826michigan OMNIBUS 13 – 2021 by 826michigan

OMNIBUS

THIRTEEN

826michigan Staff Dr. Naimah Wade, Executive Director Judy Tipton, Development Director Catherine Calabro Cavin, Education Director Frances Martin, Operations Director Megan Gilson, Program Manager Michael Spaeth, Development & Communications Coordinator Caitlin Koska, Spring & Summer Program Coordinator Copyright © 2021 by 826michigan and Blotch Books. All rights reserved by 826michigan, the many whims of Drs. T & G Blotch, the illustrators, 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. ISBN 978-1-948644-85-3 Printed at McNaughton & Gunn in Saline, Michigan Design and illustrations by Jessica Pace By purchasing this book, you are helping 826michigan continue to offer free student programs. For more information, please visit 826michigan.org

OMNI I BUS S

THIRTEEN

Also Published YOUNG AUTHORS BOOK PROJECT: * Because No One Else Could Do It * In Our Defense * In the Clouds Over Ypsilanti * A Moment to Remember * Rare Air / Aire raro * A Lantern of Fireflies * Tell Me How It Was * Where Is It Coming From? * Enjoy! Recipes for Building Community * All I Could Do Was Look Up: Anatomy of a Middle School * What to Call the Place I Call Home: Voices of 26 Ypsilanti Middle School Students * The Moons Were Jealous * 2020: Visions of the [Near] Future * Don’t Stay Up So Late * How to Rise Or, I Put My Heart into the Close * Tall Tales & True Stories * Suddenly My Heart Stopped for Just a Small Portion of Time: Defining Moments * OMNIBUS: * 826michigan OMNIBUS I * 826michigan OMNIBUS II * 826michigan OMNIBUS III * 826michigan OMNIBUS IV * 826michigan OMNIBUS V * 826michigan OMNIBUS VI * 826michigan OMNIBUS VII * 826michigan OMNIBUS VIII * 826michigan OMNIBUS IX * 826michigan OMNIBUS X * 826michigan OMNIBUS 11 * 826michigan OMNIBUS 12 * AN INCOMPLETE LIST OF CHAPBOOKS: * 140-Character Fairy Tale Characters * And I Did My Best * And Suddenly, We Ran Into a Cliff of Gold * Because Their Feet Will Be Wet, They Will Agree to the Monster’s Demands * The Big Mess-Up and Other Stories * The Big Treasure Should Be Gold * Bon Temps Roulez! * A Burning Forest, An Underground Castle, and a Misled Princess: The Papaya Problem * Cats Came to the Dog Party * Carrying Ourselves Across: The Art of Self-Translation * Cinderella’s Bad Day, Prince Charming is a Monster, and Other Tragic Love Tales * The Clouds Spell Detroit * Colors Came Out * Crazy Soup * Cuando los robots atacan * Don’t Get Freaked Out, But I am a Fifteen-Year-Old Vampire * Deluxe: Tales from Two Tutoring Labs * Detectives on the Case * The Distance Between Two Sides of a Color * Dr. Von Humor’s Encyclopedia of Monster Botany * Ekphrastic is Fantastic! * Even the Stars are Robotic * Everybody Will Know You * Every Day Got Better and Better * Everything You Could Ever Want . . . and More! * Everything You Fight For And Gain * Expecting Greatness and Excitement * Feed Your Mac and Cheese To Your Pet Crocodile * Flying High * The Fog Was Geemy * Four Years’ Worth of Ice Cream * The Golden Nose 2.0 * Growl!! * Everybody Will Know You * He Gets in a Pickle Almost Every Hour * He Liked to Hip-Hop All Around * Hello Sandwich * Hey Mom, Taking Flight * The Hippo Ate Like a Regular Hippo * How To Be Crazy * How To Survive a Slime Attack with Me * How To Survive an Underground Volcano * How To Survive Being Chased by a Million Squirrels * How To Survive Having All the Powers in the Universe * How To Use Your Nine Lives * I Am Thankful for the Moon So I Can See in the Dark * I Have Hidden A Treasure Somewhere I Cannot Remember * I Hope You Consider What I’ve Said: Kids’ Letters to President Trump * I Never Want to Leave * I Rode My Yak to School * I Suddenly Became Noodles * I Use This Pencil To Write * I Wrote All the Words * Identifying the Common Bot Jot * If I Ever Saw Mr. JK, I Would Ask Him These Things * If I was a Unicorn (Ms. Todd Would Freak Out) * It All Started Like a Regular Day * It Tasted Like the Sun * Joy Got Up and Laughed * Let’s Make a Bridge * Maybe I was Born to be One of the Big Creatures MEOWCH! * The Monster Had a Whole Lot of Question Marks, Volume 1 * The Monster Had a Whole Lot of Question

by 826michigan Marks, Volume 2 * The Moon Smells Like Pizza * My Fish is a Good Fish * My Heart Felt Sad for the Bird * My Robot Eats Pie and Other Habits of Highly Successful Robots * My Robot Eats Pudding and Other Habits of Highly Successful Robots My Strange Outfit * Near and Far * Never Runs out of Battery * The Nicest Car in Monsterland, Volume 1 * The Nicest Car in Monsterland, Volume 2 * Now I Know Many People Here * Oatmeal is My Worst Weakness * Once Upon a Time, There was a Baby, Then Another Baby, and Another Baby, and One More Baby * One Step Closer to the Robot Takeover * Perry was in Love with the Wind * Playing Chess with Owls in the Dark * The Quest for the Diamond Candy Corn * Read This Book! * Really, Really Melted Up * Robot School 101 * The Rothman Observer * The Sandwich Never Wanted to be Eaten * See Modern, Marvelous Ann Arbor by Train, Plane, or Automobile * Shark Math * She Found the Perfect Soup, but it Tasted Weird * Shorter Days * A Skeleton With Fire All Over Him With a Purple Jacket * So Many Different Monsters at Monster School * So Many Monsters at Monster School, Volume 1 * So Many Monsters at Monster School, Volume 2 * Someone Said You Were Looking For Me * Spinach Doughnut * The Stars Danced on the Ceiling * Talking Back, Giving Thanks, and Why You Should Never Drink the Haterade * That Moment Broke My Heart But Also Made Me Strong * They Are Monsters, But They’re Nice Monsters * They Have Pet Stars * They Mean the World to Me * There Was a Boom in My Ice Cream * This is How I Became One of the Greatest Heroes in the History * This Pencil is My Most Important Possession * This Rock is Missing * This Song Still Endures: A 1966 Motown Retrospective * Thunder-, Lightning-, and Waterproof! * Tom the Robot Prince’s Comedy Special: Live from the Enchanted Ice Jungle Kingdom * A * Tough Wolf With No Name * Training a Shark * The Ultimate Tacocat * Underworld Archives * Up in the Air * We Went up with the Pearls and Were All Millionaires * When the Whales Celebrate * Where Everything is Written * Where We Danced and Laughed * A Whole Bunch of Candy * The Wind Shushes and Hushes * The Ypsilanti Community Review * Zomb, the Formalist

It feels awesome, amazing, great! People will know that we’re not just kids. We’re smart and we know how to write a story. −YABP student on being a published author v

Hello everyone! Konichiwa! I am Hanako and I am eleven years old. I can speak Japanese and English. I have been going to 826michigan for the past three years. I feel like I know how to write better and writing has now become part of me. Part of what I like about 826 is that there are people there to help you and give you inspiration. One part I really like about 826 is that you can meet new people and interact with people. I have lots of friends because I go to 826. I like to write poems and fantasy stories. I like to write poems because you can write a short sentence that can make people laugh or smile and many other things. I also like how there’s different types of poems such as haiku, rhyming poems, free verse, and lots more. I like to write fantasy stories because you can come up with the craziest characters and you can create almost anything in your story. Writing fantasy stories can make you full of imagination and creativity in your mind.

The OMNIBUS is where everyone can write all they want on pieces of paper. When you open the book, you can see everyone’s imagination on the paper. You can read all different kinds of stories, such as poems, stories that are fiction, nonfiction, goofy stories, and lots more. I think it is very fun how you can read everyone’s thoughts and you can even see your writing published in a book. I have been published in the OMNIBUS about four times. Whenever I saw my story published on the OMNIBUS, I smiled and was very happy. I think everyone who wrote a story also felt very happy. I think everyone should be happy with their writing and thank YOU for reading this book. Every student has worked very hard on their writing and I am so excited to read everyone’s writing! I hope you enjoy this book of imagination and creativity, and thank you!

—Hanako McDonald, Age 11 vii

Write your own

Top 13 Books 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

GREETINGS TO MY MANY FANS AND FOLLOWERS, This has been a challenging year for humans in general, but for yours truly in particular. I have risen to the challenge, however, in my usual Blotchian fashion and I’m sharing my story to inspire and amaze you. As the year began, I was isolated in my multi-story tree house in the forests of Tierra Del Fuego. It was almost always raining, and when it wasn’t raining it was snowing. Every day from morning to night, I knitted face masks out of pink llama fur for my seventy-three moon-cats, and as fast as I could knit them, those cats unraveled the yarn. If you think it's easy to get a moon-cat to wear a face mask, think again. When I wasn’t knitting, I was communicating with my sadly confused and befuddled 826michigan staff who were living in these little square boxes on my computer screen. They told me that they were working with children, who were also living in little square computer boxes, and that these children were writing wonderful stories. I found this hard to believe, and asked them penetrating questions about these allegedly brilliant children, but they seemed not to hear me and just kept shouting that I was on “mute”, whatever that’s supposed to mean. I gave up on these computer meetings, and began to think about how I could escape Tierra Del Fuego for a better climate. Thanks to my remarkable intellect, I came up with a superb plan. I would travel incognito around the world, using my magnificent editorial powers to save our civilization from bad writing. To do this, I needed an alternative identity: I would be known as the ZEDITOR. I knitted a form-fitting Lycra business suit, emblazoned with a “Z”, and created a black mask out of monkey fur. Armed with my red pencil laser, I traveled at hyper-speed from city to city in my Blotch-mobile. The Blotch-mobile is my finest invention, a bread delivery truck outfitted with a turbo jet engine. I can’t tell you where I got the turbo-jet, because that is classified information. My first stop was New York City, where I dropped in at the offices of the New York Times. I reviewed the content of their paper and found it x

a letter from Dr. Blotch, Editor

sorely lacking. There were absolutely no stories about flying dogs, dark wizards, or talking water bottles. I reassigned several reporters to these important beats, and departed for my next destination. Within a few minutes, I was in Washington D.C. in the newsroom of the Washington Post. These people seemed to have nothing better to do than to write about politics, politics, politics. Where were the useful stories, like how to do a cartwheel, or how to have good dreams? I instructed the staff to add a new section to the paper: “No News is Good News.” I understand that subscriptions have risen by 324 percent, thanks to me. After quick trips to the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Examiner, I decided that I better check in anonymously to see how the 826 staff were getting along in their little boxes. I was a bit worried that if they couldn’t fit tiny refrigerators and stoves in those boxes, they might be getting extremely hungry. Amazingly, they all seemed to be fine, and they were honored to have a visit from the Zeditor, having heard of my marvelous work with the nation’s leading news sources. What I found at 826 astounded me. The staffers shared children’s stories covering everything from sad sloths to climate change. These young writers know how to engage their readers and tackle tough subjects. Seeing no need for my red pencil laser, I boarded the Blotch-mobile and returned to Tierra Del Fuego, where I found my moon-cats happily tangled in llama yarn. Mission accomplished; I took a well-deserved nap. Your Zeditor, Blotch

Table of Introduction by Hanako McDonald.........................................................................vi A Letter from Dr. Blotch....................................................................................x OMNIBUS: What does it mean?........................................................................xviii Writing Is...................................................................................................................xx What We Do When We Write...................................................................xxi

826MICHIGAN PROGRAMS ......................................................................1 FIELD TRIPS ...........................................................................................................2 STORYTELLING & BOOKMAKING Mrs. Birgbauer’s Second-grade Class......................................................5 The Dragilator

NEW MONUMENTS Ms. Lanzilote’s Third-grade Class...............................................................8 Workers' Monument Ms. Fisher’s Fourth-grade Class..................................................................9 Homer Plessy Monument: Broke the Law, But for a Good Reason Ms. Reynolds’s & Mr. Atkinson’s Fourth-grade Classes...............10 Bring Us Together: A Monument for George Floyd Ms. Islam’s Third-grade Class.......................................................................11 Our Vision for a Reading Monument xii

Contents PJ DAY Dr. Phillips’s First-grade Class...................................................................14 The Cheetahog and the Unicorn Princess Ms. Sirman’s Elementary Class..................................................................15 Princess Rose and the Zombies

IF I WERE YOU Ms. Kings’s Fourth-grade Class.................................................................19 Call Their Names, If You Give Them Names Ms. Kings’s Fourth-grade Class.................................................................21 Confront the Ghost Ms. Jabari’s & Mr. Marra’s Third-grade Class................................23 Pandemic Birthday Party Ms. Jabari’s & Mr. Marra’s Third-grade Class................................27 Tiny Rocket Ships & Fake Tea Parties! Ms. Smith’s Fourth-grade Class...............................................................31 Becoming a Famous Singer Ms. Neesam’s Third-grade Class.............................................................33 Time Travel Recommendations Ms. McKinney’s & Ms. Whited’s Fourth-grade Class.................35 Don’t Underestimate Your Power

CHOICE-FILLED ADVENTURE STORIES Ms. Kuntz’s Fourth-grade Class.............................................................38 Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces / Defeating the Dragon Mansion xiii

Ms. Kaufmans’ Fifth-grade Class.........................................................40 A Quest for the Magical Beans / Journey to the Volcano Mr. Scott’s Fifth-grade Class...................................................................41 The Spiral Jalapeno Hot Dog Galaxy / Haunted Trip to Space Ms. Pompey’s & Mr. Marra’s Class........................................................43 Donuts on the Moon

IN-SCHOOL PROJECTS ADVICE FROM: Karter Conner.....................................................................................................46 Taurez Hatchett Jr..........................................................................................47 Aniya Porter........................................................................................................48 Miles Rawlings...................................................................................................49 LaNia Shamily.....................................................................................................52 Silvia Stella...........................................................................................................53 Sheridan Tyler....................................................................................................54

VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT David Abrams.....................................................................................................58 Minecraft: Starting Out in a New World Elona Ziegler & Ofelia Ziegler.................................................................59 ~The Year 5046~ Rihito Tsuruzono..............................................................................................64 Bird Legends Ian Robinson.......................................................................................................65 The Escape of Mr. Pavato Abeer Otaifah & Mohammed Otaifah......................................................68 Perseverance Ahmed Aladani...................................................................................................72 Best Player Raneem Saleh....................................................................................................73 The Adventures of Bella and Maya and Jake and Sam Madison Hopkins.............................................................................................77 Madison Saving the Savannah! xiv

J’Lah Smith..........................................................................................................79 Ice Cream Learns How to Fly Kaden Curry........................................................................................................83 Letter to Joe Biden Tanushka Hariharan......................................................................................84 Esmeralda and the Abandoned House Mia Lynette Keefer.........................................................................................88 The Pencil Angela Maton.....................................................................................................89 The Ugly, Mean Queen Aaliyah Holt..........................................................................................................91 No Title Cheridan Butler................................................................................................97 Unicorn and Popsicle Kai’C Haynes.......................................................................................................98 The Elements Noah Ade Marcanthony.............................................................................106 Everfell Julian Wheatley..............................................................................................108 Protecting the Springbok Hanako McDonald..........................................................................................112 Akia and the Nine-tailed Fox

WORKSHOPS Tai Azzaro............................................................................................................124 Spacedog Ian Ochomogo..................................................................................................125 The Snake that Wanted to Swim Hanako McDonald.........................................................................................130 The Good World and the Bad World Cassidy Bell.......................................................................................................134 Born to Cheer Aruna Bradley & Abby Krzysik............................................................139 Underneath Your Feet Charlie Love.......................................................................................................157 The Adventures of REMZs xv

Mira Wicklund...................................................................................................161 The Story of How We Got Ice Cream That is Yummy! Rihito Tsuruzono.............................................................................................163 Yellowstone Alex Pototschnik............................................................................................166 No Proper Grammar Mason Hardy.....................................................................................................169 At the Zoo, In a Pandemic William Parent.................................................................................................170 The Talking Water Bottle Why Writing is Important to Me Mira Wicklund..................................................................................................172 Cats and Rabbits LOVE CAKE! Sevie Roddy.......................................................................................................175 The Russian Shakespeare Book What Will you Do With Your Power? Why Writing is Important Gabriel Etheridge..........................................................................................180 Silly Cake I’m a Bird Carlo Cohen-Weeg.........................................................................................181 And That Makes a Song Hikali Hiraga......................................................................................................182 Six Feet of Leaves Verda Celiker.....................................................................................................184 Fox in the House Cyde Musehl.....................................................................................................185 A Letter to Gretchen Athena Talaska & Xander Talaska....................................................186 Claudia & Vincent

APPENDIX The 826 Stand......................................................................................................192 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................195 Community Partners...................................................................................197 Volunteers..............................................................................................204

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ABOUT 826MICHIGAN Writing Kits........................................................................................................213 Our Year by the Numbers........................................................................217 Survey Says........................................................................................................218 The 826 National Theory of Change.......................................................219 Highlights from 2020-2021.....................................................................224

BO{NOTE}OK .....................................................................................................225 WHILE YOU'RE HERE.... OMNIBUS Acrostic Poems..........................................................................xix 6 12 39 69 85 133 160 189 Top 13 Lists..............................................................................................................24 28 29 61 67 82 109 138 174 183 Write Your Own Acrostic Poems..............................................................16 42 96 211 Write Your Own Top 13 Lists........................................................................viii 25 121 127

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at does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? n!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does

The name of this anthology—the 826michigan OMNIBUS—came seemingly out of nowhere. We created a book and it was always called the OMNIBUS to us. There was no other way to do it; nobody raised a hand in objection. This is what it was to be called. But, as time wore on, we couldn’t help but wonder: why does the OMNIBUS always spell itself in capital letters? What does it mean to imply? Is it an acronym? Is it trying to cast a sinister shadow over us with the sheer, admittedly terrifying size of its letters? Is it imposing something on us? And what happened to the ivory-billed woodpecker, anyway? Thus, in a concerted effort to justify our actions (none of which we are responsible for), and determined to crack this riddle brought upon us by ourselves, we once again this year slaved for a few beastly minutes until we had, we thought, a pretty decent all-new list of the possible acronyms for “OMNIBUS.” We present them throughout OMNIBUS THIRTEEN for you, friends (including spaces for you to submit your own possibilities!).

but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Offering Magnificently Necessary Ideas, Beguiling Us Serendipitously

Writing is: A way to figure things out by ourselves A way to help us connect to our world A way to help us learn who we are and who we will become A way for us to use our power to make changes and build a better world

What we do when we write: We create a safe place to be ourselves and try new things We support the ways that writers work (like thinking, sketching, talking) We study the writing we want to do so we can try it We learn how to change our writing for genre, audience, and purpose We work with a group of writers who help and support each other

826MICHIGAN 2 0 2 0 - 2 0 2 1 P R O G R A M S This year, 826michigan honed our brand-new spectrum of virtual programs, collaboratively constructed with feedback from our students, families, teachers, volunteers, and the 826 National network, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. We provided opportunities for creativity, agency, and reflection through both real-time and any-time writing workshops and projects. We transformed our tutoring homework help program to be a virtual study hall, pairing tutors and students to tackle the same kinds of work in a new setting. We discovered, to our delight, we are still able to capture a great deal of the magic of a third-space even in our virtual spaces.

Field Trips Most Tuesdays and Thursdays during this school year, classrooms virtually visited 826michigan’s online writing lab for an action-packed experience filled with surprises and focused on building students’ confidence in their writing. We offered many field-trip options: from PJ Day, in which first-graders banded together to write the best bedtime story ever and soothed our cranky publisher Dr. Blotch to sleep, to our classic Storytelling and Bookmaking workshop, where second- and third-grade students wrote their own collaborative adventure story.

STORY TELLI N G & BOOK MA K I N G Despite constant reminders from the cranky editor Dr. Blotch, the 826michigan staff tends to forget their standing deadline for writing and submitting original stories for publication with Blotch Books. But with the help of visiting classrooms, we worked in large and small groups of writers to brainstorm original characters and settings and then compose and send a wealth of imaginative stories to our editor.

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Mrs. Birgbauer’s Second-grade Class UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT STORYTELLING AND BOOKMAKING FIELD TRIP

The Draligator Once upon a time, there was a draligator. A draligator is a half dragon, half alligator, and looks really scary. She has long legs and really sharp teeth. She was walking home from a nasty duck pond that smelled like garbage, and you could hear bubbles going glub, glub. At the pond, there were some nasty, sticky ducks. All of a sudden, as the draligator was walking home, there was a bear! The draligator got scared and started to run. At first, it seemed that the bear was running away from the draligator, but then it started to chase her. The bear got really close to the draligator and started chomping at her tail. The draligator started to run even faster, and they both fell into a pit. The draligator started chomping at the bear, and the bear started fighting back. Then, the bear had an idea! The bear started to play dead, and the draligator tried to climb out of the pit. The draligator made it out of the pit and she went home safely. When she got home, she heard a knock on her door. It was the bear! The bear had a gift for her. It was some cupcake fish. They decided to stop fighting and hug. The draligator learned that she could use her scary image to protect herself, but she should also be careful not to scare other people.

but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Obnoxious Mallards Noisily Ingest Bagels, Upchuck Semolina

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NEW M ON U M ENTS In this field trip, after considering what it means to be memorialized and who deserves to be honored in the community and why, students write a short persuasive piece supporting the building of a new memorial in their community. They study how other writers use hooks to grab the readers’ attention, how they explain what the person or idea did, and why it matters to them, and then practice this form of writing in small groups. The writing they do is published and designed to be shared locally to amplify young people’s perspectives on an important community issue.

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Ms. Lanzilote’s Third-grade Class UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT NEW MONUMENTS FIELD TRIP

Workers Monument Did you know that construction workers work eight to nine hours a day? Workers deserve a monument in Ypsilanti, because they often work long hours, but don’t get paid that much. For example, construction workers work from 7:00am to 3:30pm, and sometimes longer. Workers make sure that the things we use every day are safe and work well. For example, auto workers make sure that the cars we drive don’t break while we’re using them. People who build electronics make sure that you don’t get electrocuted. Sewer workers make sure that our toilets and sinks don’t get clogged. We depend on workers for so many things we take for granted. We think a monument for workers should have different types of workers standing together, and it should be located in downtown Detroit.

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Ms. Fisher’s Fourth-grade Class YPSILANTI INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, YPSILANTI NEW MONUMENTS FIELD TRIP

Homer Plessy Monument: Broke the Law, But for a Good Reason While Homer Plessy broke the law, it was for a very good reason. Homer Plessy sat on a white-only train, but to make a change for everyone. He believed what was happening was wrong, and he wanted to make a change. He was probably scared, but confident and proud of himself, too. We think that it was very scary to do. It was a small act with a big impact. Many think that breaking the law is a bad act, but Plessy broke the law in a good way to make a big impact on other people. The title of the monument should be “Broke the Law, But for a Good Reason.” Our monument will be of Homer Plessy standing in front of the white-only train that he went on. It will be a single train cart and Plessy. The plaque about him will be in front of the monument. The monument will be made of copper and will be located near train tracks in New Orleans, where the event happened. It will be at the intersection of Press and Royal. Homer Plessy not only made an impact for himself, but for the community. He broke the law for them! His actions were so brave.

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Ms. Reynolds’s & Mr. Atkinson’s Fourth-grade Classes YPSILANTI INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, YPSILANTI NEW MONUMENTS FIELD TRIP

Bring Us Together: A Monument for George Floyd George Floyd and others have experienced police harassment. We want to live in a world that is not filled with trash on the floor, and we want to make the world better with no more racism. Some white people should not be racist to Black people, Hispanic people, and other people. We want to see a statue that honors white people, Black people, and other helpers together. Some people can be picking up trash. The statue can be made of iron on the outside and platinum on the inside, so it won’t be destroyed easily. It will be George Floyd’s whole body. On the statue, it will say, Bring Us Together. It will also have facts about him on a silver plaque. You can learn more about him on TV, in articles, or on YouTube.

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Ms. Islam’s Third-grade Class UNIVERSITY PREP SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, DETROIT NEW MONUMENTS FIELD TRIP

Our Vision for a Reading Monument Did you know classrooms have a lot of books? During lunch time, students can read books at their level or try ones that are harder. Reading is so fun. Books can take you around the world. Some of the most fun stories are Dr. Seuss books, like One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. You can also read books at libraries. You can learn a lot from libraries, like how things work and about places around the world. Books will even make you want to visit new places. Our vision for this monument is that it will look like students reading. Some will be quiet and some will be laughing. The monument will be colorful and big.

but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Oxygen, Music, Nourishment, Instinct: Bodies Understand Survival

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PJ DAY Our cranky, slimy, and aloof editor, Dr. Blotch, travels often for business and research and usually ends up exhausted—and cranky—on the other side of the world! We were lucky enough to have several classes of writers visiting this year just in time to help us compose riveting bedtime stories to lull Dr. Blotch to sleep. Whew! And zzZZZzzzZZZzzz!

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Dr. Phillips’s First-grade Class UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH, DETROIT

The Cheetahog and the Unicorn Princess Once upon a time, a cheetahog (that’s part cheetah, part hedgehog), and its friend the unicorn princess, were playing outside. The unicorn’s name was Princess Unicorn, and the cheetahog’s name was Mike. The unicorn was flying around because it had wings. Today, they are going on an adventure. Today, they are visiting Superland, a candy theme park with a giant marshmallow castle. The cheetahog and the unicorn princess decide to go inside the marshmallow castle. All of a sudden, a giant dragon appears! It is as big and tall as a tree. It is red like fruit punch and has spikes. It kind of looks like a red parakeet, with lots of feathers. The spikes are REALLY pointy. It is breathing water and fire at the marshmallow castle! He even stomps on the castle, and he makes footprints all around it. The cheetahog and unicorn princess call for help and need to escape, so they hop on the dragon’s leg and ride along until the dragon is outside of the park. Back at the park, the marshmallows are all smushed—it’s not a castle anymore—there’s not even a piece of the castle left. So then, they go home and plan something. They call some construction workers to fix the park. And this time, they have an even bigger castle, also made of marshmallows! They also make the park bigger. They give the dragon some food; they give him candy canes. And then, the dragon has fun, and starts dancing with the marshmallows.

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Ms. Sirman’s Elementary Class YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Princess Rose and the Zombies Princess Rose, a shark dragon, loves pink and is the president. She lives in a house surrounded by zombies in outer space. Sometimes it is hot outside and sometimes it’s cold. When it’s hot, like in Costa Rica, Princess Rose’s skin feels sweaty and hot, and it turns bright red on her nose and cheeks. She wears pants and short sleeves outside. In the house, it doesn’t smell like anything, but when Princess Rose opens the door and sees the zombies, they smell like stinky garbage. The zombies have an evil laugh, “waHAHAHA,” and in the distance, aliens are whispering. Princess Rose is afraid of the zombies. Princess Rose wants to get away from the zombies, so she runs away, but then she realizes her dress is too long. She has special powers. One hand can spray bubbles and the other sprays flowers. As Princess Rose is running, she remembers she has scissors in her backpack! She quickly stops and cuts her dress, really fast. Now that it’s shorter, she can run better. Now, when the zombies chase her, she can run better. When the zombies get close, she sprays bubbles and flowers at them, scaring the zombies, so they run away. She didn’t know the zombies would be afraid, so she’s surprised! Now, with her special powers, she can live happily ever after in her house. THE END

write your own acronym

O M N I B U S

I F I WER E YOU Are you Anxious in Ann Arbor, or Dizzy in Detroit? You could write to “Dear Abby,” but why not send your troubles to: “If I Were You: Advice From Students, For Students!” In this field trip, students studied advice columns, including how to ask for advice and how best to give it. By the end, they worked collaboratively and independently create their own advice columns.

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Dear Students, My moon cats escaped from my basement lair. How do I get them to come back?

Blotch out, Dr. Blotch

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Ms. Kings’s Fourth-grade Class BATES ACADEMY, DETROIT

Call Their Names, If You Give Them Names Dear Dr. Blotch, First, you could try using something to attract them back to your lair. Maybe they have a favorite food you could use, like moon sauce! It tastes like fish and the moon! If they don’t come back, then try looking for them outside during a full moon. They might like a place where they can see the moon. Next, I would recommend calling their names, if you gave them names. Lastly, shine a projector of the moon in the sky to lure them back to the lair, like the Batman symbol. Sincerely, Group 3

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Dear Students, My house is definitely haunted, but no one in my family believes me. What should I do?

Sincerely, Buster Ghosts

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Ms. Kings’s Fourth-grade Class BATES ACADEMY, DETROIT

Confront the Ghost Dear Buster Ghosts, First, try to communicate with the ghost. You might find out that they’re trying to steal your Oreos and mess up your chess game, so they’re a bad ghost! You might want to talk to the ghost and figure out why they’re there–maybe the ghost needs a home. Then, you should try to shoot the ghost with a paintball gun to try and show the ghost with paint. You might be able to trick the ghost by making a deal with the ghost or by pretending you’re an angel. Next, you should make a team. You can call friends, other people with ghost problems, Casper the Ghost, Ghostbusters, and Skid and Pump, who like spooky things. You can also flash your flashlight around the house to see the ghost’s shadow. Last, you should get the team together and try to confront the ghost in front of your family. You will all sing “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!” so that the ghost will give itself up. Sincerely, Group 4

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Dear 826 Students, My birthday is coming up, but because of Covid, I can’t have the party I was dreaming of. How can I still celebrate my birthday?

Sincerely, Fiesta Waitsforever

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Ms. Jabari’s & Mr. Marra’s Third-grade Class ESTABROOK ELEMENTARY, YPSILANTI

Pandemic Birthday Party Dear Fiesta Waitsforever, First, you can celebrate your birthday at your house. You could watch a movie. I would pick a family movie that everyone would like to watch! Then, you can have popcorn or a little bit of healthy food and a little bit of candy. You could have some hot soup in case someone is sick. Next, you could play games! You could go play at the park. You could play with water balloons as long as it is a little bit warm. Last, you can hang out with some of your friends on Zoom. You could play games online, and that might feel like you are together! Sincerely, Ms. Jabari’s and Mr. Marra’s Third-grade Class

Top 13

Kinds of soup

Tomato

Italian Wedding

3. Chicken noodle 4.

Chicken and gnocchi

Frosted flakes with milk (yes cereal is soup)

6. Broccoli cheddar 7.

Red lentil dal

8. Miso vegetable soup 9. Chili 10. Smoky chickpea stew 11. Potato leek 12. Ribolita 13. Split pea

Write your own

Top 13 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

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Dear Students, I’m getting REALLY bored being stuck at home during quarantine. I’ve already played with each of my toys a million times, have read all of my books, and my grandma won’t let me be on the computer for more than thirty minutes each day. What should I do?

Sincerely, Quarantina

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Ms. Jabari’s & Mr. Marra’s Third-grade Class ESTABROOK ELEMENTARY, YPSILANTI

Tiny Rocket Ships & Fake Tea Parties! Dear Quarantina, First, if you’re stuck at home, you can try making a project, like making a tiny rocket ship or a robot! You can also read a book, or go in your room to have a fake tea party! Then, you can do an art project using paper, like drawing something, folding it like origami, or making a birthday card, even if it’s not someone’s birthday. Next, you can make a robodog. The dog can keep you company and keep you entertained! Last, you can read more books from Epic. Sincerely, Ms. Jabari’s and Mr. Marra’s Third-grade Class

Top 13

quarantine Activities

1. Reading

2. Baking and baking

3. Nature walks

4. Reading

5. Zoom calls with extended family and friends

6. Dungeons & Dragons over voice mail

7. Bananagrams

8. Cooking

9. Movie nights

10. Art projects

11. Picnics

12. Obstacle courses

13. Backyard camping

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Dear Students, I know in my heart of hearts that I’m meant to be a famous singer, but I’m too embarrassed to sing in front of anyone but my little brother. How will I ever achieve my dream?

Sincerely, Ariana Pequeña

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Ms. Smith’s Fourth-grade Class HOLMES / ESTABROOK ELEMENTARY, YPSILANTI

Becoming a Famous Singer Dear Ariana Pequeña,

First, you could act like there are not a lot of people in the audience and like it’s only your little brother watching. This will make you feel more comfortable. Then, you have to try and be brave. You should stand up on the stage and find someone familiar in the audience, such as your mom, for support. Next, I recommend you have someone join you on the stage. This will help you feel less alone and you will have more fun if you are performing with other people. Last, before you go on stage, tell yourself not to be scared and encourage yourself. Sincerely, Group 4

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Dear 826 Students, A time machine has suddenly appeared in my house! What time should I travel to? What should I see in that time period? Is there anything I should be concerned about?

Sincerely, Hannibal C. Quantumship

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Ms. Neesam’s Third-grade Class MITCHELL ELEMENTARY, ANN ARBOR

Time Travel Recommendations Dear Hannibal C. Quantumship, First, you need to go to three hundred years in the future. You should download your brain onto a computer so that you don’t die. The computer will be charged by your own brain power. You could make the perfect human. Next, you should go to the past and exterminate every bad thing that happened. You should also go back and see what your parents were like when they were your age. Finally, you should go to year one of when they started counting time. You should also go to the Stone Age. Sincerely, Ms. Neesam’s Third-grade Class

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Dear 826 Students, I’ve recently discovered that when I concentrate really hard, and really put my mind to it, I can change any object into a Pop-Tart. What should I do with my new superpower?

Sincerely, Berry Blast

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Ms. McKinney’s & Ms. Whited’s Fourth-grade Class HOLMES ELEMENTARY, YPSILANTI

Don’t Underestimate Your Power Dear Berry Blast, First, you should learn how to control your superpower. You have to be careful and practice. Then, you could try to make different flavors of Pop-Tarts. I recommend s’mores, brown sugar, blueberry, and, of course, chocolate! Next, you can try to see if it can be useful to people. Don’t just use your power for yourself. Breakfast is important so you can make sure everyone has breakfast. Last, don’t underestimate your power. Sincerely, Group 2

CH OI CE-FI LLED A DVENTU R E STOR I ES Here’s how we create totally original adventure stories with twenty-seven endings in just two hours! Classes write an adventure story together in the second-person point of view to help the readers truly immerse themselves in the story. But, when the protagonist has to make a decision, the students split into two groups to continue writing the story down two separate paths. Each group then split again at the next crossroads. Each writer has the chance to compose an ending to the adventure tale, which we turn into a book.

Choose Your own adventure

MS. KUNTZ’S FOURTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces/Defeating the Dragon Mansion

You find a huge abandoned mansion and figure out that dragons live inside. You walk into the mansion to explore, and you find a cloud room and a cave room. You have to pick a room to find pieces of an acorn, which will help you defeat the dragons that are flying around.

4If you decide to search the cloud room, turn to page 50. 4If you decide to go into the cave room, turn to page 70.

but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Orion M ust Notch Its Belt Under Starlight

Choose Your own adventure

MS. KAUFMAN’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY, DETROIT

A Quest for Magical Beans/ Journey to the Volcano

You are a ninja skating on an ice rink in the North Pole. The frozen water park is called Ninja Fly. You are a really fast skater, skating at thirty-two miles per hour. Then, you hurt your leg at the water park. You can feel your heartbeat in your leg.

4If you decide to go to Dr. Bean’s office, turn to page 51. 4If you decide to use magic beans to help, turn to page 71.

Choose Your own adventure

MR. SCOTT’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

The Spiral Jalapeño Hot Dog Galaxy/Haunted Trip to Space

You take a haunted spaceship to a Treasure Island on Mars. The spaceship is large, as big as a skyscraper! There is a ghost on the spaceship and the lights are flickering. You feel scared and you are shaking. You start to panic in the haunted spaceship, and see that the treasure is also shaking! You put your space helmet on and leave the spaceship. In the distance, you see pirates on Treasure Island. You could explore space in your spacesuit or land on Mars to find Treasure Island.

4If you decide to explore space in your spacesuit, turn to page 62. 4If you decide to land on Mars, turn to page 80.

write your own acronym

O M N I B U S

Choose Your own adventure

MS. POMPEY’S & MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Donuts on the Moon

You are a student at Estabrook-Holmes Elementary School, on the moon. The school has a donut shop inside, but unfortunately the donut shop has been closed down for a long time. You and a group of other students decide that it’s time to reopen the donut shop, so you come up with a plan to break in and get it started again. You think about breaking the window, but you don’t want to get hurt, so you look for the secret door you’ve heard people talking about. You first decide to try to look on the roof, and you find a plain pencil just sitting there. You walk toward the corner of the roof, and you see something. You see a tiny secret door that looks like it’s made of iron. You try to open up the door but it’s stuck. Suddenly you see a glowing red light coming from the pencil and realize that this isn’t a plain pencil, it’s a laser!

4If you decide to use the laser pencil to open up the door, turn to page 63. 4If you decide to use your jet pack to fly around the school and find a different entrance to the donut shop, turn to page 81.

I N-SCH OOL PROJ EC TS Every in-school project is developed in collaboration with our partner teachers in order to best supplement their existing writing curriculum. These projects are either led by the teachers with volunteers providing additional support, led by our staff and volunteers, or a combination of these. This year, our in-school collaborations were all virtual.

Young Authors Book Project

Each year, our organization collaborates on one professionally-published book project in partnership with a class or grade band in one of our partnership schools. This year because of the virtual nature of our programs, we hosted a powerful writing project (over Zoom!) with our partners at University Prep Science and Math Elementary School with Ms. Islam’s third grade class. During the project, students considered their own areas of expertise and then shared their advice with the community. Their letters of advice are framed by other collaborative writing the class generated, in which they imagined incredible characters all seeking some wisdom. The beautiful collection of their writing and stories is called The Book of Many Wisdoms: Adventure and Advice from Ms. Islam’s Third-Grade Class and we recommend that you check it out!

Word Collector

This Wee-bots program was focused on the power which a well-placed word can hold. Using the story The Word Collector, by Peter H. Reynolds, as a guide, students created their own list of weather words they loved. Then, they explored the sounds and syllables each word made. Finally, students illustrated their word list so they could share the power of words with the world.

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Karter Conner ADVICE FROM KARTER AGE 9 MS. ISLAM’S THIRD-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSIT Y PREP SCIENCE AND MATH, DETROIT THE BOOK OF MANY WISDOMS Dear Savannah, My name is Karter Conner, and I want to help you with your problem: learning how to do a cartwheel. I think my advice would be helpful, because I taught myself how to do parkour, like jumping over fences and pool tables. I taught myself how to back flip off of a hoverboard. I’m good at doing cartwheels because I both had a trampoline and used to go to karate class. I actually learned how to do a cartwheel in karate class before I got the trampoline, and I had forgotten how to do it, so when I stopped doing karate classes, I asked my dad for a trampoline one day. He bought it for me, and I started practicing cartwheels and other flips on the trampoline. The first step is the only thing that you’re afraid of, which is trying to lean over and have your hand catch you so you don’t fall on your head. You’re afraid of doing that because you think you might fall over and hurt your head and stuff. My advice would be to practice leaning over. You’re not supposed to do a full cartwheel, just practice leaning over with whichever side you’re going to be on. It’s like falling over and catching yourself with whatever hand you’re leaning over with. When you’re leaning over, and while you’re leaning over, you’re going to try to keep your legs straight without having them bent. That’s important because if you don’t have your legs straight, then you won’t land the right way. You’ll just end up falling down, so you always have to have your legs straight when doing a cartwheel.

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Taurez Hatchett Jr. ADVICE FROM TAUREZ AGE 8 MS. ISLAM’S THIRD-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSIT Y PREP SCIENCE AND MATH, DETROIT THE BOOK OF MANY WISDOMS Dear Reader, Today I want the students to be back at my school because you can see your teachers. I know you see your teachers in virtual reality school, but you want to see how tall your teacher is or how short your teacher is. You might only have two teachers in virtual reality schools, and you might have more. And your teachers are the reasons why you get better at your reading, spelling, and more. Other things too, like your classmates help with your work. They can help you to add on to your stuff, and they add on to your work, and you can add on to theirs. Second graders were coming to your class to ask questions about your work. You can tell them the stuff you have learned over the school year because they will be in the same grade you are in in a couple of years or so. Another reason to be back in school: recess to keep our bodies motivated. Recess is the only time to play with your classmates because when you’re not outside you can’t play. You just have to pay attention. I might be the person who says this advice, but I’m sure most of my classmates want it to happen too. People will listen to me because I have been inside the school before and you have not, and most people don’t know that. They might listen to you, and they might not listen to you. Thank you for reading my story. Sincerely, Taurez Hatchett, Jr.

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Aniya Porter ADVICE FROM ANIYA AGE 8 MS. ISLAM’S THIRD-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSIT Y PREP SCIENCE AND MATH, DETROIT THE BOOK OF MANY WISDOMS Dear Community, My name is Aniya, and I want to help you with your problem of littering. Littering is a problem that needs to stop. We have a chance to help our community. Let’s take a stand and help. Every day after school, we can pick up trash from the community. You’ll need some tools, gloves, and a trash bag. Every time I go out, I see trash on the floor or roads, and I know it needs to stop. There is a lot of litter in the sea, and there are endangered animals, so we shouldn’t go to the ocean every day, but we should go there every week. The world would be much safer and would look much nicer without the litter.

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Miles Rawlings ADVICE FROM MILES AGE 8 MS. ISLAM’S THIRD-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSIT Y PREP SCIENCE AND MATH, DETROIT THE BOOK OF MANY WISDOMS Dear Janitor, Hey, my name is Miles, and I want to help with your problem of getting stuck in the janitor’s room, janitor. I think my advice will be helpful because I’m very good at solving problems. You can tell I’m good at solving problems because I’m a detective. I also know a lot about being in problems. I learned about your problem while I was in kindergarten. As you can see I have a lot of wisdom I want to share with you. Just imagine you have a bunch of space, and call for help and use your phone to ask your relatives for help. And trust me, I have been in a lot of closed spaces. If there is a vent that you think you can fit through, and you know the school by the back of your hand, you should go through it. But if you don’t know, then don’t use it because then you could get really hot, really cold, or sick. If you feel like the walls are closing in on you, push and you will see reality. The best advice I have given was teaching my sister how to walk. I told her, “One foot in front of the other, and keep it steady.” She can barely understand me, but I had to help her walk. So I kept trying, but then I had to help her learn how to talk. It helped make her strong, and because it made her strong, I hope my advice makes you strong and can help you get out of the janitor’s closet.

Choose Your own adventure

Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces/Defeating the Dragon Mansion WRITTEN BY MS. KUNTZ’S FOURTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

In the cloud room it is very cold and snowing. There is a big ice palace but the dragon can’t go in this room because it’s so cold and enchanted. It is iridescent with many different colors and made of ice, so there is no real smell. Icicles are hanging everywhere with marshmallows on the ends of them. The crystal acorns are stuck to the ground in ice and cotton candy. The cotton candy is a trap for the dragon, but you do not get stuck. There is a caramel pool to draw the dragon in. You have to answer a riddle from the marshmallow people or find a magic glove to free the acorn. If you decide to find the magic glove to free the acorns, turn to page 86. If you decide to answer the riddle, turn to page 104.

Choose Your own adventure

A Quest for Magical Beans/ Journey to the Volcano WRITTEN BY MS. KAUFMAN’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY, DETROIT

After you reach the doctor’s office, you ask Dr. Bean for the magic beans. He says you must go on an adventure to find them in the magic factory. The door in the office leads to the factory. When the doctor brings you through the door you see Oompa Loompas that are mixing the magic cream. When you smash the beans, they turn into a cream. The cream is fluffy and crunchy, and comes in all sorts of colors like white, purple, and rainbow. The factory has rainbow wallpaper, and it smells like cream, jelly beans, and berries. Then, you find the beans! But they ran out of the red and gold beans that make the golden cream. The golden cream can heal anything, but it is only found in volcanoes and is guarded by dragons. If you decide to eat the magic cream, turn to page 87. If you decide to look for the dragon, turn to page 105.

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LaNia Shamily ADVICE FROM LANIA AGE 9 MS. ISLAM’S THIRD-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSIT Y PREP SCIENCE AND MATH, DETROIT THE BOOK OF MANY WISDOMS Dear Reader, My name is LaNia, and I can help you with your problem of having crazy dreams. I think my advice will help you because I have crazy dreams, but I get over it and calm myself down. Then I have a nice dream. One thing you can do is stay calm and think about nice things. I do like scary things, but also I don’t. So, what I think about are hearts, unicorns, butterflies, waterfalls, rainbows, and all that. The second thing you can do if one doesn’t work is just wait to see what will happen in the dream. Last night I had a dream that everything was going wrong, and then two minutes later I was having a surprise party with my family. Another thing you can also do is wake up and watch a show, video, or movie. A few movies are cartoons. My favorite movie right now is Sister Sister. They are so nice. It’s very kid-friendly. It also gives me very nice vibes because it also teaches me a few things about life. When I was younger, I watched a TV show. It was someone having a bad dream, and they were thinking about good things. The good things were floating by, like they filled up the whole screen, and I thought, that’s smart. Another thing you can do is to walk around the house and think about good things before you go to sleep. The last thing you can do is wake up and go back to sleep. You will probably have a great dream. I hope these things can help you, and thank you for listening!

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Silvia Stella ADVICE FROM SILVIA AGE 8 MS. ISLAM’S THIRD-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSIT Y PREP SCIENCE AND MATH, DETROIT THE BOOK OF MANY WISDOMS Dear Reader, My name is Silvia, and I’d like to give you advice for a problem: global warming. I think my advice would be useful because I have helpful information. I can tell I have helpful information because global warming is a real problem, and if people don’t act fast, it’ll be a bigger problem. I’m also interested in reducing plastic waste. One way to slow down global warming is to stop using fossilfuel-powered tools such as fossil-fuel-powered stoves, fossilfuel-powered fireplaces, fossil-fuel-powered cars, and start to use electric stoves, electric cars, and use fireplaces that don’t use fossil fuels. I think that once you stop using fossil-fuel-powered tools, you can start to try a new way of helping the environment called reducing plastic waste. One way is to stop using plastic bags and start using reusable bags because when people come to think about plastic bags, there are a lot of them. And they can be bad for the environment because they can injure wildlife, mostly sea turtles.

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Sheridan Tyler

Dear Dad,

ADVICE FROM SHERIDAN AGE 8 MS. ISLAM’S THIRD-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSIT Y PREP SCIENCE AND MATH, DETROIT THE BOOK OF MANY WISDOMS

My name is Sheridan, and I want to help you with your dancing problem. I think you need my advice because I am very good at it. I am also sad that you tried to do the floss. It was so embarrassing. Don’t try it again without me teaching you. I have known a lot about dancing for about three years. When I saw you, I said: “I got a mission.” And wear cool clothes and outfits that fit. Step one, put your fist down. And wait. Put your hands down and make a fist. And swing between your waist, then try to go faster. And faster. Second step, good. Always believe that you can do your best. Good job believing in yourself. Give yourself confidence. You got it. Great progress. Bye. Love, Sheridan

Write your own

Top 13

Ice cream flavors

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Virtual Schoolwork Support In Spring 2020 we reimagined our After-school Tutoring program as Virtual Schoolwork Support, a part of our new Online Learning Lab, so that we could provide this program to students safely and remotely. This virtual program paired students with two tutors in Zoom breakout rooms for support on a school or writing assignment. Just like our regular program, this virtual learning space is designed to support students with schoolwork or writing projects that they are currently working on. Our tutors provide a lot of enthusiasm, encouragement, coaching, respect, and collaboration as students navigate their projects. We collaborated with the Ypsilanti District Library, Carpenter Elementary in Ann Arbor, and University Preparatory Academy–Ellen Thompson Campus in Detroit to provide the highest quality virtual support during the 2020-21 school year.

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David Abrams AGE 7 BURNS PARK ELEMENTARY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Minecraft: Starting Out in a New World I wake up in the middle of a savanna. Starting out in a new world, I check to see if I have all my equipment. I say, “Ugh, I don’t have enough Eyes of Ender.” Heading to the southeast, I hope to find a forest to set up a base. Instead, I run into a large group of husks! This is going to be trouble. I ready my enchanted diamond sword, ready for a fight, and get my canteen of milk ready in case I get poisoned. Also, my enchanted diamond armor will keep me safe. I quickly defeat most of the husks. But the one left scratches me, and I can feel the poison in my body. I have to keep jumping back to keep from getting hit while I recover. I quickly know that I have milk. I keep moving back until I feel healthy again. Swiping my sword at the last husk, I am victorious!!!!!!! Getting out my pick ax, I start mining to get some materials. I’m going to need to make an anvil to repair my diamond sword. As everyone knows, swords that don’t have the unbreaking enchantment break quickly.

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Elona Ziegler & Ofelia Ziegler AGE 11 & AGE 13 WINES ELEMENTARY AND FORSY THE MIDDLE VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

~The Year 5046~ Barbara sat in her leopard-print mansion sipping tea and knitting a sweater. She was looking out the top window of her fifteen-story mansion down at the Dog Empire and at her oh-so troubled daughter Barb Jr, who lived in an adjacent mansion filled with her dogs. Barbara and Barb Jr. were sent to Mars years ago to control the escalating population of cats and dogs. Not just ordinary cats and dogs: mutant, GIANT cats and dogs who no longer fit on planet Earth. Although Barbara and Barb Jr. are mother and daughter, they had a rivalry based on their opposite opinions on which animals are best. They both inherited a large sum of money from a woman who cured COVID. They bickered often about where the money should be put toward. Barb Jr. wanted the money for expansions to the Dog Empire, but Barbara wanted the money for yarn to make sweaters for her 3002 cats. Barbara wanted the money also for cat food, cat toys, cat treats, scratching posts, and tree houses. Barb Jr. needed dog houses, food, bones, more yard space, and fake fire hydrants. They were at war over which money went where. On Tuesday morning, Barb Jr. decided to call her mother on the account that the dogs had chewed up all of their toys and were now restless. The phone rang four times before Barbara picked up. “This is her majesty, the cat queen. State your name.” Barb Jr. rolled her eyes and declared, “Barbara, I’ve run out of dog toys.”

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“Oh, that’s great,” Barbara said, distracted by a cat eating her couch. “No, it’s not really. My dogs are bored and won’t stop barking,” Barb Jr. stated to her mother. Barbara took less than a second to respond, “Well, not my problem,” before slamming the phone down. To Be Continued . . .

Top 13

pets

Cat

Dog

Bird

Chickens

Stuffed animal possum named Loretta

Pickleasaurus

Rat

Snake

Pegasus

10. Tiny, fits-in-your-hand sized dragon 11. Robot penguin 12. Fish 13. Tamagotchi

Choose Your own adventure

The Spiral Jalapeño Hot Dog Galaxy/Haunted Trip to Space WRITTEN BY MR. SCOTT’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

You decide to explore space in your spacesuit. You are in the spiral jalapeño hot dog galaxy! You see hot dogs and jalapeños floating around. You find a space hot dog to eat. The aliens made the hot dogs for you and sent them in a peace treaty. The aliens disappeared after they made them but want you to leave their galaxy because they were there first. The aliens have four big eyes, they are green, and look like pit bulls. You are trying to colonize the spiral jalapeño hot dog galaxy. You see more food, and you want to eat all of the ribs and lollipops that you find in the galaxy. This galaxy does not have COVID-19. The hot dogs that the aliens gave you were a trick, and they make you sick when you eat them. Then you start turning into an alien! You get back onto the spaceship and you do not want to be an alien. You have to turn the ship into a time travel machine. You can go back to 2018 to stop COVID-19, or you can travel to the future! If you decide to travel back to 2018 to stop COVID-19, turn to page 94. If you decide to travel to the future, turn to page 110.

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

You decide to use the laser pencil to open up the door, but the laser is so strong that it pushes you off the roof. Fortunately, because you are on the moon, it is a slow fall, so you don’t get hurt. When you land, you bump into an alien with human skin and two different types of eyes. You are terrified, but you try to talk to the alien to see if they can help you with the donut shop problem. You tell the alien about the closed donut shop and the alien looks confused; they don’t know what a donut is. If you try to explain the donut shop to the alien to see if they can help you, turn to page 95. If you decide to leave the alien and find a different way into the donut shop, turn to page 111.

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Rihito Tsuruzono AGE 9 LIVINGSTON CLASSICAL ACADEMY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Bird Legends There was a green bird that lived by the ocean. The bird could not swim. His friend, Umbrella Guy, was there to help him. They collected many colorful beads from the ocean. Then, they went home to get something to eat from the refrigerator. They ate everything. Then, they went to sleep. In the morning, they made a rainbow dome from the beads they had found. It is a very big dome that almost touched the sun. Next they went to the market and ate everything there. Then they slept for 10000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 years. They became legends. They died and turned into the biggest island in the ocean. The island was shaped like food.

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Ian Robinson AGE 12 THE JAMES AND GRACE LEE BOGGS SCHOOL VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

The Escape of Mr. Pavato Mr. Pavato (Mr. P) lives on Belle Isle in Detroit. Mr. P is very lonely and really wants to meet new people. He is incredibly famous and has lots of fans on Facebook and wants to connect to his fans by leaving the island and going to other places in Michigan. Mr. P has a really hard time trying to tell his owners that he wants to travel outside of Detroit. So, he makes a plan. He thinks if he could get a map, he would be able to see where he needs to go to get off Belle Isle. Mr. P finds a really old map, and he notices that there is a boat all the way at the end of the island. Mr. P thought he could reach the boat to sail to the mainland. He knows that his owners would catch him escaping. He decided to wait until everyone was sleeping to make his grand escape. It is now 10:00pm and Mr. P is so excited to try and meet some of his fans. His owners are heading home, so Mr. P speeds over to the boat and jumps in. Mr. Pavato shakes the boat while jumping, which makes the boat start to drift away from the island. Mr. P has no control over the boat and meows for help. Luckily, his owner notices Mr. P is missing. His owner hops in a boat and sails over, saving Mr. P. Then, Mr. P decides to point his paw toward the mainland and meows. His owner finally understands; Mr. P wants to explore Michigan. The next morning, Mr. P and his owner head down to docks and enter the boat. Mr. Pavato and his owner settle in the boat and they sail away on the dark blue water. Mr. Pavato and his owner take a picture of them sailing away from the island and tell all their fans on Facebook to join them for meet and greet on the

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Detroit Riverwalk. The meet and greet is a success, and Mr. P and his owner decide to take a road trip across the state to meet more fans. This makes Mr. P incredibly happy.

Top 13

PLaces to go for a walk

Anywhere on the coast of Maine

The moon

The beach at Warren Dunes State Park

Along the beach at night

My neighborhood

My hometown

Rolling Hills

Bird Hills

The woods down the street with a lot of paths

10. Belle Isle 11.

My imagination

12. Downtown 13. Anywhere with a friend

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Abeer Otaifah & Mohammed Otaifah AGE 12 & AGE 10 FORTIS ACADEMY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Perseverance Breaking news! Perseverance has big wheels made for roving across Mars terrain. If you don’t know about the Mars rover, you should search it up. You will find fun things, like how Curiosity took small sand particles, while on the other hand, Perseverance takes large pieces of rocks. It is going to leave approximately twenty-three pieces of rocks for future missions. Fun fact! Did you know that there is a built-in drone in the Perseverance rover?! Do you want to know another fun fact? The drone has a camera that can take pictures. So far, it has taken 6,395 pictures. It has been on Mars for twelve days, ten hours, eight minutes.* When Perseverance landed, it was originally fifteen times faster than a bullet and went to three miles an hour at touch down. It went from fifteen times faster than a bullet to a three miles per hour touch down. Perseverance is a really interesting thing for people to see. It is really amazing how NASA built it, and it is incredible how NASA did all the hard work to persevere.

but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Only M arigolds Need Intergalactic Butterflies Until S leep

Choose Your own adventure

Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces/Defeating the Dragon Mansion WRITTEN BY MS. KUNTZ’S FOURTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

You walk into the cave room and see dragons flying around. There are spiders crawling all over the floor. The dragons are shooting fireballs everywhere. You try to run out of the room to safety, but then you suddenly fall into a booby trap. The booby trap makes you land on a rock surrounded by lava. To get out of the trap, you have to get across obstacles in the lava. There are walls and blocks to jump over to complete a maze. You have to miss the arrows and the lava that is bursting out of the rocks. You see a balance beam that helps you get across the hot lava. When you get across the balance beam, you see a slide to a door. There is also an acorn piece at the end of the maze that you could look for. If you decide to go down the slide, turn to page 119. If you decide to look for the acorn piece, turn to page 136.

Choose Your own adventure

A Quest for Magical Beans/ Journey to the Volcano WRITTEN BY MS. KAUFMAN’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY, DETROIT

You decide to use magic beans to make your leg feel better. You know there’s a wizard named Harry Potter with a magic candy store in the forest. He has candy all around him, and his potions can make candy sweet or sour. Some flavors include red volcano Swedish fish, chocolate-dipped donuts, super-spicy skittles, and extra-cheesy jalapeno macaroni. Everything is shaped like a bean, and they can heal anyone, too. “Hello!” you say. “Can I make a wish? I need healing beans for my leg.” “Sure thing, but you need to go on a journey far, far away first,” Harry replies. “I need sweet leaves to make a new potion and seven shiny chaos emeralds.” “Why can’t you go?” you ask. “I am too old for this, sonny,” he replies. If you decide to use a flying go-kart, turn to page 120. If you decide to use a magical transportation map, turn to page 137.

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Ahmed Aladani AGE 14 MULTICULTURAL ACADEMY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Best Player Lionel Messi is from Argentina and plays for Barcelona. He is a forward. His job is to set people up for assists, or he scores goals himself. He has played for Barcelona for a long time, and has stayed with the team for his entire career! Messi is the best player to make assists, and takes amazing corner kicks and foul shots. Soccer players run a lot, so Messi is in very good shape. He has a lot of really good players and friends in Barcelona with him. He has a wife and three kids. They are big soccer players too. Barcelona is a good team, but the defense is bad. Barcelona lost to Bayern Munich by a lot of points, 8-2! But Messi is gonna help them win! Soccer happens all year. Barcelona plays in a huge stadium. One day I want to see them play, and I also want to be a professional soccer player in Barcelona! Messi wears number 10, and so do I! In the summer, I play for the local youth soccer team, Liverpool. The league is full of people my age from around the area. I play forward, so just like Messi, I create assists and goals for my team. We play about three games each week, and we practice a lot more. My best skill is that I don’t let anyone take the ball away from me. I definitely am better on forward than goalie. I like to score goals and set people up. I’ve been playing soccer since before I can remember. I was very little when I started. Some of my friends also play soccer. This year I want to add a stronger shot to my skill set. I’m good at corner kicks, and I am best with my left foot. Most people are right-footed, so I have an advantage. Soccer is very important to me, and I think about it all the time.

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Raneem Saleh AGE 9 ERICKSON ELEMENTARY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

The Adventures with Bella and Maya and Jake and Sam Once upon a time, there were two princesses who lived on a forest island. Princess Bella and Princess Maya wanted to marry Prince Jake of forest island so they could be the future queen. The two princesses fought over the attention of the prince. The prince didn’t want to marry anyone. He simply wasn’t interested in the princesses. So, the princesses started to plan for his brother when the other prince came to the castle. It was the prince’s brother, and he was visiting, but he couldn’t stay too long because his brother was going to Candy World. Everything there was made of candy: a candy house, a candy sky, and even candy trees. And when you got hungry you could eat whatever you wanted. And he found a house made out of marshmallows and the roof and the door were made out of chocolate, and that’s where the witch lived with her cat, Whiskers. The prince went into the house, and then the prince saw the witch and her cat. The witch put him to sleep with a potion, but then his brother Jake saw he left his suitcase behind. He then jumped on a horse and rode to Candy World. He saw the house too, and he saw the witch and her cat, and he saw his brother too. He grabbed the sword, and then he ran into the witch’s house, and then he defeated the witch and her cat. His brother woke up, and Bella and Maya heard about the news. They ran over as fast as they could, and said, “Are you OK? " "By the way, Jake, what is your brother’s name?” “Sam,” he said. They said, “Hi Sam.” They started to look in the witch’s stuff,

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and then Sam found a book about Candyland rules, and he started reading it. Rule #9: Do not lie, or you will turn into big statues. He told the princesses and his brother, but they did not believe him. Then, they read it. “It is really true!” But Maya did not believe it, so she lied to herself, and then she was frozen. Everybody was worried! Everybody got hammers and nails and said, “This will take four hours, there has to be another way.” “There is only one way: true love. I will do it,” Sam said. “Thank you, Sam,” Bella said. “But do you love her?” “Yes, I do.” And then he kissed Maya, and then the ice melted and she woke up. Everybody cheered, and then two months later they got married. Everybody she knew was there, and then they started having adventures: swimming on dolphins, feeding elephants, dancing with swans, and rolling in mud with pigs. And Maya learned how to ride horses, because Sam taught her. Time passed by, and Bella and Jake started learning about each other. They had a lot in common, like they could speak three languages: English, Spanish, and Arabic. They liked animals, they loved candy, and they all had superpowers. Bella had ice powers, Maya had fire powers, Sam could move things with his mind, and Jake could fly. Jake thought about it, “Well, Bella and I have a lot in common.” The next day, Jake proposed to Bella. Two months later, they got married, and then they moved into an ice castle. Bella made it with her ice powers; it was beautiful. But it was always cold, even on hot days. They got a new pet dog, her name was Fluffy. They named her Fluffy because she was so fluffy. Maya was kind of jealous. She wanted her own castle, so she

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tried to create her own castle, but it only turned into fire. So she asked her sister to create the castle. Bella did make it, but over the night it turned into water, and Maya had to move into the old castle again, and all her stuff was wet. But when Bella woke up, she thought of something so good: It will not turn into water, it won’t turn into fire, and it won’t melt. She can draw her dream castle! She can make flames, she can make Jake and herself, and her sister and Sam! Oh, and she could paint the castle, too! And when the castle is finished she’s going to have a big ball, and all the princesses around the world and princes are invited to the ball. Cinderella got invited, Tiana got invited, Jasmine and Rapunzel got invited, Snow White got invited, Aurora got invited, Sleeping Beauty got invited, and all her family and friends got invited to the ball. There was going to be a dining room and there was a ballroom, too, and it was going to be beautiful. “We have to get snacks,” they said. Two days later, the castle was done, and now they just had to decorate inside. Sam and Maya helped decorate all day and night. The next day, it was done. Now, they had to get snacks. “We need cupcakes and cakes. Sam and Jake, can you stop by Candyland to get some candy for the ball?” Bella asked. Sam and Jake said, “Sure, Bella.” Both of them got on a horse and rode to Candyland. The witch’s sister came, she went to her sister’s house, and then she saw her sister laying dead on the ground. Thank God, she has a spell for it! Then her sister woke up, and then she told her all about Jake, Sam, Maya, and Bella. She knew where they lived, but didn’t know they got married. Now, they moved, except for one sister. But then she saw a different house, because of the

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drawing and ice castle, so she just walked away. “Do you see that?” She saw them in the old house. She said, “See what?” “The people up there. Do you recognize them?” “Yes I do. Those are the ones who killed me, but I’m glad you’re here. So are all of them. Yes, they’re all here.” And then Sam looked out of the window, and he saw the evil witches. Sam told everybody in the castle. Guards went outside, but they were too strong. But Sam, Jake, Bella, and Maya totally forgot they had superpowers. They all went outside except for Jake. Sam got a sword to fight with. Bella froze the witches. That would be good for now. The guests said, “Everybody help us, those witches are trying to kill us! And you all have superpowers, right?” “Yes, we all do, OK. That ice will melt any minute now.” The ice melted and the witches woke up. “Rapunzel, trap that witch. Sam, put that witch off the ground. Jake, call the police,” Bella said. “Got it, Bella. Now, you’re busted.” “Please let us go,” said the witch. “Jake, don’t call the police” “Thank you.” “All right. I’ll let you go only if you leave us alone for forever.” “Deal.” “Deal.” Then, they started the ball and all that. Happy ever after. THE END

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Madison Hopkins AGE 8 HOLMES ELEMENTARY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Madison Saving the Savannah! Part One Madison went to the savannah to feed her animals. There were lions and lionesses, tigers, super hero frogs, and her favorite: the cheetahs. Madison was the queen of the savannah. There was a witch who was trying to put a curse on the animals and make them endangered. Madison would have to save the savannah. Part Two Madison took all of the endangered animals to her house in Memphis. She made a potion to put in the animals’ water so that they could talk like humans. Now that the animals could talk, they went out into the city to get jobs. Some of the lions and tigers went to the police station to work, some of the lions and tigers went to the zoo to take care of the other animals, and the superhero frogs and giraffes went to the fire station to be firefighters. Part Three Some of the lions got married, and all of the other animals got married, too. Some of the families had babies. Everyone got together and they had a party at Madison’s house where they danced for the babies’ birthdays. They used the money from their jobs to buy birthday stuff.

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Part Four One day the witch found where all the animals had gone! She took all the animals and their babies and threw them in a cage. The witch sucked all the powers out of the superhero frogs, because the witch has the power to suck up the whole universe. Luckily, Madison had super powers! However, the witch took Madison’s powers by putting her in a cage too. Everyone thought it was going to be the end of the world. But there was one more person with superpowers. Madison’s mom! Madison’s mom took her magic rope in her hand and tied up the witch and set everyone free. Her mom also had an “evil eye” that could absorb all of the evilness, which she used to absorb the evilness from the witch, and the witch disappeared.

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J’Lah Smith AGE 9 CARPENTER ELEMENTARY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Ice Cream Learns How to Fly Ice Cream is a five year old pink unicorn with a horn that changes colors. She has pink, purple, blue, yellow, and green hair as well as pink, blue, and purple wings. Ice Cream only talks to a few people because she is kind of shy, but she likes to have fun with her friends Cupcake and Brownie. Cupcake is a purple unicorn with a rainbow horn all around. Cupcake has pink hair and pink, yellow, and blue wings. Cupcake is a funny unicorn who likes to smile a lot. Sometimes, it’s hard being nice all the time, but Cupcake is always nice. Brownie is a blue unicorn with a purple and pink horn. Brownie has yellow hair and pink, purple, and green wings. Brownie is a clumsy unicorn and only smiles sometimes. Brownie is nice sometimes. Ice Cream likes to practice how to fly at home with the help of Cupcake and Brownie. Every time Ice Cream comes home, she goes inside and tries to fly off the couch. Sometimes, she falls before she actually flies. Ice Cream wants to learn how to fly better, but she always falls. Ice Cream learns to fly better from practice. Every time she tries to fly, she falls, but she doesn’t stop trying. She falls and falls and falls, but doesn’t stop trying. But, one time, she flies instead of falling. When she learns to fly instead of falling, she is excited. Once Ice Cream learns to fly, she flies all the time. When Ice Cream feels really happy and excited, she flies fast. But when Ice Cream feels tired, she flies slow. She loves to fly a bit lower to the ground because she is scared of heights, but she will still fly high sometimes.

Choose Your own adventure

The Spiral Jalapeño Hot Dog Galaxy/Haunted Trip to Space WRITTEN BY MR. SCOTT’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

The spaceship crashes into the Treasure Island on Mars and explodes making a big KABOOM! You go and explore and find a treasure chest filled with food and gold. There are coconuts, live crabs, and cheese! The combined smells make it smell like a cheese farm. The alien pirates want the treasure though so you start to run away from the alien pirates. But you are in space so you float to get away. You find a merchant who has been here for a million years and sells many tools. He says, “I will help you build your rocket if you give me Moon Mush” (which is kind of like astronaut ice cream). You now have to find the Moon Mush to get your ship fixed. Moon Mush is blue and smells like strawberries. You find out the alien pirates have Moon Mush. If you decide to trade with the pirates, turn to page 128. If you decide to go search Mars for Moon Mush, turn to page 155.

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

As you’re flying around the school you notice that in the graveyard across the street there’s something shiny. You fly closer and realize that it’s a metal door. You fly to the door and just as you get above the door, your jet pack runs out of fuel and you land on the door. Once you’re on it, the door opens up and you fall in. While you’re falling through the door, you hear something say, “Access granted,” and a second door under you opens up. You land on a soft landing pad. You look around and find yourself in some sort of a science lab. In one corner there is a huge pile of all different kinds of donuts. There are lots of boxes each labeled with a different kind of donut If you take all the donuts and look for fuel for your jet pack, turn to page 129. If you eat half the donuts and you meet an alien who offers to help with the donut shop, turn to page 156.

Top 13

Ice cream toppings

1. Caramel & cashews 2. Thinly sliced strawberries 3. Kit Kat chunks 4. Rainbow sprinkles 5. Melted peanut butter 6. Maple syrup and walnuts 7. Hundreds of mini-M&Ms 8. Hot fudge and whipped cream 9. Shaved coconut 10. Chocolate chips 11. Strawberry jam 12. Crushed oreo cookies 13. Chunks of cookie dough

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Kaden Curry AGE 9 CARPENTER ELEMENTARY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Letter to Joe Biden Dear President Biden, I will congratulate you for being president. One thing I want to tell you to check out is to check out Roblox, and if you like it, you can buy as many Robloxs as you want. I am also wondering what your daily activities will be during your day. I am wondering if you can share your Robloxs with me. If you do purchase Robloxs, you can buy Premium for $5 every month while also playing it on the computer, because you can get 450 Robloxs for free every month of the year. If you use your computer to play, you can change the page on them every month. Sincerely, Kaden from Ypsilanti

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Tanushka Hariharan AGE 10 CARPENTER ELEMENTARY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Esmeralda and the Abandoned House One day Esmeralda, a demigod from Asgard with power, wisdom, and beauty, was in an abandoned house. She thought abandoned houses were silly. When she entered the house she heard a creaking sound behind her. She was scared. Then something went into the kitchen, and it startled her! She went to the basement to turn on the light when she saw her cousin Annabeth, and she was with her friend Percy Jackson. They said they were there to find the monsters and Esmeralda said, “There is no such thing as monsters.” Then something behind them knocked a box of paint, and it was a cat! After everyone went home, Percy’s enemy Luke created a monster to haunt their dreams for life.

but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Only Magnificent Nice Icons Bait Underdog Scenarios

Choose Your own adventure

Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces/Defeating the Dragon Mansion WRITTEN BY MS. KUNTZ’S FOURTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

You choose to look for the magic glove to free the acorns. The glove is hidden somewhere. An evil unicorn might have taken it. He has a rare black horn, dark fur, and white eyes. He speaks an unknown language you can’t understand, but his twin brother helps translate into the English language. The twin brother unicorn knows that his brother took the acorns because he wanted to hurt the rest of the unicorn families. The unicorn used his powers to keep the glove away from you. You team up with the twin brother to figure out a plan with the marshmallow people. They will help you defeat the evil unicorn. But now you’re getting hungry. If you decide to ask the marshmallow people for food, write your own ending on page 178. If you decide to eat later and go find the glove with your team, write your own ending on page 178.

Choose Your own adventure

A Quest for Magical Beans/ Journey to the Volcano WRITTEN BY MS. KAUFMAN’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY, DETROIT

You’re getting ready to eat the purple fluffy cream. Each cream has different effects. The purple cream gives you super strength. After taking a dose before your journey, you decide to pack loads more to continue taking along the journey. The super strength makes you taller and heavier, but this can slow you down. You begin to feel the strength building up, but your leg still hurts so you call the doctor. He offers that you can take his private jet and four-wheeler to head to the volcano. To make it to the volcano you first have to go through the rainforest. Since it is so far, you have to use the raft from the jet to land and spend the night in the rainforest. You get hungry so you switch to the four-wheeler to find water hot dogs, pears, and hamburger branches growing on trees. While you sleep here, the jet charges so you can pick back up in the morning. If you decide to keep flying the jet throughout the rest of the night, write your own ending on page 179. If you spend the night in the rainforest and keep searching for food, write your own ending on page 179.

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Mia Lynette Keefer AGE 9 CARPENTER ELEMENTARY VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

The Pencil Once upon a time, there was a girl named Kaly and she had this pencil that her dad gave to her when he died. Little did she know that whatever she drew came to life. It was a new day, and she was going to draw with her new pencil. When she started, she drew her and her dad watching television. Then that came to life! When she drew anything it came to life. But, when she put the pencil down, everything went away and she felt sad that her dad went away. And, the bad thing about the pencil was that she could not interact with her dad. And, Kaly was sad, but when she drew her and her dad watching TV, she felt happy again.

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Angela Maton AGE 10 UPREP ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

That Ugly, Mean Queen Once upon a time, there was a girl named Alexis. Alexis had long, black hair. She was four foot. She wore a pink butterfly shirt and a pink butterfly skirt. She liked cheer and basketball, and her favorite food was fries and hot chicken wings. Her favorite drink was Hawaiian punch, and she liked water. She was intelligent, loved school, and loved playing with Barbie dolls. She loved her family and friends. One day, Alexis saw a castle on her way back home. So, she went and saw a lot of guards, so she went to the store and got a costume that looked like a guard. She went back, and she told one of the guards that she needed to go use the bathroom. She went and saw a lot of cute things. So she made a piece of armor fall. She did not know the queen was home. The queen got out of her room and said, “What was that sound?” She went down the elevator and Alexis went on the other elevator. She went and saw a room that said, DON’T GO IN! She went in anyway, and she saw a lot of kids in that room. She saw the queen, and she hid in the bathroom so she wouldn’t find her. The queen looked in that room that said, DON’T GO IN! to see if the kids who she was holding as hostages were still there. All the kids were in there, so she went to her fairy godmother and asked her to make her some food. The godmother went to go make food, and Alexis was scared she’d see her. Alexis went to help the kids who were in the room, and they all made it home safe and sound. The next day, she went back and saw more kids! Alexis called the FBI and the SWAT TEAM and then they came and kicked down

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the door and said, “Where is that ugly, mean queen?” She came down and said, “Oh my God, what are you doing in my house?” They said, “We heard that you have some kids in here and they are not yours, so get them and follow us now.” She said, “How did you know?” “We know everything,” they said. “But how?” she said.

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Aaliyah Holt AGE 9 UPREP ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

No Title Diana gets up in the morning, and it is the last day of school because summer break is coming up. Before school, she wants to go for a walk. She goes to the bathroom and brushes her teeth. She goes to her room, to her closet, to get ready. She picks out a pink t-shirt, and she puts on a cyan jacket. She’s wearing greyishpinkish pants. She is wearing bright pink shoes and light pink socks. This is her, It’s going to be a great day! outfit. Before she goes anywhere, she has to check the weather because she needs to make sure that it isn’t too cold. It is kind of cold outside. She puts on a jacket. She goes downstairs for breakfast. Her mom is making blueberry pancakes. Her mom asks her to take the dog, Dina, for a walk and she does because she is going for a walk. So she takes the dog with her to the beach. The dog has a collar. The dog is wearing a pink outfit. Diana is always smart and kind, but she’s not that popular. She’s always helping others, and she’s like the school council. She makes sure that people don’t get into fights. It is 8am for the walk, and school starts at 9am. She can’t be late. If she’s late, she’ll be marked absent. She has to be there on the last day. Diana is holding her phone in her hand. Her friend Maya calls her. Maya is her best friend. They’ve known one another since kindergarten. They take the same classes, and are interested in the same things. They both like art, and they really like math class, and they love shopping. Maya tells her about a party happening next week on Sunday. Diana says no because on Sunday she has to stay home and watch her baby brother. Maya is not mad at

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Diana, but she is kind of upset. Maya: “It’s OK, but I’m still kind of sad that you can’t come.” Diana: “Well, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later. It’s almost 9am.” It is now 8:30! She’s really worried, but she isn’t, because she’s down the street from her home, and school isn’t that far from home. So she gets to school, but apparently she’s actually early. She was freaking out for no reason! The teacher asks for her help. The teacher wants her to clean off some of the tables because some of the tables have marker on them and other stuff. Really dirty :(. She helps. All the other kids get there thirty minutes later. First, the teacher starts teaching them about math and physics. Four hours later, school is over. Her dad is waiting outside in the parking lot to take her home. When they get home, her mom is cooking dinner and her little brother is upstairs playing with his toy cars he got when their mom took him shopping. She goes upstairs to her room. And then, she plays Among Us on her phone. While she is playing Among Us and she gets the imposter, her friend Maya Hudson calls her, and she has to answer it because it would be rude not to. Maya: “You have to come over to my house please because something happened.” Diana: “Why can’t you just tell me over the phone?” Diana goes downstairs. No one is in the house. There is a note on the dinner table, We are at Maya’s house. Go to Maya’s house. Diana thinks it is a trick or a prank. She takes her bike to her friend’s house. No one is there; all the lights are out. People jump out from behind couches and say, “Happy Birthday!” And then, she remembers that today is her birthday, and she turns fourteen. And, they have a big party, and they eat lots and

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lots of cake and ice cream. There’s lots and lots of confetti. She saw her best friend Chloe, who went on vacation and she missed a lot of school days.

Choose Your own adventure

The Spiral Jalapeño Hot Dog Galaxy/Haunted Trip to Space WRITTEN BY MR. SCOTT’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

Your first job is to warn people about COVID-19! You also need to find something that turns you back to human because you don’t want to be an alien anymore. You find a magic magician who can help you turn back into humans. He gives you a magic potion. As you drink it, he casts a spell, and when you’re done drinking it, you’re human again! Now you can focus on warning people about the aliens you met in outer space, and COVID-19 too. You make a poster about COVID-19 to share with the president to warn him about it! He does not believe the poster. You get back into the time machine to go even further back into space, to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president. You keep him in his house by taking away his keys until election day, so he cannot be president. You find a medicine that you mix with the air. When it mixes with the air, it removes all the COVID-19 virus from the air! Schools never close, and tons of lives are saved. To lure the aliens into a trap, you put out hot dogs, ribs, and lollipops. You put a potion into the food so when the aliens eat the food, they turn into humans too! Now you can work together with the aliens to build a town for everyone to live together. Everyone in this town works together and cares about each other. If you decide to stay in town, write your own ending on page 187. If you decide to move on and continue exploring space, write your own ending on page 187.

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

You tell the alien that a donut shop is a place to get food, but the alien asks, “What is food?” You explain to the alien that food is something you eat when you’re hungry and that donuts are something you need to cook. You also explain that a store is a place where you can get stuff that you want or need. “What do you mean by cook?” the alien asks. You tell the alien that cooking is when you make something really hot to make it safe to eat and taste better. You also tell the alien that donuts need to be fried. The alien gets interested and agrees to help with the donut shop as a cook. If you ask the alien if they have friends that might be able to help with the donut store, turn to page 162. If you decide to open the store without extra help, turn to page 164.

write your own acronym

O M N I B U S

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Cheridan Butler AGE 9 UPREP ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Unicorn and Popsicle Popsicle cannot go outside and melt or get wet Popsicle and Unicorn like to hang out Popsicle and Unicorn put on lip gloss Popsicle has popsicle lips, they are cold Popsicle has mood changing colors Popsicle showers with cold popsicle water Popsicle has a cold skateboard Unicorn does her hair Unicorn dyes her hair Unicorn has purple eyes Unicorn has a pink ponytail As you can see, Unicorn and her friend have much fun in California

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Kai’C Haynes AGE 10 UPREP ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

The Elements Once upon a time, there were four elements: ice, water, air, and fire. You see, a long time ago, there were these people who were living peacefully with their four elements, until everybody found out about the elements and got sent to war. There are four kids who can get them back, but they don’t know it just yet. Four-hundred years later, they hid away the elements, and they were never seen again . . . KATE: Hi! I’m Kate. Let me tell you about myself. You see, I have three friends, Jake, Joseph, and Emily. Have you heard the legend of the lost elements? Yeah, like that’s real. They are only real in movies. Everybody thinks that they are real, but I’ll prove them all wrong. Emily, why don’t you introduce yourself? EMILY: Sure! Thanks Kate! Hi! I’m Emily and I love elements. Kate thinks they’re not real. How could she possibly think that they’re fake? Anyway, there’s not much about me. One day, I hope to have an element of my own. Jake, Joseph, tell them about yourselves. JAKE: OK! Thanks Emily! Hi! I’m Jake, and Joseph and I are brothers. I love football, space, and fire. It’s just so glowy. I really wanna touch it, but my mom says I’ll burn myself. Hopefully when I grow up, I’ll get the element of fire. Joseph, tell them about you! JOSEPH: Will do! Hi! I’m Joseph! I love water, it’s really peaceful the way it moves and sounds! My brother Jake loves fire, but I prefer water instead. You see, this one time I went to the river, but something happened . . . I felt like I had a connection with water and I don’t know why . . . My brother thinks it’s weird, but I think

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it’s just fine. Anyway, I’ll see you later at school! Will these kids get the elements back? I don’t know. I guess we’ll just have to find out. Stay tuned to see what happens next! KATE: Morning! What’s for breakfast? KATE’S MOM: Cereal, but hurry up, or you’re gonna miss the bus! Five minutes later . . . KATE: Bye, Mom! See you later! KATE’S MOM: Bye! Have a good day at school! At school . . . KATE: Hi, guys! EVERYBODY ELSE: Hi, Kate! JOSEPH: Emily came up with a great idea! KATE: Really? What is it? EMILY: Well, I figured that since you think that elements are not real, I figured maybe we should sneak out this Saturday and find the elements, but don’t worry! We will be back by Sunday morning. KATE: Are you crazy?! We can’t do that! And besides, how will we get there? JAKE: Well, Emily looked up a map online, and she printed it! Then, she calculated how far and how long it would take to get there! EMILY: It’s true! Everybody else is coming, too! You in, Kate? KATE: They’re not real, but, I, I, I guess I’ll come, only to prove that they are NOT real at all. JOSEPH: Great! We will talk more about this at lunch time! So it’s 10am, right, and lunch is not until, let’s see . . . 12:30. EMILY: Yup! So see you all in . . . two hours and thirty minutes!

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EVERYONE: OK! Sounds like a plan! At lunch . . . JAKE: So how are we gonna sneak out? KATE: Simple! Put a pillow under our blankets, and put on an audio for sleeping! EMILY: Really? Out of all the other options, that’s what you choose? KATE: Yep! JAKE AND JOSEPH: Then it’s settled! Let’s all meet at 11:00pm tonight in the meadow. At 11:00pm KATE: Hey guys! EVERYONE: Hey! KATE: You guys got everything we need? EVERYONE: Yes. JAKE: I brought all the swimming gear! EMILY: I brought the first aid kit and winter clothes! JOSEPH: I brought fire protective clothes! JAKE: Wait, where do we find air? EMILY: Well, just put air in a bag. Simple as that. KATE: She has a point, you know. JAKE: Alright! Well, I’ll go get the bag. *Jake gets a plastic bag and puts air in it.* EMILY: OK, now we wait for a minute. One minute later . . . JAKE: Whoa! What’s this on my neck? EMILY: It’s the air necklace! It gives air power! KATE: What! No way! I thought it was fake . . . EMILY: Told you it’s not fake. Now let’s go to the volcano next!

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This time Jake can get it. They walked for miles until they finally got there. JAKE: OK, I’m going in. Oh! But before I do, here, Kate, keep the air necklace! KATE: OK, cool! JAKE: OK, I got my protective gear on. I’ll be back. And stay here! *Jake climbs in* JAKE: Found it! *volcano making noises* JAKE: Uh oh! Better go! *Jake runs* JAKE: Guys, run! *everybody runs* Minutes later . . . JOSEPH: Phew, we’re safe! JAKE: Cool! I got the necklace! I’ve always wanted fire! KATE: Alright! Let’s go. There’s not much time left! Besides, there are only two more to go! KATE: OK! We can use my power to get to the Arctic. I looked up online how to use it for a project. Everybody hold on! In case you don’t know what the Arctic is, it’s just a very cold place that has water, ice, and lots of snow. That’s all. :) Back to the story! KATE: Let’s fly! *Kate jumps in the air and starts flying* Everybody: Whoa! This is pretty fast. We will be there in no time! Five minutes later they arrived

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EMILY: OK, Joseph, get some water gear and find some water and get the water element! And everybody else, let’s get some really thick snow gear on so that I can find the ice element. JAKE: OK! But first, let me melt this ice. I found the instructions in the volcano. All I have to do is say 'melt.' JOSEPH: OK! Thanks for your help! JAKE: Lava! Let’s melt! *ice starts to melt* JOSEPH: Thanks! See you all soon! *Jake jumps into the water* EVERYBODY: Let’s go find that ice element! On Joseph’s side JOSEPH: Good thing I have this snorkel! Let’s go find this necklace! After Joseph swims for a while, he comes across something very shiny. JOSEPH: Ohh! What’s this shiny thing? *gasp* The necklace! Yes, yes, yes! OK, now let’s wait for a minute. I wonder what the others are doing? EMILY: We have been walking for sooo long . . . KATE: What!? It’s only been like five minutes! EMILY: Oh, my bad, heh heh. JAKE: Look! The ice necklace! EMILY: Cool! OK, let’s wait a minute, we have at least thirty minutes left. If you’re confused, they have to wait one minute for it to appear, because if her friends already have an element then it will appear on her neck. Back to the story! JOSEPH: Cool! I got the element, let’s go find the others.

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Five minutes later . . . JOSEPH: Found you guys! EMILY: Hey Joseph! Look! I got the ice element! JOSEPH: Cool! Now let’s go! Only eighteen minutes left! KATE: OK, let’s fly! Five minutes later… JAKE: Cool, we got here just in time! Only thirteen minutes left! Good thing we all live next door. KATE: Yeah! Sorry for not believing you guys . . . EVERYBODY: It’s OK! You didn’t know! EVERYBODY ELSE: OK, bye! KATE: Bye! THE END—HOPE YOU ENJOYED!

Choose Your own adventure

Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces/Defeating the Dragon Mansion WRITTEN BY MS. KUNTZ’S FOURTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

The marshmallow people are going to ask a riddle. You get three chances to answer right. If you answer right, you will get the acorn. “What is something purple that you love to smell?” You start to think of plums. “No, it’s not plums . . . ” You then guess lavender. “No, not lavender . . . one more guess.” You think really hard and guess the perfume smell Love Spell. “That’s correct! Here are your acorns.” The acorns have two different powers. One of the acorns will take away the dragon’s fire power so he can live safely in the ice palace. The other acorn has very little squirrels inside that will tickle the dragon. Now that you have the acorns, you have to make a decision. If you decide to give him the first acorn, write your own ending on page 178. If you decide to give him the second acorn, write your own ending on page 178.

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Choose Your own adventure

A Quest for Magical Beans/ Journey to the Volcano WRITTEN BY MS. KAUFMAN’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY, DETROIT

You decided to look for the dragon to get the golden bean. When you meet the dragon, you can give him treats, pet his wings, and ask him to fly you into the clouds. You want Peter the dragon to give you some of his golden beans. “Oh! I like your scales! Can I please have some golden beans?” you say to Peter. He says you must complete a challenge to get the golden beans. You have to find special candy near the volcano in exchange for the beans. Then the wizard appears, and the dragon is mad at him. The dragon is mad at the wizard because he took some of his golden beans without the dragon’s permission. If you decide to decline the challenge, write your own ending on page 179. If you decide to accept the challenge, write your own ending on page 179.

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Noah Ade Marcanthony AGE 4 UPREP ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Everfell Once upon a time, the town of Everfell got SEVEN feet of snow. The snow melted, and the tower and village burned. :( Luckily, the fires were extinguished by the snow, so no one died. Jemeson was injured but luckily healed quickly. Jemeson had sharp scales on his knee. He was slowly turning into an amphibian hybrid person. He had never seen anything like his knee before, and he did not know who to ask for help. There was a wizard far away who knew how to use his magical power and Jemeson’s magical power. Jemeson had the power to take things down by moving his hands. He could breathe underwater. He could swim very fast; he could swim the deep sea in one second. He could make infinity of anything but he could only do that one time. He made infinity knights. The wizard taught him how to use his power and when he needed to do it. Wizard: “You must get a magical apple from the deep, deep cave of wonders. Remember, all that comes in isn’t all that comes out.” Luckily, somebody was able to survive it. Jemeson was scared to go in the deep, deep cave. He had to swim there. Despite his fears, Jemeson decided to go into the deep, deep cave to eat the powerful apple that once he bit he would know everything, how to control and how to use his powers. The apple was rainbow, but the real one that would teach you how to do it would taste pretty caramelly. He had these needle thingies. He poked the apples to see the one with caramel, and then he bit the apple. He had a big vision to see how and when and where to use his powers. He got to have the power to teleport in one snap.

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Before he got his teleport powers, he said, “Knight, take me to the porch,” and the knight took him to the porch. His enemy was The Black Bluey, who would take every soul and store it in his soul locker for eternity. But, the only way to destroy him was to find his weak spot. Nobody knew anything about his weak spot. Nobody even knew he had one. On Friday afternoon Jemeson went to find The Black Bluey. He found him at the mall. He touched every spot until he figured it out. Once he found the spot, he punched the spot as hard as he could and all the souls were freed and back into their regular bodies. Once they got in their regular bodies, they were buried because the people thought they were dead, so they buried their souls and put their names on the bricks. But, there was only one way to undo all the mess. He would have to face his worst fears, the terrifying Koogle with a thousand sword hands. So, he faced his fears. He fought and fought and fought and he won. Luckily, he won. Everybody was normal again, not buried, and had their souls.

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Julian Wheatley AGE 9 UPREP ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Protecting the Springbok A springbok is like a gazelle and runs very fast. When a lion appears, it doesn’t want to be last. The springbok hears a noise and does a jump to startle the predator and hit it with a bump. When the springbok is looking for food, it hears predators. When it’s being chased, it wins the race and feels like a creditor.

Top 13

Ocean animals

Cuttlefish

Seahorse

Sea turtle

Whale shark

Octopus

Penguin

Jellyfish

Dolphins

Barracuda

10. Colossal squid 11. Sea cucumber 12. Mimic octopus 13. Archelon

Choose Your own adventure

The Spiral Jalapeño Hot Dog Galaxy/Haunted Trip to Space WRITTEN BY MR. SCOTT’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

You decide to travel to the future in your time-traveling spaceship. You travel to the year 2025. Once you get there, you see that the galaxy has lots of technology and magic. There are bright and dark spots that are combining together with advanced technology. Once you make it to the future, you have to study a lot on your spaceship to learn how to make potions. While studying on the spaceship, you hear lots of noises. You find the aliens from the first galaxy have followed you to 2025 and want to fight you. You bring out your lions and cheetahs to help you fight the hot dog aliens. The lion has purple fur and a white body, and he has a big black nose and a white face. He looks kind of sick. The cheetah looks like a cheetah-lion with purple and white stripes, like a zebra and teal eyes. When you reach your hand out to the pets they freeze. You get back to work on your potion in the spaceship. The potion you want to make turns you back into an old human, but it makes you immortal and gives you superpowers! To make the potion you need giant and smelly toenails and a witches nose. The potion smells like a dumpster. The potion has no taste. You then add water, pepper dust, and crushed up crystals from different dimensions. You can take different amounts of the potion for different results. If you want to be old, you drink eighty percent of the potion, and if you want to go back to your young self and have superpowers, you have to drink the whole thing. You can’t hold the potion in your mouth or give it to anybody else, or else you will turn into a baby forever. If you decide to drink eighty percent of the potion, write your own ending on page 187. If you decide to drink one hundred percent of the potion, write your own ending on page 187.

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Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

You decide to leave the alien and find a different way into the donut shop. You pick up a rock and throw it at the window. The rock bounces off the window, back at you, and hits you. You take a break, and then see if you can break the handle of the door. The door handle breaks off, and you are able to get into the donut shop. You get inside, and see more aliens in the donut shop. You are terrified of the aliens, so you run back out of the donut shop. If you go back into the donut shop and try to make friends with the aliens, turn to page 168. If you try to stop the aliens from destroying the donut shop, turn to page 171.

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Hanako McDonald AGE 11 ANN ARBOR OPEN SCHOOL VIRTUAL SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT

Akia and the Nine-tailed Fox Hi my name is Akia and let me tell you about my life . . . Once upon a time, there was a place high up in the mountains where magical animals lived. There are other animals but mostly foxes. Not like foxes that walk on all four legs, foxes that are like half human and half fox. A fox can have powers due to their tails. Here, let me explain better. A fox with one tail is a common fox. It has no powers. A fox with two tails means that they have two powers. A fox with three tails has three powers. A fox with five tails is uncommon and has five powers and so on. This type of tail and power thing is with every animal except for humans and one-tailed foxes. The highest and strongest rank is a fox with nine tails. A nine-tailed fox is legendary. Some people think they are not even alive. OK, let’s continue with the story. BEEP BEEP BEEP I woke up from my bed and stopped the alarm. It was 7:00am, time for school! I slipped on my school uniform, brushed my white hair, ate toast, and opened my door ready to go. I felt like I was forgetting something. Oh well. I stepped out of my house. My house is on top of a hill with a forest of bamboo behind it. In the long trail of bamboo, there is a temple where a god lives. I go pray to the god every day because I think there is a spirit of a nine tail fox inside. I don’t know why but my body just says there’s a nine tail fox spirit living in the temple. Ah! School! I forgot. I rush to school. When I get there it’s 7:30. I still have thirty minutes until school starts. “Hi Akia!” It’s

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my friends Juliet, Maya and Olivia. Juliet and Olivia are foxes and Maya is a deer. Olivia has five tails and Juliet has three tails. Maya is wearing a different uniform because she is a different animal than me and my other friends. (She hasn’t grown her antlers because she is still too young.) “Hi guys,” I say. “Ready for high school!” “Yep,” they all say. That’s right. Today is my first day of East High School. There is a West School. They are mean and always want to take over the good school where I am at to become stronger. They also hunt down nine tail foxes because they worry that someday the nine tail foxes will take over. There are some spies from the bad school that might go to the good school to see what we’re up to. We only have twenty minutes so we all go inside. We find our lockers and put our stuff in. We only have fifteen minutes so we all walk to class. I look at my paper to see what class I’m in. Class A-B. “Yay! We’re in the same class!” said Maya. We said bye to our other friends who were not in the same class. While we were walking in the hallway to class, we passed four girls and one boy. I accidentally stepped on the front girl’s foot who was talking to her friends. “Oh—I’m sorry I didn’t mea—” “ Oh my gosh, are you blind?!” It was a dark demon. Dark demons usually have an attitude like that. “I was trying to say sorry,” I said. “Yeah?! And how is that gonna fix my brand new shoes I just got?!” Maya’s ears went down. When a creature’s ears go down it usually means it’s scared or it’s depressed or stressed out.

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“Maya, everything’s gonna be OK.” I said to her softly. “YEAH?! And how is that gonna fix MY BRAND NEW SHOES I JUST GOT?!” I started to get annoyed at her. “Look, I don’t want to cause trouble here . . . so I’m just gonna go now, bye.” But right when I was going to go, I heard, “UGH gang, go get her?!” I guess she is the boss (a scary one). There were two wolves, one tiger, a black cat, and a dog. Right when the four people behind her stepped out, a door opened from the far corner. It was class A-B. “If you’re in class A-B then come in. Other than that, be more quiet or else you’re going to get in trouble.” Phew! We were in luck. Me and Maya when into class. Maya stepped on the demon’s foot. “Hey—” the demon was about to yank Maya’s hair but the teacher did an evil face at her and she stopped. “Oops-I’m sorry,” said Maya. I gave the demon a smirk and we went into class. The demon whispers “You will regret this . . .” When a dark demon’s horns glow red, it means the demon is very mad. (I have done a lot of research on animals.) The devil’s horns were very red. It looks like she was going to explode, haha! After the class settled down and the class introduced themselves, the first magic class started. “Hello. My name is Miss Crystal. I will be your magic teacher from now on.” She is a blue dragon. “We will be trying to summon our magic in our hand.” She told everyone how to do it. Maya closed her eyes and concentrated. She held her hand out and a green and white flame came out. “Good job, Maya. It’s your turn next Akia.” I tried. Nothing. I have been trying for six years but nothing, nothing, nothing. I don’t know why. That’s why

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I hate magic class. “Hmm. Maybe try harder next time.” I moaned. I have NEVER shown my true power before. After class, a girl came over to me and tapped my shoulder. It was a bunny. “H—hi. My name is Lilly. I saw you fighting off those bullies over there. I—you’re strong so . . . c—can I be your friend?” Maya smiled. “Yeah, sure. You sit with us and our friends at lunch.” I looked at her. Hmmmmmm. There was something fishy with her. I whispered to Maya, “Hey, I think she’s up to something, so be careful.” “OK?” said Maya. I don’t think she understands me. I mean, a bunny with purple eyes and a dizzy swirl?! Bunnies usually have pink or red or white eyes. Not purple. In the far corner of my eye, I saw the gang and the devil girl again. “Hey,” I said to Lilly. “Yes?” She said. “Who is that devil girl that has five people always following her?” “Oh, you mean Pandora?” So her name was Pandora. “Um, yeah, thanks.” I said. “Why do you ask?” says Lilly. “Just curious.” I looked again. Pandora and the gang were gone. I felt like they were up to something. We walked to lunch . . . wait Lunch! I forgot to pack my lunch. “Hey Maya? Can you share your lunch with me?” “Sure!” said Maya. “I thought the school said that the parents have to pack the student’s lunch,”said Lilly. Silence. Then, finally Maya looked at Lilly and said, “Lilly, she doesn’t have parents—I mean, she did but

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they’re dead. Let’s not talk about it.” “Oh I’m sorry, I totally didn’t know.” I looked at her. She acted like she did know. What’s wrong with her?! I think she’s evil. The three of us went outside and met up with Olivia and Juliet. “Hi guys.” I said,”This is Lilly, our new friend. Do you mind if she sits with us?” said Maya, smiling. “Oh, not at all,” said Juliet. Juliet was having a big piece of chocolate shaped like a heart. Olivia was having a lollipop. “Where’s your lunch?” asked Olivia. “Oh, she forgot it,” said Maya. “Yeah, sorry, mind if you share your lunch with me?” “Akia, this is like the thirtieth time you have ever asked us. Of course we can share our lunch with you!” said Olivia. “Haha, thanks guys,” I said sitting down on the leaves under a tree. It was the first day of winter. A little bit of snow but not so much. Today was probably the last day that we can enjoy outside. We ate lunch and had fun. This continued every day and I noticed that Pandora and her gang didn’t really show up at school or I barely saw them at school. I don’t know why. Everything was great until . . . It was Christmas today so I woke up extra early. I slipped on my uniform, ate breakfast, packed everything up (Including my lunch), braided my hair (because Maya and Olivia said too), and stepped out of my house. There was snow everywhere. The snow and the bamboo looked very pretty. There is usually a trail to the temple in the forest of bamboo, but the snow was covering the tracks. I walked into the forest, reminding myself where the track was and soon, got to the temple. It was a red temple with a porch and a roof. There were bars. Behind the bars was the spirit of the nine

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tail fox. I smiled. “I hope today is going to be the best Christmas ever!” I clapped my hands and prayed. Then, I walked back by following my foot prints when I came here and went to school. I got to the school. Huh. My friends always wait for me at the start of the school day. Then, I heard someone counting “3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .” I peeked over the gate. “Boo! Merry Christmas, Akia!” Juliet jumped out from behind the gate and shook her hands. “Ahh! You scared me,” I said giggling. “Merry Christmas, Akia! Here, I got you a stuffed bear. We thought you would like it,” said Olivia. I started jumping up and down, “I love it! Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything but I promise I will!” “Aw, you don’t have to, Akia. We already know your life is hard without your parents,” said Juliet. Just then someone jumped onto my back. “Ahh, who is it!” I said. “Hehe, it’s me, Maya, you silly. But look, look! My antlers grew!!! I’m so happy! I even put decorations on them see? Like stars and many other things!” She was right. Her antlers were fully grown and they looked super cool! “We even have matching braids today!” I sure did think that today was going to be the best Christmas but I may have been incorrect . . . We still had thirty minutes so me and my friends walked in the hall talking about many things. Soon, Olivia said, “Hey, where’s Lilly? She said she was going to the bathroom and never came back.” Hmm. “Let’s go find her,” I said. We looked everywhere but could not find her. Soon, we were in the hallway by our lockers. “I forgot

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to put my stuff into my locker.” I opened my locker and found a note. “Meet me behind the school after school,” I read out loud. “Who is it from?” asked Juliet. “Hmmmmmmm, doesn’t say,” I said. “How about you go and we will follow you and watch from behind after school.”

Choose Your own adventure

Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces/Defeating the Dragon Mansion WRITTEN BY MS. KUNTZ’S FOURTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

There’s a giant dragon behind the door. You hear screaming around you and see that the acorn is in a cage above the dragon. Everything around you smells like fire, and it is very hot inside the cave. You need to search for a key to unlock the cage and climb a ladder to reach up to the top. You ask the dragon for the acorn, and he says in a deep, deep voice that he needs five special fireballs to give you the key. One option is to become friends with the dragon by finding five special fireballs. These fireballs are all different colors and are made up of different elements. The dragon tells you that the fireballs are found in the tree inside the cave. Another option is to give the dragon food it likes, to make it sleep, so that you can just take the key. If you decide to look for the five fireballs, write your own ending on page 178. If you decide to put the dragon to sleep, write your own ending on page 178.

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Choose Your own adventure

A Quest for Magical Beans/ Journey to the Volcano WRITTEN BY MS. KAUFMAN’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY, DETROIT

You get into the blue flying go-kart and find it has start and stop buttons with a bunch of levers. It is really hard to fly because you have never flown it before! You crash into a tall tree covered in gooey honey and fall to the ground. You are now covered in honey and you see yellow all around you. When you look inside the car, you find an instruction manual. You need to find out where you are and if there is a town nearby where you can find a tool kit to fix the go-kart. In the distance you spot lights of a town but also notice a bunch of trolls guarding a treasure chest. If you decide to go to the town, write your own ending on page 179. If you decide to open the treasure chest, write your own ending on page 179.

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Top 13 Things to do in space 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Workshops Our workshops are designed to foster creativity, strengthen writing skills, and provide students with a forum for executing projects within a community of creators. This year our workshops were held via Zoom meetings where volunteers and students collaborated and learned together in small groups.

Writing for Wee-bots (Early Elementary Writers and Up!) While our robot storefronts was closed, we were excited to connect with our youngest writers (age 5-10) online! Our time together was dedicated to the exploration of writing as a community. Each week we read a book (over Zoom!) and practiced one tool or approach to writing that the author used in the story. All ability levels were invited to these fun, informal sessions where we played around with writing—from the physical act of writing to the creative ideas involved!

Comic Creators Club We created a supportive community during our Summer 2020 writing workshop specifically for comic writers. Students learned comic techniques that the pros use; and then wrote, drew, and published their own comics, with topics ranging from the silly to the serious.

Lunch Poems Through this spring and summer workshop, students had the opportunity to engage with 826michigan staff and volunteers around the delicious sounds and smells and tastes of poetry. The Lunch Poem project was inspired by poet Frank O’Hara’s series of everyday poems that were composed (and celebrated!) on a lunch break. Each session began with students reading a model poetry text, followed by conversation and an exercise in different poetic techniques (repetition, metaphor, and listing, for example). What is a lunch poem? It’s low stakes, but it does wonders for your afternoon!

Summer 2020 Writers Club Writers Club was a special six-week summer program for writers ages 9 and up. We created a supportive community of writers, where students worked with the same volunteer in small groups each week. Students wrote, edited, and published stories they felt were important to tell, and gave feedback to their peers. In this program, a wonderful variety of stories are created and published!

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Tai Azzaro AGE 7 YPSILANTI INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY WRITERS CLUB FOR WEE-BOTS

Spacedog Spacedog is a brown bull terrier with a long, pointy snout and tall, pointy ears. He wears a blue and white spacesuit with an oxygen helmet. Bot is a robot from a metal asteroid from a different planet far, far away. He has electric wires on his head with yellow glowing eyes. He can teleport to different dimensions. He wears a Super Walkie Talkie that he can talk through, shoot lasers with, and change from angry mode, to sad mode, to happy mode. One day on the moon, Spacedog is walking and sees a robot behind a small mountain. Spacedog tries to say, “Hello,” but Bot is afraid of him. Spacedog says, “I won’t hurt you.” Bot comes out and says, “My name is Bot. I always wanted to see Earth. Can you please help me get to Earth?” Bot always wondered what Earth is like. He has been on the moon and seen Earth far, far away. Spacedog says, “Yes, I can help you get to Earth in my spaceship. That is my home.” But then he remembers he is out of fuel. “I am out of fuel and working on solar panels.” Bot has a great idea! “I can use my powers to fuel the spaceship! I carry all kinds of energy like fire, lasers, water, and super power fuel.” “Great idea, Bot. We can now get to Earth with your fuel and be best friends,” says Spacedog. THE END.

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Ian Ochomogo AGE 7 MITCHELL ELEMENTARY WRITERS CLUB FOR WEE-BOTS

The Snake That Wanted To Swim Kevin was a boa. He was green with a brown line on his back. And he was nine and a half feet long. He had a tarantula friend named Mike. Kevin and Mike lived in the rain forest. Kevin had a secret dream. That dream was to swim in the sea. He lived far from the sea, and he could not swim. One day Kevin told Mike, “I have a dream to swim in the sea. Do you know how to get to the sea?” “Did you know that I used to be a pet tarantula? I got on a plane to escape because my dream was to be free in the rain forest. Maybe you could get on a plane to get to the sea,” said Mike. “All right. How do I get on a plane?” said Kevin. “How about slithering to the airport? You should be able to figure it out from there. The airport is about three miles away,” said Mike. “Thanks for the idea. Goodbye,” said Kevin. And then he slithered away. On the journey to the airport he saw 722 rocks. It was a shorter journey than he thought it would be. There was a tall tree right next to the airport. So Kevin slithered up the tree and got on top of the airport. He slithered all the way to the jet bridge and then the plane. He got on the plane. Not just on the plane, on top of the plane. He wrapped himself around the tail of the plane otherwise he would fall off. Then the plane took off. He saw his old home in the rain forest from the top. He saw the sea and loosened his grip on

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the tail. He fell in the sea. He felt scared because he couldn’t swim and he was in the water. He sank a little and then he saw his friend Jack the banded sea krait. A banded sea krait is a snake that can swim. Kevin was surprised he fell in the same part of the ocean as his friend Jack. It was lucky. Kevin and Jack had never met, but they were pen pals. Kevin yelled, “Help, help, help! I can’t swim!” “Hey Kevin, I can teach you how to swim. Just slither. It feels a little weird at first, but once you get the hang of it, it doesn’t feel that weird,” said Jack. Kevin tried to swim. It was hard, but he kept trying. He got it after a few minutes. He was so happy to live in the sea and learn how to swim. Now, his next dream was to make a snow angel.

Write your own

Top 13 places to go swimming 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Choose Your own adventure

The Spiral Jalapeño Hot Dog Galaxy/Haunted Trip to Space WRITTEN BY MR. SCOTT’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

You choose to trade treasure with pirates to get Moon Mush. You go to visit the pirates. You decide which treasure you’re going to keep and which treasure you’re going to give to the pirates. The pirates say they will give you Moon Mush. You take the Moon Mush back to the merchant, but it’s fake. You think about throwing the Moon Mush out into space, but you decide to store it because it is still worth something. The merchant gives you a second chance and tells you that you can trade the fake Moon Mush for real Moon Mush. You return to the pirates to try to trade it again and give them more treasure for real moon mush. You are about to give the real moon mush to the merchant when a meteor crashes into Mars. Your ship and the Moon Mush gets destroyed. The merchant tells you that parts of your ship are missing like the wheels, wings, and the windows. You need to find them. You wonder if they are lying around somewhere or if someone has them. You check to see if the pirates have the pieces of your spaceship. They say no. You go to explore everywhere the pirates have been to make sure they weren’t lying. You find two pieces, but still need to find two more. The explosion was pretty big so they went pretty far. You think some more pieces might be on the moon and that you could ask the pirates for a ride or you can continue looking on Mars. If you decide to search on the moon for your ship pieces, write your own ending on page 187. If you decide to continue searching on Mars, write your own ending on page 187.

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Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

You take as many donuts as you can, and decide to look around for jet-pack fuel. You don’t find any fuel, because you’re in a donut shop, but then you get an idea—maybe the donuts could be used for fuel. The donuts seem old. You put the donuts inside the jet-pack fuel compartment, but they don’t work because they’re expired. You keep looking around, and you see a ladder. You find the place that you fell in, and use the ladder to climb out. If you try to sell the old donuts you found in the donut shop, turn to page 171. If you try to find newer donuts to sell, turn to page 188.

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Hanako McDonald AGE 10 ANN ARBOR OPEN WRITERS CLUB

The Good World and the Bad World Once upon a time . . . there were different worlds that ruled the good side of earth and the bad side. In the good world there was a princess called Tiana. She was not the kind of princess who wore a long and puffy dress and sat down all day. Tiana was curious and liked to explore. There was a queen called Titania. She always worried about Tiana. What if she gets hurt? or What if she messes up with her magic and does something very wrong? But King Augustus always said, ”Do not worry, Tiana is very strong.” The king was very mighty and strong. That is why he did not worry that Tiana would do something wrong. There were a lot of animals that lived on this world, including Tommy the squirrel and other unicorns and blue birds and other squirrels. Tommy the squirrel got scared very easily. One day, an evil demon that lived in the bad world wanted to be more powerful by taking over the world that humans lived in. The princess decided to go and stop the demon. She went on her pet unicorn, Bluebell. She got her magic wand and flew off. “I hope she will be OK,” sighed the queen. “It’s OK, hunny,” said the king. “She’s strong.”’ Meanwhile, Tiana and Bluebell were trying to figure out how to get in the demon’s castle. “I can’t touch the ground because there is muck and traps everywhere,” she said. “Oh, my! There are flying monkeys coming!” Tiana and the unicorn flew to a tree to hide. Then, they turned brown to camouflage with the tree. The monkeys flew away

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without noticing Tiana and Bluebell. When it was all clear, Tiana and Bluebell went close to the entrance. There were two guards guarding the gate. “Guards are never afraid of anything,” she said to Bluebell. When she went down to the guards, they said nothing and stood still, so Tiana flew off while saying, “They don’t talk either,” with a grumpy face. Going around and around the castle, they found a big window. They looked inside and saw a big, tall seat. Suddenly, the seat moved and the demon was staring right at Tiana! Tiana could feel Bluebell tremble with fear. They quickly flew away. Since there were flying monkeys in the dark sky, Tiana and Bluebell flew close to the ground. Then, they saw a small cellar door near the ground. “We can go through that cellar door,” said Tiana. Bluebell nodded. When they went in, it was dark and damp. They saw a light that was coming closer. It was something with a dark robe on. Tiana and Bluebell could not see the face because it turned away from them. In one hand it was holding a lamp. The hand looked all shaky and pale white. Then, Tiana tapped the creature on the shoulder and accidentally took the creature’s hood off. “Oh, umm . . . sorry . . . ” Then, the creature turned around, and it was a skeleton! It started to chase Tiana and Bluebell. They ran and ran until they stopped. “If we go right, that will be the way we came. That means we will go left!” When they went left, it led into a dark cave. Then suddenly, the sides of the walls lit up with fire. On the end of the hallway, there was a big door. Tiana opened the big door, and there was the demon with a big screen of her opening the door. “Welcome,” said the demon.

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“What have you done!?” said Tiana. “Be prepared for a fight!” “Very well,” said the demon. Tiana blasted a big, pink bolt from her hand to the demon. The demon made a forcefield to protect himself. Then, he shot a dark lazer at Tiana and Bluebell. Tiana and Bluebell were able to dodge the laser. I can sense the power of that laser. The demon is too powerful for only me to beat. I need to get help! thought Tiana. Tiana jumped onto Bluebell, and they flew to the good world while the demon was chasing them. She flew into the castle and said in a panic, “Mom, Dad help! The demon is chasing me! He is too strong for me to beat by myself! Please, help me fight!” The queen and the king looked surprised. “Um . . . okay.” They all went out and the demon came. “I got you all now hahahaha . . . hmm?” Tiana and the queen and the king all mixed their powers and made a huge shining bolt that had a rainbow over it. Then, they shot it at the demon. “N . . . NOOOOOOoooooo . . . ” and the demon disappeared. The only thing left was a dark crystal. Tommy, the squirrel that was hiding, came out and accidentally bumped the crystal. Then, Tommy suddenly turned black with red eyes. “This is a dark crystal. Whoever touches this crystal turns into a demon,” said the Queen. The squirrel ran to the bad world. After that, they settled in and welcomed Tiana back. After that, they settled in and welcomed Tiana back. THE END

but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Open-minded Monkeys Never Ignore Bananas Underneath Stones

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Cassidy Bell AGE 9 U PREP SCIENCE AND MATH WRITERS CLUB Cassidy is nine years old and will be starting fourth grade. Cassidy enjoys reading The Vampire Diaries and gets her inspiration from her mom. She likes to write about cheerleading and loves to dance.

Born to Cheer When I first saw the sign-up sheet for the cheerleading team, I got so excited to try out, so when I got home I started practicing. My older sister was on the cheerleading team last year, so she helped me practice for tryouts, and the coach gave us all letters to go home with. When I got home, I opened the letter and found out I got on the team! On the first day of cheerleading practice, we went to the first floor, and when we got there the coach gave us our cheerleading uniforms. A few weeks later, we went to our very first basketball game and we won! The next day, I went back to school with my friends, and when it was recess we went outside and started practicing the cheers. When we went to practice after class, we started practicing the new cheers for the next basketball game. At the next game, my friends and I were in the front of the court cheering for our team. When it was getting closer to the competition, we started practicing our flips and roundoffs. When the coach saw me do the roundoff, she made me the girl that does roundoffs in the front of the court. We were getting closer and closer to the competition, and the coach said she was only allowing a few of us to compete in the competition, and only the best girls would go, so we all needed to be prepared for the competition. We had to get our hair and makeup done. When we were at practice, we all found out that

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there was a serious issue and school was closing down. So this meant we were unable to go to the competition. I was really upset when I heard the bad news. We all worked so hard for this year’s competition. It all happened so fast. When my school closed down, I continued to practice. Because I missed cheerleading, cheering was something that I enjoyed doing with my family and friends. Since school was closed, I focused on being around my closest friends. I made new friends with kids in my neighborhood. We started our very own dance team called The Forever Girls. We performed outside in front of our family and friends. I really liked dancing, so this helped me with my heartbreak of not cheering at school. We practiced and I was the lead dancer. I showed the other girls different routines, and they followed along. My older sister, Kayla, was on the cheerleading team last year. That’s why I wanted to be a cheerleader in the first place. She encouraged me to do my best and be proud of who I am. She worked with me on my cheers to make sure they’re perfect. She was very supportive of me. My brother helped me sometimes. He made me laugh while I cheer, and my mom helped with my posture because she said that she was a cheerleader too. She showed me some of her cheers, and she said she had to do a toe touch into the splits. Sometimes, I spoke to my dad, and I told him about me getting on the team. When I told him, I felt so happy. My stepdad was a football player, and he helped me do the cheers sometimes. My grandpa, my family, and I call my grandpa Pop-Pop. He made me laugh too, and he is one of the best grandpas ever. That was how I became a cheerleader. THE END!

Choose Your own adventure

Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces/Defeating the Dragon Mansion WRITTEN BY MS. KUNTZ’S FOURTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

The acorn piece is hidden in the maze. You need to find it to defeat the dragon, so you start searching the maze. You see the golden acorn piece in the distance, so you run to get it. While you’re running, you fall into another booby trap! This booby trap is made out of quicksand, and you need to get out quickly to reach the acorn piece. To escape the trap, you pull yourself out using a branch, but see that the golden acorn piece is now missing. The tree nearby has acorns on it, so you grab a piece from there. You have to paint this acorn golden to look like the real acorn that you lost. Hopefully this will trick the dragon into thinking it is real. If you decide to give the dragon the fake acorn, write your own ending on page 178. If you decide to keep looking for a real golden acorn, write your own ending on page 178.

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A Quest for Magical Beans/ Journey to the Volcano WRITTEN BY MS. KAUFMAN’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY, DETROIT

You decide to use a magical transportation map to get to the wizard’s sweet leaves and chaos emeralds. The map is very old and shows all the seven lands and the cities, which are sparkling. It has a blue background and green planets. The map says in a deep voice, “Where do you want to go?” You respond, “I need to go to the underwater Jumanji mountain.” As you point to the X on the map, you say the magic spell: “Hoos ca doo, we can too!” You get very dizzy as you fly through the sky fast and see blue crystals all around. When you land, you see two treasure chests. If you pick the treasure chest on the left, write your own ending on page 179. If you pick the treasure chest on the right, write your own ending on page 179.

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1. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies 2. Oatmeal raisin 3. Peanut butter cookies 4. Gingersnaps 5. Speculoos 6. Traditional chocolate chip 7. Sugar cookies with artistic icing 8. Shortbread cookies with fancy herbs 9. Thumbprint cookies 10. Oreos 11. Fudge striped cookies 12. Fig Newtons 13. Almond windmill cookies

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Aruna Bradley & Abby Krzysik AGE 11 SCARLET T MIDDLE SCHOOL WRITERS CLUB

Underneath Your Feet

I watched the car drive away from me. My short, curly, blonde hair swayed in the chill breeze of the car. I was at a summer camp called Camp Whoughton, pronounced woo-ton. I picked up my bags and followed the signs to the mess hall. That’s where everyone was meeting. “OK Mia, follow me. You’re in cabin twenty-two, Firefly,” said Kristien. She looked put together with her clipboard and her white button-up shirt tucked into her long, light-brown skirt. Her long, dark-brown hair was in a French braid down her back. I followed Kristien to the cabin. She held the door open while I nervously walked in. I saw two rows of bunks and another girl who was already unpacking. She had short, black hair and a band shirt on. She had sharp eyes. “Mia, you will be sharing a bunk with Kim,” Kristien said calmly. “I’ll be sleeping on the other bunk, but we don’t have another girl here, so it’ll just be the three of us. I’ll be back a little later. Feel free to make yourself at home.” “Thank you,” I said as I dropped my heavy bag on the ground. I climbed up the ladder to the top bunk and started making my bed. “So where are you from?” I heard Kim say below me. I stuck my head out and said, “Traverse City. How ’bout you?” “Jackson,” she replied. As soon as I had made my bed, I started to relax. The heat of my house had been unbearable, and finally I could be alone away from my family and away from it all. Kristien came back to tell us that we were about to do some activities to help us know our fellow campers. Since I met Kim

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first, we stuck together. I didn’t know if we would have anything in common, and it was downright awkward following her around all day though crowds. But, after the camp meet and greet—talking about schedules—it was lunch. We went to the buzzing mess hall where they were serving grilled cheese—my favorite—and judging by the look on Kim’s face, hers too. We snagged a spot next to Kristien and started to enjoy the greasy wonders. I don’t know what it is, but bad days are always fixed with grilled cheese. I was thinking all day about a good question to ask Kim, and I had finally found the best wording. “I heard there’s gonna be campfires every night. Wanna come with me and eat s’mores?” I asked. “Sure, why not?” Kim said, shrugging, and we ate in silence after that, listening to the girls at the table ramble on. It had been a success, and I felt good after that. We put on long sleeves and started walking to the campfire. Kim had a mustard-colored long-sleeve shirt with a pink flower on it, and I had a black-and-blue-striped long-sleeve myself. As we passed the graveyard, we heard a strange noise, a sound that pulled us in like a siren. I wanted to know where it was coming from. When we saw a dug-up coffin and a hole with steps going down, we snapped out of it. “What are we doing?” Kim asked. “Are you sure . . . are you sure we should go down there? What if somebody sees us?” I peered down at the eight small stone steps and wondered why there were stairs. I took a step down, then another. “Mia!” Kim whispered loudly, “What are you doing?” “Just trust me, there’s something we need that’s down there,” I said. Kim still looked unsure but took a step anyway. I went down

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more and more. Suddenly, we felt the floor begin to rumble. “What’s happening?” I said, taking back my idea of going down. The floor cracked and crumbled. Holes started to form. I tried to reach Kim’s hand to pull myself to the surface where she was, but the floor was gone so much that I just brought her down with me, and we went into the darkness. Then, after a hard thud and a sting of pain, we landed. My body ached on one side, and my eyes needed to adjust to the dim light when I saw where we were. We were in a large wildflower field with a lake and woods in the distance. I looked down and there she was. Kim was safe, but not awake, and laying on the ground. My stomach felt the hard drop of guilt. Why did I have to be stupid and drag her into this mess? Why do I always mess things up? I woke Kim up, hoping she wouldn’t be mad. “Who puts unstable stairs out in the open? And how did we get here?” Kim yelled when she was fully awake. My guilt drifted away as soon as Kim went on a rant about child safety and the dream world. We didn’t know if we were dreaming, or if we were just underground. So we walked to find another person to tell us what was going on. We walked toward the woods hoping to see our camp, but instead we saw a creek with a wooden bridge over it. We were about to walk across the bridge, when we heard a voice. “Gurl, don’t you go on that bridge. Water spirit is gonna go at five o’clock,” the voice said. “Who said that?” Kim asked as we looked around. I spotted a greenish-blue frog sitting on the railing of the wooden bridge. It was small and adorable. “Name’s Basil,” said the frog. “Ahhh!” I screamed, completely shocked.

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“Well, hello there. Here to bask at my majestic look?” Basil said, batting its frog eyes with a li’l grin on its face. “It’s talking,” Kim said, disgusted. “And I’m not deaf, OK!” said Basil crossly pouting and looking away. “Are we dead?” Kim asked, drooping her shoulders and raising her eyebrow. I pinched myself hard. Yup, still alive. Why did I do it? Now it stings. I looked up and saw a fading-pink-into-yellowombré sky. I gulped down my denial that we were dreaming and looked toward Basil. “How can you talk?” I said. Basil looked shocked at the question. “Um, well I use my mouth to make a sound to talk, missy,” Basil said, like it was common sense to know frogs talked. “Oh, don’t you call us ‘missy.’ And do you know where we are, possibly?” Kim said, looking like she didn’t want to be in this situation, and just then a pile of water floated up from the creak and jumped over the bridge, splashing water all over us. “Aaaaah!’’ Kim and I said together, soaked in water, and the frog Basil was about to jump off when . . . “Hey wait, can you tell us where a person who knows what’s going on is?’’ Kim said. It seemed like she had been mulling over this thought for a while now. “Of course I can, but you owe me a favor,” Basil said. Kim and I looked at each other. Then, Kim said, “What?” “You will need to give me some spider ginger cookies from Luna’s house. She makes the best in town!” Basil said. “And stop calling me it.” Basil jumped off to show us the way. “Wait, is it she, or he, then?!” Kim yelled.

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“It’s Basil and they/them,” Basil said elegantly as they jumped ahead, through the path. The sunset sky started to go, and fireflies and fog lit the path. I was soaked and shivering. “Here we are, Luna’s house,” Basil said as we approached a big house with a tiny top roof like a lighthouse, and the lighthouse came out of the normal house like a chimney. Both were whitecolored with moss and vines growing all over them. The house had many lights on the inside and seemed welcoming. “Well, bye. Once you get those cookies, I’ll be at the bridge,” Basil said and then hopped away into the woods. Kim knocked on the red door, and a very tall possum standing up like a human opened the door. She had a white apron on with frills at the bottom. She had water-teardrop-shaped earrings and fairy-like, golden wings. She wore a sweet smile on her face. Kim and I were shocked. This possum could tear us to shreds, and I could see how pale Kim was at the sight. “Mia and Kim, what a sight for sore eyes,” said the big possum that was taller than us. She had the sweetest lady voice and embraced us in a big squeeze, pulling us into her warm house. “I’m guessing Basil sent you?” I nodded, wondering if that was a bad thing or not. She sat us down at a round table as she walked into the kitchen to fetch something. The table and house had lots of plants, lamps, unraveled scrolls, and old books. On all of the scrolls there were names and places. I read “Marco” on one scroll that had a red circle around it. The possum came back in with a plate of warm cookies and tea and some towels. “Here,” she said, taking a cookie and handing it to us. I silently took the cookie out of her hand, or her paw, and took a small bite

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of the Spider Ginger Cookie. I pulled what I think was a spider leg out of my tooth and placed it on my napkin. “You should try the legs, they’re practically the best part!” the possum exclaimed. She sat down with her tea next to us. “Oh girls, you worried me so much. I saw that you had left Camp Whoughton, and you weren’t showing up on any of my maps, but I would have never expected you to pay me a visit at night,” the possum said. “Are you Luna?” I said feeling a bit more calm when she spoke so sweetly. “Yes, I am Luna. I am the spirit of light. I make sure at night that the world has light,” Luna said. “Do you know where we are? And what do you mean by we weren’t ‘on your maps?’” Kim said. “Oh, dear, the spirits protect people, and each person is given a spirit to look over them. But the job lost its style a while ago, so now there’s only a few of us still left. That’s why I have so many children to take care of.” Luna said, looking down at her tea. “So you took us here? Do you know where we are?” I said. “You’re in the spirit realm, dear, below the human world’s grounds. And I didn’t let you in. You let yourselves in,” Luna said. Kim and I gulped down our questions and went with one. “What do you mean we let ourselves in?” I said. “You used a door. I would have expected you knew all about this world if you went through all the trouble to go through that door,” Luna said cheerfully. “Listen Luna, we saw a grave dug up, and the hole had steps down it, but the steps gave way and we fell into this place,” I said, trying my best to get a good answer from Luna. “Oh no, my dear. Mr. Jett must have made a door to the spirit

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realm. He must be here to get the water queen’s approval to overthrow this realm and take power.” Luna said, covering her mouth and shaking her head. “Honey, can you do me a favor? There are powerful crystals able to give power to spirits and corrupt them to do others’ bidding. It is the way into this realm and out. A twisted young man has the corrupting crystals, and he is trying to overthrow the realm. You need to go to the lake and find the water crystal. I know you can, girls. It will help you get out of this realm and not give power to Mr. Jett. Will you do it, hon?” Luna said with both her paws on my shoulders. “Um, I . . . I don’t know,” I said, unsure. I was scared of failure. I was indeed. “We’ll do it, Luna! We will try at least,” said Kim, standing up. “Thank you, hon. I wish I could explain more, but this is such a long story that happened a long time ago. Get me the gem before Mr. Jett does. I will make a path of fireflies to lead you to the lake,” Luna said. I followed Luna’s directions to get to the lake. It shimmered as it reflected the moonlight, and the fog drifted on top of the lake as fireflies wandered. The lavender that was up to our knees started to grow in front of our eyes. All the lavender surrounding the lake was taller than us now, and the stormy sky made great winds that pulled our hair back and forth. Kim nodded, and we started to walk into the tall lavender that constantly hit our face. We couldn’t see if we were getting any closer to the lake or we were way off track because of the wind. “Kim, are you sure? Maybe this is a trap!” So many questions filled my head, and I didn’t even know Luna. I just met her. And why was the lake protecting itself?

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“Mia, listen. This is a time to do something exciting and do something to help people,” Kim said. “Well . . . well, why can’t we get out of here without doing anything dangerous!?’’ I said. I felt scared of failure on this mission. I had already gotten us into this mess. “Mia, listen. I’ve spent my whole life thinking about good grades and my future and success. And I didn’t . . . well . . . I . . . I was narcissistic without knowing it. I had spent my whole life thinking about me and was willing to step on people to get what I wanted! So I need to do something good for once,” Kim said, walking ahead of me, and the wind whistled in my ear. I felt bad, and I knew the feeling of wanting to be successful. “I’m sorry Kim. I just don’t want to let anyone down,” I said as I stopped walking, and the wind died down. Kim turned to me and asked, “What do you mean?” “I mean my parents work at a grocery store. They want to live through me and want me to be famous and successful throughout my life. But they don’t care what I want to do with my life. They only care about living their dreams with my life. And I . . . never wanted to tell them I hate it because I don’t want them to be disappointed in me.” I said, drooping my shoulders. “I always felt lost. Expectations to be successful are overwhelming. We should be working on being kids, not all this confusing stuff,” I said. Kim sat down with me in the lavender and said, “I get it, but you should tell your parents how you really feel. You will be fine, Mia.” Kim said, punching my shoulder and giving me a bit of a smile. We walked again, and finally we made it. I glanced at the lake. “Let’s do this thing,” Kim said. We looked around the lake, and then, squinting, we saw the gemstone. I looked at Kim, and she

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had started taking off her shoes and socks. She saw me looking at her and said, “I’m going in.” “But what if it’s too dangerous?” I asked, a bit concerned. “I’ll be OK. Trust me,” Kim said firmly. The gemstone was in the middle of the lake. It was shining in the night. It was small and looked like a structure was holding it up. It looked like we could only see a tip of a large tower that was underwater. I let Kim do her thing and watched as she walked into the lake. It looked like the water was cold and creepy. Having to swim at night wasn’t the best. I looked up and saw a stormy sky, and it started to sprinkle. “Kim, be quick!” I yelled, and Kim had gotten ahold of the gemstone. She was swimming back. As soon as she was close to safety, I reached out my hand for her to grab. Then, suddenly, big waves started to crash down. The rain got harder, and a huge long water spirit whooped up. It looked like an eel-like creature that was blue and had spikes down its back. It bit Kim’s shirt to hold her in its mouth. “Ahhhhh, let me down!” she screeched, but then the eel sparked with lightning, and Kim went limp. “Kim!” I shouted. I was frozen, so scared. Then a pale man with slicked-back, short, black hair and a dark, long coat said, “Finally I have a prize for Queen Ahanita. Thank you, Cora. Your assistance was too kind.” Then, it hit me. This is Mr. Jett. He jumped on the eel and held on to one of her spikes. The eel plunged into the water, splashing it everywhere. I ran into the water, hoping to catch the eel creature, but my clothes weighed me down, and the eel creature got away with Kim. I got out of the water and ran as fast as I could to get to Luna’s house. I followed the fireflies, and I pounded on her door.

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When she opened it, there she was, in her white nightgown. “Luna!” I said, out of breath. “An eel thing captured Kim!” “Oh dear,” Luna said, sounding worried. “How . . . how can I save her!?” I said impatiently. “Mia, please calm down,” Luna said. “But . . . but . . . Kim! She’ll drown!” “Listen, Mia, I can’t swim. I’m a possum with wings and fireflies. But I can tell you that Kim will be fine. They’re keeping her prisoner in the water castle,” Luna said. “Can you please tell me what this is all about?” I said. Luna nodded. “I will tell you the tale of how this mess came to be, my dear,” she said. She led me into her home and sat me down on the couch. “There was once a human that snuck into the realm. He was a friend to everyone: Basil, Cora, and even myself.” “Who’s Cora?” I interrupted. “That’s the eel,” Luna replied. “Oh.” “Anyways, his name was Marco Jett. He loved the strange things the realm had. He found a door to our realm and opened it. We were friends, and he loved to learn more, but his best friend, who he felt almost like a brother to, died by suicide, and Marco felt like he didn’t matter to him. Indeed, he became twisted up and angry inside. When you have a void in your heart, you try to scrape up all the power you can get to fill the void of heartbreak, and you become blind with pain. He has tried in the past to steal dark crystals, and he got one piece and snuck it out to the human realm. “He opened a door with it. You can open doors in any of the realms you want. You just have to have crystals from that realm. He made a door to overthrow what he onced loved. He is trying to get the Queen Ahanita, the most powerful water spirit ever. Getting

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the army on his side, he could conquer this world,” Luna said, shaking her head. “His best friend was Mr. Whoughton himself. When they read the will, all of his fortune went to his brother. Nothing went to Mr. Jett. In a search for money and power, he dug up Mr. Whoughton’s grave, thinking maybe he hid more of his fortune under it. But there was nothing, so right there, he made the door. Mr. Jett wanted to feel powerful. He wanted to take over this realm. It seems like when he used the dark crystal and snuck out to open a door, you two girls were unfortunate to fall in. He corrupted Cora with the gem to make Kim be a prisoner in the underwater castle.” I sat there, understanding it all. “Luna, what will happen if Mr. Jett is the king of the spirit world?” I finally asked. “We will be in dark times. The fragile world we live in would be taken over by darkness, and humankind would eventually find out the secrets. If the crystal has spent too much time in his hands that darkness will also take over his human form. He is cursed with that dark crystal, and the only way for him to be free of more pain to his form, is for a Whoughton camper—like yourself—to break it. Mr. Whoughton’s death hurt Marco so much that your bloodline can break the pain that will come with the crystal,” Luna said. “Wait, I’m not a Whoughton though,” I said “Yes you are, my dear. Have you ever wondered what your mom’s maiden name was?” Luna said. “How can I get to the underwater castle without drowning?” I said nervously. “Here, this is an earring with special properties made for humans to wear. It will make you able to breathe underwater.”

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Luna unclipped one of her white teardrop earrings. I clipped the earring to my ear, feeling special. I sat up and hugged Luna. “Thank you for all your help,” I said. “Anytime. Now go save your friend!” Luna said. I felt like I finally found a person who was like a guardian figure to me. I needed to find Kim and get the gem from the lake and say sorry to Mr. Jett to stop the crystal from feeding off his pain and destroying him. It was a lot, but I needed to do something good. I ran to the clear blue waters of the lake, I made sure Luna’s earring was on tight to my ear. Then, I swam toward the center of the lake and hoped that the earring worked. I held my breath just in case and went under. I closed my eyes and found there were some holes in this plan. Then a bright light filled my eyes, and I found that I could see in the water too. The water filled my lungs, but I was able to breathe in a strange way. I went down and down. I could see the white, sparkling, sand-like castle. I went down until I saw a strange window. I went inside. I heard voices. “My queen, you are the most powerful spirit ever to walk this world. Please, can I conquer this world with you as your adviser?” Mr. Jett said. I peered out the door of the room. I saw Jett and lots of water spirits. Then, I saw a high-up royal chair where I saw a shrimp— the sea bug—with a tiny crown. It was like a normal shrimp, but it had tiny shrimp legs and arms. It was cross-legged and holding a staff. It had a white long-sleeve over a button-up shirt and a black bowtie. Wait, is that Ahanita? They all spoke highly of her—the most powerful water spirit ever—but I had no idea it was a shrimp spirit. I was thinking of a

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shark or a jellyfish, but apparently the power was with this shrimp. I snuck away from the main room, trying to find the prison, and I was there. There were spirits and humans locked away behind bars, but no Kim. I swam around, and nothing. I found an empty cell with a shining water gem in it, and the door was opened. I went inside and grabbed the gem. If Kim wasn’t here, she’s gone. I went out the main room door and peeked out, only seeing half the room. I was here to break the curse on Mr. Jett. “You! Listen, your friend is gone,” he said. I walked into the main room and looked around, and the queen and royal guards were gone. It was just him and me. “It’s your fault, isn’t it? You let her go. I can’t believe—aaaahhhh!” Black lightning shot from the dark crystal in Mr. Jett’s hand, electrocuting him. He screamed in pain, unable to let go of the gem. “I’M SORRY!” I yelled, trying to make something happen when Mr. Jett fainted, letting go of the gem, making the pain stop. “There she is!” a guard yelled. I picked up Mr. Jett. The gem had made him able to breath underwater, so letting go of it put him in danger. I started to swim to the surface. I made it and brought Mr. Jett to land. “My sweet girl, what happened!” I saw Luna running over. She was in a pink dress and a summer hat. It was warm outside. The wind whistled and the sun shone bright. I was soaked in water and was laying in the sand next to an unconscious Mr. Jett. “My dear, did you break the curse and find Kim?” Luna asked. “No, Kim wasn’t there,” I coughed. “I see,” Luna said. “Basil, Cora, and I will take care of Mr. Jett. He needs a family more than ever now,” Luna said. I started to cry. Kim was gone or lost or something. I failed to find her, and they

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say she escaped, but she might have just been eaten by a spirit. I always fail. Why must I drag everyone I love to pain? I guess I’m just like my Mr. Whoughton, hurting the people around me. “I’m sorry that happened,” I said to Luna. “It was not your fault,” Luna said thoughtfully. “But what about Kim?” I asked. “She is not lost forever. She shall turn up eventually,” Luna said to calm me down. “But this realm is huge! It could take days, maybe weeks to find her,” I said, a bit scared. “No child. Now go to the flower fields.” “Why?” “You must go home,” Luna said. “Thank you, Luna,” I said. “It is my pleasure. Now go.” I went into the flower fields. Away from Luna and the lake. Once I got there, I gazed at the hills full of daisies, tulips, roses, and a lot of other flowers. I ran to the largest hill of them all and searched everywhere. “KIM!?” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I raced back down and looked around some more. Then I saw a fountain in the shady woods, and it had fog steam. It looked like an authentic fountain with a cobblestone path leading to it. It had flower designs on it and shot water out of a big stone frog jumping with its mouth open. Wait a second, the frog looked like Basil. “So missy, ya found my fountain, eh?” I turned around, and Basil was using the fountain water as a hot tub next to me. “Yeah,” I answered. “Why so gloomy? Oh, and where’s that Kim?” Basil asked.

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“Well, that’s just it. I can’t find Kim. She’s lost in the spirit realm.” “There’s more than just one spirit realm. She’s just lost in this one,” Basil said, gesturing to the woods around us. “Oh,” I said, sitting up. “Is this realm huge?” “Gurl, I wouldn’t say it’s huge, but I wouldn’t say it’s small either,” Basil replied. “Of course,” I said. “Tell you what, I’ll keep an eye out for Kim, then I’ll send her back.” “Oh thank you!” I exclaimed. “But what about the gemstones?” “I’m a great swimmer. So once the gemstone gets put back in its correct place at the top of the water castle, I can get it.” I wanted to thank Basil again, but instead I was caught off guard by a meowing sound like a cat. What was that? I turned around and saw that Basil was gone. “Basil?” I asked, kind of scared. I heard purring around me. I peeked around the steam of the fog in the fountain. And I saw a small, furry creature with gray fur and white paws. It was a kitten. I really needed cat therapy right now for sure. I knelt down, seeing a collar on it, making me think it wasn’t a spirit, so I stroked the fluffy hair of the little cat. It had short legs for some reason and was really friendly. I looked at her collar for a name. “Junebug,” it read. As I stroked the kitten’s soft, gray fur, I looked around for its owner. “Are you lost?” I asked calmly. The kitten layed down like the little, lazy baby it was. I decided this kitten was so friendly. I

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attempted picking her up. She was fluffy and let me pick her up no problem. I had never ever seen a kitten love being held before, and this was officially the best moment. Then, suddenly, the kitten jumped out of my arms, walked up a hill in the flowers, and led me to the top where there was a smooth, metal gate with magenta drawings of flowers on it, the gate out of the realm. Junebug had calmed me down to reflect and remember. I remembered at camp, when Kim and I were doing activities, we made each other bracelets to remember each other by. Kim made me a blue-and-gold one because she knew it was my favorite color, and I made her an indigo-and-dark-blue bracelet. I looked at the bracelet Kim made me and sighed sadly. I need to go home. The whole camp is probably worried sick, and there’s no place for me in the spirit realm. I needed to tell my parents about how I feel, that I don’t wanna be their comeback for their bad life. I want a life of my own. I took the water gemstone, put it in the gate, and looked back, wanting to see Kim. I was disappointed once more when I saw nobody. Then a spark of hope came when I saw a light in the shady woods, a lantern. It wasn’t far away from me, but the person holding it was in the shade. When I saw a hand with the bluebraided friendship bracelet intact, it was like being filled with a million flowers of golden light of happiness, and my feet and my whole self knew what to do. FIN

Choose Your own adventure

The Spiral Jalapeño Hot Dog Galaxy/Haunted Trip to Space WRITTEN BY MR. SCOTT’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

The Moon Mush is sold at a store on Mars. The store is very far from the merchant so you have to ride your bike to get there. The ice cream store is called The Moon Mush Ice Cream Shop. When you get to the store, it is super cold so that the ice cream doesn't melt. The ice cream store smells very sweet. The Moon Mush is served in a special way. Instead of being served in a cone, it is served in a special diamond bowl. You eat the Moon Mush with a golden spoon. If you decide to eat the blue Moon Mush that turns you into an alien pirate, write your own ending on page 187. If you decide to eat the strawberry Moon Mush, write your own ending on page 187.

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Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

You start talking to the smooth green alien about your ideas to open the donut shop. The alien offers to either work in the shop or help to renovate it! You had a great idea and decided to pay the alien with your leftover donuts. The alien becomes upset because he wants more donuts than just your leftovers. So, the alien makes a deal to work only if he gets a full share of donuts. If you continue to pay the alien with the leftover donuts, turn to page 194. If you try to find a way to pay him what he wants, turn to page 203.

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Charlie Love AGE 11 SCARLET T MIDDLE WRITER’S CLUB

The Adventures of REMZs PROLOGUE “The Adventures of REMZs’' starts in a desolate, yet naturethriving forest. It is called The Hidden World. No one knows why except for the Headmaster of Pyrithiqut, the Land of the Mythics! The Land of the Mythics may sound like a Percy Jackson book, but it has nothing to do with Greek mythology. It has to do with stuff like strange creatures that can talk: like a spider with four legs that speaks Spanish, or a flying dog with elephant ears. The realm of Pyrithiqut can be anything you want it to be. But the realm of Pyrithiqut isn’t always sunshine and roses all the time. The dark wizard Eyqritey—yes, there are wizards in the Land of Pyrithiqut—is slowly draining the Land of Pyrithiqut of its amazing, beautiful, thriving nature and animals. But it is not alone. Meet our fearless leader, Randy; beautiful but deadly karate master, Emma; animal communicator Malcolm; magical healer, Zoe; adorable panda, Bamboo; and the deadly leopard, Spot. They must protect Pyrithiqut! CHAPTER 1: DISCOVERY “I wonder why I keep seeing life turning black and purple?" Randy says. “Uh, are you stupid?” Emma asks. “The dark wizard Eyqritey is trying to drain the life of Pyrithiqut so he can come in after all the life is drained and turn it into his own version of Hell!” Emma says. “Guys, stop arguing,” Malcolm says. “Fine,” Randy and Emma say simultaneously, still glaring at each other.

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Randy and Emma are fourteen. Malcolm and Zoe are fifteen. You might not realize this, but Randy has a crush on Emma, and Malcolm has a crush on Zoe. Randy and Malcolm are BFFs, same as Emma and Zoe. Randy and Malcolm keep their secrets to each other. They don’t know if Emma and Zoe have a crush on them. Randy thinks Emma is beautiful, funny, and smart, and Malcolm thinks Zoe is very intelligent, cute, and nice. “RANDY LEAFELOK, EMMA STONUS, MALCOLM CHEASTUEM, AND ZOE BARABALOK: REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER’S CASTLE IMMEDIATELY!!” “OK then,” Emma says. “What the heck?” Malcolm says. “Why!?” they say simultaneously. Five minutes later, they go to the castle gate with guards all around the ginormous gates. “This doesn’t feel right,” Malcolm says. Soon, they were at the headmaster’s office. “Ah, welcome, young travelers,” the headmaster says. “Uh, sir, I’m not trying to be rude, but what is your name?” Randy asks. “Ventquyito Kebalous Tyquata Groudala. But you may call me Headmaster Yito,” he says. “OK,” Randy replies with wide eyes. “So, young travelers, you have been chosen.” “Chosen for what?” Zoe asks. “Chosen for a quest,” he says. “As you probably already know, the dark wizard Eyqritey—” “Don’t say his NAME!” Randy yells. “Sorry, it’s just he has killed so many people, including my grandparents.”

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“OK, Randy,” Yito says. “As I was saying, the Dark Wizard has been draining the life of Pyrithiqut slowly but effectively, and this has to stop. You young travelers have been chosen to battle the Dark Lord. I am guessing you guys already know each other?” “YES!” they say simultaneously. “Randy, you have been chosen because of your leadership skills and ability to use weapons. Emma, you have been chosen because of your amazing karate techniques. Malcolm, you have been chosen because of your ability to communicate with any creature or animal. And Zoe, you’ve been chosen because of your battle plans and healing skills. Together, you make REMZ,” Yito says. “REMZ?” They say. “Randy, Emma, Malcolm, Zoe. REMZ,” Yito says. “OK,” they all say. “So, here are your weapons. Randy first. Randy, you may get a staff that can turn into a bow and arrow.” “How am I supposed to turn this staff into a bow and arrow?" Randy asks. “It is easy. You just push it forward a little and . . . swish!” Yito yells. “Emma, you will get nunchucks and shurikens. Malcolm, you will get an animal whistle and a dagger, and Zoe, you will get a lot of healing potions and kunai knives.” “Thanks!” they all say. And, they are off! TO BE CONTINUED . . .

but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Oh—so Many Naughty Infernal B ones, Until: Skeleton

s ?

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Mira Wicklund AGE 8 SUMMERS-KNOLL SCHOOL WRITER’S CLUB FOR WEE-BOTS

Mira is eight years old and starts third grade in the fall. Mira enjoys writing about animals, and in her free time, she likes to crochet.

The Story of How We Got Ice Cream That is Yummy! There are lots of unicorns living in ice cream land, and these are their names: Baby Plum, Rose, Martha, Leaf, Batty, Plum, Winter, and Springy. They have powers, too. Baby Plum and Plum have plum powers, Rose has flower powers, Martha can make rainbows, Leaf can make trees, Batty can make bats, Winter can make snow, and Springy can make spring. But, they have bad ice cream and bad candy, too. They want yummy ice cream. So, they go on a trip, and they have four hours to get there. It takes a really long time. But they get there finally. “Yaaaaay, we got here!” But they find a monster. They are scared. One of the unicorns, Winter, says, “Who are you?” “I am the monster of bad dreams,” says Tom, the monster. “Aaaaaa!” scream the unicorns. The unicorns are scared. “But,” says the monster, “I have a sister, and she is nice.” “What power does she have?” says Rose, one of the unicorns. “She has yummy ice cream power. Her name is Lily, and she makes ice cream like Elsa. She has really long hair.” “Yaaaaaay!” say all the unicorns. “We found lots of yummy ice cream.” Baby Plum, Rose, Martha, Leaf, Batty, Plum, Winter, and Springy go back home, and they bring Lily with them. She turns all the bad ice cream and candy into good. They’re really happy they have yummy ice cream. They ask for a big swimming pool of ice cream. . THE END

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

The alien responds that of course he has friends and lots of them. They would love to help with the store! Except, you must ask them to help yourself. And to do that, you must travel to his home planet! The alien, who’s name is Bob, takes you to his spaceship. You head in because you trust him and he looks like a nice guy. The aliens bring you to their home planet; turn to page 216.

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Rihito Tsuruzono AGE 8 LOGAN ELEMENTARY WRITER’S CLUB FOR WEE-BOTS

Yellowstone We visited Yellowstone in August. Yellowstone is the oldest national park in the US. The volcano there erupted about 640,000 years ago. We could see some animals: grizzly and black bears, elk, moose, otters, and bison. I could see bison and wild deer. They have many hot springs. Old Faithful shoots at least one hundred feet in the air. We waited to see Old Faithful for about thirty minutes. It was just amazing! A little hot water was spewing out of the mesozumi, but half an hour later, hot water spewed to a height of one hundred feet. It lasted for about five minutes. Steamboat Geyser is the tallest geyser in the world. It blasts three hundred to four hundred feet. There are many hiking trails in that area and thirty-five million visitors a year. We arrived at the Grand Prismatic Springs in Yellowstone in the early morning, so we could not see so many colors. We went to an overlook trail to see it. It was such a beautiful color.

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

You open the shop with no extra help. At first, it was a huge hit. Everyone loves the donuts. After the first day, you are sold out of donuts! With no donuts left to sell, you have to figure out how to make more. You look around for the recipe and find it in the back room in an old dusty drawer. The next day you get up at 4:00 a.m. to make the donuts! It’s very hard and tiring work! You had no idea this would be so much work. Out of ideas on how to get help, you have no choice but to turn to the principal. Principal Jones was the one who asked you to reopen the store in the first place, she will know what to do! You head to the principal's office for help, turn to page 210.

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Write your own

Top 13

summertime activities

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

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Alex Pototschnik AGE 9 WORKMAN ELEMENTARY WRITER’S CLUB Alex is nine years old and will be starting fourth grade. Alex has been writing monster stories for a while and likes writing about not just monsters but superheroes and giant robots as well.

No Proper Grammar Once, on a distant planet, there was a small town called No Grammar or UR Mean! But, this was no ordinary town . . . It had superheroes! Sadly, I can’t tell you about them. Here are the reasons: #1 It’s a secret. #2 The list would be too long. #3 The most important reason. I would have to write a list, and I don’t want to have to do that—and . . . wait . . . I’m writing one right now, aren’t I? Dang it! Anyway, back to the story. OK, we’re (I’m) back, baby! Hey, why did you say that, you mean person? OK, so, for real this time. So, there was one problem. There was only one restaurant. It was located in that town I mentioned earlier. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it before, so please don’t get mad at me, the narrator. OK? OK! :) It was called McDonald’s. It’s a really unknown restaurant on your planet. I think it’s called Earth, or something like that. But it is really well-known on our planet. Mainly because it’s the only restaurant, but still. So, then some evil dudes turned the restaurant into a pig! So, then one of the superhero guys I was telling you about came, and— to make a long story short—he won. But then, another bad guy

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came and turned the restaurant into a cow. Blah, blah, blah, the superhero won again. The bad guys went to jail. Everyone was happy, no one was depressed. Wait, there’s more!? Uh, then the world was saved, and there was a new restaurant called Burger King. It was a giant burger, hence the name. Anyway, the end? Wait, for real this time . . . THE END of the most extreme book ever, hopefully.

WAIT, FOR REAL THIS TIME . . . THE END OF THE MOST EXTREME BOOK EVER, HOPEFULLY. :)

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

The aliens are so happy that you are trying to make friends with them. You have a great time eating donuts and working together with your new friends. You ask the aliens to help you open up the shop and they agree! The next day, the donut shop opens with the aliens helping you. The store is a huge success! All of the students and teachers are so excited and happy to have donuts again! The principal even holds a special assembly to thank you and the aliens for their help! And all because you chose to make new friends! Congratulations!

THE END

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Mason Hardy AGE 7 UPREP MATH & SCIENCE WEE-BOTS

At the Zoo, In a Pandemic If I could change anything, I would make the pandemic stop. When the pandemic started, I had to stop going to school, the park, everywhere, like violin, karate, and visiting family members. These things make me feel sad. But what makes me feel happy is playing video games, swimming, playing basketball, and soccer with my dad. I can’t wait until the pandemic stops. One day, my mom took me to the zoo. I saw elephants, tigers, and lions. I heard an eek and it was a monkey above me. I heard a choo-choo and it was a train right next to me. I heard a roar. I didn’t know where it was coming from. So I looked everywhere, and I saw a lion. I heard a buzz go by my ear. I think it was a fly. I looked at my watch and it was time to go home.

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William Parent AGE 7 EMERSON SCHOOL WEE-BOTS

The Talking Water Bottle One day, Walter the water bottle was walking out to the playground for recess. It was his first day of school, and he had not yet made any friends. Having no one to play with, he felt lonely and wandered around the playground with his head drooping way low to the ground. Suddenly, he heard someone saying, “Hey, would you like to play tag with us?” He turned around, ran toward the play structure, and started playing tag. He was a natural, and soon enough, he had made a friend. He was not so sad anymore.

Why Writing is Important to Me Writing is my memories. Writing is my bedtime story. Writing inspires my dreams. Writing is how we express our feelings and thoughts. Writing makes us laugh; it makes us cry. Writing takes us on a trip—a trip to Saturn, a trip to a castle, a trip to Antarctica. Writing lets words travel long distances to our grandparents and friends who live far away. Writing lets us learn about anything and anyone at any time. Writing allows us to learn about interesting (or not so interesting) topics. Writing is a gift that everyone can afford. Writing allowed me to write this story. Goodbye.

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

(from page 111) You look around to find something to scare the aliens off with. Quickly you dash into the school and find a laser gun in a case labeled, Break in case of emergency, in the hallway. You smash the glass, grab the laser gun, and head to the donut shop. When you enter, the aliens see your laser gun and become very angry! Then move lightning fast and snatch the laser gun and destroy it. You run out of the donut shop and into the school hallway. You run into the hallway scared; turn to page 212.

(from page 129) You open the shop with the old donuts. At first it was a huge hit. Everyone loves the donuts. After the first day you are out of donuts! With no donuts left to sell you have to figure out how to make more. You look around for the recipe and find it in the back room in an old dusty drawer. The next day you get up at 4:00 a.m. to make the donuts! It’s very hard and tiring work! You had no idea this would be so much work. Out of ideas on how to get help you have no choice but to turn the principal. Principal Jones was the one who asked you to reopen the store in the first place, she will know what to do! You head to the principal's office for help; turn to page 210.

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Mira Wicklund AGE 10 SUMMERS-KNOLL SCHOOL WEE-BOTS

Cats and Rabbits LOVE CAKE! Once upon a time, there were seven little friends, and they were all trying to get into Max’s house, who is a mouse. It was hard for seven friends to all get into a small house. Callie went to Ribbit’s house instead. And guess what? She could fit in his house. “Yay!” Callie said. “I can fit in the house!” She walked into the house and smelled. The house smelled like vanilla and strawberries. Yummy, thought Callie. She followed the smell into the kitchen where she saw Ribbit sitting on a chair, reading a book in front of the oven. “Hi, Ribbit,” said Callie. “Hey, Callie,” said Ribbit. “What is that amazing smell? It smells like strawberries, and is that vanilla?” asked Callie. “I LOVE VANILLA AND STRAWBERRIES! They smell so sweet.” “It is vanilla and strawberries,” said Ribbit. “Yum,” said Callie. “What are you making with vanilla and strawberry?” “A strawberry vanilla cake,” said Ribbit. “YUM! I LOVE STRAWBERRY VANILLA CAKE!” said Callie. “I do too,” said Ribbit. “That’s why I made it.” “Haha,” said Callie. “Can I have some?” “Sure,” said Ribbit. “Yes, food tastes better when it’s shared.” “You’re right,” Callie said. “Can I come every week?” “Sure,” said Ribbit. “Yay, thank you. I will!” said Callie. “You’re welcome,” said Ribbit. “Now, let’s eat cake.”

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“Yeah, let’s.” “I love it,” said Callie. “I do too,” said Ribbit. THE END.

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Things to make you cozy 1.

Hot cocoa in summer

2. Skateboards 3. My pillow 4. My bear blanket 5. Sweaters 6. Hats 7.

Getting under a blanket and reading a book

8. Watching Harry Potter all the way through with themed food 9. Curling up with hot chocolate 10. Making hot chocolate and chai 11. Drinking tea by a fire 12. Making blanket forts 13. Baking banana bread

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Sevie Roddy AGE 10 ANN ARBOR OPEN WEE-BOTS

The Russian Shakespeare Book Shakespeare was a very famous playwright. But he wanted to write a book—a book that was written in Russian. He had already jotted down the basic plot of the book and added details and a specially engraved drawing of himself, for he was very fond of his looks. Now he needed to board his carriage. It would take him to the border, and he would board another one to Moscow. He hopped on, and all too soon, the ride was over. It had been very inspirational. Shakespeare boarded his second carriage. This ride was much smoother, and he rode past houses and farms instead of mountains and trees. He made his way out of the carriage when the ride was over. He walked briskly to the print shop. The printer managers read his book. “Your book is not good enough for us to print,” they said. So Shakespeare went to the inn where he was staying. He was very sad. Then, he had an idea. He revised his book all night. In the morning, he nervously took his revised book to the print shop. The printer managers read it. “We will print your book,” they said. And that is the story of the small peculiar book that Mira owns.

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What Will You Do With Your Power? Dear Ms. Whitmer, My name is Sylvia. I’m ten years old. I live in Ann Arbor. My dream is to stop climate change. Will you be able to help me? I have heard of a compostable plastic made with the waste of microbes that somehow eats pollution. I think that this could be the solution to climate change if the price of these plastic products were to go down. One worry I have is that Covid-19 will never go away, and my grandparents will get it. Will you be able to help get the vaccine distributed to everyone? If I were the governor like you, I would help the poor and stop climate change and get the Covid-19 vaccine distributed. What will you do with your power? Stay safe and healthy, Sylvia

Why Writing is Important Writing is something that lots of people do. They don’t really think about why they’re doing it; they just do it. But writing is very important. With a good story, you can make many people laugh or cry. You can send a letter to someone who you can’t visit easily. Or you can write to a political leader to address issues in your community.

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Writing can make a big difference if you think carefully about what you write. Chain letters can send a message to the whole world! Laws can change how people behave. If you are speaking to the leader of your country, you might not know what to say. If you write a script for yourself, you can read what you’ve written out loud to your leader. Some people can’t hear. This makes it hard for them to talk. Lots of people have sore throats, which prevent them from speaking. But these people can write! With a pencil and paper, they can jot down everything that can be spoken out loud. If writing disappeared, all the signs on the roads would be gone. Labels, bedtime stories, and writing classes would be gone. This article would never have been created! The internet would just be a file full of pictures. Nothing would be the same as it is now. This is why we write. We are no longer cave people. We are humans, and our writing shows that.

Choose Your own adventure

Quest for the Hidden Acorn Pieces/Defeating the Dragon Mansion WRITTEN BY MS. KUNTZ’S FOURTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

WRite your own ending

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Choose Your own adventure

A Quest for Magical Beans/ Journey to the Volcano WRITTEN BY MS. KAUFMAN’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY, SCIENCE AND MATH ELEMENTARY, DETROIT

Write your own ending

179

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Gabriel Etheridge AGE 10 DETROIT PREP WEE-BOTS

Silly Cake First off, a bunch of blueberries, a cluster of coconuts, a pod of pineapples, a wisp of white chocolate, a batter of butter, an avalanche of eggs, a spilling of milk, a fly of flour, a simmer of sugar, a whipping of buttercream, and a pile of pans to make cake.

I’m a Bird I wake in a cage in a room of the darkest. I wish I could be free. I hope I could fly through the bright, blue sky. Instead, I am here. My owner takes me across the room. I shield my wing over my eyes because of the sudden light. I feel a cold wind. Then, next thing I know . . . I’m free.

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Carlo Cohen-Weeg AGE 6 WINES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WEE-BOTS

And That Makes a Song What does a piano sound like? Tink, pink, plink. Ring, dum, bum, de-dum What does a drum sound like? Crash, bum, bang. What does a violin sound like? Arrr-yurrr, Arr-yurrrr, yeee, hmmmm What do pots and pans getting smashed together sound like? Bump, gunk, gung, bum, gung, clang. But all of these together sound like Dum, dum, dum, crash, Arr-yurrr, Plink, Tink, Plink, Tink, Ring, Rink, Tink And that makes a song.

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Hikali Hiraga AGE 11 HONEY CREEK COMMUNIT Y SCHOOL WEE-BOTS

Six Feet of Leaves Once, there was a big hickory tree. He was really selfish and didn’t like all of the other plants around him. So, he decided to get rid of them. He grew a ton of leaves one year, and then in the fall, he trapped them all and buried them in six feet of leaves. And then in spring, during caterpillar season, all the caterpillars came to look for their favorite plants, but they couldn’t find them. So they turned to the hickory tree. “Yuuum!” they said, and jumped on it. Soon the hickory tree had lost all of its leaves. It was already weak from having to grow all of the leaves and drop them all, so it died.

THE END

Top 13

Trees

1. Aspen 2. Sassafras 3. Willow 4. Apple 5. Evergreen 6. Birch 7. Redwood 8. Tulip tree 9. Sequoia/Redwood 10. Magnolia 11. Peach 12. Oak 13. Maple

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Verda Celiker AGE 10 ACHIEVE CHARTER WEE-BOTS

Fox in the House We all know that foxes are wild and should never, ever be kept in houses. Or at least, that’s other people’s opinions. Foxes wouldn’t be so bad, would they? You only need food, a big house, and company. Let’s see, two to three foxes, raw chicken, and a spacious backyard; oh, and baths. My foxes would need to be clean, so I would make an outdoor pool, chicken flock, berry garden, and fox beds. Speaking of the plural “s” in beds, I would need two to three foxes. When my foxes came, everything was there. I definitely regretted having them. I woke up in the morning with a nice, cold breeze across my face and realized that the glass was broken, the pool was a mess, the chickens’ blood and feathers were everywhere, and worst of all, the foxes were choking from chewing the leaves of the berries. I gave up on the foxes, fixed my house, and learned my lesson. Well, I might get a wolf, though.

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Clyde Musehl AGE 10 HOMESCHOOL WEE-BOTS

A Letter to Gretchen Hello Gretchen, How are you? I live in Detroit. Do you do boring work? Or do you sit on a throne and look over your subjects? I bet you do work. I have one hundred markers. Do you have markers? Where do you work? In Lansing? Clyde

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Athena Talaska & Xander Talaska AGE 8 YPSILANTI INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY WEE-BOTS

Claudia & Vincent Once upon a time, there was a sad sloth named Claudia. She was sad because a speedy squirrel named Vincent took her favorite nap spot. She was enraged. She was angry. Vincent was napping under the healthiest acacia tree—her favorite napping spot. She walked slowly over. It took her an hour and a half. She saw how peacefully Vincent was resting there. She felt a little better. She poked him to wake him up. He yawned and then woke up. Claudia asked, “Can we share the spot under the tree?” Vincent said, “Sure.” And they napped happily ever after. THE END

Choose Your own adventure

The Spiral Jalapeño Hot Dog Galaxy/Haunted Trip to Space WRITTEN BY MR. SCOTT’S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY – ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS, DETROIT

write your own ending

187

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Out of ideas to get what you want and need, you decide to head to the principal’s office for help. Principal Jones has wanted to reopen the donut shop for years! She is the one who sent you on this mission to reopen the donut shop for the students and staff of Estabrook Holmes Elementary school to enjoy, after all. She will know what to do! You head to the principal's office for help; turn to page 210.

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but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!? but what does it mean!?

Organizing Many New Intellectuals Before University Schooling

Appendix

THE 826 STAND 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 STAND FOR OUR STUDENTS. WE STAND FOR OUR STUDENTS’ RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEIR OPINIONS—FREELY, CREATIVELY, AND SAFELY— AND TO PROVIDE THEM THE SPACE TO DO THAT, FREE OF JUDGMENT AND FULL OF SUPPORT. WE STAND FOR OUR STUDENTS’ RIGHT TO TELL THEIR STORIES, SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES, AND SEEK OUT INFORMATION AND ANSWERS. WE STAND FOR CONNECTING OUR STUDENTS TO CARING ADULTS—VOLUNTEERS EAGER TO LISTEN AS STUDENTS SEARCH FOR ANSWERS AND DISCOVER THEMSELVES. THROUGH OUR WORK AND OUR ACTIONS, WE MUST CONTINUOUSLY SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR STUDENTS’ VOICES AND STORIES, AND ALSO CELEBRATE THOSE VOICES AND STORIES. WE STAND FOR BUILDING DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS FOR OUR STUDENTS, OUR VOLUNTEERS, AND OUR STAFF.

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. The 826 National network is committed to encouraging youth to express themselves and to use the written word to effectively do so. We encourage our students to write, take chances, make decisions, and finish what they start. And 826 strives to do this in an environment free from discrimination and exclusion.

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

The alien becomes furious at the sight of your disrespectful gesture. He will only accept a full payment of donuts! Suddenly, dozens and dozens of angry aliens appear in front of the donut shop. Terrified, you have no choice but to run into the hallway! You run into the hallway scared; turn to page 212.

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This book would not have been possible without the tremendous support and generosity of the following individuals and groups.

OMNIBUS 13 Designer & Illustrator: Jessica Pace OMNIBUS 13 Editorial Interns: Annie Else, Fall-Winter 2020-21; Jonathan Townley, Summer 2021 OMNIBUS 13 Copyeditors Annie Else, Susan Morrel-Samuels, Noelle Sciarini, Aaron Stone, Amy Sumerton , Jonathan Townley Publication Product Quality Engineer Robyn Charles 2020-2021 Interns Sejjad Alkhalby Allie Beach Bridgette Brados Teanne Davis Neena Dzur Annie Else Jen Galvao Lillian Grantham Em Liker Gabriella Lobliner Keren Maze Phaedra Nyman Esther Park Spring 2021 Fellows Michelle Ascrizzi Ronea Bailey Jillian Dunlay Elizabeth (Libby) Flower

Amelia Popowics Lauren Rudewicz Ritika Shetty Emily Simroth Elaine Skaggs Kelly Souza Lauryn Thomas Mikaela Trowbridge Jonathan Townley Raymond Ugaz-Carhuavilca Kate Walsh Angela Yoon Allison Young Micaela Yudelman

Kristen Marani MaKenzee Van Buren Alexa Weinberg

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826michigan Board of Directors Matt VanWasshnova, President Will Longsworth, Treasurer

omnibus thirteen

Sean Emery, Secretary Lara Zielin Emily Ford Lacie Sandstrom Danielle North

Something magical happens each time I bring my students to collaborate with 826MI, but this year was particularly magical as it brought a spark of joy and participation to my students that has been challenging to keep alive now that we are in week 31 of fully virtual zoom school.. −Aaron Padgen-Soucy, Mitchell Elementary 2020-21 Teacher Partners Shanel Adams Abbey Bradley Stephanie Gargone Carol Tarchinski Stacy Kings Laura Kind Jill Koeppe Chyna Willis Erin Wright Allison Crowley Nikki Krings Cathy Withers Jessica Schmidt Taylor Adams Wendy Hubbard Heather Scott Sarah Jabari Bill Marra Angie Christiansen Stephanie McKinney Kate Whited

Jennifer Gray Rachel Miller Cindy Smith Luke Wilson Aaron PadgenSoucy Alexander Popkey Emily Delong Jennifer Neesam Rebecca LandinSmith Kaitlyn Solar Samantha Kluz Tasnima Islam Martina Carroll Kimberly Whittset Rachel Kaufman Renee Abiad Ms. CrawfordMook JanetMarie Kuntz Caitlin Vallone Gquaile Limmitt Jennifer Birgbauer 196

Briana Dodd Kenneth Scott Sue Fisher Kim Reynolds Jack Atkinson Liz Sirman Mark Lowe Zachary Brown Rachel Kaufman Tabia Patton Sarah Flott Jennifer Gray Bill Marra Diana Pompey Robin Coleman Algena Bowers Julianne Phillips Dana Oginsky Jennifer Birgbauer Caitlin Vallone Tasnima Islam Margret Lanzilote

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omnibus thirteen

COMMUNITY PARTNERS Ann Arbor Public Schools, especially: Dr. Jeanice Swift, Superintendent Michael Johnson, Principal, Carpenter Elementary Nancy Shore, Strategic Partnership and Volunteer Coordinator Erica Hatt, Elementary Curriculum Coordinator for ELA & Social Studies Jeff Austin, Director of the Skyline Writer Center Detroit Public Schools Community District, especially: Dr. Nikolai P. Vitti, Superintendent Alycia Meriweather, Deputy Superintendent Taneá L. Menifee, Volunteer Centralization/Alumni, Office of Family and Community Engagement Kimberly Phillips Solomon, Executive Director of Gifted and Talented Programs David Bailey, Principal of Bates Academy Philip VanHooks, Principal of Mason Academy Toria Ward-Gilkey, Program Associate, Department of Development and Partnerships Adam Kind, Project Manager, Partnerships Office University Prep Science and Math Elementary School, especially: Danielle Jackson, Interim CEO, UPrep Schools Shena Hill Scott, School Director University Prep – Ellen Thompson, especially: Ali Gross, Humanities Instructional Coach Kyra White, School Director, UPrep Ellen Thompson Campus MacDowell Preparatory Academy, especially: Lindsie Johnson, Principal 197

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Detroit Prep, especially: Sarah Paone, Assistant Head of School Ypsilanti Community Schools, especially: Alena Zachery-Ross, Superintendent Dr. Carlos Lopez, Assistant Superintendent Greg Anglin, Principal, Holmes Elementary Ryan Johnson, Principal, Estabrook Learning Community Kelly Mickel, Principal, Erickson Elementary Dasha Peppard, College Adviser, Michigan College Advising Corps, Ypsilanti Community High Taryn Reid, Communications and Marketing Coordinator Lindsey Segrist, Principal, Perry Early Learning Center Cassandra Sheriff, Principal, Ypsilanti International Elementary Washtenaw Intermediate School District, especially: Melissa Brooks-Yip, Coordinator of Instruction Dr. Jennifer Banks, Math & Science Coordinator, Achievement Initiatives Brilliant Detroit, especially: Cindy Eggleton, Co-Founder & CEO Ebonie Guyton, Director of Programming and Evaluation Esmeralda Torres & the teams & families at Chadsey-Condon Darnetta Banks, Nakia Wallace, & the teams & families at Fitzgerald Third Man Records, especially: Roe Peterhans Lafayette American, especially: Amy Abbott

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Ann Arbor District Library, especially: Elizabeth Pearce Amanda Schott Ypsilanti District Library, especially: Maddy Brown Joy Cichewicz Mary Garboden Liz Getty Jenny Hannibal Lisa Hoenig Psyche Jetton Jodi Krahnke Pat Mitchell Jaclyn Morrow Stacey Palazzolo Liz Pitcher Nicole Russell Kelly Scott Eastern Michigan University, especially: Office of Campus and Community Writing Dr. Ann Blakeslee Dr. Cathy Fleischer Mona Beydoun Geneva Korytkowski All YpsiWrites writers, supporters, and volunteers! Engage @EMU Decky Alexander Sidney Anderson College of Education Dr. Imandeep Grewal Dr. Jackie LaRose Dr. Joe Bishop

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Department of English Language & Literature Laura George Christine Hume Geneva Marsack Korytkowski John Staunton Henry Ford Community College, especially: Honors College Peter Kim University of Michigan, especially: Community Engaged Research, DCERP Program Ray Wang Department of English Language and Literature Lisa Makman Emily McLaughlin Department of Psychology Adriane Kline Priti Shah Department of Sociology, Project Community Rebecca Christensen Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning Sara Saylor Danyelle Reynolds Amanda Healy Helen Zell Writers Program Ashley Bates Thea Bude Opportunities to Educate Children Ross School of Business Leseliey Welch School of Education Chauncey Monte-Sano Thomas Drake

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University of Michigan Museum of Art Grace VanderVliet Christopher Ankney David Forsee Sarah Jacob Wayne State University, especially: The Writing Center Dr. Jule Thomas The Honors College Beth Fowler

826 has a wonderful way to get the students excited and engaged in the writing process.” −Jennifer Birgbauer, University Prep Academy -– Ellen Thompson

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COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS We are deeply grateful for each and every person, family, business, and organization who makes our writing programs possible! Among so many others, this amazing community includes: The Erb Foundation, The Dresner Foundation, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, The Fisher Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Zingerman's Community of Businesses, DTE Energy Foundation, TCF, CultureSource, MCACA, Kroger Company, United Way for Washtenaw County, PTP Management.

202

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

The alien is so happy to hear that you want to pay him a full amount of donuts! He will actually help you make more. But first, you need some help! He offers to take you to his home planet to help you find some help and make new fresh donuts! You have no choice but to help him because you owe him donuts. He takes you to his brand new spaceship and you blast off to his home planet! The aliens bring you to their home planet; turn to page 216.

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Thank you, Volunteers!

I love the fun, whimsical, and caring atmosphere at 826michigan. It is great to see students growing not only their writing skills but exploring their creativity and voice in a safe and affirming space.” −——826michigan volunteer 204

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Javier Bonamego, Jonathan Bonesteel, Seth Boyer, Bridgette Brados, Kaitlin Brady, Jolene Bragg, Kaitlyn Brannigan, Diara Brinson, Helena Bryans, Athena Bryer

Tiarra Abbott, Abdulkader Abdulaziz, Jessica Aboukasm, Madhav Achar, Stephanie Afari, Arianna Afonso, Madelyn Agne, Jared Akins, Layal Alkayal, Sejjad Alkhalby, Sarah Allen, Abdulmalik Alolofi, Nasrine Altairi, Anahi Amaro, Dante Anderson, Rachel Anderson, Rawan Antar, Michelle Ascrizzi, Emily Ash, Adhithi Keerthana Athikumar, Asad Atkins, Julianna Auerbach, Avneet Aulakh

Olivia Carr, Taylor Carwan, Deirdre Casey, Mark Castaneda, Ella Castanier, Katrina Castillano, Rachel Cawkwell, Veronica Centeno-Cruz, Olivia Chang, Christina Chang, Robyn Charles, Zara Chaudhry, Xinyu Chen, Yanduo Chen, Rachel Cheng, Jordan Chung, Margaret Clark, Dominique Clark, Ainsley Clark, Semia Clay, Aariana Clinkscale, Marla Cobetto, Graysen Colpaert, Aidan Connolly, Joselyn Cordero, Jennifer Cosey, Alison Cromer, Maggie Crunk, Brendan Cupchak

Masa Baghal, Ronea Bailey, Sophia Bailey, Shelby Baker, Elaina Baker, Pooja Balani, Rose Bandvar, Victor Banjo, Elisabeth Barrett, Fatima Bazzi, Batoul Bazzi, Allison Beach, Victoria Beacham, Ryan Beatty, Emily Bergstrom, Mikayla Bergwood, Alexa Berman, Anna Beson, Dana Beyer, Sarah Bigelow, Jeanne Bisanz, Kathryn Black, Gabriella Blauert, Taylor Blicht, Shelby Blumenthal, Ann Bolotin,

Jessica Dailey, Graham Dallas, Teanne Davis, Maria Del Mar Estrada Rebull, Emily Deline, Grace Demartini, Ginger 205

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omnibus thirteen

Derrow, Reshma Desai, Olivia Detroyer-Cooley, Jesse Deucher, Meghan Dhak, Alison Diaz-Mercado, Katherine Donnelly, Analise Doorhy, Dylan Dorfman, Jillian Dunlay, Steve Duscheid

Akash Gandhi, Cindy Gao, Desiree Garcia-Torres, Anthony Gillum, Megan Gilson, Megan Girbach, Paige Gkekas, Patricia Gold, Janet Goldwasser, Linda Gong, Jazmin Gonzalez-Navarro, Abigail Goodhart, Nina Goodwin, Leah Gowatch, Josephine Graham, Olivia Grantham, Lillian Grantham, Liliana Gray, Miriam Greenberg, Lindsey Gudritz, Bhoomika Gupta, Jenny Gurung

Kaleb Eberle, Kimberly Edicha, Laura Edwards, Yasmine Elkharssa, Sandra Ellender, Anne Else, Kaitlyn Ender, Yadira Estrada, Nicholas Etsios, Amy Ewing

Julia Haas, Zeid Habbab, Ariel Kaplowitz Hahn, Eva Hale, Sophia Hall, Natalie Hanby, Rayya Harb, Sean Harris, Adrien Hartigan, Katelyn Hatem, Caroline Hauck, Elizabeth Heald, Clara Hendrickson, Marie High, Nicholas Hinh, Anirudh Hirve, Miriam Hu, Caroline Hunt, David Hutcheson, Rebecca Hyman

Caroline Fairey, Claire Fanning, Atiya Farooque, John Fernbacher, Mary Clare Fischer, Noah Fisher, Alexandra Flicker, Elizabeth Flower, Lydia Forhan, Orli Forster, Kaitlyn Fox, Alexandra Fraser, Joshua Friendly, Mihnea Frincu, Beverly Fu, Kila Fultz, Thomas Furchi

Lindsay Gallagher, Jennifer Galvao, Mackenzie Gammons,

Nicole Inza, Suha Iqbal, Sara Isser

206

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Levashkevich, Jacob Levine, Ruohao Li, Johnnie Session Lii, Em Liker, Dayna Lim, Naitnaphit Limlamai, Zoe Ling, Gabriella Lobliner, Zoey Lofgren, Sofia Lopiano

Thomas Jacob, Sarah Jahnke, Lauren Jakosalem, Mara Jaworski, Lawrence Jia, Vishal John, Emily Johnson, Savannah Johnson, Ainslie Johnson, Ryan Jones, Donovan Jones, Courtny Julien, Nasser Junedi

Ahmad Kadri, Nikhil Kalra, Raina Kansagra, Julia Kanter, Carrie Karp, Katherine Kaufman, Kamaljit Kaur, William Kett, Noor Khalaf, Nora Khanal, Michelle Kim, Jacquelyn Kinder, Anagha Kiran, Annie Klinger, Mark Kneisel, Hannah Knoll, Andrea Kocher, Andrew Kohrman, Henri Kolb, Caitlin Koska, Rachel Kraan, Catherine Kraus, Rachel Kroll

Yusra Mahmood, Sarah Mallon, Nishitha Malugari, Reyan Manchanda, Kristen Marani, Sophie Martel, Lauren Martin, Daniel Marvin, Maisha Massey, Keren Maze, Asher Mcghee, Camille Mcmurtry, Cassandra Meade, Odri Suero Medina, Elisabeth Meland, Keith Allen Melong, Madison Memering, Daniel Minear, Karley Misek, Elizabeth Mitchell, Ilana Moffet, Isaac Mooney, Charlotte Moore, Justin Morgan, Susan MorrelSamuels, Lauren Morrow, Vada Murray

Jacob Lanczki, Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo, Elizabeth Le, Arim Lee, Nicholas Lee, Joanne Lee, Troy Lemieux, Alexandre

Sarah Nassiri, Olivia Neiman, Surbhi Neole, Vera Newman, Kathy Nguyen, Ava Nicely, Shreeman Nimmagadda, Rajmund 207

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Niwinski, Phaedra Nyman

Rutherford, Amanda Ruud, Hyunsoo Ryu

Logan Oates, Emily Oberg, Billie Ochberg, Lydia Oexler, Emma O'malley, Eva Oosterwal, Lara Orkun, Ariana Orozco, Tessa Osborne, Jim Ottaviani

Andrew Saad, Medina Sabic, Christine Samida, Daniel Sax, Samantha Schechter, Isabella Schilling, Katie Schrepferman, Jackson Schwartz, Noelle Sciarini, Kylie Scott, Melanie Selber, Dylan Selkin, Caroline Shabet, Parth Shah, Easheta Shah, Jamaal Shaikh, Kunal Sharma, Danielle Sharon, Riley Shepherd, Ritika Shetty, Allison Siegel, Samantha Silverman, Kailyn Simmons, Eliza Simon, Mackenzie Simon, Emily Simroth, Sarban Singh, Elaine Skaggs, Lawrence Smith, Anna Smith, Cadigan Smith, Caitlin Smith, Jinho Son, Vanessa Soriano, Constantine Souliotis, Kelly Souza, Kathryn Soven, Saylor Spees, Jayden Spencer, Mahima Srikanth, Nadine Srour, Haley St. Louis, Claire Stano, Mackenzie Steele, Siobhan Stemme, Aaron Stone, Renee Stone, Zeeshaan Sultan, Sai Sravani Sure

Holly Painter, Jessica Pace, Mary Pappalardo, Esther Park, Juwon Park, Jessica Parker, Romir Patel, Binta Patel, Cameron Patterson, Cassidy Paul, Tyler Pavlik, Sarah Payne, Kay Perry, Skylar Person, Erin Pilbeam, Theodore Poling, Amelia Popowics, Constance Powers, Blake Pradko

Amy Ransom, Brooke Ratliff, Aakash Ray, Sara Razoky, Kyle Ren, Joseph Rigotti, Amelia Rista, Emily Ritner, Anto Ritsema, Allyson Roberts, Kayleigh Rogge, Allison Ross, Shakira Ross, Jason Rousell, Mediha Rovcanin, Lauren Rudewicz, Hannah 208

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Elise Tasich, Ana Taylo,rEmily Xin-Yi Teh, Jeff Tenza, Brianna Terrell, Audrey Thedford, Lauryn Thomas, Sarah Thomas, Jessica Thomashow, Grace Thornley, Sarah Thornley, Morena Tinaj, Judy Tipton, Kaylyn Toale, Maurice Tohme, Jessica Toma, Nicole Tooley, Lindsay Torey, Jonathan Townley, Kaylee Traster, Tierra Tresvant, Alex Triester, Amina Troupe, Mikaela Trowbridge

Weber, Greg Weber, Ashley Wefel, Maya Weinbaum, Alexa Weinberg, Kaitlin Werden, Andrew West, Pete Westhead, Hannah White, Aubrianna Wickings, Jesse Wilcox, Micah Williamson, Veronica Williamson, Samantha Wilson, Samantha Wingle, Matthew Wu, Lauren Wuerfel

Madelyn Yake, Tian Yeung, Erin Yi, Angela Yoon, Allison Young, Havilyn Young, Micaela Yudelman

Raymond Ugaz-Carhuavilca

Rachel Zacny, Hailee Zahreddine, Juliana Zang, Jennifer Zbytowski, Halle Zelin, Ashley Zhang, Meichen Zhu, Hemeng Zhu, Jessica Zimmer

Jose Valdovinos, Makenzee VanBure, Katherine Vannoy, Sara Vargo, Rachel Vasilnek, Amanda Victory, Musharaf Virk

Valerie Walls, Bridget Walsh, Jonathan Wang, Kennedy Ward, Nancy Wayne, Krystal Webb, Marissa 209

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

The principal turns on the donut machine to see how well it works. But, it starts acting up. Donuts started flying out of the machine like crazy! So to keep everyone safe, she comes out of her office and tries to turn off the donut machine. That doesn’t work. She begins to look around for some sort of tool to help, and finds a mop and hammer. She starts shoving the mop into the donut machine, which does not work. So, she grabs the hammer and pounds the machine until it shuts off. So now, the machine is busted because of your principal. You are furious, and decide to take a walk. Then, you find a new machine that works perfectly! It looks like a copier, but it is a donut machine all along . You talk to the principal about the new machine and learn you have new workers to help you sell the donuts—your best friends!

THE END!

210

write your own acronym

O M N I B U S

Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Usually, you aren’t afraid of anything, but the alien starts to chase you. You fall to the ground, and then the aliens knock you out! The aliens bring you to their home planet to turn you into an alien! Now you’ll never be able to open the donut shop . . .

THE END!

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WR ITI N G K ITS As learning became remote, 826michigan offered Write Now Writing Kits, online and via mail, to engage student writers by sparking creativity in their homes! The Write Now Kits include writing prompts, example writing, and craft supplies for a range of activities, suitable for different age groups. These kits are available free to anyone in the community. Creating for the Community Through eight activities designed to be displayed on the front door or windows of a student’s residence, these writing prompts offer students the chance to consider what messages they want to send to their neighborhood and to see how their words can make a difference in the lives of people around them. Materials include prompts, pictures of sample writing, and markers and big paper for posting!

Dr. Blotch’s Writing Challenge Students receive challenges with ten writing prompts crafted by our nefarious editor Dr. Blotch, ranging from creative menus to wacky weather reports. Materials include a weekly prompt and graphic organizers, as well as letters of introduction from Dr. Blotch. This project features thirty short videos available on 826michigan’s YouTube page to generate ideas and offer examples of other students’ writing.

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Strange Mysteries! This extended project comes complete with clues: lists, letters, images, and maybe a diary page or two! Students take a turn as detectives, using their creativity and their writing to solve a mystery. With an investigation into who, what, where, how, when, and why students make a case come to life. Dr. Blotch’s Family Writing Laboratory - At Home! These nine writing activities are designed for families to brainstorm and write together. Each activity presents an opportunity for students to write freely, to experiment, and to use their imaginations to create new ideas to share. The activities come in a booklet accompanied by extra supplies for crafting puppets, odes, awards, and other collaborative adventures. #agoodtimetowrite Writers around the country in the 826 National network contributed to these eight activities. From imagining new worlds, to building understanding and empathy to making change, the activities encourage students to practice writing in a wide range of genres. Activities included zine making, drafting a recipe for a miracle, and creating a plan for a dream school.

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Family Interviews: The National Day of Listening and Beyond! Every person has a story to tell that is worth hearing and remembering! This at-home interview kit provides students with exercises and advice to prepare to interview family, friends, and community members inspired by StoryCorps National Day of Listening. Student writers practice how to prepare for an interview, ask good questions, and be a good listener. Writing as a Gift This kit prompts students with creative ways to turn their writing into a gift to share with someone they love. It includes step-by-step illustrated guides for how to assemble writing-based crafts. Writers are able to try each of the activities as inspiration and then design their own gifts to give. Our goal: for writers to think about how very valuable their own words are, and who would enjoy reading them!

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Choose Your own adventure

Donuts on the Moon

WRITTEN BY MS. POMPEY’S AND MR. MARRA’S CLASS YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

You land on the home planet of Jupiter. It is both wonderful and creepy. It is full of aliens, hot dogs, and burgers. It also has a lot of red, dead grass and purple goo everywhere. The aliens have little mind powers. They also have great donut making powers! They specialize in purple goo donuts with eyeballs. Those donuts would be a huge hit back on the moon, you think! You ask the aliens to help you make the purple goo donuts back at school. They say no! You have to stay on Jupiter with them, forever! You have a nice life working at the purple goo donut shop. You eventually become the owner of the shop. You marry a nice alien and have a great family . . .

THE END!

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Our Year by the Numbers the creation of

3,050

print books of student writing &

hours of instruction for over

1,400 70

students from at least

field trip digital publications

different schools

9 6

433

types of field trips &

individual volunteers supported 826michigan’s programs

kinds of workshops offered in the 2020–21 school year

Partnership with

67 20

2,000

teachers from

free writing kits distributed to families and teachers

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Survey Says... 86.95%

96%

of PARENTS & of STUDENTS who responded to our surveys believed that 826's Virtual Schoolwork Support program helped them improve their grades.

97.3%

of TEACHERS who responded to our surveys felt that their class's 826 field trip taught students new things about writing.

91.67%

of STUDENTS who responded to our surveys who participated in the Young Author's Book Project let us know that working with 826 tutors helped them improve their writing.

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8 2 6 Nat i o n a l | T h eo r y of Change

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8 2 6 Nat i o n a l | T h eo r y of Change

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8 2 6 Nat i o n a l | T h eo r y of Change

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8 2 6 Nat i o n a l | T h eo r y of Change

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8 2 6 Nat i o n a l | T h eo r y of Change

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826michigan Highlights from

☞ ☞ ☞ ☞ ☞

2020-2021 With the help of 224 volunteers, we offered tutoring services to 163 students. Starting in Spring 2020, we provided tutoring remotely through our Virtual Schoolwork Support Program. Through our Young Authors Book Project, we worked (over Zoom!) with a class of just under 30 third-grade students from UPrep Elementary— Ellen Thompson to write and publish their letters of advice. We hosted nearly 70 field trips, involving 1,147 students and yielding 54 publications that can be read online through 826michigan’s Student Writing Gallery. As schools went online, we created free writing kits to inspire students to write at home. Since then, we have distributed nearly 2,000 kits to families and teachers. 826 partnered with Google and Black Men Read to distribute 260 specialty kits through Brilliant Detroit and the Ypsilanti District Library

Our daughters are doing well in school (and writing stories on their own!) because of [826michigan].”— −Jessi, 826michigan Parent 224

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826michigan inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.