A Murder Mystery

became his only food. He finished the apple, and its core got thrown away. Magically, the apple seeds were planted and grew more magical, lucky apples. Anyone who ate an apple off of one of the new trees became rich and lucky. The apple got his wish, but not for long . . .

After a while, the apples stopped being lucky and making their eaters rich. Instead, they became POISONED. When someone ate one of these apples, they felt itchy and nauseous and passed out. When they woke up, they ended up in heaven. The original apple felt sad that his apple children were poisoning people again. The apple decided to take things into his own hands and chop all the new, poisonous apple trees down. Then carrots become special carrots with magical powers. They gave you anything you’ve ever wished for. The original apple and the carrots worked together to help people and make the world a better place.

THE END!

Animal Poem

AYANA ALAMGIR, SOFIA KRANTZ, AND ISAAC NATIVIDAD RODRIGUEZ

WRITTEN DURING WRITE AFTER SCHOOL

What do we want to write about? Animal? Object? Something else entirely?

Koalas

Gorillas

Fishes and how they breathe and swim. They don’t close their eyes when they sleep. Tigers

Baby cheetahs— they’re adorable!

Pandas Herbivores eating plants Furry Thumbs to hold bamboo Mammals Lazy Do not roar They are the size of a butter stick when they’re born They are a bear, we think They eat healthy foods They are peaceful (bears are rough) They used to be hunted for their fur,

but now they are protected They are very relaxed They are so cute, especially the baby pandas

Pandas The size of a butter stick when they’re born They’re so very cute, especially the babies They’re blind when they’re born and they’re pink like a rose They are different from others—they are peaceful, not rough They have thumbs that help them eat And they eat and eat all day They are very relaxed and lazy They all have black circles around their eyes They’re endangered, but now protected

The Spatula Who Couldn’t Make It, But Did Make It

AYANA ALAMGIR, ELIAN DE LEON, AND SYDNEYCHENG

WRITTEN DURING WRITE AFTER SCHOOL

One day, a talking spatula overhears his brother’s conversation with his friend about his birthday party. Gerald, the talking spatula, asks his brother if he can come to the party.

His brother says, “You need to be a five-star spatula here in Las Vegas to come to my party! And you need to have money to pay for the party, and I’m not giving you my money!”

Gerald’s brother leaves for his party. Gerald thinks that he can disguise himself to get into the party. Gerald puts on Gucci sunglasses, Louis Vuitton shoes, and a T-shirt from Gucci so that he looks like he’s really rich. He decides that he will pretend that he’s a member of the birthday band. He gets up on the bandstand and sings really badly. Everyone throws tomatoes at him, so he runs away in tears.

Gerald isn’t about to give up. Now he thinks that he will steal his brother’s money to try to get in. He gets a hammer from his dad’s shed, breaks his brother’s piggy bank, and scoops up all his money. He goes inside the birthday party and sees that his brother’s friend is collecting money. Gerald talks in a disguised voice, but his brother’s friend recognizes him and says, “Wait a minute! Aren’t you Gerald?”

Gerald says, “Oh man. You figured it out!”

The friend says, “Okay. Let’s make a deal. Can you distract your brother for a few minutes? He’s getting kind of boring.”

Gerald agrees. They both walk away. Gerald is trying his best to distract his brother without his brother noticing he is Gerald. He tells him jokes and riddles like, “Why did the orphan kid rob the bank? Because he wanted to feel wanted!” And, “How often do you study chemistry? Periodically! Ha ha ha! Get it?”

Gerald’s brother thinks, I like this guy. Maybe we can keep him as a joke teller. He has no idea that this is Gerald. Gerald stays telling jokes until his voice gets sore and he can’t talk anymore. The brother looks for a medical bag to help Gerald out. The brother says, “So it was you who came to my party this whole time. That’s why my friend wasn’t talking so much.” Gerald gives him a puppy face. “Oh well,” his brother says. “I guess you can stay for a little bit. Mom told me to invite you, but I didn’t. You can stay for now.”

Take Me to the Oldest Tree Alive

STORIES ON ADVENTURE & FRIENDSHIP