portal inside, leading to a desert. You’re worried there might be dinosaurs, bones, or scorpions inside the desert. You have a big choice to make.

If you grab the big vine, turn to page 4.

If you jump into the crocodile portal, turn to page 5.

2

You look closely and realize that the green portal is outside of the bus. You find the driver’s key under the seat, and drive the whole bus into the green portal. You hear intense, dramatic music and you feel really closed in. Your mind is filled with overwhelming flashbacks of all your most embarrassing moments. It smells like a public bathroom that gets cleaned once a year and you have the taste of moldy cheese pizza in your mouth. Your bus starts to slow down and you notice a bunch of magical goo in the portal and on the windshield. When you reach the end of the portal, you find a log cabin with a lava pit around it and you’re not sure if you’re still in space. You see dinosaurs fighting and dancing. You’re about to land on a pair of fighting dinosaurs! As soon as you’re about to land on the fighting dinosaurs, a force field stops your bus. The bus explodes and sends you flying into a dinosaur nest on top of the log cabin. You look around and see a jungle nearby with dinosaurs guarding the entrance. “Where are Derek, Sarah, and Eli?” You wonder, concerned. You see Derek and Sara holding the edge of the lava pit and Eli is upside down on the log cabin roof. Eli is holding a blue magical book that has a picture of the Earth on it. The book is slowly slipping out of Eli’s hand toward the lava!

If you choose to look for materials to rebuild the bus, turn to page 6. If you choose to save the magical book, turn to page 7.

3

4 THE END

(space to write your own ending)

5 THE END

(space to write your own ending)

6 THE END

(space to write your own ending)

7 THE END

(space to write your own ending)

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.

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A way to figure things out by ourselves

A way to help us connect to our world

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We create a safe place to be ourselves and try new things

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826 National was inspired to take a stand on issues of inclusion and diversity in light of the many events that spotlighted social and racial injustices throughout the country. We as educators, volunteers, and caring adults need to be aware of the wide range of issues our students face on a day-to-day basis. We need to support these young people as they navigate through and try to make sense of the world and their own identities.

We need the support and the feedback from our community to ensure 826 is living up to these standards. Through our inclusion statement, our internal diversity and inclusion group, cultural competency resources provided to staff and volunteers, and partnerships with other organizations, we are always working towards being a more inclusive and supportive organization.

We at 826 have the privilege of working with the next generation of scholars, teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, and writers. It's our job to make sure they are able to take their own stands.

As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps in learning happen, we commit ourselves to inclusion: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, military service, or disability.

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