Young Southern Student Writers - Winners 2018 by Joe Wilferth

Young Southern Student Writers 2018 Winnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Booklet Grades K-5 1

Introduction What a joy it’s been to chair this year’s YSSW contest—from interacting with our region’s outstanding teachers and facilitating judging at UTC to assembling this collection of our winning submissions. All is done with an eye toward promoting the literary arts and the creative energy of young writers. Reading the submissions this year, in my own experience as a judge and in reports from other readers/judges, has been an exercise in both humility and hilarity. The submissions, especially the winning submissions that follow, demonstrate exceptionally strong writing as they likewise provide a glimpse into the wild imagination of young minds. So, I thank this year’s young writers and their teachers! You’ve given me much to laugh about, much to enjoy, and much to appreciate in your good work. Many thanks, too, to the Board of Directors and staff of the Southern Lit Alliance, particularly Lynda LeVan (Executive Director). Lynda deserves our thanks for her generosity and for her support of this area’s outstanding young writers. Leadership at the Southern Lit Alliance and its partnership with UTC’s Department of English combine to lift up and celebrate the literary arts in our region. I am grateful for the Southern Lit Alliance as a partner in this contest. I also thank this region’s dedicated teachers, K-12, who work tirelessly to instill in young minds and hearts the value of literature and creative writing. I am grateful for their efforts as they teach young authors to enjoy the craft of writing. Without our elementary, middle grades, and high school English/Language Arts teachers, along with parents and guardians, we would not have such fine work from these young people. I am also grateful to this year’s readers and contest judges. It is true that every submission is read by a faculty member in UTC’s Department of English. Our faculty serve in this capacity with pleasure. In fact, it’s not uncommon to hear our teachers sharing with one another submissions that are especially funny, creative, or inspiring. It’s another way in which we contribute to this wonderful city and this region. I appreciate the time and care with which my colleagues read every submission. It is worth noting that more than 3,600 students from schools in the Chattanooga area and beyond submitted entries this year, so it’s no easy task to manage, but our judges did so this year once again with grace and enthusiasm. Finally, I thank Rebecca Churchman and Noelle Powers, two outstanding undergraduate students in UTC’s English program. Rebecca and Noelle worked tirelessly to facilitate judging, to compile the winning submissions, and to create this year’s winners booklets. They have spent countless hours managing the contest and collecting the winning entries for this publication. Indeed, they managed this substantial project with grace, with sincerity, with maturity, and organizational skills that that we typically find only in experienced professionals. I’m grateful for their outstanding work and their attention to detail. Now, read and enjoy! Joe Wilferth, UTC English Professor and YSSW Contest Chair

Table of Contents Kindergarten Poetry

Sullivan....................................................................7

Kindergarten Prose

Barrios.....................................................................9 Bontekoe................................................................10 Brogan....................................................................12 Collins....................................................................13 Colvin....................................................................14 Crowder.................................................................15 Farmer....................................................................16 Geraci.....................................................................17 Harris.....................................................................18 Haven.....................................................................19 Hays......................................................................20 Henke.....................................................................21 Hicks......................................................................22 Hixon.....................................................................23 McCoy...................................................................24 Morgan.............................................................25-26 Saucier...................................................................27 Thomas..................................................................28 Thompson..............................................................29 Watson...................................................................30

Ritterskamp............................................................51 Scearce...................................................................52 Seymour.................................................................53 Smith......................................................................54

Grade 2 Poetry

Berry......................................................................56 Copeland................................................................57 Spake.....................................................................58

Grade 2 Prose

Danielson...............................................................31 Dansbury................................................................32 Campbell................................................................33 Laseter....................................................................34 Shakelford..............................................................35

Blenden..................................................................60 Collins....................................................................61 Crenshaw................................................................62 Elrod......................................................................63 Fahey......................................................................64 Garber....................................................................65 Hand......................................................................66 Hunter....................................................................67 Kindred..................................................................68 Knecht....................................................................69 Koo........................................................................70 McDonald..............................................................71 Nelson....................................................................72 Porter......................................................................73 Robinson................................................................74 Royal......................................................................75 Singer.....................................................................76 Tran.......................................................................77 Varnell....................................................................78

Grade 1 Prose

Grade 3 Poetry

Grade 1 Poetry

Bathi......................................................................37 Booker....................................................................38 Christopher.............................................................39 Dorough.................................................................40 Guider....................................................................41 Gutierrez................................................................42 Hammel.................................................................43 Harris.....................................................................44 Hawk.....................................................................45 Holland..................................................................46 Hood......................................................................47 Johnson..................................................................48 Lawson..................................................................49 Osborn....................................................................50

Bacon.....................................................................80 Barringer................................................................81 Bradshaw................................................................82 Elder.......................................................................83 Fawbush.................................................................84 Haney.....................................................................85 Hitchcock...............................................................86 Huskey...................................................................87 Lawson..................................................................88 McCarthy...............................................................89 McDonald..............................................................90 Qin.........................................................................91 Ranalli....................................................................92 Sawrie....................................................................93 3

Simpson.................................................................94 Spurgeon................................................................95 Thompsan..............................................................96

Grade 3 Prose

Atkinson.................................................................98 Beeler.....................................................................99 Belva....................................................................100 Blair......................................................................101 Burnette........................................................102-103 Chapman..............................................................104 Coleman...............................................................105 Cone....................................................................106 Dunlap.................................................................107 Fazio-Vives..........................................................108 Filar......................................................................109 Hackathorne.........................................................110 Hobek...................................................................111 Jullienne...............................................................112 Kim......................................................................113 Maounis...............................................................114 McDonald............................................................115 Olson....................................................................116 Parker...................................................................117 K. Parker.......................................................118-119 Rademacher.........................................................120 Sisco.....................................................................121 St. Charles............................................................122 Vardhana..............................................................123 Walthour...............................................................124

Grade 4 Poetry

Agha....................................................................126 Ahmed.................................................................127 Altizer..................................................................128 Anderson..............................................................129 Bailey...................................................................130 Bales....................................................................131 Barrios.................................................................132 Bartoo..................................................................133 Behar....................................................................134 Bell......................................................................135 Coleman...............................................................136 Duble...................................................................137 Hemphill..............................................................138 Hightshue.............................................................139 Hogue...................................................................140 Holland................................................................141 Holloway..............................................................142 4

Holly....................................................................143 Kaylor..................................................................144 Kreek....................................................................145 Lovin....................................................................146 Lund....................................................................147 Monterde..............................................................148 Patel.....................................................................149 Raley....................................................................150 Roddy...................................................................151 Shantha................................................................152 Stubblefield..........................................................153 Wilburn................................................................154 Xian.....................................................................155

Grade 4 Prose

Altenberg......................................................157-158 Altizer..................................................................159 Anderson..............................................................160 Bell...............................................................161-162 Blackman......................................................163-164 Bragdon................................................................165 Crawford..............................................................166 Crutchfield...........................................................167 Derrick.................................................................168 Dexheimer............................................................169 Farnham........................................................170-172 Grant....................................................................173 Hampton.......................................................174-175 Haynes.................................................................176 Huynh...........................................................177-178 Jennings........................................................179-180 Jestice...................................................................181 Kaylor..................................................................182 Malone.................................................................183 Manget.................................................................184 Martin..................................................................185 McCallen.............................................................186 Pearson................................................................187 Perkins.................................................................188 Plumlee................................................................189 Reeves..................................................................190 Sharpe..................................................................191 Shaw.............................................................192-193 Spencer................................................................194 Standefer......................................................195-196 Stromen........................................................197-198 Sumrall.........................................................199-200 Walcott.................................................................201

Grade 5 Poetry

Akinlaja...............................................................203 Allison.................................................................204 Boyd....................................................................205 Bowman...............................................................206 Burnette...............................................................207 Butt......................................................................208 Daniel..................................................................209 Doepp..................................................................210 Drayer..................................................................211 Eades...................................................................212 Ebel.....................................................................213 Ellis......................................................................214 Hemphill..............................................................215 Kenemore.............................................................216 Lydon...................................................................217 Mac Norman........................................................218 May......................................................................219 Mehovic...............................................................220 Middleton.............................................................221 Moore...................................................................222 Noll......................................................................223 Phillips.................................................................224 Roes.....................................................................225 Smith....................................................................226 Terrell...................................................................227 Tugman................................................................228 Voiles...................................................................229 Warnack...............................................................230

Herron...........................................................263-264 Hickman...............................................................265 Jackson.................................................................266 Jones....................................................................267 Kelsay..................................................................268 Leamon................................................................269 McLaughen...................................................270-271 Miller............................................................272-273 Olson....................................................................274 Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal.................................................................275 Pate......................................................................276 Scearce.................................................................277 Schlosser.......................................................278-279 Scruggs.........................................................280-281 Syring...................................................................282 Underwood...................................................283-284 Webster.........................................................285-286 Wheeler.........................................................287-288 Yim......................................................................289

Grade 5 Prose

Agha....................................................................232 Babb....................................................................233 Bossinger......................................................234-236 Bowen..........................................................237-238 Breneman.............................................................239 Caldwell...............................................................240 Chestnutt.......................................................241-242 Cruikshank...................................................243-244 Davis....................................................................245 L. Davis........................................................246-247 J. Davis.........................................................248-249 A. Davis........................................................250-251 Distasio.........................................................252-253 Dockery........................................................254-255 Downs..........................................................256-257 Fernandes.............................................................258 Gordon.........................................................259-260 Hazlewood....................................................261-262 5

Kindergarten Poetry

Untitled Jesus Kind Sweet Gives us food Gives us the whole world to live in Jesus Cadence Sullivan Kindergarten Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Patricia Zumbrun

Kindergarten Prose

Celebrations This is my birthday. I am celebrating with my mom and dad. Marcelo Barrios Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Tracey Stevens

When I Was the Snow When I was the snow, I made snow angels and had a snowball fight. Then, we broke down our play set and knocked off all the snow that was on it. My siblings and I walked through the snow and we got snow all over our shoes. We went inside and played video games for the rest of the day. Gavin Bontekoe Kindergarten Grace Baptist Academy Mandy Long

Untitled I play outside. Me and Daddy watch Trolls. I eat mac and cheese a lot because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my favorite food. I watch movies and take lots of naps. My dad and my brother dad me ate popcorn and watched a movie. Kylee Brogan Kindergarten Grace Baptist Academy Katlyn Pollock

Celebrations I celebrate Christmas with my mom and dad and my brother. Parker Collins Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Tracey Stevens

Celebrations For Chinese New Year, I get Chinese money. Ransom Colvin Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Kayla Schroering

Personal Celebration I see my mom. Jericho Crowder Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Stacye Gibson

Celebrations Me and my friend hit a piĂąata. Quinn Farmer Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Kayla Schroering

Celebrations My family made a Christmas tree. My dad and sister and my brother made a fire. Ollie Geraci Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Marah Smith

Christmas Once upon a time there lived a family. They drank hot cocoa. They even had a snow fight. Then they put up the Christmas tree and decorated it with beautiful lights. Then they put on the very last thing on and it was a beautiful star. It shined like gold. Then it was December. They hung up their stockings and then they went to sleep and then St. Nicholas came! With a pomp on the roof, I knew it was St. Nicholas that came. Then he called them by names. By Dasher, by Dancer, by Comet, by Blitzen, and Rudolph. With a whole bag of presents, he came in my house. I knew it was him. He giggled when he saw me, my friend Santa. Then he flew over my house, up over my chimney he went.

I heard him say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;And to all a good night.â&#x20AC;?

It was Christmas morning and it snowed. I told all my friends that I saw Santa. Then we opened our presents. Julianna Harris Kindergarten Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Monica Tompkins

My Funny Elf My funny elf is playing around on the slide. He fell off and went back inside. He got a bandage on from his mom. Then he went back outside because he wanted to play with his friends and jump on the trampoline. He did a back flip and almost hurt himself and went back inside to get a drink of water. Then his friends came inside to visit him. He ate dinner with his friends and cousins. Nick Haven Kindergarten Grace Baptist Academy Julie Norman

The Magical Carrot Once upon a time, there lived a bunny named Bun-Bun. And one day Bun-Bun went into the garden to eat a carrot, but those carrots weren’t normal carrots, those carrots could turn your life into something else; and that something else was amazing. So that bunny turned into an amazing magical creature, and Bun-Bun could grant magical wishes, and that’s why this story is special. But Bun-Bun didn’t grant just any magical wish, and no one had a wish Bun-Bun would grant, so Bun-Bun turned sad. And when Bun-Bun was sad a little girl came to him and asked him for a wish. And so, the bunny then granted a magical wish to that little girl, who lived in a cottage. And that little girl wished to have a family, and that wish was a special wish to her. The little girl’s new family was nice, and they would never ever do anything to make that little girl cry. And Bun-Bun was happy to grant that magical wish. Then Bun-Bun had an idea for his whole life. And that bunny wanted to grant all the kids their deepest wishes, and so he became their Fairy God Bunny. But Bun-Bun never ever had any friends, and when he got bored he got kind of sad. And when he got bored he sometimes played pranks, like putting make-up on people when they were sleeping, and he hid his sister’s favorite blanket. But the only thing that wouldn’t make Bun-Bun do pranks was when he made little kids’ wishes come true. And then Bun-Bun felt special, and he was a good bunny, and that bunny will always be special. Ava Hays Kindergarten Silverdale Baptist Academy Rebecca Lusardo

Werewolf My Lego Chima Werewolf. It came in a bag and I had to put it together. It is red and gray. He used to be nice but now he is bad. I like my Lego Chima Werewolf. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cool. Blake Henke Kindergarten Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Maria Sessions

My Crazy Elf My crazy elf wiggles all over the place. He bumps into the wall and gets a booboo. Then he goes home and drinks coffee because it is so good. Maddy Hicks Kindergarten Grace Baptist Academy Julie Norman

A Little Snowflake Once upon a time there was a little snowflake. It was on the roof but when it was night something was falling in the air. It was Santa Clause’s sleigh.

He said, “Ho, Ho, and Ho!” He was looking at the little snowflake.

He said “Ho, Ho, Ho! I see a little snowflake.” As the wind pushed it, the little snowflake that was hit was heading to his sleigh. Santa caught it in his hands. He liked it. He put it in his snowflake collection and he had a merry, merry Christmas. Hailey Hixon Kindergarten Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Monica Tompkins

Celebrations My neighborhood goes to Lukeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house to celebrate fireworks. The fireworks are sometimes really big. Conner McCoy Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Marah Smith

The Grey Wolf Adventure “Hello, my name is Jack, and this is my cousin, Carson. We’re the Wild Morgans. Today we are going to go look for a grey wolf in the forest. We chose the grey wolf because he is our favorite animal. He is mostly grey, and some of the parts of his fur on his feet are white. He has blue eyes and we just love that little guy. “Let’s get in the ship, and let’s start going,” says Jack. But the ship is out of gas! We tried to drive, and it didn’t work. “We need to make a plan,” Carson says. “Look! Here comes our friend, Pecker. Do you know what I’m thinking?” says Jack. “Let’s swipe our secret cards on our vests to do Super-Size Pecking Power! That means we are going to start pecking with our super-sized beaks into the ground to find oil, so we can make gas. When we swipe it, we get feathers all over our arms and get a giant beak. So, let’s swipe our cards!” “Awesome!” Carson says. We start pecking our beaks on the ground really hard. This starts making a large hole in the ground that goes deeper and deeper until we find the oil. “We’re all done now! Let’s get the gasoline changer and change our oil to gas,” said Carson. So, we pour it into the machine, and then it uses a sucker to pull out the stuff the gasoline needs and separates it. Then it comes out of the machine as gas. “Yeah! We did it! Now let’s put it into the ship,” Jack said. “And we’re off!” we both say. “I hope we find the grey wolf! Look! There’s a cave! Do you think he might be in there?” said Jack. “Maybe, let’s go look... No, he’s not in there,” says Carson. “It’s too dark. Let’s look where all the deer live... He’s not there either!” said Jack. “Where could he be?” asked Carson. “I don’t know,” said Jack. “I think I know one more place that he might be in the forest...” Alright! We found the grey wolf! He was standing right in the middle of the forest. He was waiting for us. “Now let’s play with him. Let’s play ball,” Jack says. “Great idea!” said Carson.

“AARH AAAAARRRRH!” That’s how the wolf says he likes to play ball!

Me and Carson take turns throwing the ball and the grey wolf catches it with his mouth, brings it back to us, and then we throw it again! “He sure is good at that game,” Carson says. We play for 20 more minutes and have a great time. The sun is going down. We have to leave now. “Bye grey wolf! See you later!” we both say. “Next time, Carson says, “we are gonna find a snow owl.” Jack Morgan Kindergarten Silverdale Baptist Academy Zee Mansell and Jessica Trogdon

Drone My drone can fly. It got stuck in a tree. I climbed up the tree by myself. Preston Saucier Kindergarten Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Maria Sessions

Summer The only thing I did during summer was go to camp because I could because I was going into Kindergarten. We take field trips to the pottery place and the YMCA and the movie theater. Whenever I went home I ate bacon. Dylan Thomas Kindergarten Grace Baptist Academy Katlyn Pollock

Celebrations On Thanksgiving I went to my great grandmomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for dinner. We sang songs. Fletcher Thompson Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Laney Holmes

Personal Celebration We saw the elf upstairs. Wally touched Santa. The elf was on Santa. Wally moved the elf. Tate Watson Kindergarten Normal Park Museum Magnet School Stacye Gibson

Grade 1 Poetry

Rome Rome strong, unbeatable fighting, building, defending intercepted by the Gauls ally Caleb Danielson Grade 1 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Kayla Halstead

Christmas Elves being mischievous My cat eating the Christmas tree Building a snow fort Me decorating for Christmas Emma Dansbury Grade 1 St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal School Angie Hughes

Over and Under Today The snow is crunching The secret of winter has come! The little animals are over and under the snow! Foxes, beavers Voles, owls The little animals are over and under the snow! Lewis Campbell Grade 1 Thrasher Elementary School Kathy Guagenti

A Dog’s View Could that be a bone? Shaped like a ball? I chew and chew and chew, But it’s not a bone! I sniff and sniff and sniff, It doesn’t smell like a bone! I look up and see other balls in the tree, Is it a ball tree? Owen Laseter Grade 1 Thrasher Elementary School Judith Walter

Shark Sneaky, swimmer Playing, hunting, eating They grow new teeth Fish Labron Shackelford Grade 1 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Amy Butcher

Grade 1 Prose

I Wish I Was a Falcon Falcons are the fastest flying animals on Earth. Falcons are raptors. Falcons have black patches under their eyes. I wish I was a falcon. I would be zooming through the sky. Falcons have talons, so you have to have gloves if a falcon lands on you. Praketh Bathi Grade 1 St. Nicholas School Stephanie Marshall

Lake Winnie I got to Lake Winnie and we went on Winnie stuff and I saw the one ride I liked: a rollercoaster and a boat that goes in a tunnel and is in the dark. It went up in the sky and thenâ&#x20AC;ŚI went up. I went down. Then, splash! We went over again and over again. It was fast and I almost vomited. Some rides I could not ride, and I was sad. We went on some more stuff, but we only had a little bit of time. We went with E-Kids and we ate lunch there, too. Dylan Booker Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Heather Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

Swimming Once, I went swimming with my dad at the beach. We had fun. First, we had to tackle the waves. Some big waves were coming my way and we went over them. Then, I got salt water in my eyes. It hurt a lot, but it was fun. Finally, we kept on swimming even though it hurt a lot. I kept swimming because I like swimming. Claire Christopher Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Megan Methvin

I Got Pulled in the Water Once I got pulled in the water by a fish. I went under the water. No one got to see me. I went to see my mom and dad. I was soaking wet. I really did not see what type of fish it was. I know it was something big. It was a carp or a bass. I still had my fishing rod. It might have been a catfish too. But a catfish is not that big. Catfish are medium fish. Allen Dorough Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Beth McCoy

Snow Day

One day a snow man was in a girl’s backyard. He was eating soup.

He said, “This soup is good.”

He got sleepy, so he took a nap in a tree. When he woke up he had a snowball fight with the girl. After the fun snowball fight, they went ice-skating. The snowman had blue ice skates and the girl had pink skates. They also had matching gloves. They had the best day in their life! Kaylee Guider Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Amanda Lafferty

All About a Ladybug One time a ladybug peed on me. My friends were begging me to put a ladybug on my arm. I put it on my arm.

Then, I said, “Get it off!”

Tirzah Gutierrez Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Heather O’Brien

Hot Cocoa The best thing to do on a snow day is drinking hot cocoa. Hot cocoa makes you warm. Hot cocoa is my favorite color. Hot cocoa is brown. Hot cocoa is nice to drink. Fergie Hammel Grade 1 Grace Baptist Academy Sherri Russell

Roll the Ball

One day Mr. Snake asked Mrs. Snake, “Do you want to play Roll the Ball?”

Mrs. Snake said, “YES!”

Mr. Snake said, “I will roll the ball to you!”

Mrs. Snake said, “I will catch the ball.”

Then they heard a voice, “Excuse me, Can I play too?” It was their son, Sam Snake.

“Do you want to play with us?” his parents asked.

“Yes, I do want to play with you, “said Sam Snake.

“Ok, Let’s Play!” shouted his parents. So, they had a good time playing Roll the Ball. The End

Sam Harris Grade 1 St. Nicholas School Stephanie Marshall

Our Christmas Tree At Christmas, I got a very tall and nice Christmas tree. We got it at a farm. I was really pointy. I picked it out. It has some hay on it and my mom got the hay out. We had to set it up on our car. My dad had to climb up on the door. We drove and drove and drove. Then, we got home. We put the Christmas tree in the living room. My mom put some water in the Christmas tree. We got all of the boxes out, so we could start putting ornaments on our tree. My dad said this year I could put the angel on the tree. Maddie Hawk Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Jennifer Zeigler

A Pilgrim’s Journey Hello! My name is Pilgrim Sadie. I am so exci----Hello! I am talking to them!!!! My family and I are leaving so we can worship God. Today I got on the Mayflower. It is very smelly, ve…hi again! You again? As I was saying… very smelly.

There was a baby that was born. I am starving. I can’t wait till we hit land.

Land ho! We have finally found land! I am so excited! An Indian named Squanto helped us grow food. Squanto was so nice to us.

On our first Thanksgiving we had deer meat and lots of other stuff. It lasted three days.

Sadie Holland Grade 1 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Amy Hunter

Monster Trucks Versus Dinosaurs One day in the wild, wild woods Flame Crusher, the coolest of all the Monster Trucks, was hanging out with his friends, the Monster Truck gang. They were just jumping over obstacles and crushing cars and having a good old time when along came a gang of loud and mean Dinosaurs. The not very nice Dinosaurs began to call the Monster Trucks mean names and make fun of their tricks. The two gangs began to argue loudly with both sides saying not so nice things to each other. Then along came the good and wise King Jake who came to see what was up. He told both gangs that being mean wasn’t a good thing to do and that they should settle their differences peacefully. King Jake suggested the two leaders of the gangs should have an arm wrestling competition. Both gangs agree.

“Oh yeah, we’ll show them who’s best!” shout the Dinosaurs.

“Let ‘em have it, Flame!” says one of the Monster Trucks.

Both the leader of the Dinosaurs, T-Rex the Terrible and Flame Crusher sit down at the arm wrestling table to face off. Then they realize that neither of them has the right kind of arms for arm wrestling.

Flame says sadly “I don’t have any arms. I can’t arm wrestle, or dance… or wear a sweater”.

T-Rex says “Well my puny little arms are useless. I can’t arm wrestle or do pushups… or hug. At least you can crush cars.”

Flame responds in a friendly way “Yeah, but you have those awesome giant sharp teeth!”

T-Rex says, “Yeah, but with these tiny arms and my giant head I can’t reach them to brush or floss”

All the dinosaurs and monster trucks at the same time say “Ewww! Gross!” which gets them all laughing together.

T-Rex says, “I guess just because we are different doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

Flame pats him on the back and says, “Come on, let’s go to Wal Mart to get some ice cream… and a Really Long Toothbrush”. Jake Hood Grade 1 Silverdale Baptist Academy Ashley Steele

Mountain Memories Before I went to Montana, I ask my mom “We will have to stay long?” “Not so long,” said mom. Then we left. It was a long car ride. I said, “When are we going to be there?” We had to stay in hotels. Finally, we got there. Then we got to our cabin. We looked around. The we went outside. I saw mountains and animals. The next day we went fishing. We didn’t catch any fish though. We did lots of fun stuff. I was happy to go home though. Taryn Johnson Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Amanda Lafferty

My Farm I have a farm My great grandfather bought my farm. A lot of my family lives on my farm. I found an arrowhead on my farm. I believe that the arrowhead is real I found special rocks on my farm. The special rocks are really big. Piper Lawson Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Megan Methvin

The Missing Alien One day there was an alien. He landed in my room in his spaceship. It was cool. I told my mom. She said I could keep it. My two sisters said it was cool. I loved it. I said cool again. I went to bed and then when I woke up, IT WAS GONE!! I told my mom it happened.

I said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This stinks!â&#x20AC;?

My mom said it too. I felt better. My sisters said they did not care. I ate before school and then I packed my lunch. My mom brought me and my sisters to school. Then we were there. I walked to my cottage. Then I walked to chapel. After chapel, my group and I went back to my cottage and I went to my class. When it was time to go, I packed my bag and when I got home my alien was there. When it was Christmas, we went sledding. Then we went inside, and we drank some hot chocolate together. We built my Legos. We got tired and we went downstairs. Mom said I could keep him forever. The End James Michael Osborn Grade 1 St. Nicholas School Stephanie Marshall

The Rattlesnake

One time I was awake. Then, my dog was barking.

“I don’t know what he is barking at,” I said.

It was a baby rattlesnake in our back yard. It frightened my mom. I was shocked! “AHH!” My dad went out to catch it. The snake had slithered out. No more snake! Yay! Cole Ritterskamp Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Jennifer Zeigler

Dollywood When I went to Dollywood, I was in the car for three hours. When I got to Dollywood, I went straight to the pool. It was my brother Samâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday. Then I went to get my football. We played with my football in the pool. My head got very wet. Wake was there too. Then I went on a train to get to the park. It was very fun. The park had 30 rollercoasters. I rode all of them. Then at night, I went in the hot tub. It was 100 degrees. It was very hot! The lights were on. The jets were on too. Charlie Scearce Grade 1 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Beth McCoy

Dreams I like to go to sleep, because when I do, my dreams take me to amazing places. First, I went back to the time of the dinosaurs. I was walking through the forest and I saw a tyrannosaurs rex. It was awesome. The T-rex was so big that it was taller than a tree. It saw me, and I ran away. As I was running, I saw a large rock to hide behind. It ran past me, but I stayed there until I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in World War II. I was Pappy Boyington, the leader of the Black Sheep Squadron. I saw a Japanese plane thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s called a meatball. I was flying high over an island, and an enemy plane came out of nowhere. He tried to shoot me down, but I rolled over to get away. I slowed down and got behind him. Then I shot him down. After that happened, I woke up with the Indians. They were getting ready to go hunting. They asked if I wanted to come. I said yes. I got on a horse and I went hunting for buffalo. I got one down. I brought it home to eat and share with the Indians. I spent the night in an adobe. When I woke up I was back home. Kane Seymour Grade 1 Silverdale Baptist Academy Angie Kelly

The Ocean The ocean in special because dolphins live there. The ocean has lots of seaweed. The seaweed is gross. The seaweed is itchy. The fish live in salty water. In the salty water there is sand. In the fish make bubbles. Addison Smith Grade 1 Grace Baptist Academy Sherri Russell

Grade 2 Poetry

Untitled If you were a line, You would hop to school. If you were a line, You would be number one. If you were a line, When meanies were chasing you, You would hide in a crack. If you were a line, Your backpack would be a square. If you were a line, It would be cool! Asher Berry Grade 2 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Melanie Schonhoff

Basketball Stripes. orange, black, and round Can be found in any town Dribble, bouncing are the sounds Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s go get the rebounds! Caleb Copeland Grade 2 St. Peters Episcopal School Sandy Stinnett

Friendship I learned what friendship means at school today: It means, friends are on a ship. Playing friend-sy games Eating friend-sy snacks Making friend-sy cracks I wish, I wish upon a star I could be on one of those many jokes; Riding bikes through the heights On one of those...boats. Only if I could go on one Come with me, and we might! Dreaming of that day, It surely would be fun. But how would we get in touch? Because I like you very much. All of that seems fun Until that day I will stay...home. Lyrah Spake Grade 2 St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal School Julie Von Canon

Grade 2 Prose

The Messy Cat When the owner of the messy cat came home, she saw that her cat had made a terrible mess. Messy Cat had spilled a cup of orange juice and taken bites out of an apple! He also left toys all over the house. He destroyed a toy and left its stuffing all over the couch! Messy Cat was always leaving messes all over the house. Everywhere he went he left a trail of messes behind him. His owner wanted to find a way to make it where he would not be so messy. She thought of a wonderful idea! The next day she came home with a surprise for Messy Cat. She sat the box down for him to see. Messy Cat saw that there were holes in the box, so he went up to smell what was inside it. When he put his nose up to the hole a cold nose touched his! Messy Cat couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to see what was inside the box now! His owner opened the box and a little kitten popped out of the box! Messy Cat was so excited to finally have a friend of his very own! Messy Cat loved his new friend, Precious, immediately. Messy Cat and Precious got along so well that Messy Cat did not have to destroy his toys to have fun anymore. He and Precious played together all day every day! Their owner was so happy to not have to clean up so many messes anymore. Julia Blenden Grade 2 Silverdale Baptist Academy Sandy G. Greene

Untitled Do you want to learn about my day as a Cherokee child? When I woke up I went downstairs and had breakfast. Then I did my chores to gather berries, nuts and leaves for tea. Also, I went to help my little sister named Wild Rose to scrape the meat off a beaver and deer. Also, I helped my brother Strong Deer grind the corn. Then I was done with my chores! I went to go play flinch with my friends. It was fun because I was first in the middle and I got a lot of people out. After I played flinch everyone went to Grandmother Graceful Leopards to hear a story about how the brown bird became red. Then I had dinner and went to bed. “OOOOOOOOhhhh I’m tired!” I hope you liked my story. Ambrose Collins Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Pamela Nelson

Play Date with Meira One weekend, I went to Meira’s home. It was a sunny day. When we arrived at Meira’s home, we said, “Hello,” and went inside to meet her parents.

They said, “Thank you for coming.” “Come on Allison. Let’s go play,” said Meira.

We went to Meira’s room while the parents talked. We jumped on the bed and played hide‐and‐see. Then the food was ready for us to eat. We at mac-and-cheese, salad, and turkey. Then we played some more. We played hide‐and seek and tag, and we won. After that, we tried to catch fireflies. It was dark and windy, and we could see the fireflies.

I said “Wow!” Then we went to the swing, and Meira’s dad pushed us.

Then my mom said, “It’s time to go home now. Say ‘goodbye, Allison.’”

So, I said goodbye to Meira, and we went home. Allison Crenshaw Grade 2 St. Peter’s Episcopal School Julie Von Canon

The Christmas Tree One day I had a Christmas tree. I decorated it. My mom put one present under the Christmas tree. Days and days came. Finally, it was Christmas Eve. Me and my sister put milk and cookies at fire. Then I went to bed. Then it was morning. Me and my sister went to the Christmas tree. Santa brought two presents: one was for my Mom, and one for my Dad. And my mom already put a present under the tree for my sister.

I said, “I don’t have a present.”

My dad said, “Look outside.”

I saw a basketball goal. I did not want a basketball goal.

My dad said, “Come play with me.”

I said, “ok.” Me and my dad went to play.

I said, “This is fun!”

Then I went to play with my sister. She got a bike. We rode around our house. This is the best Christmas ever! The End Will Elrod Grade 2 St. Nicholas School Katie McCorkle

Wild Rose

“Could they help me get water from the river?” asked mother.

“Yes, so we can wash the clothes to make them clean to wear.”

“Yes. What are they made of?” Mother tested Wild Rose.

“Deer skin and beaver skin,” I answered.

“Wild Rose, can they rock baby Song Bird to sleep?” Father Bear came home with a big buffalo hide. “After baby Song Bird is sleeping, go get Brother Squirrel for hunting practice,” commanded Mother. “Father Bear, can they watch the kids while I go to the village to get bread?”

“Yes, I will,” answered Father Bear.

“Behave yourself, kids, for Father Bear.”

“Bye, Mother Horse,” said the kids.

“Bye, kids,” said Mother Horse.

Stella Fahey Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Stephanie Chapman

My Thanksgiving Trip to Louisiana My mom, my brother and I went to Norwood, Louisiana for Thanksgiving this year. I got to see a lot of my family while I was there. I played with my baby cousin, Emma, and then we went over to my cousinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house to eat. We made biscuits the next morning and played some football. We had a big Thanksgiving lunch later that day. The next morning, I played with Emma again. She likes to copy me. When I sat on my big ball, she tried to sit on her smaller ball and fell off! Later that day we got to shoot at a pumpkin with my Uncle, brother and cousins. We drove a Kabota UTV through the woods. We looked at the hog trap, but there were no hogs in there. In the evening we went fishing. The only thing caught was a stick! The next day we went to LSU and we tailgated. We got to watch football on the tv and we played some football. Then, we went into the stadium to watch the LSU vs. Texas A&M game. About half-time we went to the souvenir store and I bought a little Lego figure, Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dell Beckham, Jr. LSU won the game 45 to 21. We drove back home the next day and listened to the same song about 15 times. I had a great time! Kyle Garber Grade 2 Silverdale Baptist Academy Linda Pinter

Untitled Osiyo! Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how you say hello in Cherokee. As a Cherokee Native American, I would gather fruits and berries and grind corn with two small rocks into small bits. I would also listen to old stories with my children and play games with them. In the cold seasons, I would sit around a warm fire. I would have lived in a wooden cabin with my family. In the warm summer, I would gather fruits for the cold winter seasons. At night, I would look at the bright yellow moon. In the day, I would take a long hike and see the beautiful nature. I would pick some sweet berries off bushes and eat some along the hike. I would teach my children how to make medicine bags. When we got back home we would dig for soft clay and make pottery to trade. I would also make dreamcatchers for my children. Now you know what it would be like to be a Cherokee Native American. Mattie Hand Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Anna Livermore

The Rainbow Llama Once upon a time there was a rainbow llama in the middle of the road. A car was coming REALLY fast! The rainbow llama was so scared he pooped jelly beans! But the car slammed on the brakes and opened the door. There was a dog in the car. So, the man driving the car took the leash and put it on the llama. The poor llama was so scared he pooped jelly beans again! The man put the llama in the back seat, shut the door and started driving. They drove it to Texas. They donated the llama to the Texas food bank. They were making the llama really scared. So, he pooped EVEN MORE jelly beans. But one day long after that the man came back! The rainbow llama was so excited that he cried jelly beans! This time he brought a little girl. The little girl screamed sooooo you probably know what happened. The rainbow llama pooped more jelly beans. The llama learned to love the girl just like he loved the man. They lived happily ever after! Just kidding! After that the llama was always out at night. He had to sleep outside. He had to get so many haircuts, so he lived really badly ever after. Libby Hunter Grade 2 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Katelyn Statom

The Magical Adventure Summer is eight years old. She is on an adventure. She packed her backpack with a blanket and her favorite stuffed animal, a cheetah named Spot. Her Grandma gave her some snacks, graham crackers and a juice box. Summer went out the back door with her back pack full. She took her dog Trixie. Summer walked to her magical magnolia tree. It was a very big tree. It was as large as a house behind the leaves. Everything inside the large tree was magical. The birds always sing beautiful songs. Trixie often danced with summer. Summer put down the blanket and snacks on the ground. She fed the birds and shared her snack with Trixie too. Today Summer saw something new in the magical tree. There was a deer in her tree! She shared her snack with the deer too. Summer was happy she made a new friend. It was time to go home. Summer packed her back pack and went home. She told her Grandma of her magical adventure in the magnolia tree. Summer was happy to be home sweet home. Leyna Kindred Grade 2 Silverdale Baptist Academy Linda Williams

The Two Sisters Once upon a time there lived two sisters. One sister was nice. The other sister was mean. The nice one was named Maggie. The mean one was Charlee. The mean one lived in a cottage and the nice one lived in a beautiful castle. This is where the story begins: One day Maggie was working on her garden when she found a secret of their mother. It said that Maggie was older than Charlee. Maggie enjoyed the messaged. She mailed it to Charlee and Charlee was furious. The next day Charlee came to the castle and said you are not older than me. Many years past and Maggie got married to a prince named prince Ben. They had peace, but one day a visitor arrived at the castle. It wasâ&#x20AC;Ś Charlee. Charlee said I will make a spell and Maggie was furious. I will put a spell on the prince. She thought but the prince heard, and he was not happy. The prince was sleeping, and the security camera was on, but the security was not watching the prince. So, Charlee snuck in and cast a spell on the prince. The prince did not love the princess any more. He loved Charlee. A spell bottle was on the ground and the prince stepped on it. The prince was back to normal and Charlee was too. Charlee was nicer now and Maggie was happy she had the prince back. Prince Ben and Maggie had two children named Lily and Rose. Charlee also got married to Prince Dylan. This book was made for my sisters named Charlee and Maggie. Charlee is actually old than Maggie. This is a story that my sisters will love. Abby Knecht Grade 2 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Katelyn Statom

Cherokee Did you know Native Americans hunted with spears? As a Cherokee Native American, I would prepare my own food by taking two hard rocks and grinding yellow corn into small, tiny pieces. I would also tell old stories to the young children. I would watch my fearless children play games that helped the prepare to be a Cherokee adult. I would also live in a small, wooden, brown house with my family. Out artifacts would be a beaver and elk skin and a peace pipe. We would eat cranberries next to a warm, crackling fire. We would have our special medicine bags in case someone gets sick or hurt. We would also take a long hike in the forest to hear the birds sing. The boys would go hunting in the pretty forest while the girls would pick yummy, red, sweet berries from the bushes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shake! Shake!â&#x20AC;? Go the bushes. I would make dream catchers for my children. Now you know what it would be like to be a Cherokee Native American. Kaitlyn Koo Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Anna Livermore

Untitled As an eight-year-old in my tribe I would have to go on a journey. I was a little scared. It was time for me to go when I heard the signal and said good-bye to my parents. I ran into the woods. It was getting dark, so I started to find brown leaves and branches. I also started to find rough branches for my fire. I smelled the smoke and it felt like home. I felt my grandparentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spirits guiding me through the forest. When I got up I started to find edible berries to eat. Once I had my breakfast I walked back to my tribe. When I got home I hugged my parents and I was glad I would never have to go again. Then I told them about the spirits. Papi was swirling around my home trying to tell me something that I did not understand. Grandmaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spirit was heading into the forest. I guess they were telling me that our tribe moved. Zora McDonald Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Pamela Caron

The Day I Was a Cherokee Crunch! The animals slowly woke up one chilly morning. I got out of my bed and woke up my brother. We went down the old ladder and woke up our parents. Then they made a little breakfast outside. When we were finished my brother and I started to play outside in the old forest. My mom started to grind corn. My dad went hunting. When I felt bored with my brother we helped our mom grind the corn. When we were done grinding the corn my mom went in the garden to pick the corn. She said we could play an arrow game. When our dad came home he brought elk meat home and then we ate a delicious dinner. We had dinner on the floor. After dinner we got in our hay beds and went to sleep. Alice Gray Nelson Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Kara Kruchinski

The Whirling Winds The whirling winds welcomed me on my journey. I heard the leaves crackling below my feet. I sat around the toasty campfire. I set out to find some long branches to make shelter. I came and built my home. Then I mashed some corn into meal with different kinds of rock. Bam! Then I went hunting for a bear. It was a long time before I found one but when I did I heard it. Roar! It was the biggest bear I ever saw! I got my spear out and killed it and brought it home to eat. I set the fire and the smoke swirled into my nose. I knitted a quilt out of elk fur to keep me warm during the night. I finished my quilt then went to sleep. Carson Porter Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Pamela Caron

Adventures in Reading Once there was a princess, and her name was Lola. She had long curly blonde hair with bluish green eyes. She was very kind and gentle to everyone. She fed the poor and helped the sick. Lola had a pet guinea pig, Gumball and a brother named Jimmy. Lola the princess quietly whispered in my ear, “I have to fight a dragon, and I am fighting with a knight after school.” I wondered why she said that. I said, “why?” She answered he was going to take my guinea pig, Gumball and my little brother, Jimmy. The dragon was going to eat them.

Lola said, “oh woo is me!”

“I will consider. Who is this knight you speak of?” The princess told me that he protects the town and helps us scare away frightening things like a dragon!

I asked, “why do you need me?”

Lola answered, “you control this book.”

I said, “I do?”

She said, “yes!”

I said, “I will help.” Lola thanked me. Our plan was to avoid the fire. Nobody wants to be grilled today. We decided to bring a fire extinguisher. Once we saw the fire-breathing dragon we SPRAYED! He ran away never to be seen again! We defeated the dragon. Gumball and Jimmy were safe! Suddenly my mom yelled, “come down it is time for dinner.” I said good-bye to the princess, Gumball, Jimmy, and the knight. I slammed the book closed and ran to dinner. Tomorrow will be a new adventure. The End Zoe Robinson Grade 2 St. Peters Episcopal School Sandy Stinnett

Untitled Have you ever learned about Native Americans? I woke up on the floor, went down stairs, and went outside. Then I helped my mommy grind corn. I saw the colorful corn. I felt the hard stone in my hands. Then I went to play chunky with my friends. I could hear them yelling, “Yay!” That night we sat by the fire and grandfather Good Wolf told us the long story about rabbits’ long tail. It was time for dinner. I could smell the roasting meat. We ate deer that my daddy had hunted in the dark, quiet forest and sweet berries that my mommy had gathered. Then, it was time for bed. I said goodnight and my mommy heard me say good night and she said good night too. I hope you learned a lot about Native Americans! Holden Royal Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Pamela Nelson

Singing Heart Tweet, tweet, tweet. I hear the birds that sing a beautiful song. I can smell the tasty rabbit that is over the fire. “Yum.” I go downstairs. I see my four sisters downstairs. Their names are Courageous Woman, Lovely Blanket, Bird Sister, and Blue Coat. My name is Singing Heart. I eat rabbit stew. After breakfast, I went outside and played with my sisters. It was time to go and harvest the crops. I harvested the corn. Then I went to make baskets. All of the boys came back with the deer. I skinned five deer and then I went to get some water. I got three buckets of water. I went back to the village and cooked the deer. I ate dinner and went to bed. My mom said, “good night.” Molly Singer Grade 2 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Stephanie Chapman

A Surprise Nocturnal Birthday Party Once upon a time there was a bunny. One sunny day, the bunny appeared in the forest. She was on a mission to gather all of her friends to do a very important thing. She was gathering donkey, fox, and chick for a great plan. They were getting ready for owl’s birthday. They knew that they had to have the party at night because owls are nocturnal. The animals planned to sleep during the day, so they can stay up at night. The first night, they went to their usually gathering place, the tree house in the forest. They decorated the tree house with leaves, feathers, and berries. They worked all night to make the tree house as beautiful and colorful as it could be. When they finished, the tree house looked just perfect for owl’s surprise party. After a long work night, they went home to sleep all day in their bed because they remembered that they had to stay up at night. The second night, the animals were excited. They talked about what to give owl. They had a great idea and knew it would be so much fun. They hoped that owl would love the idea. At the tree house, all the animals, bunny, donkey, fox and chick, got in position, and close all the windows to keep the light out. Just in time, they heard owl flying toward tree house singing. When owl got into the tree house, it was so dark, and owl did not know his friends were there waiting for him. For a split of a second, he thought they had forgotten his special day. Just then, donkey, fox and chick opened the windows and shouted SURPRISE! Owl jumped up and down clapping his wings. His eyes were widened with surprise when he saw his friends and the presents they prepared for him. The animals prepared a fun game. The game is called, put the tail on the donkey. Guess what? The donkey was the donkey! Fox and chick cut out a paper donkey tail and glued some feathers on to it. The fake tail looked a lot like donkey’s real tail. The animals got in line. Bunny blind folded owl with a piece of long cloth. Owl went first because it was his birthday. Fox turned owl in circle three times, showed owl to walk toward donkey. Owl got to donkey and placed the paper tail on donkey. After he placed the paper tail onto donkey, he opened his eyes. It was hilarious because of where owl put the paper tail, in donkey’s mouth! Donkey quickly spit out the tail chuckling, “Nice one owl.” All the animals laughed and laughed. Owl laughed the loudest. After each animal had their turn at the game, they gathered around a round table for five and sing the Happy Birthday song. Owl blew the birthday candles on a cake made of berries of all colors and the sweetest honey found in the forest. Bunny was so happy that the cake tasted so good. Bunny had not one but two pieces of the yummy cake. Owl thanked all his friends. Owl said,” Thank you for throwing me this party for me, bunny.”

Bunny said, “You are very welcomed. It was my pleasure.”

It was still night when the party was over, bunny disappeared into the forest, went home and slept in her warm and cozy bed all night. All her animal friends did too, but one. Mia Tran Grade 2 Silverdale Baptist Academy Heather Beaver

The Mascot Once there was a mascot. He was the Mets’ mascot. Then it was the bottom of the ninth inning. The Mets were down by one run against the Braves. It was seventeen to sixteen with two outs. Curtis Granderson stepped up to the plate. Oh! It’s going right down the first base line, but Freddie Freeman caught it and got him out. When the game was over, the mascot started to take off his suit. He could not get his mask off!

He said, “Oh no! I’ll never get this off!”

He had to get it off somehow. He tried everything he could think of to get it off, but nothing happened. He was making such a loud noise trying to get the mask off that someone heard him. They decided to try and help him. Mr. Met, the mascot, was so thankful for the help but did not know who it was. The other person pulled and pulled on the mask and pop! The mask finally popped off his head. After Mr. Met turned around to see who had helped him, he was so surprised. It was the Braves’ mascot! The two became great friends and promised to always help one another if they needed it, even though they were rivals. Cash Varnell Grade 2 Silverdale Baptist Academy Linda Pinter

Grade 3 Poetry

Condiments Mustard mustard you’re the man. I will drink you out of the can. Buy it buy it if you can. Mustard mustard you’re the man. Don’t forget ketchup. Don’t forget ketchup. He doesn’t get the hiccups. He doesn’t get the hiccups. Don’t forget ketchup. Don’t forget ketchup. Barbie sauce. Barbie sauce. He is, he is the big boss. I like Barbie Barbecue, I hope you do, you do too. You need relish or you’ll die. If I didn’t, I would sigh. Relish, relish is the man. Even drink it out of a can. Zachary Bacon Grade 3 Hilger Higher Learning Shelley George

A Simple Poem About a Dog Dog Friendly, cute, cuddly Playful, barking, chewing Pet Jackson Barringer Grade 3 Thrasher Elementary School Michelle Mann

Atlantic Clear deep Sea of Atlas First ocean crossed ship Ocean Elijah Bradshaw Grade 3 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Barbra Lail

If You’re Summer If you’re summer, why don’t you come back and ban winter? If you’re summer why don’t you take winter away? If you’re summer, save the sun. Make it shine again and again, Until it makes the snow melt away. When that happens, I guess I’ll think away. Actually, I kind of like to build snowmen And see frost on the trees. If you’re summer, please go away. Gigi Elder Grade 3 Nolan Elementary School Becky Leary

Christmas Eve Night My mom tucked me in my bed very tight, She said very, very, sweetly, “Night, Night.” I dreamed about Mary, Joseph, and a baby in the hay. They gazed at their baby as he lay. The star over the stable was very bright, Jesus came to lead us with a light. Jillian Fawbush Grade 3 Grace Baptist Academy Launa Cooke

Fire As I sit here by the fire Drinking my warm cider Laying on a soft pillow as The fire crackles and burns me to Sleep. Lily Haney Grade 3 Thrasher Elementary School Mary Ferguson

Terror Eyes of an Enderman. A spider ready to pounce from above. Standing in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, the zombies swarming around you. Always wailing like a Ghast or hissing like a Creeper. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like your coffee being taken away, your Star Wars coffee mug falling and breaking on the floor. It takes Harry Potter and swaps it for school. It breaks your wand in half and crushes Hogwarts. Caleb Hitchcock Grade 3 The Bright School Kendra Reasor

Horseshoe Crab I look like a stingray but I am not. I have a hard-outer shell and I can blend in with the sand. My tail is my weapon. Keaton Huskey Grade 3 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Ione Matherley

I Am a Dog Once I found two old banana peels and painted them brown and cut them in half. I went to my bedroom to get some tape. Then, I went back downstairs. I taped the banana peels to my head. Then, I found brown pants and a shirt. I walked up to my mom and said “I’m a dog”. She threw me out of the house and screamed. “What am I going to eat tonight?” I whined. Sydney Lawson Grade 3 The Bright School Cindy Womack

71 Words My Dad Made Me Write I don’t know what I Should write. Poetry is hard. Wait. Is this my poem? Ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Okay. Joke’s over. A very pink orchid Magenta inside its home Rich green leaves sing spring. My dad says, “write more.” I thought I was done with this. He pushes, I pull. But Haiku are fun Bright sparkly silver ribbons Explode in my brain. The day my eyes were in tears. I had nothing to say but sadness. I looked for happiness but no, I saw black. How I missed her Oh, how I missed. She made me happy. She had everybody’s heart in her hands, because all of those hearts trusted her. But it was her time. She said her last goodbye As she floated away to heaven where God welcomed her and her very pure heart. Alex McCarthy Grade 3 Thrasher Elementary School Emily Wheeler

Ink, Ink The ink is coming, Coming today. The light is going, Going away. But if you looked Into the light, a fright in the ink. So inky black, You see. Shad McDonald Grade 3 Nolan Elementary School Becky Leary

Winter All the woods are quiet The moon is up And as I look at the star I hear the clop of deer It makes me cold, I sit by the fire and Think about winter The animals are all tired It is time to put up the tree It so quiet outside I see beehive with bees inside I think about summer Helen Qin Grade 3 Thrasher Elementary School Michelle Mann

Crazy Blur of color, swirls so fast. Twists and turns, like a waterslide. Always on the move, like a fast and furious dragonfly. Numbers adding at lightning speed. It does not think before it leads. Constant Energy. Field of flowers blooming rapidly. Wires twisting, on a beautiful fence. Rapid rivers flowing intensely, without an ending. Constant Energy. Lucinda Ranalli Grade 3 The Bright School Kendra Reasor

Anger Burning orange fire Red like dragon’s blood Straight as a pencil As I walk to the principal Mad at my enemy Screaming as loud as a scared girl Fire comes out of my head like dragon’s fire Restless like a lion Fighting its prey Angry at every little thing Never smiles I don’t like the world Seriously, my friend is mad at me F on my test, really? Slamming doors Making people cry Breaking stuff Red Face Bad words Screams Like an angry lion Chloe Sawrie Grade 3 The Bright School Allie Hyer

Dismay Light blue like The sky covering this world Water dripping Like a faucet Drooping over Like a dying flower Walks by people Without even Talking to them Never enjoying life Always gloomy Crying from the past Cries, cries non-stop Complaining of something That hurts Sobbing and sobbing Hopeless over everything that happened George Simpson Grade 3 The Bright School Allie Hyer

Atacama Desert Hot landform Blazing blistering sun Dry sand blowing away Wasteland Erin Spurgeon Grade 3 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Mrs. Jorgensen

Great White Shark The day and night I might bite. I see you in my eye With my sight. I am a fish Swish, swish I weigh a ton. You can see me. I can get you. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ride me I am the mighty shark. A.J. Thompson Grade 3 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Ione Matherley

Grade 3 Prose

Rebel Rebel â&#x20AC;&#x153;Huff!â&#x20AC;? Rebel, a 10-year-old girl that was stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere, paced. She wanted to get off the island! Then she saw them. Five planks of driftwood. Rebel dove into the sea and grabbed some lengths of sea weed. Soon she has a nice raft. Then she coated the raft in palm tree sap. She took some palm leaves, a sharp stick, and a roll of string made from coconut. Using her tools, she made a sail for the raft. She loaded her tree frog, Gilbert, her three doves, Peace, Hope, and Promise, and her raven, Malcolm, onto the raft. Then she sailed away into the sunset with no thought that she would ever come back to Harmony, the island that was a cage to her. Maia Atkinson Grade 3 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Emily Pittman

My Life Chapter 1 Born Once Upon a Time there was a boy who was born to a woman named Sandy Ashley. Who did not know that her son would be taken away from her when he was five. On July 4th, 2008 that baby boy was named Brock. So, imagine that 2 years old and you are in your crib your parents are watching TV and you are in your crib watching TV with a bottle. My first few years of my life I lived in an apartment (that was before my parents had divorced). I knew that they loved me I loved them. Chapter 2 Taken Away! In 2013 my parents were drug tested that means that they were checked for drugs and Miss Renita my caseworker said, “you are going to stay with Miss Christy & Mr. David.” He worked for the Chattanooga police. I went to a school called Westview Wildcats Elementary and I stayed with them for one year then… Chapter 3 Taken Away, Again

I got taken away again and my life started all over again. I went to Pam and Daniel in 2015, and for one month I stayed at Westview Wildcats. On the first day of summer break I went back to Alabama. My parents thought I would NEVER come back. Chapter 4 Alabama

So, I went to the Chattanooga Judge and I stayed there that way I could go with my grandparents to Alabama, and I went to Alabama. My grandparents were named Grandpa Cornbread and my nana Pam, and they had a small house. I had an Uncle Bubba and I had my mom, but I did not have my dad. So, what’s the point of going with your dad’s parents if you don’t have your dad with you. Chapter 5 Back to Tennessee When I came back to Tennessee I came to a school called Soddy Elementary. I started in kindergarten, and I had a teacher named Mrs. Clem and then I went to first grade. I had a teacher named Mrs. Chandler. In second and third grade I had Ms. Leeseberg. Brock Beeler Grade 3 Soddy Elementary School Sarah Leeseberg

The Missing Lions It was the morning of Natalie’s first day of school. She was nervous because she didn’t know who would be in her class. When she got to school, she found that all of her friends were in her class! Sabrina, Sarah, Jaliyah, Lexi, Samantha, and Natalie were all together. Their teacher, Mrs. Ellis, said that it was time to study lions because they were taking a field trip to the zoo the next day. Everyone was very excited about the trip! Natalie learned a lot of facts about lions and was ready for the field trip. On the bus ride, the driver was telling them stories of when he used to train lions. When they went to the lion exhibit, they found them to be missing! Everyone was frightened, so the teachers put the children back on the bus and returned to school. That night, Natalie had a back to school sleepover. When her mom went to bed, the girls snuck down the secret hatch to Natalie’s headquarters. All of the girls put their heads together to try to figure out where the missing lions had disappeared to. Sabrina had taken a thumbprint from the zoo earlier that day. They matched the fingerprint to Larry the Lion Thief, a well-known criminal who had stolen lions from many zoos! The girls knew that these lions were in danger. They got Larry’s information from the database and set out to find him and the stolen lions. When they got there they immediately spotted the lions’ cage. Larry came out and yelled, “What are you doing here?” Samantha shouted, “We are here to rescue the lions!” The girls got out their weapons and began to battle with Larry. Some of the girls distracted Larry while Jaliyah and Lexi opened the cage. All of the lions escaped. “We have the lions!” said Sarah. jail.

The girls called the police and the lions were taken back to the zoo. Larry was arrested and taken to

The next day, Mrs. Ellis had a big surprise for the class. “Back to the zoo we go!” she said, and they got back on the bus and headed to the zoo.

When they got there, they were excited to see that the lions were back. “Wow! Who rescued the lions?” everyone asked.

Natalie and her friends smiled to themselves and remembered their brave adventure. It would be their secret! Natalie Belva Grade 3 Silverdale Baptist Academy Lisa Ellis

100

I Have to Get a Puppy! On Sizzer Lane even if you turn two corners there is a house. Right then the bus pulled up and a skinny, blonde headed boy jumped off the bus and ran inside.

“Tommy,” said his mother, “how many times have I told you not to run in the house?”

Tommy walked over to the kitchen table and set his backpack on one of the chairs. Tommy walked over to his mother and asked, “Can I please have a puppy? Everyone at school has one so I need a pet!” His mother smiled and told him she would talk to his dad when he got home. Tommy said, “yeah,” then ran up to this room to do his homework. Three hours later Tommy was talking to his dad and said, “Dad, please, please I promise to take care of him.”

Dad stood up and headed to his bag, pulled out a puppy and Tommy jumped up and down.

“Yah!” yelled Tommy! His dad went over to the closet and pulled out a dog collar and leash.

“Here you go, Tommy.” Tommy opened the back door and took TJ for a walk!

Hollyn Blair Grade 3 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Whitney Battles

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Not Just an Ordinary Box There once was a girl who loved to play with boxes. People in her town often wondered what she saw in them, but she never told her secrets. They were her own little world with all kinds of possibilities. This little girl was special, because she could see a box that looked like nothing, and turn it into something special. This little girl’s name was Pearl. Pearl went to school down the street from her house. The town wasn’t very big, but Pearl’s imagination was. When Pearl got to school one Monday, she saw signs that were hanging about an art contest. With her imagination, the signs caught her attention immediately. The sign said “Winner of Art Contest will be given a trophy. The only requirement is be creative.” Creative, that word came natural to her. Of course she would enter, and of course they would finally see inside her secrets. She could do this! Pearl finally had a dream! She wanted that trophy! When Pearl got home that day, she started looking around at the recent boxes her parents had gotten from the mail. Which one was her champion box? Which one would win? One of her secrets was the boxes she used always seemed to have a smile, it always seemed to look excited. She finally saw that box. It was the best one for the job! So she grabbed it and went upstairs to her room. Pearl had an interesting pile of supplies that she had collected through the years. Her favorite place to get interesting pieces was her next door neighbor a British lady named Mrs. Buckingham. Mrs Buckingham was a quilter so she had some of the most beautiful material around. Pearl’s eyes always lit up like a Christmas Tree when she was at her house. Pearl also kept anything she got from Mrs. Buckingham in a special spot. What she didn’t realize is that she made Mrs. Buckingham feel special just like she did the boxes. Pearl found the exact material she needed to decorate the box out of the beautiful pieces from Mrs. Buckingham. She went to work making something she was proud of. She picked the perfect colors with matching buttons, and even used some special velvet Mrs. Buckingham has given her. When she was done, she stepped back and thought to herself “This makes me happy. I hope I win that trophy. It sure would look nice in my room!” She went to sleep dreaming of the judge giving her the trophy. Pearl took her special box in the day of the contest. She set it up on the table that they assigned to her, and she went to sit in the crowd. The judges were so serious, and only whispered to each other. Pearl wanted so badly to hear what they were saying. When they came to her box, she got very nervous. Would they know how hard she worked? Would they know how special the material was from Mrs. Buckingham? There was one judge that seemed to stand in front of Pearl’s table for a long time. What Pearl didn’t realize, was that this judge could almost see the box smile, almost look excited, and even saw the box sparkle. There was something special about this box. The judge couldn’t figure it out. The judge gave it a perfect score. When the results were in, Pearl had won! The judges all stood together to give her the trophy. The one judge that was so impressed by the box told Pearl about what she saw, and how talented and creative Pearl was. She told Pearl “I believe you made that box feel like something special, when others just see it as a box in the mail.” In that moment Pearl realized how giving something or someone some tender loving care could change things into something happy. She knew right then that she had a gift for this, and realized it made Pearl feel special doing it.

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Sadie Rose Burnette Grade 3 Silverdale Baptist Academy Robin Williams

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The Attic Squeak! Anna and Danny slowly opened the attic door, and then looked in a big box. There they found a dairy. They tried to open the diary, but they needed some kind of keys. Anna thought she could use car keys, but that did not work. Anna and Danny looked through three boxes, but still couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find it. But then they found a door that led to more of the attic. There was like over 5,000 boxes in there. It was amazing! In the room they found a box with four pencil bags. They looked in one bag, but all that was there was paper. Then they looked in a big bag, but there was nothing in that bag. Then they looked in the third bag, but all that was in there were pencils. Then they looked in the last bag, and there they found a small key. They tried to use the key to open the journal, and it worked! When they opened the journal all that was in there was blank pages of paper. They thought it was old and would use it to brag to people, but they ended up making their own story out of it. Hallie Chapman Grade 3 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Emily Pittman

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The Swans We were touring a castle in Italy when I looked out on a river and saw a family of swans. As soon as I saw them, I whispered to my mom, “Look at the graceful swans.”

Mom replied, “They’re beautiful!”

I questioned, “Can we go get the leftover bread that we put it in the car?”

“Sure.” my mom said.

So, I went to the car as quick as I could. Then I opened the bag and peeled off pieces of bread for the family of swans. The dad swan caught one in his mouth. The baby wanted some bread too. Not only were the swans content after we feed them, but there was a calm contentment that came over us. We experienced something beautiful. Liliana Coleman Grade 3 The Bright School Cindy Womack

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Chattanooga Chess Rook used the TV tuner to turn to channel 3. Paul Barys predicted a dark and stormy night. Hurricane Irma was tearing through Birmingham and headed for Chattanooga. “Thank you, Paul.” Cindy Sexton, the news anchor came on screen and reported a heist at Kay Jewelers. “A diamond infinity necklace was among the items stolen,” Cindy said. Rook called his friend Knight and Pawn to meet up at the Discovery Museum. The three met at the Dinosaur Dig. Rook told them about the storm and then the robbery. Knight said he wanted to solve the mystery. “Good idea,” said Rook, “Let’s start at the scene of the crime.” At Kay Jewelers they found Bishop, the store manager. Bishop told them the thief fled through the right window of the store. Rook and Pawn investigated. Outside the window they found footprints. They followed the footprints to The Feed Co Table and Tavern on Main Street and the trail stopped. Knight ordered mac and cheese while Rook and Pawn talked. An old man at the restaurant told them he had seen a man in a heavy black coat, blue pants and black high tops bragging about stealing jewelry. Just outside the window they saw a man with a heavy coat and blue pants flee in a red Corvette. Rook, Knight and Pawn ran to the sidewalk. Queen was climbing into her truck. Rook asked Queen to take them to follow the man in the Corvette. A high-speed chase began. They raced across Market Street bridge and all around North Chattanooga. The man crashed his Corvette then started to run. Rook and Knight ran after him. The chase led to Coolidge Park. They ran around the carousel, the splash pad and down the sidewalk toward the Tennessee River. The mystery man snuck onto the Southern Belle river boat. Rook, Knight, Pawn and Queen had the man cornered. He took his hood off and they realized they knew him. It was King! “Checkmate.” Asher Cone Grade 3 Thrasher Elementary School Michelle Mann

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The Solar Eclipse and Birthday Party! I will always remember where I was on August 21, 2017. It was a rare solar eclipse day, as well as a birthday party for my friend. My solar eclipse experience was awesome. I was invited to go to a pool solar eclipse birthday party. Her parents gave out solar eclipse glasses, so you didn’t have to bring your own. We needed those special solar glasses, so the sun’s rays would not hurt our eyes during the eclipse. Although we only experienced a partial solar eclipse on Signal Mountain in Tennessee, it was unbelievable. At first, I saw something that looked like someone had taken a HUGE bite out of the sun. Then, it looked like the sun was a gold moon. After that, it looked a little like a crescent. Eventually, it appeared like a fingernail and the sun became brighter. Sadly, the rare eclipse was over. If you wanted to see a total eclipse, you could travel close by in Tennessee. Total ellipses are very rare, and on that Monday, the moon was crossing in the path between the sun and the earth from Oregon to South Carolina. What is a partial eclipse? It is when you are not in the direct shadow of the moon and Earth and there is only a sliver of the sun’s light left. Now, what is a total eclipse? It is when you are standing in the direct path of the moon’s shadow and the moon covers the sun completely. You might observe a Diamond ring or Bailey’s beads, which is where a thick ring of light shows from the sun as the moon is crossing completely over the sun. Baily’s beads allow a viewer to see the valleys and mountains of the moon’s surface. After the eclipse was over, they had a piñata. I got Starbursts, flavored Tootsie Rolls, and some yummy strawberry candy. After the piñata, of course, there was cake decorated with a half-sun and half-moon. My friends and I swam, and then to my surprise we got cookies decorated like the eclipse. At the end of the party, we even got Moon pies. That was a special day that I will always remember. The solar eclipse was a memory of a lifetime. Emma Dunlap Grade 3 Nolan Elementary School Becky Leary

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Nyanah: A Story of True Sacrifice

One day, Nyanah was drawing water from the well right outside her village.

“I wish I could be free,” she thought, as her mind drifted away.

“Nyanah, you wretched girl, how dare you drop the water!” the master yelled.

“Come here!” He whacked her with a stick. Nyanah started to cry. Later that night Nyanah gathered her courage and ran away. She walked for what seemed like a million miles. Suddenly, she heard a whining sound. It was coming from behind a stack of crates! There Nyanah saw a little dog.

“Oh, he is so tiny and adorable,” she thought.

She picked him up and whispered, “There, there, it will be all right. Your name is Brownie,” she declared. Hours passed. Nyanah grew tired and hungry. Suddenly, a squirrel ran out of the town’s biggest oldest oak tree and into a nearby village park. Brownie hurried to catch him. All of a sudden, a rare and poisonous snake slithered out from a corner towards Brownie. Nyanah was nervous, but she knew what she had to do. Her heart was beating, and she stepped in front of the snake and closed her eyes. She felt its fangs sinking into her ankle; the venom flowed into her blood. Then the snake quickly slithered away, leaving Brownie alone. The tiny dog tried to wake her up, but it was too late - she was dead. To this day, if you ever go to that lonely village park, you will hear a little dog’s howl in the wind. Remember that it is Brownie howling for Nyanah to come back. Miriam Isabel Fazio-Vives Grade 3 The Bright School Kendra Reasor

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Sniff! I was playing Legos when my mom asked me, “Savanna do you want to take Dakota on a walk while your sister is napping?”

“Sure!” I replied happily getting my socks and shoes on.

“Come here cutie!” I crooned. My dog Dakota ran happily over to me. I snapped on her leash. We walked outside, up the alley, down the hill, and up the sidewalk. I felt so happy. It was such a peaceful summer day. The flowers were blooming, leaves were blowing in the cool, crisp summer wind. We came upon a big bushel of tomatoes.

“Look at those tomatoes!” I said cheerfully pointing at the bushel. “Can we pick them?” I asked.

“No, they are not ours,” my mom said.

“Too bad,” I said. All of a sudden, I noticed Dakota was going crazy and tugging at her leash. “Heel girl,” I said softly. Then we noticed a small brown figure.

“A hedgehog,” my mom said.

“Huh, that’s weird,” I said. Dakota looked at the hedgehog, and the hedgehog shook her head. The hedgehog playfully rolled up.

“Oh mom, Dakota is making friends with uh...Brownie, yeah, let’s name her Brownie,” I said proudly. “Ok,” my mom said.

When we turned around to walk home Brownie followed us home. When we got home, I got a cardboard box from inside, my brother got a few blankets, and my sister got a water bowl. Brownie has lived at our house ever since. Savanna Filar Grade 3 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Courtney Hueter

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Quinn Arrow Quinn Arrow wanted to go to Lutherridge, but the only thing that was preventing him was that camp was a month away! Ever since Mom had signed him up, Quinn had been on pins and needles. He’d heard Lutherridge had a pool, delicious foods, and activities. He couldn’t wait to go! But he wanted to see his friend sooner. He was desperate to call his friend’s mother. But he knew his mom wouldn’t let him even touch the phone. “You see, this phone was 1,000 dollars!” she would yell. Quinn begged his mom to use it. “Only if you do your chores,” mom said. Quinn’s hazel eyes gleamed. He did his chores extra fast. Finally, he was able to use the phone. He called his friend’s mother. He gave a few suggestions like “Can I stay at your house until camp?” “No.” “Can I ride in your car and you drive us both to camp?” His friend’s mom refused. Finally, they agreed on something. It was sleeping in the same cabin. When the time came, Quinn went to Lutherridge. He did crafts, felt the pool’s freezing cold water and ate really good food.

“I want to go there again,” Quinn said after camp. He couldn’t wait for next year!

David Hackathorne Grade 3 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Courtney Hueter

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What Do You Want Me to Dream About?

The lights are out. The room is dark. He is under the covers.

“Mom!” yells Jake. “What do you want me to dream about?” and so this goes every night. Every night I ask my mom what to dream about. Why do I ask this? It gives me an idea each night of what to go to sleep and dream of. My mom gives me a new adventure to dream about each night. Some of my dreams have been about being a hockey player, climbing a tree, pretending to be a soldier, remembering a fun time in school, and shooting up to a star in a rocket ship. Tonight, I am under the Charlie Brown blanket in my bed on a cold night. My toes feel warm in a pair of soft, woolly socks. And I ask the question, “What do you want me to dream about?” The answer from my mom is “white water rafting down a river.” I close my eyes and go to sleep dreaming of water going over rocks, and I am in a kayak paddling with the current. My white kayak is painted with blue and orange flames and I have my blue lifejacket on. My paddle is white with two “scoops” on the ends to push the water and move me forward. I am paddling towards a waterfall. This is not a big waterfall; it is only a 3 foot drop and feels like a roller coaster going down. I see an Indian tepee on the river bank. Cherokee Indians used to live along these banks. The tepee is built as a reminder of the Indians. I paddle quickly over to the bank and get out of my kayak. I bring it on the bank to keep it from going down the river. I see a salamander and get my camera out of my waterproof pocket. I take a picture and look to see what else is around. The tepee is shut, so I open the buckskin door and peek in. There is a fire-pit and hole at the top of the tepee where smoke could go out. I take a picture of the tepee and close the door back. There is a path that leads to a snare-trap that has caught a bunny. I take my pocketknife out and cut the rope to set the bunny free. He jumps away fast. I keep walking along the path and see a deer skull. I turn around and go back to my kayak because I do not want to be prey to the predator too. My kayak is waiting patiently on the bank. I put my lifejacket on and grab my paddle and push the kayak into the water. I climb in and start paddling down the river again. Something flies toward me and has its claws out. A hawk! There is a large fish swimming under my kayak and so I paddle faster and faster away. Crash! My kayak hits a rock and water starts filling up my kayak. Good thing I have my lifejacket on! I drag my kayak to the shoreline. I remember something I learned in second grade about Indian life. On the river bank is mud. I flip the kayak over to see the hole; it is not big. Indians dug below the mud for clay to make pottery. I think I can use the clay idea to patch the hole. The clay patch fills the hole. I wait for it to dry. Once it dries, I take off down the river again. Suddenly, there is a loud noise in the sky. Thunder? Oh no! No worries. My alarm clock is going off. It is time for me to get up and get ready for school. Wow! What a dream! Another night of adventure. Jake Hobek Grade 3 Silverdale Baptist Academy Angela Miller 111

The New Fish One morning, there was a girl named Mary. Her heart desired a fish. So, she dashed upstairs and ran in her dad’s room then she jumped on her dad’s bed.

Then she yelled, “mommy, daddy, I need a fish!”

Her mom and dad were cross, “for the last time,” her dad said with a grunt, “you’re not ready, Mary! Her parents told her to get ready for her birthday party. Mary groaned. Mary was an impatient girl all of her life. The next thing she knew her parents were coming into her room with a birthday cake. Happy birthday Mary! Mary smiled a small smile.

“Mom, dad,” Mary said, “tomorrow is my birthday, not today.”

Her dad whispered to her mother, “She’s wanted a fish for over a year.”

Her dad turned to her and said, “Mary, what is it that you really want?”

The next day Mary was enjoying her birthday cake, she wiped her mouth then she ran over to her presents that her mom and dad had left on the table. Mary slowly unwrapped the gift and… “AHHHHHHH!!!” A fish bowl! Then she hugged her dad and mom as they were trying to think of names.

“What about Jimmy?” Mary had the best birthday ever!

Josie Jullienne Grade 3 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Whitney Battles

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The Gem Touch It was an ordinary Saturday. My sister was snoring away, my mom was in the kitchen, my dad was at work, and everything was cool. But it was a matter of time before disaster chose to strike. But before I tell you that story, I have to tell you this story. It was Friday after school. As I got home, I took my shoes off and turned on the TV. Just as I pressed the “on” button, my mom came home and brought me a gift. She came home with a big grin as in a “I have a big surprise but I’m not going to tell you until tonight” type of look. Eventually, she gave me the gift. It was a crystal. It said, “Wish on this crystal, and your wish will come true.” It totally sounded like a phony, but I did it anyway. I wished that everything I touched would turn into a gem, but nothing happened. I thought it was a phony, but it wasn’t because when I touched my couch, IT TURNED INTO A RUBY! That’s right, a shimmering shiny ruby. I was in shock, and I scratched my head. Bad move… a hair on my head turned into a crystal. I ran upstairs. Then my leg turned into a diamond. I crawled on my threes, and the floor turned into a diamond. I ran to my bed, read the instructions, and saw, “to cancel your wish, you need to smash the crystal. But you really don’t want to do that, do you?” I jumped to grab the crystal. My body was turning into an emerald. Somehow, I grabbed and smashed the crystal, and everything went back to normal. I won’t try to wish on any magic crystals in the future. Christopher Kim Grade 3 The Bright School Allie Hyer

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Into the Woods Once there was a man named Jack. He had one kid and a wife. Jack traveled for his job, but his boss told him to go in the forest because his boss did not like him. He wanted Jack to die and told him, “If you survive, you can stay in the business. If you die, you cannot.” When he left, he was as skinny as a stick. He said to his wife, “Bye Sarah.” Then, he said to his kid, “Bye Luke.” they said, “Bye. Love you.” Luke and Sarah did not want Jack to leave because they knew that his boss wanted to kill him. When Jack left the cabin he yelled, “Hello nature!” The birds were singing like an opera. It made Jack feel free because he did not really like doing work in the city. Jack said quietly, “Hmmm.” He got in the car. When he got in the car, het thought, “No cars.” He thought no cars because he could not just drive around the forest. Then he thought, “No stuff” because he had to survive, Jack walked for about two hours, and he could not see the cabin where he lived. It was 1:00 a.m., so he found a few logs and made a fire. He found some leaves to make a bed. In the morning, Jack woke up and found some berries. When he was done eating, he made a backpack with sap, leaves, and sticks. Jack found supplies to make stuff like fires, and a hammock. The hammock was not a very comfortable hammock. It was bumpy and in between two trees. When it was night, he saw a wolf looking at him. Jack said quietly, “Oh no.” The wolf growled. Jack started to run, and the wolf chased him. The wolf ripped his clothes, and Jack got a bone out of his backpack. Jack was running with the bone behind him. Suddenly, the wolf stopped running, and Jack stopped too. Jack tamed the wolf and named him Fetch. Jack and Fetch became best friends. He told the wolf, “I am going to name you Fetch.” Fetch said, “Bark, bark, bark, bark.” Jack said, “Bark, bark, bark, bark.” Fetch replied, “Grrrrr!” Then, he bit Jack. The bite did not hurt. It was a nibble that meant love. Jack told Fetch to kill animals, so they could eat. Fetch was as mean as a bear! Once, when Fetch and Jack were eating, they saw something in a cave eating deer guts. Jack yelled, “Hey! Who are you?” the guy murmured, “My friends call me Bull, but my real name is John.” Jack asked, “Who are your friends?” Bull grabbed his pet snake and wacked Jack with it. Jack screamed, “Ahhhhhh!” Fetch killed the snake. Jack got up and yelled as loud as he could, “How about that? Huh?” Bull said quietly to his pet bull, “Get him!” Fetch said to himself, “Easy.” Then, Fetch split the bull in half as if it was a piece of paper. That was Fetch’s talent, killing bulls. After fetch killed the bull, Bull wanted to be friends with Jack and Fetch for so many reasons. Bull yelled, “Friend. Friend. Yes. Yes.” Jack yelled, “Wo, wo, wo! Not so fast. You have to take three tests. Fetch and I are going to watch you.” Fetch barked, “Ruff,” in agreement. Jack told Bull, “Fetch says, “Uh, hu.” Bull said, “How do you know?” Jack said, “I speak dog and wolf. Fetch is a wolf.” When they set off into the forest, there was a tornado! The tornado was like a skyscraper blasting through the forest. Bull, Jack, and Fetch ran back to the cave to be save, but the tornado destroyed the cave! Jack, Bull, and Fetch ran to Jack’s house, and they busted inside like a bullet. They yelled, “Do not go out there!” Everybody was asleep. Jack said quietly, “Oops.” Lucas Maounis Grade 3 St. Peter’s Episcopal School Susan Bell

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Sun Shrinker Have you seen a total solar eclipse? I have! It all started on August 21, 2017. We started planning, when we learned our friend, Nicolas, from Sweden was coming to stay with us for the eclipse. We drove to our friend’s house, a drafty place in the middle of nowhere called Chestnut Hill. It had no electricity and it was a place where everyone had a job. There was the main kitchen with doors leading to guest rooms. There was also a big porch around three sides of the house. Where we stayed, there were two doors on the right and left side; one went out to the porch, the other to the main kitchen. There was a wood block Hogan behind the pond. Behind the Hogan, were woods and a few dead turtles. We stayed for a few nights and then we went to Andrews, North Carolina, to experience total darkness. When I saw the eclipse…SUN SHRINKER! Just kidding. The moon went right in front of the sun, spreading its majestic shadow across the face of Earth. We got our solar eclipse glasses, settled down and had some fruit. Before that Knox and I were building a castle with a dam in front of it with rocks, sand, and mud. When we were watching, it looked like Pac man had escaped from a video screen. It also looked like someone had taken a huge bite out of a cookie, that we call the sun. It shrunk like a balloon until we experienced total darkness. When we experienced total darkness, we took off our eclipse glasses and looked at the sun. It looked like a huge misty vapor, the sun’s corona, mixed with a blackish-grey ball. First thing we saw were shadow bands. Nobody knows why shadow bands occur, but all we know is they look like strips of shadow whipping across the ground like waves. We spread out a white sheet and put rocks on the edges to capture better shots, because we all know that shadows appear better on light surfaces than they do dark ones. Second thing we saw was Baily’s beads, since the moon is not completely round; the moon has mountains and valleys. It lets little spectacles of light come through at one point. Third thing we saw was the Diamond ring. After we experienced total darkness, the sun came back out. Since it was just a little bit, it appeared to be a big ball of light, instead of a sliver of sun. My parents had tears in their eyes, tears of happiness. The white sheet we used for capturing shadow bands, my dad used to wrap around me like a toga, I was cold and secretly hoping to see shadow bands on myself. This phenomenal once in a lifetime opportunity of the total solar eclipse is granted to everyone who is in the path of totality. I hope you get to see a total solar eclipse. The next solar eclipse will be in Texas in seven years. Will you tell me about it? Shad McDonald Grade 3 Nolan Elementary School Becky Leary

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The Stuffed Animal Fight In Hawaii my parents went to explore and have a fun night. I was left at my cousins’ house and my uncle and aunt’s house. As my parents left the house, my brother and I were free to play a game with my cousins: Andy, Peter and Sam, and my Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Dan. We played “Whonu”. It was an exciting game, and one of Andy’s cards said, “stuffed animals” and so he got six points that time. It was getting late and my parents were not back, so I suggested to my brother, “Let’s have a stuffed animal fight!” So, we did.

“Hey!!! Who was that?” I screamed super loud.

It was so loud that my throat started to feel a little funny. I looked over at my brother with an evil look in my eyes. I went upstairs. He knew that I was going to come back with a stuffed animal and throw it at him. When I came back downstairs I was perturbed. I could not find my brother. I decided to throw it at Peter (my youngest cousin in the house, but he is still older than me). Then it was coming. Oh boy! It was coming! I thought to stay away, but it was too close. THE BIG HIT. Peter had gotten the giant fluffy bunny and threw it at me. I then claimed the giant fluffy bunny. Of course, I would have to throw it at some point or else I would not be able to carry a single thing because it was way too big! I then realized that Peter, Andy and Sam were holding and throwing stuffed animals. My brother Kai yelled, I shrieked, then he told me we should be a team. I responded, “YES!!!” I screamed because there was so much noise! I raced up the stairs and grabbed my favorite stuffed animal. It was very small. I threw it at my cousin Andy with all my might, but ...it missed. I ran down the stairs, and Andy was holding it up high. I called my brother and he came running. We were both jumping up and down trying to get my stuffed animal. We finally got the giraffe, I was very zealous, but then my parents were home. It was very fun! Greta Olson Grade 3 The Bright School Cindy Womack

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Golden War Once upon a time there was a Kingdom. The king was King Marcus. He had the golden touch. He wore gloves, so he could touch stuff. King Marcus treated the poor terribly, so one day the poor decided to fight against the rich. They wanted to light their houses on fire! They set up on the watchtower with some fire and a lamp. Then, they threw the log before the fire spread to their hands, and then zip lined into the woods and ran from the town. After a while, they went to bed on the leaves. In the morning, they were somewhere different to. They went toward a noise they heard, and found dwarfs eating something that looked like oatmeal.

They growled, “Where are we?”

The dwarves said, “We thought you would want a bed and supplies.” When they heard supplies, they all said, “Supplies!” The dwarves said, “Of course. We are dwarves.” So, they let them see all their crossbows and swords. After the poor were gone, they came upon a mine. Later, in the afternoon, they broke into a tomb with their axes and hammers. The tomb was full of riches and jewelry. The poor soon came out of the mines rich but surrounded by guards. They knew they couldn’t fight their way out to, so they dropped their gold and were taken to the chambers. They knew they had to get out before the survivors of their attack came looking for them. Somehow, they told the dwarves to come get them, so they did as they were told. Soon, they were out running to the forest, but as they thought, “We lost them.” All the poor got shot by blowgun darts, and that made them sleep. The dwarves weren’t as lucky. They turned into granite! In the morning, the light hurt their eyes. When they adjusted to the light, they saw an elf. Hanging on his belt were too short satchels. On the belt, the name Hearthstone was inscribed in leather, on the front of the belt. The poor demanded, “Turn our friends back into actual dwarves.” Then they asked, “Who are you?” The elf named Hearthstone said, “We are elves.” “We want nothing to do with magic.” the poor said. The elves said, “We Simply want to help you. The rich will catch you sooner or later, and we will fight against them and when!” The elves turned the dwarves back into dwarves. The elves said, “Now get your stuff ready. We leave in the morning.” So, they slept, but they all had bad dreams. In the morning, they set off, but not far after, they found the rich and their campsites. They declared war. They said, “Tomorrow, at Mount Mokkerkalfe.” The rich thought, “We’re going to crush the poor.” In the morning, the two camps battled prepared for battle. The elves climbed up the trees and got in position. The head elf, Hearthstone, opened his satchels, and before he could take something out, a spear came whistling past him. The war had begun. As the dwarves charged forward like Viking berserkers, the elves stood back, shooting bows. The one named Hearthstone threw thin rocks that shot fire everywhere. He also threw rocks that shot ice everywhere. The poor glanced at the dwarves, smashing swords. So far, they were winning, and kept winning until the end. The elves, dwarves, and the poor rejoiced in happiness. Jasper Parker Grade 3 St. Peter’s Episcopal School Kimberly Copeland 117

Black Magic Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a Kingdom, a good Kingdom, with a good king. The people had been living there for five million years. The reason why they haven’t died is because the place is in enchanted! A messenger came to tell the people about the wedding on October the 5th, which was a week away. The wedding would be for Prince Ben and Princess Isabel, but while the messenger was telling everybody about the wedding there was a spy that was sent by the evil Queen known as the Dark One. She is on a smaller island, five miles away. It is misty and dark with a looming dark castle on top. On the day of the wedding, when the preacher said, “Do you take this man as your husband?” The princess was about to say yes, but at that moment the Evil One slammed open the door and yelled “No!” She yelled as she rushed to push them away from each other and said, “On November the ninth, all of your friends and family will be destroyed, and I shall rule this Kingdom! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!” Then she disappeared into the darkness. From that day on, everybody was to fear the worst. The king tried to calm them down, but they panicked and panicked. They had no choice but to send Isabel to a different island where she would learn how to be a pirate. Even though it broke their hearts, it was to protect them. Isabel was going to be on a ship that was called though Royal Crystal Ride. The captain was a very mysterious man, but a good boat driver. When the Prince heard of this, he said, “No! He is untrustworthy, and we don’t even know his name.” “He’s a very good boat driver, Son.” said the king, “and the only one who can navigate through the waves.”

“Yeah, but it’s too risky. He could throw her overboard.” the prince argued.

“Yeah true. We will hire somebody for $1000, since we have more than that.” the king agreed.

The king went back to the castle and ordered the servant to hire someone to drive a boat. Then, he ordered the workers to build a wall around the Kingdom. He arranged battle training to be every day instead of every week. Next, he told the messenger to ask some castles for help. After that, he told the servants to ship some gold to the Evil One’s castle to play it out peacefully but thought better of it and realized it would be endangering his people, so he cancelled that. Then, he said,” We will send a dove over there with a letter and a package with a little bit of gold.” He ordered some more workers down to help the wall process to go faster, and he went to bed. When the king woke up, the messenger said, “Every soldier that was guarding last night is dead, and there is a letter stuck in one of the bodies.” It said: Dear King George, I took the gold, but I still plan to have a war. Let the war rage on! With that, the messenger left, and the king went back to bed. Ben and his friends went to say goodbye to Princess Isabel and wish her good luck. She was so brave and courageous that they could bet a $1000 she would make it unless somebody lit the boat on fire, which was highly doubtful. With that, she disappeared into the misty water. When they took off, Ben threw a sword on the boat and yelled, “It’s to protect you!” What they did not know was an untold secret. There was an enemy on board. At the same time, at the Evil Queen’s castle, she was plotting a surprise attack to kill the guards and Princess Isabel during the night. 118

Meanwhile, on the ship, the waves slammed against the boat making it rock back-and- forth, but Isabel hung on tight. Isabel was walking around when she heard something in the shelter, so she went to check it out. When she went inside, she heard it again and again until she saw someone went across the room. Then, she heard the captain and ran out to see what was going on. Before her eyes, there was a blazing fire. She ran to get the water bucket, but fire blocked her path. She heard the captain say, “Jump in the lifeboat,” and then he was gone. Isabel ran and jumped on the lifeboat and rowed to the nearest island and fell asleep. The next thing Isabel knew, she was on a pirate ship getting bossed around and getting judged, but the captain said she could stay unless she didn’t work hard enough. Isabel looked up and saw a red flag. She knew then that they wouldn’t kill her, but they would steal everything she owned. Then, she looked at her neck and her necklace was gone. She promised she would get it back. When it was nighttime, Isabel snuck out of her room and headed to the captain’s room. When she opened the door, he was asleep. She could see her necklace hanging on the tip of the captain’s bed. She crawled toward it. Suddenly, she heard the first mate say, “The girl is out of her room! The girl is out of her room!” Isabel snatched the necklace and ran out of the door, but right as she got it there were pirates with swords all around her. There was a rope above her, so she jumped and swung over them. Then, she dropped to the floor and dove overboard. When she got in the water, she immediately hit a current. The next thing she knew, she was on another pirate ship. When she looked up this time, she saw a black flag. At that moment, Isabel knew these pirates would kill her. “Then why didn’t they kill me?” she wondered, but her thought was interrupted by a pirate’s voice. He said, “Your job is sweeping the deck.” She was about to argue, but the pirate stopped her with the tip of his sword to her neck. This time, he ordered her to sweep the deck, and she listened. Right as she started to sweep, she stopped and asked why they didn’t kill her. That pirate responded, “We need a crew. Just then, the lookout yelled that there was a ship in the water heading straight for them. The captain pulled out his pirate telescope in disbelief and well before his eyes, there it was, another ship. He yelled for them to advance and get the cannons ready to fire. Before she knew it, the pirates were firing cannons and swinging on ropes from boat to boat. Just then, a gun fired, and Isabel’s captain was dead. When the war ended, the crew witnessed that their captain was dead, so they threw him overboard for the sharks to eat. Then, they voted for a new captain, and surprisingly Isabel took the captain’s place. Kane Parker Grade 3 St. Peter’s Episcopal School Susan Bell

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Sara’s Picnic and the Runaway Horses Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sara. One day, Sara was going on a picnic, but it started raining. When they got to where the buggy should have been, it wasn’t there—the horses had run away. They looked everywhere, but they couldn’t find them, so they had to walk home. When they got home, they were so tired that they all fell fast asleep. When they got up, they ate and ate and ate until they got so stuffed that they fell asleep again. And then they got up and went to town. They were worried they would never see their horses again. Then Sara spotted the horses and she and her parents got them back home safely. They gave the horses a ton of food and went inside and ate supper and fell asleep. When Sara woke up, she fed the horses a nice breakfast and then the horses fell fast asleep. Liesl Rademacher Grade 3 Hilger Higher Learning Shelley George

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Untitled Chapter 1 Once upon a time, before there were humans in the universe, there lived a squirrel who was a great warrior. His name was Jack and he was part of the army of Awesome Squirrels. He and his family lived in Outer Space on the Planet Nutty and it was cold there, but they had a lot of fur, so they were okay. Jack’s kids had baby nut shooters for pets. A nut shooter is an animal that grows when watered and they are used in battle. Chapter 2 One day, there was a big space battle between the Awesome Squirrels and some bulldogs which were called the Roaming Bulldogs from the Planet Bully. The Bulldogs wanted to make every animal in the universe their slave. So, they were trying to take over the Planet Nutty. The Bulldogs had a big battleship with a lot of troops with extra rocket boosters. They had powerful dynamite too. The squirrels only had a small rocket booster and some nuts to launch out of the nut shooters. Unfortunately, the day of the battle, the squirrels forgot to feed the nut shooters, so they didn’t have enough energy to shoot nuts at the Rooming Bulldogs. Jack panicked and said to the other troops, “Hurry up! Feed the nut shooters so that we can have at least one good shot at the Bulldogs!” So, they fed the nut shooters and three of them had a little bit of energy. But the Bulldogs set out 1,000 of their troops on the Planet Nutty. Also, all of the sudden, the Bulldogs hit the squirrel’s tail on their battleship with a Gatling Gun. What was going to happen?! Chapter 3 But there was hope yet, because the squirrels had one nut shooter that had energy to shoot a nut. However, they had to hit the Bulldogs in the exact right spot to knock them out. “C’mon troops,” Jack hollered. “We can do this!” KABOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM! And with that single shot, the squirrels hit the Bulldogs’ battleship in their weakest spot and saved their planet and the universe! Chapter 4 After that Jack and his family were very glad the battle was over. They had a big party on Planet Nutty. All the squirrels were there. There were a lot nuts there. There was also pizza and lots more. It was already December. That means that Christmas is almost here, said Jack. Christmas presents, said the children. Yay, the children said! Now it was the 5th of December. Chapter 5 It was a Tuesday, a fun day, an awesome day. The children got to do a lot today like play soccer and basketball. Fun stuff! After that, they went home in a goop (a car). Then, they went to bed. It was December 11th. That was a normal day. They did not do much that day. They just played some games on their friends XBOX. Then, they went to bed. It was December 17th. Then, they watched Nut Wars (their Star Wars). Then, they went to bed. It was December 22nd. They started a game called Nut Hunting. Then, they went to bed. It was December 24th. That means that it is Christmas Eve, one of the children screamed. That was an epic day. Finally, they went to bed. Then, they woke up screaming. It’s Christmas, they said! Then, they opened their presents. That was the best day of their little squirrel lives. Uriah Sisco Grade 3 Thrasher Elementary School Mary Ferguson

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Fishing with A Phone On a cold afternoon this past fall, my dad and I decided to go on a quick fishing trip to the Tennessee River. We loaded up all our gear and snacks, making sure to have the keys, wallet, and phone. When we arrived at the river, we launched the boat below the dam thinking the fishing would be better there. As we arrived at the first spot, I was getting my pole ready while my dad was trying to put the trolling motor in the water to start fishing. I went ahead and started to cast my lure, but dad could not get the motor to work. After several tries my dad called Pop (my grandfather), since it was actually his boat, to get some help. Dad put his phone under his toboggan to talk while he had the trolling motor in one hand and the controls in the other. When he stood up on the deck, his phone slipped out and went straight into the water. I could tell he was upset and I wasn’t sure what we would do. We talked about all our bad luck, the decision was to keep fishing. It didn’t take to long for our luck to change. Several minutes later my dad and I both caught a smallmouth bass at that spot. It was my first one ever. Feeling a little better now, we moved to our next spot further down the river. The fish kept biting and we landed several more smallmouth bass. As we floated along the bank we went over a spot where the fish were jumping all around us. I was so excited, I didn’t know which way to cast. My dad quickly caught two more fish, but I was only getting nibbles. I took a break and got a snack since it was getting late and I was hungry. My dad told me we didn’t have much time left and would need to head home. I threw my lure back into the water and finally felt a big tug on the other end. I knew it was a big fish. When I reeled it to the boat, it was a seven-pound smallmouth. That is a trophy size for that type of fish. I told my dad to take a picture, so I could show everyone back home. He quickly reminded me that he left his phone in the water below the dam and could not take a picture. I released the fish back into the river still not believing I actually caught him. Dad and I tried for several more minutes to catch another fish, but we never hooked one. It was time to go back to the boat ramp, so we put our gear away and drove up river. When we finally got home, I told everyone that I got my first smallmouth and a trophy smallmouth on our trip. When they asked to see the pictures, Dad had to tell them he dropped his phone in the river and we didn’t get a picture. Pop laughed and told me I’m just telling a fishing story, and sure you got a trophy fish, that’s what they all say. It ended up being a great afternoon. Pax St. Charles Grade 3 Thrasher Elementary School Emily Wheeler

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The Pizza Touch It was a Wednesday morning when I was doing my morning routine to get ready for school. When I was in class I saw something flying around. It was a fairy godmother! She told me I could have whatever I wanted, and I wished for the pizza touch. Suddenly I touched my best friend and he turned into pizza! I touched my video game and it turned into pizza too. Then I realized I had touched almost everything and pizza was everywhere. But by that time, it was time for bed. The next morning, I went back to school. I asked the fairy godmother to cure it but one of my classmates thought she was a fly and smacked her and broke her magic wand. Only one thing could cure it and that was the loudest burp ever. I had to go to Africa to find a loud burp, but the elephant wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t loud enough. So, I sailed to the Pacific Ocean and tried the colossal squid, with no luck. Finally, I tried the blue whale and it was just right. The spell was broken, and everything was back to normal. Vishnu Vardhana Grade 3 The Bright School Allie Hyer

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Cousin Caleb My hero is my cousin Caleb. He is in the navy. He joined in 2014. He is my hero because he saves peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives! Today he is home, but one day he will go back and live in the ocean on a submarine. He is a great hero! Noah Walthour Grade 3 Grace Baptist Academy Launa Cooke

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Grade 4 Poetry

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Rivers The Amazon flows, creatures watching your every move. Much like the Lost River, mysterious and foggy. The Chattahoochee flutters with spirits of its Native American past. The Nile runs long and fast across Africa, Unlike Yellowstone, calming and cool. Colorado is cold, mountains looming up, up, into the sky. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m safe at home. Khadeeja Agha Grade 4 The Bright School Allison Sakich

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Nature Playing out in nature is so much fun To breathe the clean air and feel the Warm sun. Sharks out in the ocean and Barks here and there, I can’t find my socks I wonder where. I got dirt on My shirt, leaves in my hair mud on my boots but I don’t really care. Stripes on a zebra like the lines on the constellation Libra. I went to a restaurant and they served stew but I didn’t like it so I went to the zoo. If you wanna learn about Rock formation come to me I will tell you information and If you wanna learn about our big, big nation I will tell you one thing it is full of sensation. Haneen Ahmed Grade 4 Annoor Academy Kelsay Cate

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The Night Unicorn Like a shooting star in the sky The Night Unicorn is dancing by While we are all sleeping The Night Unicorn was creeping Storming by like a blizzard It slunk round trees like a Lizard Pounding hooves through the night The Night Unicorns now out of sight SIZZLE, SWOOSH, SHWEEEE Like a sparkler in the sky the Night Unicorn whizzes by A trail of stars left behind The Night Unicorn strikes the sky It went to the sun, towards the light It left behind the curtain of night Like a shooting star in the sky The Night Unicorn is dancing by. Samantha Altizer Grade 4 Nolan Elementary School Rachel Teas

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Untitled My brother leaves for school I heard his car pull out My mom believes he always Gets there late Because he stops to look at birds He drives his car like a bird flies at night I wish he wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go I see a white bird I watch it grow smaller And then I get dizzy and fall Then the house door opens Its something small I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broken I feel very plain It starts to rain. Payton Anderson Grade 4 The Bright School Allison Sakich

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Let’s Talk Let’s talk about killer clowns and video games, Teddy bears and twinkle lights, Stupid mechanical pencil fights. Let’s talk about fat monsters that like to play soccer. Let’s roll down the hills and scream at people just for thrills. Let’s talk about a flying man who flies like a flying squirrel into a tree and hops like a flea into the sea This is the end of my poetry. You’re free. Oscar Bailey Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Meredith Vlahos

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Sea Turtles Graceful in the water Swimming to and fro Crawls up on the black sand To warm himself in the sun Sleeps peacefully as the waves crash around Only to return to the sea Landon Bales Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Traci Garner

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Waterfall Calm, twisty, turny creek From a high mountain peak Flowing fast, flowing slow Even if there is snow It might even hold some fish, Which will make a tasty dish. Dante Barrios Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Bethany Schklar

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Christmas Winterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s icy grip caused people to shudder. A blanket of snow as far as I can see now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to set up the tree. Clink, clink, decorations are coming down the stairs it is time to decorate the tree. It is cold as ice so I am as snug as a bug in a rug with my warm jacket. We decorate and do it some more it is 9:00, time for bed. Santa sings silly songs sledding on his sleigh inside of the snow globe sitting on the shelf. I woke up the next morning and presents and stockings were filled time to open presents. James Bartoo Grade 4 Nolan Elementary School Rachel Teas

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Airplanes At the time when we finally take flight, I hold my daddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand with all my might. Emelyn Behar Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Raquel Newton

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Fall Break at the Beach I feel the sand between my toes. I hear the waves break against the shore. I smell the salty ocean. I taste the runny popsicle I see the sunset. Asher Bell Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Ali Redfoot

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Sitting on An Old Rusty Swing in My Grandparent’s Backyard in Cleveland, TN Over my head I see a neon green caterpillar with black spots Crawling on a light brown oak tree Behind me I head kids playing kickball yelling, “Catch it!” To my right I see a wide creek flowing to the afternoon. I fall off the swing. Nehemiah Coleman Grade 4 The Bright School Allison Sakich

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Orange My dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dirty tractor The golden sunset Falling leaves Burning flames Bouncy, round basketball Icy cold Fanta Sticky lollipop Sun at dusk Rising moon Fiery sunrise Reflecting sunlight on water Brilliant fall trees Ezra Duble Grade 4 Hilger Higher Learning Shelley George

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The Willow Stood Tall The willow stood in the shadows of January. The ground and its branches were covered in snow. The wind swayed back and forth But the willow stood tall. February came with a ton of snow. That buried willows base. Later in the month the snow melted into a puddle. But the willow stood tall. March came with bright green clovers poking out of the ground. The snow melted down off of the willow, But the willow stood tall. The April sun left willow with bright blossoms That danced in the fresh spring air, but The willow stood tall. By the time May rolled around Willowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blossoms were bright green leaves. The showers were often, but Willow stood tall. Luciana Hemphill Grade 4 The Bright School Allison Sakich

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The Little Girl One early sunny Sunday morning, Some boys went out to play On that early sunny day. But, the kids saw a little girl on the sidewalk mourning. The kids went over to the child And asked her if she was alright. At first, the girl looked at them in fright. “I’m scared,” said the girl. When they asked her what had happened, She said her mom had been flattened. And her dad had to pay a debt Of money that made him fret. But, he did not have the money. And the judge said he was funny With a nasty grin on his face. So, my dad gave him all his money And fled like a little bunny. “Now, I am very scared Without any parents. Now, I am just one of those scared old ferrets.” The boys said, “We’ll take you in. We will make you a bed in the good old den. But, first we will take you to our room And clean it up with a good old broom.” Jackson Hightshue Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Raquel Newton

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Dirt Bike Riding Feeling the refreshing breeze sprint at you as you dash across the dirt Skidding across the dirt at the speed of sound Hearing the leaves and sticks crunch under you as you ride over the rocks Feeling the bumpy ground as you ride along the path Smelling the trees and flowers as you ride by them Bowen Hogue Grade 4 St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal School Randi Schlosser

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Who If I was a someone who would I be? Lincoln? Washington? Vespucci? If I was a someone I would love to be me, myself, and only me. Quinn Holland Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Courtney Johnson

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Morning Listen to the sound of the morning. Watch the dew melt. The bats have gone to bed. Frogs are croaking. Children are waking up. Grasshoppers play the morning song. Now it is afternoon and everyone is in a gloom, For they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait for the morning. Grayson Daniel Holloway Grade 4 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Geunita Ringold

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Let’s Talk Let’s talk about school, math, related arts, and reading, They leave us pleading For more. Let’s talk about The play Mowgli, Bagheera, and Baloo You can be one of Them too! Let’s talk about New songs like Thunder And Ju Ju on that beat Let’s talk about global heat! Let’s talk about books Jungle Book, Junie. B, or Harry P. Who knows what will happen next Harry Potter could Have a daughter! Let’s talk about Hurricanes, Irma, Jose, You could pay To save the day So they can have a home! Let’s talk In the sun or on a run. I will be there So let’s talk. Abigail Holly Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Meredith Vlahos

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Let’s Talk About you and me. Computers. Stickers. ABC. About weather. Time. Fruit. Vines. About microchips and tardy slips. Things that are imperial. Kellogg’s cereal. About games. Fame. Balls. Walls. About going to sleep. Candy peeps. About grins and sighs. And goodbyes. Let’s talk. Carter Kaylor Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Tricia Zienowicz

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Untitled When I look up I see a black sky full Of shining stars I hear a wolf howling Over the hills as The wind Carries The moon descends As the sun rises I hear the water Rush through The rocks I see a Deer Struggling to Run against the Wind as the Day Parts the moon rising I love it. Andrew Kreek Grade 4 The Bright School Allison Sakich

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Another Day as Falcon 9 I rise in the morning They give me a go I aim to the sky We are ready for a show My mission is ready Dragon is at my head so steady It is time to shine Another day as Falcon 9 I am ready for liftoff They give me a boost As I am now introduced To all that space has produced The atmosphere is making me stressed But I know that I am blessed As we are looked over by the divine Another day as Falcon 9 I am getting too hot But they have so much skill To give me just the right chill This is such a great thrill My engine cuts off It is time to say goodbye As Dragon heads into space. I get ready for my race Another day as Falcon 9 My boostback burn Helps me head to home so brightly Followed by my entry burn Taking me through the sky so lightly I am soaring for my landing It is better than all the times before This moment is mine Another day as Falcon 9 Preston Lovin Grade 4 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Amy Boyanton

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Birds at the Break of Dawn I leave at the Break of dawn Every morning to Hear the early morning Birds sing I believe that The birds are singing Me a song to wake up The birds are sound asleep I wish I could go up in The trees and draw the White and different colored birds In the fall, I do not see The birds because all The trees grow and I am Mesmerized by all the Rainbow like colored leaves Soon fall gets Colder and all The leaves fall to The ground The birds fly South I no longer get to Open the door and Run out to see the small Nest with rainbow and white Colored birds Somedays, I wish I could Fly south too. I feel broken in The fall when all the rainbow And white colored birds leave The tall trees The trees have no nests No leaves as they are plain I wish my bird friends Were home. My eyes start To rain. Petra Lund Grade 4 The Bright School Allison Sakich

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Caterpillar Caterpillar in the tree Never down will it be All the way up in the sky you realize Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a butterfly A little sad will you be But no longer fail to see Your no caterpillar in the tree Fly so high to your hearts content The feeling is deliberate Ben Monterde Grade 4 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Geunita Ringold

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Pink Pink looks like a sassy Flamingo. Pink feels like sticky icky gum stuck on my shoe. Pink tastes like sweet victory. Pink sounds like a pencil squeaking on a piece of paper. Pink smells like a bubblegum scented marker. Savan Patel Grade 4 St. Nicholas School Alice Revenig

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Summer Pollen in the air Hot summer sun in the sky Hot sand on my feet Rylee Raley Grade 4 St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal School Jennifer von Klar

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The Morning The morning skies, Is what makes me rise, Every day, In the middle of May. Bayler Roddy Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Raquel Newton

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Let’s Talk! About the wind blowing away leaves, About the thing everyone sees, About streets in the city, About people we pity, About things we love, And the bird dove, About things we hate, And the cheery gate Let’s talk! About cheerful dreams And some light beams And horrible nightmares And people who care, About rhyming things And things that go ping ping And non-rhyming things And people who sing sing Let’s talk! Niketh Shantha Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Tricia Zienowicz

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My Arm I like my arm because it has a cast. I like my cast because I can totally wreck my brother if I tried. I can use it as a shield. When I get my cast off I will kind of be sad I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to wreck my brother anymore. I will be able to whittle something to shoot at him though, (basically, the only reason I wanted to write about my arm was to write about my cast). Hank Stubblefield Grade 4 Nolan Elementary School Lindie Roden

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The Elf in the Tree There was an Elf on the Shelf I saw him myself; Behind a Christmas tree With candy on his knee. It was on Christmas Eve And my friends did not believe. I saw him jump from that tree, And then he tried hard to flee. He was still in town When Santa came around, And was looking for me to set him free, From that old Christmas tree. Vance Wilburn Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Raquel Newton

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I love my brain. My brain is the controller of my body. If I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have my brain, this poem I am typing right now would not exist and I would be a lifeless pile. My brain zooms around thinking a mile every day, nonstop with so much energy, it would fill up a whole bathtub. I love my brain like I love my family. Thank you, Brain.

My Brain

Anthony Xian Grade 4 Nolan Elementary School Lindie Roden

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Grade 4 Prose

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The Alpaca’s Christmas Journey Now, I’m sure you have heard the Christmas story before and how everyone thinks that the three Kings who came traveled the furthest to see baby Jesus. Well, it was not the Kings who traveled the furthest, it was the alpacas. That’s right; you heard me correct, it was the alpacas. The alpacas lived in a place no one knew about back then. Today that place is known as South America. The alpaca’s lives were the same every day – eat, sleep – eat, sleep, eat – sleep. Most of the alpacas had no hope, but not all of them had lost hope. In fact, there were four alpacas that had not lost hope. Their names were Allie, Al, Zucchini and Hopeless. One day, Allie, Al, Zucchini and Hopeless were sitting by the lake when a dove flew by yelling at the top of his lungs. The Messiah our savior is coming in the city of David, a town called Bethlehem, he said. He is Christ the Lord! Huh? What? Huh? said the alpacas. The dove flew back over the alpacas. He said, they are saying that this Messiah is the king of all kings. Hey, said Allie. Let’s go and see this thing that has been shown to us. Yes, said the other three. Let’s go and see the Messiah. Is anyone else coming? No? You’re crazy, said the other alpacas. That dove is crazy. There is no Messiah. Well we are going anyways, said Al. Guess I’ll go also, said Hopeless. The four alpacas walked and walked. To change things up they walked some more. They came to the ocean and on the shore laid an old, rickety boat. Well, said Zucchini, alpacas can’t swim or at least they’ve never tried. We’re going to die, said Hopeless. No one is going to die, said Allie. We’ll just have to get into the boat. OK, said the others. They hopped into the boat and started to paddle and paddle and paddle. They saw another boat with men in it. The men were fishermen. We’re close, whispered Zucchini. In a few minutes they docked their boat on the shore and they hopped out of the boat. Everyone stared at them. What, called Al, haven’t you ever seen an alpaca before? Of course, no one could understand him. The place was so different. There were buildings, houses and people! Well, said Allie, let’s go. They started to walk through the village. After several days, the four starving alpacas came to what was apparently a rest spot. Sitting there were three animals that had long necks and humps on their backs. With them were three well-dressed men who looked very wealthy. Oh hello, said one of the creatures. The girl creature asked, can we help you? Oh yes, the four alpacas said together. They asked, what are you looking at? The three men were looking through a long tube into the night sky with a chart stretched out in front of them. They are looking at that, said one of the creatures as he pointed at a bright star in the night sky. It was an amazing, shining star. Whoa, said the alpacas. They say the Messiah is under that star that we are going to see, said the creatures. That’s where we are going too, said Allie. We should travel together, said Al. No way, said one of the creatures. We camels are not traveling with whatever you are! We are alpacas, said Al. Well, you don’t even have a gift, said the camel. Zucchini asked them what gift they had brought. We have brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, replied the camel. If you don’t have a gift the baby Jesus will surely laugh at you, the camels said as they walked away off into the dark night. They alpacas put their heads together to come up with a plan. OK, said Allie, we need a disguise so that the baby Jesus won’t laugh at us. We could be camels, said Hopeless. That would be perfect, said Allie. The alpacas decided to become camels and they grabbed anything they could find to make their disguises. In a few minutes they looked exactly like camels. Perfect, said Allie. Yeah, said the others, but we still don’t

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have a gift fit for a king. Well, said Allie, we’ll just have to find one on the way. They walked for at least two days until they came so close to the star that it nearly blinded them. They finally found a little lake not far from where the star was. Hopeless, Allie and Zucchini bent down for a drink while Al ate some grass. Oh, hello there, little guy, said Al. Look at this little bug. No one was paying any attention to what Al was saying. AHHH! The little bug bit me! He bit me, screamed Al. Al started jumping around everywhere. Al ran right into the others while they were still bending down to drink from the lake and he knocked them all into the water. Splash! When they came up all of their fake humps were gone. Oh Al, they cried, our fake humps are gone, and our disguises are ruined! How are we going to visit the baby Jesus now? The cold, wet, hump-less alpacas lay on the ground. Excuse me, a strange voice said. The alpacas lifted their heads and an older donkey was looking down at them. Al asked, what do you want? I’m just wondering why the sad faces on such a wonderful night, replied the donkey. We can’t go see the baby Jesus, said Allie. Why not, asked the donkey. Our disguise washed off, said Allie with tears trickling down her face. The baby Jesus will surely laugh at foreigners like us and we don’t even have a gift to give him. Oh, come now, said the donkey. Why would you ever try to hide yourself from God? God loves you just the way you are, and the baby Jesus will too. Wow, said Allie, I guess we didn’t think about it that way. Now come in and see the baby Jesus, said the donkey. The alpacas walked into the barn and they saw the three camels laughing at them. The four alpacas walked cautiously up to the manager where Jesus lay. They were afraid that Jesus might scream when he saw such strange looking creatures. With his mother Mary and his father Joseph sitting by the manager the four alpacas looked down into the baby Jesus’ face and instead of screaming at the strange creatures he gave them a giant smile. He had not smiled at the other creatures. The four alpacas gave baby Jesus the gift of his first smile. Ruby Altenberg Grade 4 Silverdale Baptist Academy Heather Prairie

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When I First Learned to Open a Door I was three years old when i first learned to open a door. My parents hadn’t taught me yet. I had some difficulties trying to open the door. I was about 2 feet tall, so I had to stand on a stool to reach the light and the door knob. At 2:21 a.m. I got out of bed for a “midnight” snack. I was three years old and could barely reach the door knob. I was afraid of the dark, so I hopped out of bed and ran to the door only to find out that I couldn’t open the door knob. So, I stood on a stool and tried to turn on the light. I was terrified when i discovered that I could not reach the light switch. I ran to my bed and grabbed a blanket, dashed to the door and silently waited. I waited one hour alone in the dark. There was no way out, the monsters know where I am. I finally got up the courage to stand up and wander into the unlit room. I was about to save myself and my stuffed animals. I grabbed my stool and tossed it at the door. It would not open. I hit it and punched it with all my might. I fought desperately against it. I hopped up on my stool and dragged my hand along the door. The doorknob moved and then went back to sitting position. I reached out my limb and pressed on the side of the doorknob. It turned and a long way this time. The door opened, and I crept out I made my way downstairs. I sauntered up to the pantry, only to find myself in front of a door. I was not tall enough to reach the doorknob And there was no stool anywhere. Well I’m not hungry anymore. Samantha Altizer Grade 4 Nolan Elementary School Rachel Teas

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Untitled Once upon a time there was a boy named Patrick. He has a great life, but he doesn’t have a mom. She had run away from him and his dad. Patrick is 15 years old with wavy, dark, brown hair. He looks pretty cool! Patrick is in high school and has a lot of friends because he is very funny. He has a lot of fun with all his friends too. They are all really nice and kind kids and they have a lot in common with one another. At first, when he was new to the school, his friends teased him a lot. Once they got to know Patrick a little better they didn’t do it anymore because they found out that Patrick isn’t that kind of boy. So one day when Patrick went to school, he saw David, who was known to be a real bully. Everyone knew that except Patrick. David walked up to Patrick and knocked everything he was carrying out of his hands. Unfortunately, Patrick had to learn the hard way that David actually WAS a bully and could be pretty mean. No matter what, Patrick was going to be nice to David because that’s the kind of kid he was. He had remembered what his mom had always told him before she left. “Even if someone is being mean to you, it doesn’t mean that you should be mean back.” Patrick had followed that rule his whole life and it seemed to work for him. He was nice to David every day. One day David just couldn’t handle that even though he was being mean, Patrick continued to show him kindness. So David admitted that he was being a mean bully, but didn’t want to be. They decided to be friends and have been BFF’s ever since. Payton Anderson Grade 4 The Bright School Allison Sakich

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Every Bright Star

“Found you, Amelia,” my friend Jenn said.

“Man,” I said, “I thought I had the best hiding spot.”

“It was decent,” She replied, “but I need to go find Carly.”

“What about Caleb?” I yelled as she ran away.

“I already found him,” Jenn yelled back. We were playing hide and seek. I was usually pretty good but tonight I wasn’t doing very well. I went to find Caleb, but he wasn’t in his dorm room. Ah, he probably went back to the lounge, I thought, but I didn’t it believe myself. We always went to the lounge together after we finished playing hide and seek. Well I guess I’ll check anyway. “Knock, knock,” I said. “Is anybody here - Oh hey guys, I was looking for you,” I said but stopped after I realized something, no one was listening or paying any attention to me. “Hello, do you hear me?” I said repeatedly, then I got mad. “Hey guys - hello people, this is Amelia. I’m pretty sure we haven’t met yet - what’s your name young man, oh wait, I remember - is it Caleb? Huh, I wonder how I knew that - maybe cause we’re BEST FRIENDS…!” I kept yelling sarcastically but after a while I got tired of it. At first, I thought they might have just been playing a practical joke. But while flailing my arms up and down, I noticed Carly was reaching over to take a sip of water and her hand passed right through my wrist. What? I thought, since when can people put their arms through my body without either of us feeling it. I decided to regroup. After a while I went back to my room, besides Jenn, Carly, and Caleb had already left, plus, it was past ten. When I was back in my room I thought about what had happened. Had I turned invisible? No, that didn’t make sense, I could still see myself. After hours of thinking, I decided the most logical answer was that Jenn, Carly, and Caleb somehow couldn’t hear me, but that wouldn’t explain why they couldn’t see me. When I awoke the next morning, I hoped what had happened the night before might have been a dream, but when I tried talking Jenn to at breakfast, she just went on talking and laughing with everyone else. Days went by and I began to realize that it wasn’t just my friends who didn’t pay attention to me - it was everyone. I didn’t think much about my problem though sometimes it left me lonely. The funny thing was it didn’t change my daily schedule: I still ate lunch at a table with my friends, I still hung out in Caleb’s room at night with everybody else, and I still played hide and seek with everybody. But sometimes I would forget that everyone forgot I existed and I would stay in a hiding spot for thirty minutes or more and then realize that no one would ever come to find me, and I might accidentally stay in a hiding spot forever. That night I decided to play piano. Since no one could hear me talk maybe they couldn’t hear me play. On the fourth night that I played, something happened. Jenn noticed me playing. When Jenn approached I thought it might have been someone walking past my room, but when her footsteps stopped in

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front of my room I wondered if she could hear me. I kept playing and Jenn kept listening. After five minutes that felt like forever, I decided to stop playing piano and say something. “Jenn?” I said. “Yes?” She answered. I was so startled that I forgot to answer. I just sat there staring at her with my mouth hanging open. “Amelia, are you ok?” She asked after a few seconds. “Oh, I’m fine I just I didn’t think you guys remembered I existed,” I answered. “I know, it feels weird even now. For about a week it seemed as if all of my memories of you faded away - which now that I think about it is almost all of my memories,” Jenn said laughing. “It felt weird for me too, like I never had any interactions with you, Carly, Aaron, and Caleb, and all of my life was a lie.” I replied. I have to admit it felt weird to be talking to someone again, out loud at least. “I wonder if Carly and Caleb felt that way too, like they didn’t have any memories of you,” Jenn said. “I hope so, cause if not they probably still don’t remember I exist,” I said thinking out loud. “I hope they remember you too because if they don’t I don’t know how we’ll make them,” Jenn replied laughing. Walking to breakfast the next morning was different. I guess I forgot what it felt like to walk, laugh, and have fun with someone. When we sat down it felt weird, I felt like I had never known Carly, and Caleb and Jenn were introducing me to them for the first time. But getting them to remember me was surprisingly easy. When I sat down, Carly, and Caleb all started telling me how their memories of me had disappeared and that last night all the memories had flooded back, and they remembered me again. Jenn just started laughing. Finally, now my life is back to normal, people remember me. It still feels weird sometimes. We never figured out what happened that week but that’s fine with me. I don’t know if I want to know what happened. All I know is that I don’t want it to happen again. It was a good experience for me, strange at the same time. The only thing I worry about is that people keep telling me that every bright star was changed, I don’t know about that. Sofia Bell Grade 4 St. Nicholas School Alice Revenig

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The Girl I Used to Be April 26, 1986 Hi, I’m Fairy Souse, and I’m an orphan living in New York. I live by two words, hate and madness. I think love is for suckers. Yeah, I’m right. No one tells me what to do. I’m never wrong. I got a New York City heart. Why should I worry? Why should I care? Alone. Scared. Hate. Mad. No one tells me what to do. Suddenly, tears fall from my face. I’m not crying, you might think I am but I’m not. Ok, I confess, I was crying. I try to stop but I can’t. “Help!” “Help!” I cry but there is no answer. I hear something or someone in the bush, it sounds like someone trying to get in. I backup behind a tree and the bark tears my skin. Red blood falls on the ground. I was petrified as a cat in a giant hot dog bun. Then everything was still in silence. “Hello,” a voice asked out. I peek out from behind the tree. I see a girl looking around. “I know you’re in there,” she says again. Her eyes are as blue as the ocean; her skin as pale as a vampire. Her expression is as happy as a dog with a new toy. Her hair is as red as the new morn sun. Her ears are as pointy as a newly sharpened pencil. I know what she is, an elf. “Hi.” I stated fearfully. “I need your help” she uttered.

“With?” I questioned back.

“With my pet,” she says. “Ok, show me to your pet,” I say as we started to walk. I’m confused, normally people do not want my help. They always go and find someone else. Everyone just says, “Look at the rude girl”, or, “Ohhh, I hate her.” I tried to look as hard as a rock and not soft as a feather so that she can think I am a hero and not a bystander. After a while we finally reached where her pet laid. It has wings. It has scales. It is not a pet.

“What is that?” I said with my eyes as wide as a window.

“That’s my pet dragon, have you not heard of a pet dragon?” She asked. “This is Stella, she’s pregnant and needs help. Can you help?” she asked.

“I’ll try,” I replied.

“You’re welcome,” I replied. “So, what can I say except you’re welcome. For delivering your

I couldn’t believe I delivered a dragon baby! “Thank you so much!” said the elf.

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dragon’s baby.” “Wow, you need to meet my friend, Alexander, you’ll love him,” she said. “Meet me here at the same time tomorrow and then you will meet him,” She ordered.

“Ok, see you tomorrow,” I replied. April 27, 1986

I am here at the same spot waiting for the elf to get here. Then she comes running up towards me. “You ready?” she says. “Yep” I reply back. “Follow me” she says. “Ok” and then I follow.

“Wow, he’s cute,” I whispered. “I know” she says back. I…I…I think I smell something.

Next thing I know I wake up in some type of pot. “3…2…1…0” says some voice. Soon everything gets hot. Very hot. Hot, hot! “Ouch!” I scream. I quickly look around and spot a ladder. I grabbed it and swung like an acrobat on a trapeze. Then I got up to the top. One, two, three, jump. I jump off the top and land on my hands and knees. Soon Alexander and the elf come into the shack. “OMG, are you ok?” says the elf. “Marmalade!” she screams at the top of her lungs, , “Get out.” Then a little hamster runs out of the shack. “Hi, I’m Sally,” says the elf. “Two things… One, Hello I’m Fairy, and I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. And two, who is that hamster and why can he talk?” “Oh, he’s Marmalade and nothing you need to worry about,” Sally replies. “Wait, where is Alexander?” I ask while looking around for him. “Over here,” he says, and we talk for a little while. After talking to Alexander, we went back into the forest. “I have a machine that gives you the most powerful power of them all,” said Alexander. He shows me a gray-like machine with tools all around it. “Here, let me try it first” he replied. He steps in and it starts to shake. It starts to whistle. I couldn’t believe what is happening. “Help!” he yells. NOOOOOOOO. “Hee, hee, hee, hee,” says a familiar voice. “Marmalade,” whispers Sally. “Yes, it is I, Marmalade, and I tricked your little friend’s machine, so I can have the power,” he says evilly. I started to cry, and then he suddenly goes away. “We have to find him,” I say. “You first,” she replied. I step in. I feel weak… Very weak… Super …w…zzzzzzzz To be continued. Talley Blackman Grade 4 St. Peter’s Episcopal School Jennifer von Klar

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Vines Shall Turn Dark One beautiful summer day, Lulu was sitting under a tree when an old map fell out of her book. It was a map to an enchanted forest. A warning was written on the cover. Beware, if you say vines have no bark, vines shall turn dark, then the vines will turn on you! Well Lulu was very adventurous like a pirate searching for gold. So, she decided to venture out into the forest. Lulu finds a dark opening, “well this is where the map says it should be,” so she quickly stepped in. Lulu feels like she has been transported to a new world! The map turns to dust like ash in a fire. “Well, I guess I’m on my own now,” she whispers. All of a sudden, the water turns clear and Lulu can see an enchantment on the stream floor. Lulu shivers like a rattle. She starts reading, “Vines have no bark, vines shall turn dark.” All of a sudden, out of the dark silence she hears a big boom like a tiger roaring! That’s when she saw that the book had disappeared! Lulu sees vines moving and a big shadow looms over her! She runs for her life! Lulu is terrified! She runs past the lake, through the dark woods, and back to her house! Lulu runs inside and climbs in her bed. Would it come back? Where was it now? Should I have closed the opening? She wonders these things until she falls asleep. That night she dreams of dark vines and large shadows, but is she really dreaming? Luella Bragdon Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Meredith Vlahos

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Do You Like Recess? Do you like recess? Well, studies show that the more recess time you have, the better you learn. In my opinion, I think kids in America need more recess. Kids in America need more recess because studies show the more recess time kids have, the better they learn and engage in the classroom. The better kids learn and engage, the better they do on tests. If they do well on tests, that will make their parents happy and want to celebrate. These are just a couple of reasons kids in America should have more recess. Another reason why kids in America need more recess is because kids need to get more physical activity for good health. Most of America isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t very healthy. The healthier kids are, the happier they will be. Health and happiness is just another reason why kids in America need more recess. The last reason why kids in America need more recess is because kids need to be social and be able to talk to their friends at school. No parent wants their child not to have friends. Making friends at school can build friendships to have friends to play with after school. No parent wants their child to just sit around and play video games all day. They want them to play outside with friends both in school and out of school. In conclusion, there are so many reasons kids could benefit from more recess time. I am calling for parents to unite and encourage schools to make this change. William Crawford Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Raquel Newton

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Where Where had everyone gone? I asked myself, [Almost one hour before this…] I was going to a special performance of Annie. I was very excited! I wore my favorite outfit, a green dress with a blue little belt. I ate my favorite food lasagna with an extra touch, marshmallows. And most importantly played my favorite games, this was going to be a day filled with fun! I was in the car getting ready to start my adventure. I hummed to myself and sang a merry tune. When I got there a frightening chill ran down my long, cold, hard spine. When I started walking I saw a shocking discovery. Everybody had a dazed almost frightening look on their face. It was Monday, Mondays are the worst, that might be why. When I took one step in the theater I knew something was wrong. It looked like the theater had been decaying there or at least 80 long years. One chilling word to this place would be cobwebs. If you think about it “cobwebs” is a very frightening word. I sat down and began to observe the play. Maybe, just maybe I was wrong about this place. Maybe, if I relaxed and enjoyed I wouldn’t feel so nervous. My feet started to tingle, and I realized the feeling was a cozy feeling, I was happy. Happy is an understatement, I felt overjoyed! But I had another emotion too. I felt wrong, not right, I felt scared. Ring, ring, ring. Suddenly my phone lit up with excitement! It was a call from my very needy sister, I better take this call. 15 Minutes Later

My golly, that was a long phone call. I opened the door to the theater, but what I saw I could not comprehend. The theater was plain empty! The play ends at 7:00 PM, it’s 6:30! What in the world is going on? That wasn’t the only thing, when I left to take the phone call, it was bright as the sun outside, now it was pitch black! I tried to call someone, tell them what was going on. I needed help and fast. I swiftly took my device out of my pocket. I tried to turn my phone on, but it wouldn’t turn on. I must’ve used all the battery on calling my spoiled sister! All my anger bubbled up inside me Like a cauldron waiting to burst. I needed to run. I thought I could burst through the stubborn doors! I pushed and tugged, I used all my strength. Then I realized I was trapped. “Help.” Evie Crutchfield Grade 4 St. Nicholas School Alice Revenig

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Picture This Picture this: a society that is completely powered by water with the help of dams. But also picture this: dry rivers, mass fish population decreases, and abnormal temperature changes all due to the ruthlessness of dam owners. Dams started spurring up in the 1930s to help people get jobs in The Great Depression, Roosevelt probably thought that it was unthinkable to tear a dam down. But time brings change. Dams can provide many positive reasons for their existence. First, the can provide hydroelectricity, a very reliable energy source for the entire world. Next, they prevent the losses of life and property during large floods. Lastly, they can keep clean water stored inside of the dams that help farmers irrigate their land and crops. As you can see, there are many reasons that dams should stay up now and years to come There are many reasons that dams should be torn down, here are three reasons why. Firstly, the temperature and level of the water changes drastically after a dam is built. Secondly, after nightmarish collapses, it takes a lot of cleanup, but even then, there is still pollution in the water. The dams also are in the way of migrating fish, like salmon traveling to their spawning ground or their home ground. As you can see dams have many negative reasons for their existence. In my opinion, some dams should be torn down and some should stay up. One example, is that dams in rivers with huge migratory fish populations should be torn down and dams that have little or no migratory fish population should stay up. Another key point, is that dams in states with solar power and wind power reliance should be torn down, and dams in states with heavy nuclear power and fossil fuel reliance should stay up. Lastly, dams that are very close to collapsing should be carefully removed. As you can see, some dams should become mere memories, and some should stay up for years to come. James Derrick Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Tricia Zienowicz

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A Cat Plays Fetch “Hagrid’s playing fetch!” I almost shouted. I wanted to, but I just excitingly, kind of barely whispered. He leapt into the air determined to get the tiny toy. It bounced softly to the ground. Hagrid darted over to it, and it was up in his jaws. I watched him; I couldn’t believe he really was playing fetch! Hagrid looked like he was having a good time, while I simply just looked amazed. All I wanted to do was play with him really. The tiny toy made a splash in the water pond. Now, Hagrid was doing whatever with water. I gave him a disappointed look. He played with water all the time! It wasn’t something new. “Hagrid!” I yelled, but he didn’t turn. I called his name again. He made a chirping sound. Then he turned and glanced at me. I smiled, and I walked over to the toy that moved around in the water. I grabbed the wet toy, then I threw it. For a moment, he chirped. I smiled at him. This was how Siamese cats talked. I bounced it hard, and it went higher than normal. Hagrid leaped like a money after it. Next, I stood up. I was now tired of playing with my pet cat. It has been a few months since that moment, and every now and then he decides to play with me. Caroline Dexheimer Grade 4 Edmondson Elementary School Stephanie Higgs

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The Ancient Kingdom Prologue: 400 BC

“Sir,” said Rickenbacker, “Our walls are almost complete.”

“The king is waiting for you,” replied the general, anxiously. Rickenbacker immediately stopped working and headed towards the throne where the king sat.

“Our armies are falling, and I don’t know why,” said the king.

“Dragons,” responded Rickenbacker nervously.

“Yes, I know that,” answered the king. “But the real question is how are they getting here? All of them live on Dragon Mountain and we live in the Sand Kingdom. It should take at least a year for them to get here, but our spies say that they are getting here in a week.”

“They must be using magic,” said Rickenbacker.

“Yes,” replied the king as both of them stared off into the abyss. Finally, the king asked, “Do you know anything about them?” “No sir,” said Rickenbacker. Then he saw a dark cloud. Suddenly flames shot out from the center of the cloud just like a volcano shooting out lava, but sideways. Dragons! He tried to stay still but it was no use. The dragons were already attacking the kingdom. Rickenbacker knew he had to fight even though he did not want to. He ran down the stairs, grabbed a sword, and he went to the battle. His heart was pounding like never before and he could feel his hands trembling with fear. When he got outside, he looked at all the dragons. Very quickly he found an opponent. It was a young black dragon. The black struck first, barely missing his shoulder. But Rickenbacker got lucky and hit the young dragon’s tail. The dragon yelled out a war cry and threw Rickenbacker into a hill of sand. Rickenbacker landed about 30 feet away from the battle. “Thankfully, it’s only sand,” he thought. He quickly got up from the sand hill and ran back to the battle. As he got closer, he could see that the dragons were burning the king’s defenses. Just then, he heard something swooping down towards him. A dragon picked Rickenbacker up and carried him off. He was carried so high into the sky that the people in the towns below looked like ants on a boulder. After 20 minutes, he landed on a cliff about 40 feet above sea-level. He was so scared he wanted to jump off the cliff right away. But, the dragon landed right in front of him. “No luck escaping now,” thought Rickenbacker.

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“Where are you taking me?” asked Rickenbacker.

“DM,” snorted the dragon. “Dragon Mountain.”

Chapter 1 The Present

“What happened next?” asked Siara, for the hundredth time.

“Maybe if you stopped interrupting you would know,” Alex said.

“Well, aren’t you an obnoxious older brother,” Siara replied.

“Next Rickenbacker tricked the dragon by saying, ‘look there is a bigger human on the sand hill,’” Alex continued, “As soon as the dragon looked away, Rickenbacker jumped into a lake nearby. On his way down, he ripped a 12-inch scar on his left arm. Rickenbacker managed to make it back to the kingdom in one month and was welcomed back as a war hero, but he was not happy. Two weeks later, Rickenbacker walked up the rusty stairs to the king’s quarters and said, “Sir, I wish to ask you something. I want to attack the dragons.” “NO!” yelled the king, rising to his feet. It startled Rickenbacker so much that he jumped back like a kangaroo in a kick-boxing fight.

“Why not,” Rickenbacker asked.

“Well first we do not have enough warriors. Secondly, we do not have enough weapons. And finally, it is a very dangerous mission.” replied the king. Rickenbacker kept complaining and complaining but the more he did the more the king said no. When Rickenbacker finally left the throne, he was so mad that the king didn’t say yes, that he decided to leave the kingdom the next morning. Rickenbacker did leave the kingdom but left behind a journal with all the information he knew about the mythical dragon. People say that the journal is still in the kingdom today,” said Alex.

“Is the kingdom still in the desert? Did the kingdom burn down?” asked Siara.

“Unfortunately, I do not know the answer,” responded Alex. “All I know is that three years after Rickenbacker left the kingdom, Orcs attacked it. But, I do not know if they carried firebombs.” Everyone in the room was quiet for a few minutes while they considered what Alex had said.

“So, you want us to find his journal and come back?” Siara asked.

“Yes, we can use a high-tech boat to get to the desert in six months, but the boat will not be ready for a month,” said Alex. Chapter 2 One Month Later It had been a rough month of waiting, but finally the time had come. That morning both Siara and Alex jumped out of bed, checked their luggage and started walking towards the docks. When they got to the docks, there were no boats, but instead there were blue circles with lights in the middle.

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“What are teleporters?” Siara asked nervously.

“It can bring you anywhere at any time even in the Sand Kingdom. So, we are going to send you back in time to get the journal,” said the dock keeper.

“What are our options?” asked Alex.

“Dragon Mountain or Soria Badlands,” responded the dock keeper. After about an hour of complaints from Alex and Siara, the dock keeper finally got them under control.

“I think we would rather go to Soria Badlands,” said Siara.

“Okay, step into the portal,” replied the dock keeper.

“Okay, let me set the switch to Soria Badlands,” said the dock keeper excitedly, “Here we go…aaaaahhhh,” screamed the dock keeper as he fell straight into the button that would send Alex and Siara to Dragon Mountain.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” yelled Alex and Siara as loudly as they could.

Nate Farnham Grade 4 St. Peter’s Episcopal School Randi Schlosser

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The Adventures of Jonah and Floof Jonah was a little boy with a normal life, until his parents died in a car wreck. Jonah got sent to live with his reckless Aunt Ruth. “Can I have food?” asked Jonah. “NO!” said Aunt Ruth. Jonah had a golden doodle named Floof. “Bork” barked Floof. “Shut up,” said Aunt Ruth. One day Jonah got bored and decided to go to the dump. “This place is a wreck,” said Jonah. He and his dog ran over to a broken car. “I can fix this,” said Jonah. Before he died, Jonah’s father had taught him how to build cars, so he had some ideas. He opened the hood and found a raccoon, half a glass bottle, and a chipmunk eating a quarter pounder. Jonah looked behind him and saw an old Mercedes. He ran over to it and started ripping out the engine. He put the engine in the other car. He fastened cables into place and got rid of the raccoon. He grabbed his dog and got in the car. He started the car and drove away. He decided to drive back to his dad’s house. When he and his dog got there, they went in. “Something doesn’t feel right,” said Jonah. They went to his dad’s room and found an old box. When they opened the box, they saw a file about a man named Ram Ross. Ram Ross was an American shadow terrorist with a bad attitude. When Jonah read this, he remembered what the cops had told him. They had told him that they were looking for a terrorist named Ram Ross. “Wow,” said Jonah. “Bork,” said Floof. Jonah also found a police radio scanner. He saw a paper in the box that read “tune in to 134.6 to get to Beth and John’s station.” Beth and John were his mom and dad. He tuned to the next station and heard something crazy. “We have a 49 on Broad Street, I repeat a 49 on Broad Street.” Jonah found a police code graph. He read that code 49 means someone has broken out of the asylum. He turned the radio back on and listened for about 10 minutes. Finally, they said that Ram Ross had been captured and put in an underground solitary cell. Jonah and Floof got in the car and drove to the jailhouse. He wanted to get revenge on Ram, and Ram’s cell was under the freeway. He drove a few minutes to the freeway bridge. All he had with him was a knife, a piece of Spicy brand gum, and a high-power heat scanner. He got out of the car and took out his heat scanner. When he directed it to the freeway, he saw a heat mass in a cave. He knew it was Ram. He got out his knife and went in. His plan was to murder Ram. “Where are you?” said Jonah. He then heard a loud scream. It was from Ram. He went through the cave and found a wall with a small barred window and an iron door. Inside was Ram. Jonah was about to through his knife when all of the sudden he heard a faint voice in his heart that said “Don’t do it, please. He then dropped his knife and said “Ram.” “What,” screeched Ram?” You killed my parents,” said Jonah. “So, I’m a terrorist,” said Ram. “I forgive you,” said Jonah. “You do?” said Ram. “Yes,” said Jonah. When Ram got out of jail he renewed himself. He started going by his birth name, Clyde. He even got his record cleared. Later he got married and moved to Canada. Jonah called his nana and told her about his mean aunt. His nana immediately snatched him from old Aunt Ruth. Matthew Grant Grade 4 Grace Baptist Academy Shana Ivarson

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Battle in Central Park One long flight into Manhattan and we were already preparing for war! Now on Liberty Island General Bocannon was telling us, “Those who will go after the witches will be Battalion H-1 the rest will wait on standby.” Five minutes later at Central Park people were shooting gingerbread men there were millions of them. Reed and five others pushed through a crowd of gingerbread men. It wasn’t easy because every time they killed a gingerbread man another took its place. Then all of the sudden BOOM! The six fighters went flying through the air. Reed saw the barrel of a tank was pointed at the place they’d been standing. Reed shouted into his radio, “We need air support! Repeat, we need air support!” “Copy that General Hampton we’re sending a squad of fighter jets your way,” answered General Bocannon. “Everyone, stay together,” Reed commanded. They charged the gingerbread men opening fire on them. Fifteen gingerbread men fell under the sheer force of the charge. Others were ripped apart by bullets. Finally, the fighter jets arrived and opened fire on the tanks. The gingerbread men raced to return fire. BOOM! A fighter jet was knocked out of the sky crashing into a enemy tank. BABOOM! A tank and fighter alike exploded. Suddenly, the sound of boots on concrete filled the air and hundreds of Nazis charged onto the battlefield opening fire on the attackers. RUMBLE! RUMBLE! “More tanks! Run!” Reed screamed.

Reed turned to run, grabbed his radio and shouted into it, “We need reinforcements!”

“Copy that General Hampton. Can you identify the enemy reinforcements?”

“It looks like half the Nazis!” he replied.

“Okay we’re sending all available Navy Troops. Do you think you need more fighter jets?”

“Yes, we do we need a lot of them!” Reed shouted, starting to lose patience.

“They’re on their way,” answered General Bocannon. Hiding in the cover of trees, Reed decided they needed a plan to make sure their reinforcements made it in without out being spotted. Reed said, “Okay I’ve got a plan. When they are about to enter the park, we are going to run out and open fire on the enemy.” He turned and saw them marching down the road thirty feet away from the park. “Let’s go!” Reed shouted. They ran out of the trees and opened fire on the Nazis and gingerbread men, giving the Navy troops enough time to close in on the park. Bullets were everywhere, dogfights broke out in the sky, tanks exploded, Nazis fell, and the gingerbread men were all dead. The only thing keeping the Nazis alive was the sheer number of tanks but eventually they turned and fled.

“Don’t follow them,” Reed said, “We need to find the witches.” So, they all spread out looking.

“Aha! There you all are. Hey guys I found them! They are behind the ovens,” someone shouted. Reed called 911 and the NYPD arrived and took the witches to jail. When they were at Liberty Island they shared the good news.

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Reed began to say, “The gingerbread men are all dead, the witches are all behind bars but some of the Nazis esca-”

“You mean these Nazis?” asked a Navy soldier showing off some Nazis he had caught.

“Okay does anyone know where the rest of the Nazis are?” Reed asked.

“Yes, we spotted them retreating into a book that was a portal into the past,” reported another Navy soldier.

“A book shaped portal?” Reed exclaimed.

“Yes, a history book. Don’t worry, we destroyed it,” answered the soldier.

“How?” Reed asked.

“We burned the book,” the soldier said.

“Can we go home now?” asked the other.

“Yes, you can go home,” Reed answered. “We all can.”

On the plane home Reed began to wonder how the history book about the Nazis turned into a portal. “Maybe there are other dimensions, and this is one big inter-dimensional problem?” Reed wondered aloud.

“REEEEEED! Time for dinner!” Reed’s mom called.

“Mom, my story wasn’t done yet.” Reed said as he put down his pencil. “Don’t forget to wash your hands!” Reed’s mom added.

Reed Hampton Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Courtney Johnson

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How the Turtle got his Shell One day turtle was walking and feeling very hungry. He kept walking until he ran into a village. But then turtle hears rustling leaves, so he looks back up. But it was just a girl. The turtle understood her, and she understood him. So, the turtle asked, “Can I have some food?” “The girl said, “Sure, just follow me through the village. I have to keep this a secret o.k.’’ The turtle answered, O.K.” So, turtle followed the girl into a secret room. First, she said her name was Brooke. Turtle could see a lot of food on the shelves. Just as he was about to get food, Brooke’s father came in looking suspicious, but then left. Turtle decided to come back tomorrow. When turtle got home he told deer, rabbit, and snake all about what had happened. They looked very surprised! The next day he went to the village and found Brooke. Turtle and Brooke went to a place that was more secretive. Brooke showed turtle all the food she had. A few seconds later, Brooke’s watch dog scared her, and she dropped all of the food and the dog ate it. So, they failed that time. Turtle kept telling deer, rabbit, and snake what happened every time. Both Brooke and turtle kept failing to get food. Turtle thought he was never going to get food. But one day turtle went to the village and found Brooke. Brooke showed turtle the food she had, and turtle was amazed. Turtle gobbled up all the food. “Yummy!” he said. Just as turtle was walking back to the woods he slipped and fell onto his back in a bowl. Brooke gasped. She tried to get it off of him, but she could not. Even the animals could not get it off. That’s how the turtle got his shell! Lily Haynes Grade 4 Nolan Elementary School Lindie Roden

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Stuck! Have you ever gotten your hands stuck in a shopping cart? Probably not. But just wait and see what happens. I was in the car with my cousin and her mom, we’re on our way to Publix. We were really excited about going to buy some stuff. I was anticipating on the smooth but bumpy ride to Publix. My heart was racing because I was full of excitement!

Vy, my cousin, said, “Do you want to push the cart?”

“Sure, I can push it,” I said casually.

“Ok,” said Vy.

It was like a circle of happiness surrounding me like a bird surrounding a water hole. I was ecstatic. When the creaking car came to a stop, I…was...ready. Vy and I bolted down the street to the front of Publix with her mom yelling, “WAIT AT THE FRONT DOOR!” I was breathing so hard I could barely hear her and Vy couldn’t, either. Once we got there we were breathless, we were huffing and puffing trying to catch our breath. When we got our breath back, we cleared things up.

“So, I push the cart,” I tiredly said.

“Yeah,” said Vy, coughing.

I cleared my throat, “anything else?”

“No,” Vy calmly said.

“Yeah, okay,” I instantaneously said.

So once Vy’s mom caught up we began to head up to the front of the store. We had anticipated for this moment since the time we got in the car. I was like a buzzing bee with blossoming flowers, bopping and full of happiness because it had found lots of flowers. First Vy’s mom pushed the cart and when Vy and I were looking, we were in awe. There was all sorts of stuff like candy, chips, ice cream, to frozen pizza and microwave popcorn. There were all types of items! Then, it was Vy’s turn but she didn’t push the cart for long because she didn’t want to anyway. First, we got everything Vy’s mom needed like broccoli, detergent, chips, meat, and milk (lots of milk). Then…it…was…my…turn…to…push…the…cart. I was so excited! I was pushing the cart slowly, and smoothly, not rough and I was ready to explode! Inside my body, I was like a fresh book just made and ready to be sold! Then out of the blue, I was absentminded when my hands got stuck in the hole where you wrap your hands on the handlebar. I was frantically trying to pull out my hands, it was impossible, and I could not! I was seeing all of these mixed colors. What Vy’s mom and Vy see is me happily pushing the cart and not frantically pulling out my hands from the cart. I was twisting and turning my hands, pulling them out. But whoop! I got my hands free! My hands were a vague violaceous color and were hurting. Then Vy

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and her mom looked at me and I did a false smile and Vy shrugged and went back to shopping. I was relieved. Now, I will always think twice before doing something bad. Kathleen Huynh Grade 4 Edmondson Elementary School Summer Curry

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Dragon of Madness It was very dark, cramped, and I could hear a soft voice outside saying that they wanted me to get out of my egg, so they could leave. Then I felt as if I wanted to break the wall of my so called “egg”. So, eventually, I did. When I finally got out of that so called “egg”, I suddenly felt a strange warmth across my face, back, and front-legs. It was followed by the soft voice I heard earlier. I opened my eyes and found myself face-to-face with a monster with wings and a villainous smile. As soon as I opened my eyes, it flew off. Not thinking much of it, I proceeded to clean the goo and bits of shell off my back. When I finished, I decided to look around and see where I was. When I tried to stand up, I fell flat on my face and got a purple mark on my snout. I got back up and this time I grabbed on to a nearby rock and tried again. Once again, I fell. But not on my face this time. I managed to balance for a few more seconds before falling. I tried again and again, and I stood up eventually. I tried walking, to my surprise, walking was a ton easier than standing up. I looked around and saw I was in a big hole but, instead of going down, it went sideways. There were rocks everywhere and a big pit of water to my right. I also looked outside and found that I was on top of a big mountain. Wondering how to get down, I thought back to the monster. Then I thought I might have wings like it had. I turned my head to look at my back and saw wings! Turns out I did have them! I decided to practice flying around in my big sideways hole. I flapped and flapped and started to lift off the ground. Although, I had no control, so I landed “plop!” in the big pit of water. Fortunately, I landed by the side, so I could get out easily. After a few minutes of trying, I flew out of the sideways hole and went to look around. It was very hard work, but I flew for over an hour when I realized I was lost. I called myself names for getting myself lost and I unknowingly attracted two other winged monsters. I realized them in about three minutes. But, instead of wanting to make new friends, I wanted the exact opposite! So, I made myself big and scary. Then I roared at the top of my winged monster lungs. This made the other winged monsters run and scream. But I enjoyed every second of it and couldn’t understand why. Then, as if it was instinct, I easily dug a great big hole that seemed to go to the center of the Earth. When I was done, I dug a big sideways hole inside of the other hole. It looked much like my other sideways hole. Then I realized I was very tired. I decided to take a short nap and thought I would wake up a few hours later. When I woke up everything looked a little bit different. There were cobwebs with matching spiders everywhere and instead of the roots hanging off on the ceiling, there were stalactites. I probably slept a little bit more than a few hours. But then I thought if I slept for more than a few hours I might have learned more and grew more while I was sleeping. I looked at myself and my surroundings, I found that I was much bigger than when I went to sleep. My wings were bigger, my tail was bigger, and most of all, my claws were bigger. Once again, I decided to fly around a little bit and test out my enlarged features. This time I was much more skilled at flying. I guessed I was right about my skill and size being growing while I slept.

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While I was exploring, I found some markings on the wall. They said the following: “The dragon of madness will soon awake, when he sees sun he will make cake, from fresh bones found in his victims. When he is awakened by some foolish child, he shall hunt at night for prey and sleep in day.’’ I became terrified. Who is the dragon of madness? What is he doing here? Then it hit me. I was the dragon of madness! But as soon as I thought of this, I started to think that a can’t fight with destiny. So instead, I wanted to except my fate. In fact, just thinking of screams and blood made me smile. Instead of fighting I went to the sunlight to unleash my full desire. After that, I was very excited. I could now walk in the forest at night and slowly eat my victims. Then I felt something changing on my tail. I looked and what I saw surprised my greatly. I saw a snake instead of my tail! But I wasn’t bothered by this too much. It might help me. So, I went back into my cave and excitedly waited for night time. A few years later, my cave was full of bones and skeletons. As I and my snake tail were drifting off to sleep, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my side. I whipped my head around and my tail did the same. I found an army of humans, dragons, and animals before me. The person who poked me with their sword was obviously a prince. I mean he had it all. A cape, a crown, fancy armor, everything. He yelled at the top of his puny human lungs: “Were here to defeat you, monster of madness! Surrender now!” This made me laugh so hard I almost choked. I roared at the top of my lungs and I guessed half of the army were deaf. I knew this because they were on the floor of my cave clutching their ears. In their moment of weakness, I attacked. It was surprisingly easy to do. Most of the army were either being slowly digested, being strangled by my tail, or running for their lives. Which was the smart thing to do. So, in about three minutes, the entire army was gone. Life continued like this for centuries until the dragon I saw when I first was hatched visited. But that’s another story. Grace Jennings Grade 4 Hilger Higher Learning Shelley George

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The War for Freedom I step out of my tent into the morning air. My men are loading ammunition into their muskets and arming the cannons. One of them hands me my pistol. I check to see if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loaded. We sit on the grass while I show them a map and tell them the plan to capture Yorktown. I look at every one of my men. I only see determined faces; they are ready to fight. I know the British will be strong but, we will have to be stronger. Many battles have been won by us Patriots, so it seems we will win another. I grab my horse and jump on it. I call my men to attention and I lead them to Yorktown. The battle had started when we got there. Bullets were flying through the air and blood was splattered all over the ground. It was a sickening sight to see my men bleeding and dying. Sadly, I could do nothing but fight. Some of my men break off to fire the cannons. Suddenly, I see a British soldier aiming at the man right next to me! I quickly whip out my pistol and shoot the British soldier before he could fire. I hear a loud boom. The cannons were firing! Fire lit the battlefield and smoke choked the air. I saw men lying dead all around me. Some were British, and some were my men. My men and I fought and fought until the British surrendered. General Washington brought out that old rat Cornwallis and marched him and his troops to us. A great cheer rose up among us. Somehow, I knew that that our victory will lead up to something greaterâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;something like freedom. Naveen Jestice Grade 4 Battle Academy Kalah Newsome

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Did You Know? Did you know that dams store water for farming and crops? Did you know that dams can collapse and cause major damage? Well if you want information about dams, read this paragraph about their positive and negative effects! Dams are helpful in many ways. One way they are helpful is that dams store water for farming and crops. Another way they are helpful is that they produce energy without harming the environment. They also stop flooding by using lakes behind dams called reservoirs. Lastly, fish are able to move past the dam with the help of fish ladders. As you can see, dams can be helpful in a lot of ways. Dams also have negative effects on the world. First, dams do not help with the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy crisis for only 3% of dams produce electricity. They can also kill many different species of fish (especially salmon) by getting stuck in the turbines. Third, building dams can cause flooding and relocation. Fourth, when dams collapse they can destroy many things and cause metal to get stuck in the water. Lastly, sediment buildup behind the dam can use oxygen in the water which can result of fish being killed. As you can see, dams have many negative effects on the environment. In my opinion, I think dams should be torn down. My first reason is that dams decrease salmon population when they try to respawn. Second, dams can collapse when they are not fixed, which can cause major damage. Lastly, when dams are built they can relocate people from their homes. As you can see, I think dams should be torn down. Carter Kaylor Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Tricia Zienowicz

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Untitled One foggy night there was a man driving down the road and his car broke down, so he looked for a place to stay, and he found one. Once he got inside, he heard a noise. It was muffled. He looked all around and saw nothing. He heard it again but more clearly: “I’ve got you wear I want you and now I’m gonna eat you.” He was scared. He heard it again and again, and, finally, he found a switch and pulled it. It opened a secret door, and the noise got louder and louder: “I got you wear I want you and now I’m gonna eat you.” The noise was coming from behind a curtain. It was a monkey with a banana in it’s hand. The end. Talib Malone Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Ali Redfoot

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The Missing Minto Minto is my black cat. I’m Minto’s owner, Jake. A few days ago, I thought I lost him forever, and here is the story: It was 3:38 am when I woke to Minto meowing and hissing. I looked over my covers and saw Minto clawing and hissing at Gino the hamster’s cage. I got out of bed and took Minto away, then put a bedsheet over Gino’s cage so Minto didn’t see. Two minutes later I woke to my alarm clock blaring an obnoxious noise as if it was trying to give me a headache. I was so upset because two minutes earlier I also woke to an obnoxious blaring. Then I got out of bed and got dressed and ate breakfast and all my other morning routines. And then I went to my work at a pet shop. It was the best job ever, at least I thought that. Saw my buddy Fred there and said hi. No response, as usual. He just sighed. Then at eight o’ clock I was dismissed. When I got home I shouted, “Miiiiintooooo I’m hooomee.” No reply. I tried again, “Miiiiintooo,” no meow. I started to get worried I ran through the house inspecting each room carefully. Then I called the police. They thought it was dumb, dumb, dumb. Because all they said is “it’s just a cat.” I got out of the house because I worried to death. I went all over Manhattan hanging “have you seen me?” signs. After I yelled his name I put my head in my hands and started mumbling to myself, “Minto, Minto, Minto, where are you?”

Then I heard a soft “meeeooow” I turned my head so fast I felt like I had whiplash. I paused in pain.

“Minto?” I said softly. As a black tail went into the alley. I ran over fast. “Whoa,” I had almost slipped. I dove in the alley and looked around, nothing. I looked to my right, nothing. I looked to my left, nothing. Just as I was about to give up, I squinted my eyes and saw a black shadow dash behind a dumpster and disappear.

I slowly crept over, looked behind the dumpster and sure enough it was Minto!

“Where’ve ya’ been Minto?”

He said, “meow” in response.

“Thank god!” I exclaimed, and I hugged Minto tightly. And home we went.

Henry Manget Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Traci Garner

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Railroads Once there was a small town there lived Rob and Jake in the summer of 1933. In that small town there was an abandoned railroad. People go on a cart and ride it on the railroad. What they did not know is that everybody that goes on the railroad goes missing. In fall 1933 Rob and Jake go on the railroad. Rob and Jake went all the way down the railroad. They ended up at a little house, so they go in the house. In the house and they found a puppet they looked at each other and then they heard, “Hi.” Then they ended up in a cage and the heard, “Bye.” That was the last thing they ever heard. Rob and Jake are missing. Summer 2017 a group of divers find a cage in the bay with skeletons, but there were also more cages with more skeletons. The divers also find puppets. Cooper Martin Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Meredith Vlahos

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The Light Under the Door Lucy Rock, a nine-year-old girl, was up to get a little midnight snack. The house was entirely dark except for one light beneath the door ahead. Lucy assumes that her older sister Maria is about to sneak out of the house to go watch a movie with her friends, like she did when she was 14. Lucy begins to continue walking toward the kitchen when she began to worry “What if mom and dad find out I knew Maria is sneaking out of the house?” Lucy heads back to her room feeling very hungry and sick. Lucy begins to drift back to sleep when she hears a dog bark. Lucy glances out her window to find the neighbor’s dog barking. “Does the dog see Maria?” Lucy wondered. She looked around. No Maria to be seen. “Maria didn’t sneak out,” Lucy whispers to herself. She goes out in the hall. The light is off. “What just happened?” Lucy thinks. Once again, she goes back in bed. This time with the door wide open. Fifteen minutes later, Lucy was awakened by the light again. It was not even 2 am. Lucy is very scared now. Lucy waits hoping the light will turn off. It doesn’t turn off. Lucy walks out. Her dog is trembling with fear. Lucy bends down to try to get a look from beneath the door, when suddenly she heard a thud. “What is happening?” Lucy can’t feel any part of her body. She wants to come up with a reasonable answer, but nothing makes sense. “Lucas is playing video games and dropped the controller,” she assumed. She heads toward the basement when another light turned on. Lucy could hear footsteps from above. Lucy headed upstairs holding her youngest brother’s baseball bat. When she suddenly hears squeaking, Lucy throws the baseball bat on the ground and darts for her room. She lies on her bed, trying to decide what she should do. “Maybe I should go in Maria’s room and steel her phone.” Lucy hears a car outside. Her neighbor’s dog is barking. “Someone is coming down our street,” Lucy mumbles. Suddenly she hears voices. Lucy is heading for the door of the house when her mom and dad’s bedroom light flashes on. “This whole night is going on my record.” Lucy almost bursts into tears of fear and anger. Lucy’s mom opens the door to her room. Lucy grabs food off a counter and runs out the door to the pond across the street where she finally bursts out crying. Her dad walks outside. Lucy is prepared to be grounded. “What on earth happened?” her father asked. “I’ve been hearing and seeing weird things all night when I finally I got too scared and ran,” confessed Lucy. “Go to bed. Wake up tomorrow and you’ll be fine,” said her dad. Lucy walked back to the house. She wandered back to her room with the snack still in her hand. When Lucy got to her hall, she ran to the very end, slipped in the door, quietly closed it, hopped on her bed and started eating. After Lucy finished her snack, she went to sleep. Beep! Beep! Lucy smacked her alarm. Then she heard her ringtone. She picked up her phone and read the text. “Happy Birthday Lucy!” It was from her best friend Katie Grace. Lucy totally forgot it was her birthday! Her heart pounded like crazy when she opened the door. There were streamers everywhere. Every door to her 7 sibling’s rooms were open. All the shades were up. The whole house was filled with light. When she reached the kitchen, her brother Marco, whose baseball bat she used the night before, hollered, “What took you so long?” “Oh, it’s my birthday!” Lucy screamed. “And” Maria said rudely. “Ruth, you’re home!” Lucy’s oldest brother is home. “Lucy, Maria, Ruth, Marco, Lucas, Sidney, Katie Grace, Tyler. Come get your pancakes!” Elizabeth McCallen Grade 4 Thrasher Elementary School Raquel Newton 186

The Tale of the Two Friends Once upon a time there were two friends. Their friendship would and could not end. Their names were Basaaria and Haneen. They loved to play with each other. And they were both in 4th grade. Haneen was a like an inch taller than Basaaria but that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop them from playing together. Their favorite teachers and subjects were different, but everyone is unique. Basaaria and Haneen both loved football because they liked to tackle people. And they loved soccer because Basaaria was good at goalie and Haneen was good at goalie. They never argue and if they did they were friends again right away they couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be apart for 10 seconds. Basaaria Pearson Grade 4 Annoor Academy Kelsay Cate

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The Little Black Bird One day there was a little black bird named Bark. His step mother hated him, so she started to lie to Bark’s dad so that Bark would have to leave his home for one full day and in the morning, he had to return. It worked, and Bark was sent to the deep dark forest. No animal has ever been to the deep dark forest that has come back alive! So, he flew there and got lost so he couldn’t go home. His step mother was happy. and Bark cried on a branch. Then he saw a wolf, and the wolf yelled, “Hey you little bird what is wrong?” Then Bark answered the wolf. The wolf asked where he was from and Bark answered. Then they saw a cave and there in the cave was a big old crystal and they touched it and got powers. They felt so powerful and started to run and fly around and they had such a wonderful time and the next day was a nightmare for Bark’s dad Nehemiah. He was so worried and then heard a fire alarm, but it was not caused by an adult it was caused by Bark and the Wolf named Carlos. Nehemia was so mad, and then he saw a tiger that sat on Bark holdin’ fire! The tiger was named Lucy and she heard there was a fire but all of the sudden… Boom! Pow! Bam! The buildings were under attack! Then Carlos said “Stop, for I am DJ lightning hero!” But still the buildings were under attack then it stopped. An arm reached for Bark and grabbed him. He saw the face and it was his step mother! She touched the crystal and got powers! The fight went on and on and on for months. The days turned into weeks the weeks into months the months into years but finely it stopped. It took five years, but they took brakes on birthdays. Bark finally won! The stepmother left and there hiding behind a tree was Bark’s real mother! He was the happiest person alive! His mother cooked him meals like a cheeseburger and other stuff. Bark works for the police and that was a part of Barks life. Shelbie Perkins Grade 4 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Amy Boyanton

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The Man There once was a man who lived on a mountain. He had a long gray beard that reached down to his feet. His skin was as pale as the snow around him and he always carried a cursed walking stick. But here was the bad thing…the man didn’t know the walking stick was cursed until one day. It was like any other normal morning. He was cooking venison by his fireplace with his walking stick by his side. An ember flew out of the fire and started to burn his house down. He got out in time but then he started feeling sick and started coughing up blood. He also felt very dizzy. Eventually he passed out. He woke up with a wrinkled face staring at him. It took a few seconds to let his eyes adjust but when they did, the man knew it was a monster. It had glowing red eyes, razor sharp teeth, and no nose. After a minute the thing left. But when it did, the man realized that he had a noose around his neck. The noose was not a rope, but his walking stick twisted into a circle. After ten minutes the thing returned. It walked up to him and the floor dropped out from under him. He remembered he had his pocket knife with him. With great speed he cut the walking stick in half and ran. He got out alive. He built a new house and the next day he was sitting by his fire and heard his front door open. Red eyes was staring at him. For the first time he saw the thing had long hair. The thing gave him a note. It said, “Call me… 090-444-4444.” He picked up the phone. Kaben Plumlee Grade 4 The Bright School Allison Sakich

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The Story of Honey Once there was a big fierce bear and a beautiful bee. All the bear wanted was something sweet, so while he was storming in the woods there was trouble in bee court. The bee had discovered some power of hers. It was that she could make something sweet, didn’t know what to name it. The bear whiffed a sweet smell and came towards the bee village. So, he barged into the bee’s hut. When they both saw each other, they fell in love. Everyone ran except for the bear and the bee, for the bear saw the honey pot but stared at the bee in amazement. A couple of weeks later the bear and bee had a fancy dinner, and the bee chorus was singing lovely music as usual. The next morning, they had a picnic with beautiful flowers and green grass and a big pot of that “sweet stuff.” After lunch the bear proposed to the bee. For their wedding the baby bees sang beautiful tunes and the red fox did the honors. The bee said yes, but the bear had not decided what to call the bee. He thought and thought and decided on “honey.”

“Brilliant!” said the bee, and so that’s how honey got its name and why the bear likes honey.

Kadence Reeves Grade 4 Nolan Elementary School Lindie Roden

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Princess Invasion I am a dog. My people call me Pandy. Sometimes they call me “Get Down!” or “Good Girl,” but really, I know that I am a princess. I have good food to eat. If I had to survive on the food in my bowl, I would starve. Lucky for me, there is plenty of better food on the table. My people love to play with me. Whenever I chew holes in my tennis balls, another one magically appears. I try to teach the people tricks, but they never learn. I have two soft beds. Sometimes I try to share one of the people’s beds, but then they call me, “Get Down.” They are not very good at sharing. I have a lovely yard where I love to run and hunt. There are squirrels, birds, and other dogs to play with and chase. I have a good life; I am a princess. One day my people brought me a delicious looking treat they called Princess. They called it cat. It didn’t look like any food I had ever had before, but I decided to try it. Then my people started yelling, “No! No! No!” and trying to keep the treat away from me. Princess scratched me in the face, and I got in trouble. The people put me in my crate to think about what I had done. I do my best thinking in my crate. Maybe Princess was not a treat to eat. Maybe she was a toy. The next time I see Princess, I try to play with her. Maybe she likes to chase. I run after her thinking, “This will be fun. I love my new toy.” Then Princess ruins the game by cheating. She climbs to the very top of a tree. I am a great runner, but I can’t climb. I jump and bark around the trunk of the tree to tell Princess that she should climb down so we can play again. My people hear me barking and take me back to my crate again. I have a new idea this time. Maybe Princess is an enemy that I need to protect my people from. When I finally get free, I sniff Princess’s trail. I must protect my people from Princess. I must keep her away. When I see her in the window, when I smell her in the room, when I hear her at the door, I have to keep the dangerous Princess out. I bark, I cry, I make desperate sounds that I didn’t know I could make before. I am like an alarm. My people do not seem to appreciate the alarm. Maybe they do not understand how dangerous this Princess could be. I have to go back in my crate to think. Maybe I will ignore Princess until she begs me to be her friend. I will act like I do not care about the Princess invasion. So far, the ignoring has gone well. I even seem to get more treats for leaving her alone. I’m getting a little used to her, “meow,” and her scent everywhere. I think the people like me better because Princess stays outside, and I live inside. Maybe the Princess invasion isn’t so bad after all. Avery Sharpe Grade 4 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Kay Lee Smith

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The Book of the Blue Wolf THUMP! A suitcase hit the floor. Timmy was 12 and he had moved to his father’s mansion. His parents were divorced, and his dad was rich. “Dad, just one word for this place…WOW!” Timmy said. His dad smiled, “Get unpacked and get your iguana. Also, welcome home!” Five months later, Timmy had tons of clothes, books, and toys. Timmy loved the smell of bacon and eggs in the morning. Also, he loved the taste of pancakes for breakfast in the morning too. One afternoon Timmy went to a closet to find a coat to wear. “SO FLUFFY!” Timmy cried. In the closet, Timmy noticed what seemed to be a hidden door. He opened it. What Timmy saw inside made his jaw drop. The room the door opened to was amazing. Papers were scattered across a desk. He saw trophies hanging on a wall. Suddenly, Timmy saw a dove on the wallpaper fly out the window! Then another dove spoke.

“You must defeat the terrible threat,” the dove said. Then he flew away.

“Who must I defeat?” Timmy shouted, but the dove was already gone. Two weeks later Timmy had gone to his new school and when he got home he announced that he had made a new friend. Her name was Hope. One day Timmy and Hope went hiking in the woods. Suddenly, they heard a rustle. Timmy snapped to attention while Hope just ignored it. “I forgot to tell you something that happened two weeks ago.” Timmy said. He told her what happened. Hope stared at him in amazement as Timmy told her about the dove, and what it had said. Timmy told every little detail, which of course took a very long time. “So, what was that rustle behind us in the bushes?” Hope said with a worried look on her face. They both glanced behind them. There stood a ferocious and giant wolf. It had blue gleaming eyes, a long, blue, furry tail, and soft blue fur. “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” They screamed and ran out of the woods and into the mansion. Timmy stopped, remembering what he had to do. He had to, at the very least, make the wolf go away from this area. “I HAVE TO STOP THE WOLF, OR AT LEAST MAKE IT GO AWAY!’’ Timmy shouted as loud as he could. Hope turned around and looked at Timmy like, Are you seriously that stupid? Or something along those lines. Timmy ignored her and scanned his surroundings for something he could scare the wolf off with. Finally, he found something that he could use. It was a long metal pole.

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“HOPE, THROW ME THAT POLE, AND FAST!” Timmy shouted to her again, much more louder

this time. Hope threw him the pole. Luckily, Timmy caught it. He turned around and threw it at the wolf. It hit the wolf right in between the eyes. It whimpered and ran away. Suddenly a female voice came from behind them.

“TIMMY, HOPE! SUPPER’S READY” Timmy and Hope’s mom entered the room.

“Coming, mom. We were just writing a story!” Timmy shouted.

They wrote their names on the paper and told each other they were finished with their story… for now. The End Micah Shaw Grade 4 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Bethany Schklar

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Playing with My Dog! I have the most playful dog ever, and his name is Cooper. It was after school when I opened my door to the house. “Beep! Beep!” My alarm was a loud as a race car engine. I walked up to the stairs. “Ruff! Ruff!” my dog barked.

“Cooper!” I yelled.

I said, “Come here, Cooper. Come here.”

He ran up to me. Right then we went outside and played fetch. After, when we were about to go inside I felt the ball and ew!!! It felt soooo slobbery! It felt like gooey slime! It was gross! Then, we went inside to the couch and I sat down while I threw the ball to him. Once he was tired he got up on the couch with his toy and he lay in my lap. We watched TV together. Finally, it was time to go to bed. He slept right beside me in my bed. It was the best day ever! Playing with my dog is very cheerful and makes me happy. Have you ever had a day like this when you have played with a pet or friend? Ren Spencer Grade 4 Edmondson Elementary School Stephanie Higgs

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Ricky, Tom, and Kevin Save Christmas Ricky attended Johnson Elementary School. He did not enjoy school because he didn’t have any friends. One day, Ricky got so mad he yelled and screamed at his teacher. He ended up getting expelled and had to attend a new school. He tried home school but didn’t like it because he didn’t have any friends. Ricky decided he would try a new school called Brainerd Baptist. When he arrived at his new school, he was placed in Mr. Gatus’s class. He tried to have a great day so the first thing he did was introduce himself to his new teacher and shook his hand. After speaking with his new teacher, he went to his desk. He liked his new teacher and was hoping he would be able to make new friends in his class. When he sat down at his desk, he said hello to the student next to him. The students name was Tom. When he spoke to Tom, he didn’t respond to Ricky. In hopes of making new friends, he continued to talk to Tom. When he asked Tom what was wrong, Tom told him that he didn’t have any friends. Ricky was excited to hear Tom didn’t have any friends either, so he told Tom he would be his friend. Ricky was glad to have made his first friend and so was Tom. While Ricky and Tom were at recess, they saw a kid getting bullied. They ran over to help the kid who was being picked on by the other students. They told them it was not nice to make fun of other kids, so they pushed them way. Ricky and Tom introduced themselves to the upset student. His name was Kevin. Kevin was very happy they came to his rescue. After hearing what happened, the 3 of them decided to go back inside the school, where it was safe. Ricky was excited to have made another friend. After school, Ricky invited his new friends to come to his football game. He was so excited to have his new friends come watch him play. Ricky told them he had to run home to get his football equipment and they all went to Ricky’s house together. Ricky, Tom, and Kevin arrived at the football game. His friends were cheering for him. Ricky was having a great time playing football, but it didn’t last long. During the game, Ricky fell to the ground and hurt his arm and had to be rushed to the hospital. The doctor told Ricky his arm was broken. After Ricky got his cast, he went home. While he was home watching TV, his mom called to check on him. She also asked if he would make some cookies. He knew he would need some help. He called Tom and Kevin and they were happy to help. When Tom and Kevin arrived at Ricky’s house, they began making cookies. When they went to grab the ingredients then realized they didn’t have anything. There were no eggs, sugar, or flour. Ricky was unsure what to do. He asked his friends for help and luckily Tom knew exactly what do. Tom told them they needed to go to the farm. When they were at the farm, they picked up everything they would need to make the cookies. Ricky paid for the eggs, milk, butter, sugar, and flour. When they got home, they started making the cookies. Tom and Kevin mixed the ingredients together, placed the uncooked cookies on a baking sheet, and put them in the oven. Once the cookies were ready, they only ate a couple of them. Since Christmas was only 2 weeks away, they decided to save them for Santa. None of the boys had any cookies in their house for Santa. They thought Santa wouldn’t come see them if they didn’t have cookies for him. On Christmas Eve, each of the boys set out the cookies they had made along with a glass of milk for

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Santa at their house. The next morning, Ricky woke up to see the cookies had been eaten, glass of milk was empty, and there were several presents that Santa left around the trees. Each of the boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s families had a great Christmas. Ricky thought this was the best Christmas ever as he and his new friends had saved Christmas with their cookies. Tate Standefer Grade 4 Silverdale Baptist Academy Lisa Voss

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Prickled

“Wake up! Wake up!” shouted Mother, “We’re going to Papa’s!” said Mother, excited.

This is the lesson I learned as my Mana told me.

“You know, for this summer party!” argued mother.

“I’m too tired,” said Mana, half awake. “Can’t we go tomorrow?” moaned Mana.

“No, sweetie, if we went tomorrow, we would miss the party!”

“Alright,” moaned Mana.

“Now get up and get your bathing suit on,” said Mother.

The ride to Papa’s was about two hours. Mana slept the entire way. She was too sleepy to talk to her mother and family. “Wake up, honey, we’re here!” said Mother excitedly. The rest of the family ran to greet everybody except Mana, she walked with one eye open tripping on the gravel road. Once Mana saw Papa, she immediately woke up like she had won a million dollars!

“Hey, Papa!” said Mana loudly.

“Hey there, girlfriend, how are you doing?” said Papa.

“Great!” said Mana.

After several hours of playing in the lake and the kids laughing, the adults sat on the porch chatting and drinking wine and beer. It was at that time where the sun was going down, all the kids came inside and ate dinner. Everyone was starving. Mana looked at everyone and saw them, chowing on the food like wild animals. “Geez,” thought Mana as she ate her food peacefully and slowly. By the time everybody finished, Mana was only half way done!

“You full, Janet?” asked Uncle Jim.

“No,” said Mana.

After everybody was finished eating, they all gathered around the campfire and told stories. When it was Papa’s turn, he told a story about hedgehogs long ago along with a ship. And here’s what he told… “Once long ago a crew sailed to Europe to gather food, money, and fishermen. As they came back, the noticed their ship was getting smaller and chipped on the bottom! When they arrived back they hired shipmen to investigate. They found nothing seriously damaged or broken, but they found teeth marks on the bottom of the ship. After several weeks of investigating, the crew finally got back on the ship and sailed to

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journey.”

“Wow!” shouted Mana. “Do hedgehogs still live here?”

“Sure do,” said Papa.

Late that night, Mana lay in bed thinking about what she had to do, get that hedgehog! The next morning, Mana zipped out the door running through the leaves, jumping over logs trying to find a hedgehog. And then she saw a spikey small creature laying right there. Mana didn’t wait, she quickly put her hands under the creature and picked him up. Then disaster struck!

“Ouch!” screamed Mana, as the hedgehog ran away.

So, what creature has hurt you? Evan Stromen Grade 4 Edmondson Elementary School Summer Curry

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The Nutcracker’s Adventures It all starts out with Jerome, a green solider nutcracker, playing with his friends in the workshop at the North Pole. They began to play tag and then hide-n- seek. Jerome and his friends are very competitive when they are playing. When it is Jerome’s turn, he goes and hides in Santa’s sack in hopes to find the perfect hiding place from his friends. Jerome didn’t know that it was Christmas Eve and Santa was leaving on his trip to deliver presents. After a while, the sleigh moves forward, and he hears Santa yell the reindeer’s names. Jerome freaks out and realizes he is at the bottom of Santa’s bag, flying up away from the North Pole. Jerome wiggles his way around the toys until he reaches the top of the sack. He peeks out of the sack and feels a cold breeze. He sees water under the sleigh. Jerome jumps out of the bag and hides under Santa’s seat. He doesn’t want Santa to see him since he was told many times not to play on Santa’s sleigh but again he didn’t listen. As they approach land, Jerome starts to head to the edge of the sleigh. He loves the view of the city full of lights below. Jerome hears Santa shout the command to Rudolph to head down towards the brick houses. As Jerome is looking over the side of the sleigh, he knows he is in Paris, France. He sees the Eiffel tower, Versailles and Notre Dame in the distance. They are beautiful. He is excited to see them. As Santa is heading towards the rooftops, a gust of wind hits the sleigh tilting it to the right with a bump. Jerome goes through the air into the neighborhoods behind the sleigh. He lands in a tree covered with snow. Jerome was very scared. He had no clue where he landed but knew he was far from home. He could see Santa off in the distance moving to his next house, leaving him behind. Jerome wanted to go see the sights while he was there. He had never been to Paris before. First, Jerome climbs to the top of Eiffel Tower and is able to see the city below. Next, he heads to Notre Dame and plays in the courtyard. Finally, he visits the Louvre and sees the Mona Lisa up close. After his adventures, he is starving and stops by a local store and has chocolate and strawberry crepes and hot chocolate. Jerome is getting tired and needs to head home. Outside, he sees the sign for the Metro. He jumps on the train and rides to the airport in hopes to get back home. After Jerome arrives at the airport, he looks at the flights but doesn’t see one to North Pole, so he picks Canada. As Jerome is waiting for the flight, he sees a bag standing open beside the walkway. He jumps into the bag and hides until the plane is taking off. Jerome takes a long nap as the plane is flying towards Canada. When the plane lands, he wakes up and is ready to go but he is hungry again. He smells bacon. He walks towards it and it is Canadian Bacon. After he is full, he starts to walk towards the North Pole. He runs into a moose. Calvin, the moose, is heading towards the North Pole himself because he thinks it is too hot there in Canada. Calvin asks Jerome to come allow on his adventure to the North Pole. Jerome jumps on his back and they start to walk north. On the way north, they got to see a lot of things. They found polar bears, penguins, foxes, owls and more moose. Calvin didn’t know any of the other moose, but he knew they could be friends. They slid across the frozen lakes and climbed mountains until they finally saw elves walking through the snow. He knew he was close. As they approached the village, they realized Calvin was too big and would scare the elves at the North Pole since they never have seen a moose before. Calvin decides to head back to his new friends and leave Jerome to get home by himself. When Jerome gets home, his mom and dad shouted with joy to see him back at the North Pole. They were so happy to see him but upset because he didn’t listen to Santa. Jerome apologized and promised to never to that again. Jerome was telling everyone about his journey and adventures to Paris, France. He told them about his new friend, Calvin the moose. As they get the house, Jerome yawns and is tired from all of his journeys. He lays down on the coach and falls asleep.

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The End Connor Sumrall Grade 4 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Kay Lee Smith

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The Fight Once there was a dragon named King Jeff and a Queen named Shelby. They had three dragon knights named Bob, Frank, and Tim. Everyone was happy and living a wonderful life until one day a spell hit the castle. The spell caused weird things to happen inside the castle. King Jeff and his knights did not realize that there was a witch lurking around when these weird things began to happen. For all they knew, they had killed the witch many years ago. Due to the castle turning a dark ugly color, they realized that the witch was still alive. So, King Jeff sent Bob, Frank, and Tim off to kill the witch. He also asked Coffee Man to go along with them because he can spray out coffee from his hands and kill anything that attacks. King Jeff suggested that when leaving the kingdom, they head out to the left side of the forest first. The three dragons came upon the Goblin Hut. Frank said, “Shall we go and see if the goblin wants to help?” and Bob, answered, “Yes, that is a great idea.” The goblin answers the door and introduces himself as Jimmy. Jimmy agreed to help the dragons and told them that in return he would like 10 million goldfish. Between Jimmy’s super strength and Bob, Frank, and Tim’s ability to breath fire they all knew they could kill the witch this time. As they continue walking through the forest they run into a lot of snow. Tim takes the lead and uses his fire breath to melt the snow to make them a path. While walking they see the Yeti Cave. Jimmy said, “Yetis aren’t real.” Then all the sudden a Yeti runs out of the cave and Bob yells, “Yeti!” The Yeti came running at them and Jimmy punched him and then Coffee Man sprayed him with coffee before he could even get up. They were able to get past the Yeti Cave alive. They finally make it to the end of the forest to the witch’s tower. They begin walking up the stairs to the top of the tower and all of the sudden one of the stairs breaks away and Bob falls into a trap door. Jimmy, Frank, Tim, and Coffee Man discuss if they should save Bob first or kill the witch. Then suddenly Bob’s cage moves past them into the top of the tower. So, they begin running up the stairs again. As they reach the top they approach the door quietly. As Coffee Man reaches for the doorknob, the door creeks open slowly. Once inside, they see Bob in a cage over lava. A shadow swoops over them and the witch fires a spell at Jimmy. Fortunately, Jimmy moves just in time and it hits the ground, which makes a whole in the floor. The witch then lands on the ground and Bob’s cage gets closer to the lava. Coffee Man sneaks up behind her, takes her staff, and throws it in the lava. The witch pushes Coffee Man and as he is about to hit the lava he shoots coffee out his hands and it is like a jet pack that pushes him back up to the ground. Frank finds a cage and fly’s over the witch and drops it on top of her. Jimmy then gets her spell book and turns her into a frog. They all returned to King Jeff and Queen Shelby with the frog in a cage. King Jeff was so impressed with Coffee Man and Jimmy that he made them knights too. They moved into the cattle with the other knights to help protect the castle. As for the witch she became a pet frog for the castle. Landen Walcott Grade 4 Silverdale Baptist Academy Mandy Masterson

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Grade 5 Poetry

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Shy Snake At first, I was a walker Always looking for short cuts Never knowing Why I was a shy snake. Never looking for prey Just slithering around the classroom Starving for a friend. Now that I’ve shed my old skin I am free! Sprinting the long way Becoming my own person It’s about time I took a bite. Ebun Akinlaja Grade 5 The Bright School Ann O’Brien

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Sun The sun Bright and mysterious It wiggles its way out of bed Watching over the town The savior of darkness The alarm for birds It wakes them up with peace The sun is my angel Protecting me. Lillis Allison Grade 5 The Bright School Ann Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

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Narrator I’ve been sitting here so solemnly, watching you grow up. I hope that you realize how much you’ve changed throughout these years. I’ve been sitting here so long reading your mind. I wish you could hear me in your everyday thoughts. The only thing you can hear though, is the quiet sound of breathing as someone flips the page in this very long, very thick— book. Ada Boyd Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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A Life We all have one. Kacey Bowman Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Heather Murphy

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Cancer The world was alive Then it turned blank Motionless you stand A part of you dies They fought so long For this? Straight tears run down your face Then you think Why? Like fish swimming in a sea A big, big sea You feel lost in a big wide world Your heart drops There they are, Dead. Finley Burnette Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Sara Lisowski

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A Lie It burns within you like fire It is cold like ice It sticks with you like glue I only know because I’ve told one or two. They hurt like a punch to the gut They push tears from your eyes They don’t stretch the truth; they break it I only know because I’ve heard one or two. A lie does all of these things So if I were you I would not tell Even one or two. Lauren Butt Grade 5 The Bright School Vicki Everett

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Theater Here I walk among the aisle The echoes of past shows fill the air ...but yet all is still I know of people who walked among these rows Talking, speaking and laughing ...but yet there is no sound A drifting mist fills the air The smell of dust and age The sound of applause overpowering ...but yet I am alone I walk towards the wing running my fingers down the wall I look through props of people who are gone ...but yet they are still present in my mind Walking down the aisle â&#x20AC;Ś I exit Taking with me memories Nothing more Nothing less Memories Benjamin Daniel Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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Ode to Potatoes Ode to potatoes, Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re better than tomatoes, And when theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in your tummy, They feel really yummy! They are the best in Idaho, Which is where I want to go, You eat them at Thanksgiving, While I eat them for a living! Every day I eat more and more, Even more than before, I will not stop even when, I am already in Heaven! Andrew Doepp Grade 5 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Dabney Brock

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Bright Lights, Big Bows The lights all go off my heartbeat is loud As the music comes on I can hear the crowd Cheering loudly I-E-A we get our routine on the way stunting and dancing our tumblers go bye as we finish up we wave good bye. Sloane Drayer Grade 5 St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal School Sue Nelson

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Sapling I see a sprig of a tree attempting to grow— It soon grows as I grow with it The leaves frolic in the wind, dancing. Fall comes along and leaves grow wrinkled— Winter takes it all to the ground, Deep slumber until a prick of light awakens me to a new year Spring again, the new growth masking the damp rot. sun in the sky, no leaves on my feet— Here comes Summer, back to green, the cycle repeats. Avery Eades Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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You Nobody else Alone without food You watch the river flooding the ruined houses. A person dropping something You wake up in a nice bed. Big creature beside your bed and looking at you. It is the person that dropped the wallet. Noah Ebel Grade 5 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Regan Phillips

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The Fire The fire dances and shines Always hot, never not The ashes glow You hear the loud roar While your heart soars And while it dies, you say goodbye to the light that is now dark. Reagan Ellis Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Heather Murphy

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The Old Birch Monday, the old birch behind our house stretched its branches below its trunk During a heavy downpour As if it were my old cat Smokey getting a bath. Tuesday, the old birch sways its branches In the wind As if it were hollering about all the holes my dog dug in the yard around it. Wednesday, the old birch lays motionless Rooted to the ground As if it were trying to detect the tiniest ray of sunlight. Thursday, the old birch stretched its branches above the clouds Reaching for the bright, warm sun. Friday, the old birch sways heavenly In the golden sunlight As if it were dancing to the wind. Saturday, the old birch lays under the clouds In the little sunlight of a crisp Saturday morning. Sunday, the old birch is relaxing in the humid air Waiting for the unpredictability of the week ahead To pick it up. Luciana Hemphill Grade 5 The Bright School Ann Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

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The Downpour The splashes of puddles the gushing of gutters Water running down the roads like a waterfall the booming thunder, the flashing lightning going out on the cold wet porch feeling the cold water run down your face standing, listening, watching the thunder and lightning. Riley Kenemore Grade 5 Ringgold Elementary School Todd Giannamore and Jessica Duncan

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Civil War Civil Bloody, hungry, tired Fighting for one. Union, Rebel The choice is unclear. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need you here,â&#x20AC;? For one can make all the difference. Wrong, Right Black, White What matters is the fight! They say you can move on: But the sorrow I felt Will never melt Inside the head and out. Take a look, at the hill, valley, and brooke The destroyed places we once roamed. War Ellie Lydon Grade 5 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Jessica Narwold

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Lost Nose I supposed I didn’t have a nose because I couldn’t see it I knew that all gorillas have noses I supposed But where is my nose I went to go smell a rose I could smell it perfectly fine So I have to have a nose to smell the rose But why can’t I see it When I walked past a puddle there it was my nose Right under my eyes all along Mary Mac Norman Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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Learning Learn about God writing, talking, teaching Exhausting, boring, exciting schooling Ella May Grade 5 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Jennifer Jones

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Christmas Be Jolly, Hang up the holly, Set up the tree, Fill it with glee, Add a star or angel too, Get in the Christmas spirit, And make sure you do, Because Santa is getting ready for you! Sit around the fire drinking cocoa, As you know, Your children ask for a story, And are full of glory, When they hear the story, they sleep, As your heart leaps, You rest waiting for Christmas day. Charlize Mehovic Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Sara Lisowski

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Antonyms Electronics Fun, Useful Gaming, Updating, Texting Buttons, Screen, Pages, Pictures Reading, Imagining, Writing Thin, Thick Books Danielle Middleton Grade 5 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Michelle Rudolph

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Right Before Your Death... I’m flying like a drone Going to check my phone I’m stretching a bone While I look at my clone Well I’m making a bond With my mathy mathy khan While I’m mowing the lawn While I look at the mirror I see my tear When I go to bed Doing some flips on my head I say good night With no bug bite When I dreamed of a bee Who stung me When it was falling I thought I was balling When I robbed a bank I saw a tank When I woke up I saw my dead pet Then I made a bet I thought I was dead On my bed Justin Moore Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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Space Is space forever-sized? Are there more stars than you can count, or do we just say that? Who named our solar system the Milky Way? Is there a Cookie Way? Are there really an infinite number of planets? Is it true that every star we see is the sun of a solar system? Does our solar system ever end? Is Earth the only one that holds life on it? Are dreams about space in a different place, or are they just in our mind? Why do people bother naming things they are never going to? Why do they call a black hole a black hole? Do they just call it that because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hole thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s black? Is there a planet just like ours in outer space that has skyscrapers? Why is it called a solar system, because solar means it works by light? Why do they call it space, because there is always space in space? Will we be able to travel out of our solar system and start new life there? Is Heaven in space? Aidan Noll Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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I Wish I Was a Painter I wish I was a painter, so I could paint the sky purple A deep violet for the mind of God Lavender for the hopes and dreams of a child A light purple for the cries of an infant A dark purple for the sin that follows us Purple for the ring of the church bell A purple light that we follow to the end of a tunnel A purple ground for a babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first steps Claire Phillips Grade 5 Chattanooga Christian School Sara Coffman

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Chairs Six horses, gorgeous and feisty Five horses are knights, The other is the Lord. They run around the forest As happy as can be. Then they sit down quietly For a cup of tea. They put some flowers on the table, They put them as décor. And with one word before they sit, And that one word is “More”. When it is over they stand again. And impolitely neigh, Munch the flowers, and go back to play. Maria Roes Grade 5 Hilger Higher Learning Shelley George

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Because of the Brave Because of the brave who sacrificed it all Who always answered the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s call. Many fought all day and night But all fought for what was right. The Navy sailed the ocean blue, Up in the sky the Air Force flew. As the Army marched to their song Never to forget the Marines so strong. They gave their all for you and me So that we may live in the land of the free Now place your hand upon your heart Because the soldiers did their part. We honor and thank you on this day For the sacrifice, we could not pay In God We Trust we are proud to say God bless you forever and today. Luke E. Smith Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Diane Alosi

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Swimming Splashing water Diving, jumping, sliding Joyful, happy, amazing, glad Backflip. Kaci Terrell Grade 5 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Michelle Rudolph

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Pegasus Put to the test of strength Ending up in first Going to be the strongest Olympia horse And, one of the beloved animals by all See here he will never die Used as a warrior to fight for Olympus Seen as a caring god to all Olympians Kennedy Tugman Grade 5 St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal School Hannah Maounis

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Cross Country Run I love to set the pace In a cross country race I love to run I practice a ton With the sun on my face To get first place Happy we won Glad to be done Travin Voiles Grade 5 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Jennifer Jones

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Arts and Crafts Arts and crafts are the things I like to do My favorite is making slime out of glue You can make the slime shimmer You can make the slime glimmer Painting with bright colors is fun I have a big portrait when I am done I can draw our flag with red, white, and blue I can draw many other things too Emma Warnack Grade 5 Boyd Buchanan Elementary School Jane Beasley

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Grade 5 Prose

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In the Clouds “Okay that climbing wall is huge!” I said as I stared at the monstrous climbing wall. “I’m going to remember this day forever!” It was our last day at Camp Lookout and the climbing wall (plus the creek hike) were the only things we hadn’t done yet. We sat at the little bench as the counselor explained what we were doing. We got our harnesses and helmets on (“Safety first kids!”) while the counselor got ready. As I watched the first person go up, I got nervous, yet I was thrilled at the same time. I hadn’t been on a zip line in a long time, so this was really exciting. “I’m not too great of a climber,” I thought, “but I guess we’ll see how that goes.” Finally, it was my turn. I eyed the wall, my eyes trailing upward. As I made my way up the ladder, I thought to myself, “This is really happening!” Around the middle, I had a bit of trouble. “Can I have a break?” I yelled as I relaxed my arms and let go. I stared at the wall, the strategy hitting me as I figured it out. “Ah, you just have to put your foot here and your arm her and…” I realized as I worked my way up the wall. I climbed onto the top of the tower and looked down, down, down. Another counselor hooked me into the zipline, while I took some deep breaths and stress-talked a bit. He counted me down, “3-2-1…go!” As I leapt from the platform, my stomach plummeted to my feet. I slid down the zipline having the time of my life as I zoomed through the air, the crisp cool breeze hitting my face. While a third counselor helped me down, she asked if I had fun. “Yeah!” I said, walking back to the bench. “I’ll definitely remember this forever,” I thought. Khadeeja Agha Grade 5 The Bright School Ann O’Brien

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Be Careful What You Wish For Where has everyone gone? Hello, my name is Max Smith, school loser. I attend Alpine Elementary in California. Let me tell you about my misfortune, or rather, misused good fortune. I had a bully named Rodrigo Herrera. Well, I don’t own him, it’s more him that owns me. He was huge, muscular, and had a moustache. Yesterday, he did something unforgivable. Rodrigo had put worms in my pasta alfredo. He, along with everybody else, started ominously laughing. Then, guess what happened? I snapped. I socked him straight on the schnozz. I got a detention slip and guess who had to sign it? You got it! My dad. I started walking home as slow as humanly possible. Then, a strange woman walked up to me. “Do you want an opportunity to turn things around?” She inquired in a nasally voice.

“Yes!” I enthusiastically exclaimed.

“Well then, you have one wish. What will it be?” the odd woman inquired.

“I wish everyone would leave me alone and go away!” I exclaimed in a mammoth voice.

“Very well,” the woman said.

When I got home, my dad John preached to me for about half an hour on how I shouldn’t bully helpless kids. When he was all done, he sent me directly to bed. But I still felt good because I assured myself that I was going to have a good day tomorrow because of my wish. When I got to school the next morning, no one was there. No teachers, no Rodrigo, no anyone. I checked my clock. 7:30. I wasn’t early. I walked around and looked in all of the classrooms, but there was no one there. Okay, back to the present. I’m freaking out. But then I realize. I had wished that everyone would go away! So, I go back to the corner on the same street, and there she is, as if she had been waiting for me.

“Do you regret your wish?” She inquires in her same nasally voice.

“Yes!” I exclaim so loud that she seems surprised.

“Okay young man, I shall reverse it because you feel remorse and have seen the error in your ways.”

I sprint back to school as if I’m a cheetah. When I get back, everyone is there acting as if nothing had happened. But I know, and I’m overflowing with happiness. I go into my class and hug Rodrigo. After all of the things I’ve said, I’ll end with this, be careful what you wish for. Jackson Babb Grade 5 St. Nicholas School Lynne Mulligan

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Madison James Have you ever seen a girl work out way, way, way too much? You might want to head out to El Paso Texas to meet her. That would be 18-year-old Madison James. One Monday morning Madison went with her dad, Mike to visit her uncle, Uncle Fred. When they got there, Fred said there a surprise upstairs for her. She ran upstairs to find it. Then she ran downstairs and said, “Howdy Uncle.” Then she ran back upstairs. “How are y’all doing?” Fred asked. “Good, good,” Mike answered back. “She’s gotten big and purdy since the last time I’ve seen her” Fred commented. “Yes, Fred she has. You should see her leg muscles they are as big as our strongest cows.” Bragged Mike. “Uncle I can’t find it,” yelled Madison. Fred replied, “That’s because it’s in your room.” “But it’s locked!” She yelled again. “I was waiting for you to figure that out. The keys are on the counter. “The uncle said. “Thanks Uncle.” she said while running up the stairs. She opened the door and on her bed was a new pair of cowgirl boots. Madison thundered down the stairs with them on. She felt as if she was the prettiest girl in El Paso Texas. “Well it’s time to say our goodbyes.” Mike said to Madison. She boomed up to Uncle Fred and gave him a gigantic strong hug. “Thanks for the boots, I love them. “Madison thanked. “Anytime sweetheart. “Fred answered with a loving voice. They walked backed to the farm. When they walked back they saw that the cattle had gotten out. “Leaping lizards my cattle are running away! “Mike yelled in worry. The dad ran and got uncle. When they got back Madison was just before the village. She had fixin’ to go get some cattle. She stomped the ground and all the trees fell down. Now she could see where the cattle were headed. She ran back to tell her dad and uncle. Uncle said, “Nobody is fast enough to get the cattle before they reach the village.” “Well I’m the fastest girl in the world, I can do it uncle. “Madison replied. “Very well then. “Sighed uncle Frank.

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Off she went to stop the cattle. Madison’s dad said, “It’s like she is the fastest girl in the world.” Mike said. “She is the fastest girl in the world.” Fred said. “Really I didn’t know as a father.” Mike said kind of angry. “She just told us silly. “ Frank answered frustrated. “Oh oops,” Mike said silly. Madison found the fastest and skinniest cow. She ran them back to the farm. “That was fast sweetie! The dad said. “Well I’m the fastest girl in the world you know. “Madison said out of breath. “You’re the fastest girl in the WORLD!!!!” Mike answered surprised. “You knew that. I’m your daughter I’ve told you like every day!” Madison answered confused. “You have not. “Mike said with a tone. “I just told you 5 minutes ago. “Frank yelled. “You did?” Mike asked confused. “Yes. “Frank said. “Now Madison sweetheart go finish getting back the cattle.” “Yes, uncle,” she answered. Off she ran. She came back with four more. Then back with the last five. Her dad counted the cattle. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,” he counted. “We are missing the baby,” Mike said. Altogether they said, “Baby Bessie.” Off Madison went to find baby Bessie. She ran so fast she realized she ran so fast she jumped us two months ahead. Oops! Madison thought. Finally, she found baby Bessie. She got her back to her mommy and daddy. They built higher and stronger fences. They also fixed damaged or destroyed homes. (We all know “They” is really Madison. There was a girl with super strength in her legs and arms that was used to save the village from cattle destroying it. Her name was Madison James.

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Autumn Bossinger Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Sara Lisowski

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The End

Worst Birthday Ever? Hi guys! My name Kacie. This is going to be the best day ever! You know why it’s going to be best day ever? It is my birthday! First of all, I woke up super early to have my special birthday pancakes. I ran down the hallway. There was no one in the kitchen. I yelled, “Mom.” Sadly, no one answer. I glanced over at the granite counter. There was a note that read, “Sorry sweetie, had to go to work quickly. I hope you have a great birthday!” Well, this wasn’t the worst, I thought. I glanced over at the cereal. I ate the cereal very quickly. I glanced up at the big black clock and realized I was going to be late for school! Scrambling to my bedroom, I still needed to put on my pretty purple dress. When I looked at my bed, my black lab S’mores was tearing my birthday outfit. I screamed, “NO!” So, I had to wear my least favorite outfit. I started walking to school, when I realized I was still wearing my pink fluffy slippers. I looked back but it’s so foggy I can’t see my house. I know I will be even later for school if I go back home. I start running down the rough sidewalk and then slip! I fall in clumpy mud. Gross. I get right back up and start running. Then finally, I get to Sunny Side Middle school, I stop to catch my breath. I start running again. I get in the school, I run to the office to get a tardy slip. “Hi Mrs. Johnson!” She had long curly blond hair with skinny legs. “Hi sweetie, why are you so late?” I explain, “My mom didn’t wake me up in time.” Mrs. Johnson responded, “Oh, I’m sorry that happened.” “It’s ok,” I say. Mrs. Johnson smiles a warm smile and says, “Now get going, you’re already late for class.” I say, “OK.” and head to class. As I leave the office, Mrs. Johnson comments, “Bye, sweetie Kacie.” I go on to class and stop by my black locker. I then draw a blank. “Oh crap! I don’t remember my locker code!” So, I run back down to the office. “Hi Kacie, why are you here again?” Mrs. Johnson said. “I forgot my code to my locker.” Mrs. Johnson kindly looks it up for me. That took 15 minutes. I thank Mrs. Johnson for helping me out. She says, “Your Welcome.” I run to my locker, grab my books then run to class. “Hi Kacie!” Mr. Brown says. “I’m sorry I’m so late. “I say. “It’s ok. Just go sit down,” says Mr. Brown with a smile. As I sit down, I step in gum. I don’t realize I have gum on my shoe until I sit down. Good grief, I think to myself, I just got gum on my new pink slippers! Mr. Brown says, “It’s time to go get our school pictures.” I think, oh crap! I forgot, it’s picture day! When it’s my turn to get my picture, I smile a fake smile, then go back to class. When everyone sits down, Mr. Brown says, “Time for the Spanish test.” I think to myself, you’ve got to be kidding, I forgot to study! As I am taking the test, I’m certain I am going to fail. I give Mr. Brown the test and he says, “Thank you Kacie!” I reply, “Your welcome.” Mr. Brown checks all the papers. He announces, class is dismissed. Since lunch was next, I get up and go to my locker to get my lunch. When I open the locker, my lunch isn’t there. Mom forgot to pack my lunch! So, I force myself to buy cafeteria food, EWW! I wait in line for the food that looks like someone threw up on it. As I sit down, I try to eat the most horrible food in the world. After I eat my food, I head to the music room. I first go to my locker to get my trumpet. I then realize I forgot to pack my trumpet. As I walk to music, I wonder how mad Mrs. Newton, our music teacher, will be. I walk into the music room and Mrs. Newton asks, “Where is your trumpet?” I mumble, “I forgot it.” “Well that’s another F- for you,” Mrs. Newton says disappointedly.

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After music class I go to my homeroom and packed up. I wait for my Mom in the car pick up line. It is 3:15. I get out of school at 2:15. Where is Mom? I look down at my phone and see a message from Mom that says, “Sorry, sweetie, I’m going to be home late, so you will have to walk home.” I grumble, then start walking toward my house. I still have my house slippers on. On the way home, I slip many times in the mud. This is the worst birthday ever! When I get home, it appears no one is there. I turn the key to unlock the front door. My house is dark and quiet. I think I’ll just take a nap and forget about this entire day. I walk into the kitchen and turn on the lights. All of the sudden, I see my Mom, Dad, my little brother and my grandparents. “What are you all doing here?” I ask. My Mom smiles and says, “We’re here because we love you and want to wish you a Happy Birthday.” They all start singing happy birthday to me while Mom lights the candles on the cake and Dad positions himself to take a picture. I certainly don’t look my best, but I am very happy to have my family together on my birthday. Lydia Bowen Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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New Life The Smiths were finally fleeing their terrible life as slaves. It was a dark night. The bare trees looked like the wicked slave drivers that Fred, Kayla, and baby Wilson had left behind. Fred and Kayla Smith, who had been compelled into slavery their whole lives, had escaped with their baby on December 2nd when their master was sleeping. Everyone else had been too drowsy to keep guard on the plantation. The Smiths had left because they had wanted baby Wilson to have a better life. As the plantation had grown smaller and smaller in the distance behind them they wondered if they had made the right choice to run away. Fred and Kayla were crammed into an oversized old sack on a rickety wagon. They had been spotted in the woods by a kind stationmaster, who had offered to drive then to the Missouri River. He had also found them musty potato sacks to hide them from the hostile men who were watching for them. When they had reached the Great Smoky Mountains, they were pulled over by guards. “What’s in the back of the wagon?!” a short, stout guard shouted. The station master had absentmindedly said “potatoes.” The guards, who were mildly bored with life, thankfully let the “potatoes” depart unharmed and untouched. Fred and Kayla were relieved that the sack disguise worked. Finally, they had reached the Missouri River while diligently keeping a close eye out for enemies. Among those people close to the river, there was a man secretly helping escaped slaves travel across the river and on into Canada. The man, named Bob White, was a part of the Underground Railroad. Fred sincerely thanked the man and set out to face his new life full of opportunities in front of him and his enduring family without wavering, glad to have finally reached the Missouri River and escaped the horrendous life as a slave. Ella Breneman Grade 5 East Brainerd Classical Conversations Kelley Daugherty

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The Greenlings Hey, I’m Jack. I am a Greenling. In case you’re wondering, Greenlings are small, green, one-inch tall people. I am on expedition ‘1244 Pine Lane’ with my friends and captain. At the moment, I’m running from a rat.

“Run faster!” yelled Jim.

“I’m running as fast as I can,” I replied.

“Shut your mouths, soldiers!” yelled General Josh

“I think I’m going to…” began John.

The big rat was right behind us and John was looking green, which is actually normal. We ran and ran. Jim and the General were far ahead, so John and I were left behind. Then, suddenly, John fell, and I couldn’t leave him behind. I turned around and sprinted for him. The rat was sprinting for him, too. I saw the rat’s sharp claws and teeth. He had beady red eyes filled with hunger. I picked up John just before the savage rat got its breakfast. Jim and General Josh were out of sight at this point. John and I were out of breath but kept running until we saw a ledge. I gave a little smirk and we jumped off the ledge and were immediately caught by two butterflies. “Works every time,” I said. “See you later, rat.” The butterflies carried John and I far away from the rat and then dropped us off on the floor. We met up with Jim and the General and continued our adventure. Parker Caldwell Grade 5 Grace Baptist Academy Shana Ivarson

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The Elves and The Shoemaker Once upon a time, there was a painter. He was a good painter and he made a modest living for his wife and himself. All was well, except for one thing: The painter didn’t want to be a painter. He wanted to be a shoemaker. “I’m drudging my way through life!” he whined to his wife one morning. “Every day, from nine to five, it’s canvas and landscapes and easels and, oh, it’s so dull. I want to do something creative!” “But I always thought painting was creative,” said his wife. “You deal with light and shade and perspective and such.” “You call that creative?” The painter shook his head sadly. “I’ll tell you creative. Making shoes. That’s creative. Something for the feet. Something that lives. Something to last through eternity. Shoes that sing!” But just then, the clock struck nine. Time for work. The painter shuffled off to the nearest still life, and with a sigh, began dabbling and swirling the canvas. “I wish I were a shoemaker. I wish I were a shoemaker.” Poof! —The third time he said the magic phrase, an elf appeared—the patron elf of shoemakers.

“So, you want to be like Herman Cappuccino,” said the elf.

“Who are you and who is Herman Cappuccino?”

“No need to explain who I am,” said the elf, pointing out he was already explained in a previous paragraph. “But Herman Cappuccino---he was just the greatest little shoemaker to ever live. When Napoleon tramped through Russia, whose shoes was he wearing? When Hannibal crossed the Alps? And when Dorothy, that girl from Iowa or something, clicked her heels? Whose shoes did they have on? Herman Cappuccino, that’s who.”

“Ooooh,” said the painter. “How can I be a famous shoemaker like Herman Cappuccino?”

“It ain’t easy,” replied the elf. “You gotta suffer. You gotta spend time on the Left Bank of Paris. You gotta study. You gotta wear berets and develop poor hygiene habits.”

That night, the painter told his wife of his plans. She shook her head.

“Great shoemakers are not made,” she said. “They are born. Why don’t you forget it and go back to something sensible like your painting.” “No!” shouted the painter, stamping his feet and clenching his fists. “Anyone can paint. I want to sit in cafes, discuss shoelace exhibitions, make loafers in a garret. And above all, suffer!” So that night, the painter left for Paris. He entered the famous shoe school, Beau Chaussure, and under the tutelage of the famous, if unwashed, professor, Jean-Claude Louis-Mark-Paul, he learned all there was to know about shoemaking. He took The History of the Heel in Eighteenth-Century Brazil. He read all the books on tongue theory and the practice. He wrote an essay called “What Those Plastic Things on the End of the Shoelaces Are Really Called.” But, alas, he never learned how to make a shoe that sang.

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“If only I could make a shoe that sings of spring, of love. How can I make a shoe with a soul as well as a sole?” Just then, as he stood on Paris’s main boulevard, pulling the rest of his hair out, he heard the most beautiful music. He followed the lovely sound. And there, on the feet of a goatee-wearing man, was a singing shoe. The shoe sang its song, then said, “Thank you. Thank you very much. You’ve been a great audience. And it’s for you, the audience, that I sing. Your appreciation is what---” “Now, that is truly a shoe with a soul” interrupted the painter. “I must have that shoe!” He reached down and started pulling it off.

“What are you doing?” the man demanded.

“I just wanted to know where you bought your shoes.”

“I got them in Elvesville.” Elvesville! Why, that was the painter’s hometown. He had been suffering around Europe, when he could be home, making shoes that sing. So, the painter returned to Elvesville and fund that everyone in town was wearing the same exquisite singing shoes.

“Where did you get those exquisite singing shoes?” he asked a passerby.

“Twenty-three eleven South Budlong. You turn left, go about three...”

“You don’t have to tell me!” exclaimed the painter. “That’s my house!”

And sure enough, when the painter got home, he found the walls of his cottage lined with exquisite shoes, all of them singing merrily away. And who did he find sitting behind the cobbler’s bench, but his wife!

“Why didn’t you tell me you made exquisite singing shoes?” he asked.

“You never asked me.”

And so, from that day on, the painter went back to the easel every day from nine to five. Eventually, his paintings started selling like hotcakes and he became a very famous painter indeed. And his paintings hung in all the famous museums in Europe. But he never did become a shoemaker and had to be content with just being a wealthy man.

Which just goes to prove. Not everybody can be Herman Cappuccino. Whatever that means.

Desmen Chestnutt Grade 5 Ringgold Elementary School Deanna Baker

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The Mercury Twinkle’s alarm clock buzzed annoyingly. It was now 4:00 A.M., time to get up. Twinkle got up, got dressed, and made herself a cup of coffee. She was a rocket scientist at SPACA. SPACA stood for space program for American cats of America. Also, the first letter of the program would come after SPACA to make a new acronym, and the last “A” was there for pronunciation purposes. Twinkle went to work. “Hello, Fluffy, Hello, Marshmallow, Hello, Furball,” she said. Furball was an astronaut, and Fluffy and Marshmallow were mission control. They went inside together. At 12:00 exactly, they all went to lunch. They always left work at 9:00 exactly. They were very punctual at SPACA. There were, of course, lots and lots of other cats working at SPACA, but Twinkle, Fluffy, Marshmallow, and Furball were very good friends. They always ate together and saw each other outside of work. Twinkle loved it at SPACA, but she was getting tired of doing the same thing over and over. She thought of Furball, going up into space and actually seeing it, rather than simply planning spacecraft’s. She was thinking about what it would be like to be an astronaut when Fluffy said one day,” Where should we eat today?” “Saturn,” replied Twinkle. “Wait, what?” “What? I said where should we eat today?” Fluffy said, confused. “Oh, I don’t know, how about the cafeteria?” The SPACA building had a cafeteria with delicious food, and the interior of the coziest cafe in the world. At lunch, Marshmallow noticed that Twinkle’s tail was twitching. “Is something bothering you?” She asked. “What’s it like to be an astronaut?” She asked Furball. Everyone was surprised. “It can be scary,” She replied, “but much less with you guys and the rest of the mission control back down on Earth.” “I was just thinking, I’m kind of getting tired of the same things every day, planning spacecrafts for a space I never get to see except from Earth,” said Twinkle. “If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, I’d love to have a friend like you up there. Those other astronauts are nice and all, but none of them are anywhere near as good a friend as you.” It was only two days later when heard the news. One astronaut had gotten too old to keep being one, so he retired. Now, they were looking for a new astronaut for a mission to Mercury. Twinkle was so excited. She went to the front desk and told the cat working there all of her desires. A couple of months later, she was done with all of her checks, tests, and training, and was no longer feeling nauseous after being turned upside-down 20 times. She was ready to go to Mercury with Furball and 3 other cats named Jingles, Snowy, and Ginger. On August 5th, Twinkle, Furball, Jingles, Snowy, and Ginger were loading into the rocket. Twinkle was terrified. As the countdown started, the tension got worse and worse. 10 seconds seemed like forever. Finally, it reached 1. “Blast Off!” Twinkle felt a massive adrenaline rush as her face started being pulled all directions. “Don’t worry!” Yelled Furball. “Think about Marshmallow and Fluffy keeping you safe on the ground!” Finally, the rocket got out of Earth’s atmosphere, and it wasn’t quite as bad. “Watch this!” Said Jingles, and he unbuckled his seatbelt. Soon, all the cats were having a floating party. That was one of the most fun things they could do on that long journey. Twinkle was counting Earth days on a small blue calendar she brought. On July 20th, they finally saw a small grey dot in the distance. It got closer and closer, and then they finally landed. Twinkle couldn’t believe it. She was one of the first cats on Mercury! They noted everything they noticed on Mercury. They landed in the middle so that the temperatures wouldn’t be too extreme. With every step that Twinkle took, she was more and more fascinated by its 243

mysterious feel and rocky surface. She was so proud of the embroidered â&#x20AC;&#x153;SPACAMâ&#x20AC;? patch with a rocket ship on it on the chest of her space suit. After the long journey back to Earth, the rocket ship finally parachuted down into the water. Once they were retrieved and set back on the landing pad, they got out of the rocket. They were welcomed by about a million cheers. Twinkle and Furball talked all about it with Marshmallow and Fluffy, and were glad to know Jingles, Snowy, and Ginger. They found themselves all over the news and were thought of as heroes of SPACA. Twinkle was so happy. She was also happy about being able to eat Earth food (especially from the cafeteria), rather than the dry space food she had been eating for about a year. The SPACAM Mercury cats would never be forgotten! Oona Cruikshank Grade 5 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Dabney Brock

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Attack of the Bananas One day, there were three boys out in the woods, eating bananas! Then, they heard some leaves rustle in the woods. Then, out of nowhere, three bananas with shotguns jumped out of the trees!! They shot deadly banana peels at the three and turned them into three more bananas with banana shotguns. The next day, people were worried about what had happened. Then, investigators came to the scene of the crime, and then bananas came out and turned them into bananas! Next, everybody was worried about what was in the woods. So, they sent the whole town into the woods to find them. Then, out of nowhere, 10 bananas jumped out and turned them into bananas!!!!!!! The 9,974 bananas decided to try to take over the world! Then, the bananas left the woods and turned 10 more towns into bananas! Suddenly, there were one million bananas with banana peel shotguns. After that, they turned all of Canada into bananas. Now, they had 900 million deadly bananas. Then, America figured out that bananas were turning everyone into bananas. The bananas had invaded all of Asia. Therefore, the bananas decided they should get better weapons. Then, they robbed all of Asia and Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s military stuff. They invaded Europe and turned them all into bananas!!! The remainder of the world allied together to stop the bananas. Then, when the bananas tried to invade America, the allies were there. The bananas came to shore, and everybody shot and fought for their freedom against bananas. They suffered many casualties in the first wave of bananas. But then, they sent an atomic bomb and killed all the bananas. Surprisingly, one escaped and was eaten by monkeys. Caleb Davis Grade 5 Hilger Higher Learning Shelley George

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Pepper in Morrisville “It’s dinner time. Come down for dinner.” Anna’s mom, Naomi, said to Anna and her three siblings Cora, Hailey and Alexander. They were told that morning that their mom was going up to the market to get stuff to make French toast. What a treat! But it was because they were celebrating their dog Pepper’s first birthday. This is the story of Anna and her new dog Pepper. That cold, misty, December morning, Anna and her family were awakened by their rosters which were louder than a coon getting slaughtered by a hound at dusk. Naomi woke up, got ready and went to the market just early enough to catch the morning train. Boats were setting sail, animals were waking, cars were starting, bikes got going and the markets opened, and just then the city was awake! She arrived at the market and got all the ingredients for her famous recipe of French toast. But at the house, Anna, Hailey, Cora and Alexander were getting ready for school. They packed their lunch, got dressed, and the girls put in their normal hair doo for school--Dutch braids. Once Naomi was home, she loaded the kids up and went to drop them off at the corner where they would finish their walk to school alone. Cora would go with the morning traffic director since she was young and shouldn’t walk the streets alone. Alexander would head with his friends on North Tip. Hailey would usually walk alone and meet her friends on the school property. Shy little Anna and her friend Payton would head on the long, long street Teala Ln. They all arrive to the same building just different sections. Eight hours passed and they all came screaming out of school. Left to right everywhere were crowds of kids. But today Payton had to go to a family gathering so she wouldn’t be walking home with Anna. So, Anna decided to go home alone. But on her way a strange thing happened. This beautiful dog, as dark as dark chocolate, whimpered and cried, but every time Anna tried to pick her up or pet her, she would run away. So, Anna kept walking and walking. The dog would come to her but would never stop shaking. Minutes past and turned into hours. Still Anna kept walking. She thought the dog was slowing her down but really it was because she took a different road. The town Anna and her family lived in was Morrisville and the closest town from there was Korn Lake and as that moment past into another she realized she was in Korn Lake. Korn Lake was a creepy town. There was not much to do on the western side, which was the closest to Anna’s town. It was dark and broken down. Anna could not see anyone in sight or hear anything. Still the dog was following. She started to really look at the dog and suddenly she had a creepy thought, that dog didn’t look normal in her brain or eyes. Anna new something was wrong, but still she kept walking hoping to make her way into the eastern side of Korn Lake where there are colorful and rich houses, waterfalls, people and their fancy poodles and other animals. Hour to hour nothing was right. She was alone. The dog was gone, and at that moment she heard a voice, a creepy voice and a voice of a tall strong mean man. The dog came running to Anna! She had never seen something go so fast in her own life. The dog jumped on Anna and barked and cried and finally Anna knew what was wrong. Not only was the dog frightened but so was Anna crying and running and sweating and dirty were the words to describe Anna and that dog. Anna knew in that very moment that this dog needed help but she didn’t stop running. She made her way out of Korn Lake and back into her own town Morrisville. She knew that town so well she was dashing through it like Rudolf in the sky. Here, there, everywhere Anna went she knew how to get to her home from that very spot. When she arrived at home she didn’t tell her parents about it because she knew that they would make her give it back. Instead, she just “found” and new dog according to her. Her parents believed her and decided to start cooking French toast to celebrate its

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one-year birthday since they didn’t know when it was exactly. The family gathered around with her dad at the end and her mom at the other end. Hailey and Cora on one side and lastly Anna and Alexander on the other. The whole family celebrated how excited they were about their new dog. They had a magnificent dinner of French toast and sweet, sweet syrup. “Chocolate, Marley anything,” said Hailey! “No, no, no!” said Cora, “how about Cracker or Maggie?”“Nah,” said Alexander “how about Miles?” “It’s a girl,” said their father. “It needs a girl’s name.” And finally, Anna pointed out, “How about Pepper?” “Oh yeah!” said Naomi, “Perfect!” “It’s not fair,” said Cora, “I wanna name it!!!!!” “No,” said Naomi, “Pepper is a cute name, besides Anna found it so she gets to name it.” “Fine!” said Cora. The family got used to the name and the dog. Days past and their friends and family would make a little stop when passing their house. Everybody loved little pepper. Infact, Anna and her family were the famous ones on the block and even the whole town. It was not common to get a new dog because it was only for the rich. Everybody was wondering how they got the dog. But Anna never said a word, not even to her closest friends or family. She loved Pepper and didn’t want her to go back to the home she was getting abused by. Anna, a little 6th grader, has her dreams of getting a dog come true! Lindy Davis Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Renae Marcus

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Mascot Matchup It was time for the Mascot battle series. The announcer said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, our first contenders, UGA the bulldog and Smokey the hound dog from UT. The events will be a nap challenge, a steak-eating contest, and a survival challenge. Its best out of three let us get ready to rumble! Ready, Set, Go!” The suspense was on. Then all of a sudden, UGA went out sleeping. The announcer said, “And UGA the Bulldog wins the nap contest. Our next event the steak eating challenge. First, to eat ten steaks wins. Ready, Set, Go!” UGA was pulling ahead. One steak, two steaks. Now he had eaten nine steaks. The announcer said, “UGA is only one steak away from advancing to the next round. But no, UGA falls asleep, and now Smokey wins. This last event will decide who will advance to the next round. Now we will start the survival challenge! Ready, Set, Go! Smokey takes off into the woods, but UGA waddles into a pit of vipers. Oh, No, a bear is mauling Smokey. But UGA dies first. That means Smokey will move onto the next round. Stay tuned for our next contenders, Mike the Tiger and the Ole Miss rebel.” The crowd roared. The announcer came back online and said, “The events for this matchup are simple. The first event is 1-1 football. The next event is a 1-1 baseball game and the final event is 1-1 soccer. Ready, Set, Go! Mike the Tiger takes off to the outside, and he could go all the way and he does - Mike the Tiger is the first on the board” It came down to the final seconds. They went like this. The announcer said “The Score 58-59 Ole Miss. Ole Miss gets ready to punt it away with 7 seconds left. He kicks it away and Mike the Tiger fields it at the two and takes a knee. 3 seconds left, and this will be the last play of the game. Mike the Tiger breaks to the outside. He breaks away, but the rebel is gaining on him he is tripped up at the 10 but dives. He makes it. Mike the Tiger wins football 64-59. We’ll be back after a short commercial break” (In a soft female voice) “Come on down to JC Penney’s and get sweaters for the whole family 50% off. Now that’s getting your Penney’s worth” The announcer came back online and said, “Welcome back, Mike the Tiger is leading the series 1-0. Our next event is 1-1 Baseball. We will only have 1 inning. LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!! Ole Miss is batting first. Mike the Tiger winds up and blows it right past him. He winds up again but Ole Miss gets ahold of it and drives it to center field. He has got a ground role double. Mike the Tiger wines up angrily, he pitches and pegs the rebel. The rebel hobbles to 1st.” 1 hour later …. “2 outs, bases loaded, and Mike the Tiger is up to bat. The Ole Miss rebel is up 7-4. The rebel pitches it. Mike the Tiger swings. He gets ahold of it. It’s going, its going, its gone. Mike the Tiger, beats the Rebels 8-7. (In an Australian accent) “Come on down to Outback Steakhouse and get 1 steak and all you can eat shrimp for just $14.99. Now that´s what I call an Aussie deal.” Then the announcer said, “Welcome back here in Jacksonville, Florida. Our events will be an obstacle course, a sprinting contest, and a swimming contest. This is brought to you in part by Walmart, save money, live happy. There are monkey bars, a ladder jump, a mud pit, a rope climb, and a hill climb at the end. All right let’s get started. Ready, Set, Go!” The announcer said “And their off. The duck takes an early lead. They are now at the monkey bars. The tiger zooms through them, but the duck slips. He gets back up and sprints. Now they are neck and neck

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as they come to the ladder jump. They both breeze through that one. Now they are coming to the mud pit. The tiger is stuck and has to waddle through while the duck just swims through it. They are both closing in on the hill climb; the duck is in the lead. The duck runs up the hill but tumbles down in a heap. He just left the door open for the Clemson tiger. He runs, and he makes it. He wins. Our finalists are Smokey the dog, Mike the tiger, and the Clemson tiger. Now we will go to our Verizon halftime show with DJ Khalid with all I do is win and I’m the won but first let’s go to a short commercial break.” (In a male voice) “Come on down to Verizon and get a free Google pixel 2 if you get a unlimited plan from Verizon now just $59.99 a month” The announcer said, “Our final event is an all-out brawl. Let us get ready to rumble! Mike the Tiger goes for Smokey. Smokey goes to bite Mike the Tiger, but he dodges it and bites down on Smokey’s neck and now Smokey is out of the competition. Our two finalists are now Mike the Tiger and the Clemson tiger. Mike the Tiger circles around him looking for a weak spot. The Clemson tiger tries to bite Mike the Tiger, but he misses. Mike the Tiger is now under the Clemson tiger and he bites him in the stomach. Mike the Tiger wins. His rewards are 200 million dollars, a lifetime supply of steak, a 2017 Ford GT, and full support from Rocket Mortgage. Then the announcer said “Our big winner of $10,000 is Frank Smith. Congrats Frank, come on down here to claim your prize. Until next year, good night and we will see you next year.” Jackson Davis Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Sara Lisowski

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The War It was 1860, and the idea of a war kept coming up. Honestly, I have no idea why the idea kept coming up. All I know is that Master Ulysses S. Grant is going to fight in the war if it happened. One day, I woke sleepily to the sound of men talking. But it wasn’t like whispering, talking. It was shouting. Then I heard the word “war”. That was my wake-up call. I leapt out of bed and tiptoed into the kitchen. I put my ear to the door and listened. “We cannot just sit here while those southerners prepare their weapons!” I heard Master say. “We need to tell Abraham Lincoln that we need to get ready for war! We know those rebels will fight, so let’s be ready to fight!” “I understand your concern, Ulysses, but President Lincoln needs to also get used to the office,” a man with a blue hat and calm voice said. I turned and started making breakfast as master came into the room. “What are making for breakfast, Lilla?” master said. “Eggs and tomatoes,” I replied, scared that he would find out that I had been eavesdropping. “Good,” he said without a hint of suspicion. 9 Months Later Fighting had broken out. We had to move about three times because of the southern troops. “Pack up, Lilla, it’s time to go,” Master Grant would say. Then we would move to somewhere else. More than once Master Grant was sent to certain places to lead army units to fight the South. I had to admit, I hated the southern troops, but I loved the sophisticated ways of the South. Soon, the blue hatted man came back and started staying at the house on and off. He would just plop his sack on the mat and make himself at home. Then he would immediately start talking with master Grant about the military tactics and other things like the president of the Union. What they were talking about was so confusing yet interesting. 2 Years Later “Lilla, you are now free. And no matter what I do, you will always have the choice to leave me. You will always be able to say no. You will never be called ‘my slave’ again.” He said. “What do you mean?” I said. “That means that I will have to pay you if you stay here.” “Pay me? Like with money? Really?” I thought. So many more questions like these were swirling around in my head. “Can we make a deal?” I asked. “I will work for you if you give me a safe place to sleep, good food to eat, clean water to drink, and a small, weekly wage until the war is over.” “Sounds like a good deal to me. And I will even make it so that you can get out of the deal anytime you want after six months’ worth of work.” Master kindly said. As I went to bed that night, something awoke inside of me, something that had been locked up. That something was the happiness of being free. I now did not have to be ashamed when I did something that was not exactly what Grant said (because he wasn’t my master anymore I called him “Grant”). I now did not have to be scared when I forgot to do something that Grant told me to do. I did not have to be afraid when Grant told me to do something that I was not capable of doing. 3 Months Later

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Even though it had only been three months I had already finished my six months of work. I was so excited that I had finished and now all that I was doing was extra. I am looking forward to how this war will end. Aoife Davis Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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This Is Why I Run I run and run. I run through the park I run through ten blocks, I run three more miles. My name is Alex Fields, and this is why I run. Before I went on this run I was at school. At school I am the vice president of the come sit with me club. We sit by kids that don’t have anyone sitting by them that’s actually how I found my friend Zoe. Then I realized my school has all the sports, even rock climbing, but no track team, so I asked how many kids in the come sit with me club wanted to join the track and they said if there was one they would join, but there’s not, so. I run for lots of reasons and this is just one: to clear my head. My head is always full of thoughts, will I go to college on a scholarship, will there ever be a track team, will I run two more miles? I run especially after school because that’s when my head is the most full. When I finally got home my mom greeted me at the door with a big hug and as always, she said, “How was school honey?” and as always, I replied, “Fine”. She asked me, “How’s Cindy?” Cindy was my best friend, noticed how I said “was”. Everything changed over the summer, but my mom doesn’t know yet. Cindy spent the whole summer at some camp and when she came back I guess she decided that she’s too good for me. I met new friends too when she was gone; Elizabeth and Zoe. Elizabeth is very athletic like me but she’s not as fast, so she sticks to swimming. Zoe on the other hand is super artistic and she’s probably the best drawer I know, as I mentioned, I met her through come sit with me club, but we never really became friends till the summer! If you’re wondering where my dad is, well he died when I was little. He was in the army and never came back. I didn’t understand why he didn’t come back. I figured it out about two years after. I love my dad and I always will, but I understand. Back to my mom, my mom is the most amazing person I know. She is a doctor and is an amazing cook but somehow always makes time for me! I told my mom I had homework to do so I went upstairs, but before I start my homework I go on my phone for about five minutes to check any social media I have. On Instagram I have 2,000 followers, that’s pretty good, but with all the followers come haters too. I try to brush them off but it’s hard to do. It’s just more thoughts in my head! In the morning my mom comes to wake me up before she heads to work. So, I get up, wash my face and go downstairs for some cereal then I head back upstairs to brush my hair and my teeth. Then I grab a jacket and start running to school. When I get to school I put my things in my locker and head to class. All of the sudden we all start talking. That instant we hear, “Quiet down class, the office told me to tell you this. First the winner of the writing contest is Zoe!” Of course, it is I thought. “The last announcement is there will be an Edgewood high school team track and field team!” “Oh my gosh really” I asked! “Yes, really,” Mr. Bryan said, “And I will be the coach!” “Cool” I exclaimed! “Time for math,” he said. The whole class groaned. When I was transitioning to gym, Ella, the biggest bully in school, came up to me and said, “Give me a dollar.” So, I grabbed one out of my pocket and said, “Here you go.” Then she said, “Took you long enough,” and ripped it out of my hand. On my run home I ran the longest way possible, which is a total of six miles! When I got home, like forty minutes late, I sprinted through the door and said, “Mom, Mom guess what?” “What?” she said back to me. “There’s going to be a track team at school and I’m going to try out!” “That’s wonderful,” she said, “When are tryouts?” “Tomorrow!” I exclaimed. At tryouts the next day I was ready. I did the sprints very well, the 400m well. But it was time for the mile. I lined up at the start waiting for the word go! There it was, GO! I started out with a steady pace but progressively got faster as it continued. By the end I was in the lead as I turned the corner and I started

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sprinting. Nobody was going to catch up to me now! I crossed the finish line and coach told me I had a 6:20, my fastest mile by far! After tryouts ended coach came up to me and said, “Alex I think you have a big future in running!” “Really!” I asked. “I mean I knew I was fast but not that fast.” “Really,” he responded. “Since this is your senior year you should start applying for scholarships at a bunch of different schools,” Coach Bryan said. “Ok, I’ll get right on that,” I said. When I got home that night I told my mom the news and she said, “I knew you could do it sweetheart!” “Thanks mom,” I said then I gave her a hug. I went upstairs and went on my phone. All the people that were at tryouts followed me on Instagram! A couple even commented “You’re super-fast!” and, “I wish I was as fast as you.” Wow I have lots of haters, but I have more supporters I thought! The year went on and about half way through the last month of school all my colleges, almost all of them, said you can come on a scholarship for running! I was so excited I can’t believe that the college of my dreams UGA is letting me in on a full scholarship. My mom was so excited that we went to dinner at my favorite place in town! But I can’t focus on this I need to focus on the big meet! The big meet is in a week and I’ve never been so nervous in my life! When we got home later that night I didn’t go on my phone. I asked my mom if I could go on quick run, and she said yes! On my run I timed myself for the mile. I was focusing on putting more pep in my step and having a longer stride. When I got home I checked my timer and it was 6:18, 2 seconds faster than my tryout, I think I’m ready for the meet! It was the day of the meet and I was so nervous! When I got to school in my track clothes, lots of people were wishing me good luck at the meet and telling me I was going to do great! When I got on the bus to go to the meet I sat with one of my friends named Sarah. She is my only friend on the track team. I’ve known her since we were five, we just grew apart. When we got to the meet my event was first, so I warmed up and got on to the track. We all lined up on the starting line I was in the very inside lane the next thing I hear is “Runners take your mark…. GO!” Of course, I was running the mile, so I had a steady pace but by the time I was turning the corner of my last lap I started sprinting. I remembered what I wanted to improve on after that there was no catching up to me, I was gone! I crossed the finish line first, that was it I won! I was so happy my coach came up and hugged me and said you won, you won! After the meet I went home and celebrated my win! I got a medal and a trophy, the medal for winning the mile out of girls, and the trophy for having the fastest mile out of boys and girls! My mile was 6:10! I was so cheerful. Tomorrow is the last day of high school in which we will graduate. Graduation was pretty cookie cutter. You know the slideshow, food, sappy music and speeches by teachers and the principal, but then I got recognized for my amazing run and how I got a scholarship for my dream school and all of that stuff. I will definitely miss high school but I’m looking forward to what my future holds. It turns out Zoe and I are going to the same school! Running has got me through a lot and will probably get me through even more, I’m Alex Fields and that is why I run! Scarlett Distasio Grade 5 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Jessica Narwold

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Untitled The cool, salty air rushed into my nostrils, causing me to be at a state of contentment. The wind danced around me, swirling in my hair then moving away, as if making room for another gale. The ocean’s waves lapped on my feet, rousing sand and small seashells at the ocean floor. All of the sounds out here calmed me. The ocean rushing to the shore then back out to the sea. The squawking of the seagulls as they fought over a fish. The sound of the dancing leaves around me. The rhythmic sound of nuts and coconuts plopping to the sandy shore. I loved to watch the blue sky transform into pinks, reds, and oranges in the sky, as though someone had erased the blue and painted on the sunset. They swirled around, showing off their bright colors and magnificent shapes. The clouds above them highlighted a lighter version of the sunset around them. I had always hated it when the sunset finally vanished into the dark sky, sprayed with bright glowing dots. But, even when the sunset disappeared into a pit of darkness, it was pretty. Why couldn’t the people in this world just stop, and really pay attention to this beauty? It is as if some people are blind, so blind that they cannot even see the neon colors in the sky above them. God gave me the gift of letting myself watch the world around me, instead of trying to be part of it. Why were those unwatchful people always scrambling to get involved with other people’s problems, instead of trying to solve their own? What was so interesting about being meddlesome? Why couldn’t they just stop and look at the world around them? If they just paid attention, for one moment, they could really see the beauty and wonderfulness this earth holds. In fact, this world is so amazing words can’t even describe it. Not even the big, grown up words that I use despite my age. Tiny minnows swam under my feet, tickling my toes. I let out a soft giggle. I waded into the water until the waves were splashing on my chest. Big fish the size of my arm swam around me. Many people would have swum away from this, but if you had been born in the ocean, like me, you would have understood that the fish around me wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, unless they were hungry. I continued to swim, each stroke pushing me farther and farther from the shore. My scrambling legs finally started pulling closer and closer together, then my legs grew scales that sprinkled across my feet and thighs, sprouting here and there until I had no legs, but a fishtail. My shirt was slowly turning into a blouse made out of colorful seaweed. I dove under water, then came back up with sea shells splattered across my curly blond hair. I was able to swim even faster, picking up speed as I flopped in the water. Then, after swimming for about ten minutes, I finally met up with the otters that my mother had told me to find. They led me to a big, woven bed of seaweed, and then they helped me get into it, because with my tail flopping around like an overgrown fish, it was actually difficult to climb into a big bed. The kind otters tied my tail to the seaweed, so I wouldn’t drift away in the current, then climbed into their own beds and fell asleep. I watched the reddish orangish sun slowly drift behind the trees, its pink rays peeking out of the branches of faraway trees, as if wanting to confirm that I had safely reached the otters. I also watched the part I hated most about the night, watching the pink sun dissolve into the pitch-black night sky. The tiny white stars splattered across the sky, one by one until there were so many that I couldn’t count.

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That night, I had nightmares about my mother holding me, protecting me from the sailor. The sailor had a big, bushy red beard, and black beady eyes. He wore a long button-down coat that went down to his knees. He snickered at my mother, yelling, “You can’t keep her forever!” I remember that my mother was caught in a big net that pulled her closer to the sailor and away from me. She dropped me in the ocean, trusting that I could swim and that I would find the otters. The only times I ever see her are in my dreams. The bad ones. Sophia Dockery Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Sara Lisowski

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The Story of Christmas for Jimmy One ordinary day at the North Pole Santa Claus was playing backgammon with one of his elves. Mrs. Claus was baking some dinner for Saint Nicholas. She thought about making some cookies for him but remembered that she needed to put Santa Claus on a diet. Suddenly an elf ran up to Santa. He said, “There is a naughty kid in the U.S.A. The kid lives on Signal Mountain, Tennessee. He lives in Old Towne. His name is JIMMY DAVIDSON!”... December 18th: Jimmy woke up wondering where his elf on the shelf was today. He quietly got out of bed and opened the door. He started to look for the elf. He thought he smelled smoke but quickly dismissed the idea and kept looking around. When he found his elf, he gasped in surprise. The elf was smoking a cigar. Jimmy realized that that was the smoke he smelled. There was a note lying beside the elf. He picked it up slowly. It said: You have been a bad boy this year. I, the elf, am not allowed to speak or help you. But I have decided, on the sake of my job, that I will help you get on the nice list. December 19th: Jimmy eagerly woke up knowing that he would have to be a good boy until Christmas. He got out of his bed and started to look for the elf. He found the elf relaxing in the recliner. There was another note lying beside the elf. This one said that Jimmy should wash the dishes, be nice to his brother, and clean the house. Jimmy then groaned loudly but remembered that he wanted to get presents for Christmas. At the end of the day he hit the bed exhausted from his hard day of work. December 20th: Jimmy was bouncing up and down on a big bouncy house. Suddenly, somebody was on him, jumping on him, yelling at him. “Jimmy, Jimmy, the elf on the shelf has left us a note” Flint yelled (Jimmy’s little brother). Jimmy immediately snapped to attention. “Oh, no” he thought, Flint has seen the note. “Hey Flint, what did the note say”. “I don’t know” replied Flint. “Phew” Jimmy thought, “he hasn’t read it yet.” Jimmy jumped up and ran around the house looking for the elf. He found it before Flint arrived and snatched up the note. “What does it say, what does it say?” Flint yelled. “It says: Flint and Jimmy have been good this year but if you want presents you need to wash the dishes for your mother Flint. From Santa” Jimmy lied. It really said that he needed to wash the dishes, clean up his room and give Flint one dollar. Later when he was washing the dishes, his mother said that she was very proud of him and that she could wash the rest of the dishes and he could play some video games. “Yes!” Jimmy thought. He started playing Batman Lego 2, his favorite video game. When he went to bed, he realized that this wasn’t too bad after all. December 21st: When Jimmy woke up his elf was sitting on his nightstand with a note beside him. The note said that he was supposed to wash the dishes himself, not let his mom relieve him from his duties. I will not provide any advice today as your punishment. Jimmy was crestfallen at this turn of events. Jimmy thought about slacking but then decided that his elf would probably never give him any advice from then on. He decided that he would shovel the sidewalk, wash the dishes, and cook dinner for his family. At the end of the day he felt proud of his doings that day. He hoped that his elf would help him the next day.

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December 22nd: When Jimmy woke up he jumped out of bed and ran around the house looking for the elf. He started to worry when he couldn’t find the elf. He got more and more frantic as he kept looking around the house but couldn’t find the elf. He started to cry hysterically. He heard a loud rumble outside.He curiously looked outside. He gasped in surprise at what he saw. His elf was sitting on the snow plow. Jimmy ran outside quickly. By the time he arrived outside, he was shivering very hard. There was a note attached to his hand. It said: Today you need to plow the snow in the yard, clean your room, and wash the dishes. DO NOT LET YOUR MOM OR DAD RELIEVE YOU OF YOUR DUTIES. Today Jimmy did not let his mom or dad relieve him of his duties. At the end of the day he plopped down on his bed and read his favorite book “The Lightning Thief.” At 10:00 he finally went to bed. December 25th: Flint was jumping on Jimmy yelling, “It’s Christmas, it’s Christmas, get up!” “Ok, ok, ok, I’ll get up!” In Jimmy’s mind he was wondering if he was good enough the last few days. He jumped out of bed and ran to wake up his mom and dad with Flint. When Flint and Jimmy woke up their mom and dad they all ran downstairs to see what goodies they got from Santa Claus. When they got downstairs, they all gasped. There were tons and tons of presents. Each one had a name tag on it that stated whose present that was. They all finished running down the stairs and all set down in front of the tree. “Jimmy you can go first because you have been such a good boy in the past few days.” At the end of the opening session Jimmy realized that he didn’t deserve as many of the presents as he got. He was glad that Santa had changed his mind about him. Carter Downs Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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The Adventures of Junior and Clifford Once upon a time there were two dogs named Junior and Clifford and they loved getting out of their kennel. One day when they got out of their kennel their owners were worried sick about them. They looked everywhere for them. They walked up and down every street calling for them. One day the owners went to their friend’s house asking “have you seen my dogs? I’m just wondering.’’ The owner’s friend said no. The owners looked right, and they looked left just to make sure. The owners looked one more time and found their dogs swimming in a pond beside their friend’s house. As soon as the owners went to go get their dogs the dogs dashed in the woods as fast as they could. Up to twenty days went by and there was no sign of them anywhere. The owners kind of forgot after a while. In the dog’s perspective... Junior and Clifford would swim, play in the woods and they would try to find their owners as well. The owners had no idea the dogs were trying to find them. Then the dogs found these kind people in the woods and the people took them back to their house. It’s been awhile since the people could find their original owners, so they decided to adopt them. The dogs were happy and sad because they wanted their owners and they were happy because they had a family again. The dogs missed going camping and swimming in the lake while fetching sticks. Back to the owner’s perspective... The would owners would think back at all the memories and pictures with their dogs. The owners finally put up flyers saying if you see my dogs please give this number a call (423-709-8823). The owners waited for months hoping for a call. The owners visited a church and began learning about Christ. They learned how to pray. They prayed to God saying “dear God, I am so thankful for everything you have given us. God please help us to find our dogs Junior and Clifford. Amen!” The owners prayed every night. Two years went by, then someone calls and says, “are these your dogs?” The owners said, “no, but thank you for calling us and checking.” The owners continued praying to God and going to church. Two days went by and someone calls, “are these your dogs?” The owners said, “yes, yes, yes! Thank you so much!” The dogs and the owners have another great memory to remember. The dogs decided it was way too scary to run away, so they decided to never run away again. They had many happy memories and no more tears because Junior and Clifford never ran away again. The end. Gabriela Fernandes Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Jennifer Westcott

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Daisy Ten-year-old Jarrod Halter awoke to the heavy rain outside. He got out of bed and walked into the kitchen where his mother and sister, Tina, were waiting for him. “What would you like for breakfast?” His mother asked. “I’m not hungry.” Jarrod mumbled under his breath. It was the first day of school, and he was not very excited about it. “You need to get ready or you will be late for school.” His mother said. “Mom, do I have to go?” He said. “Yes!” Mom said. Jarrod walked slowly to school. When he arrived, his teacher, Mr. Tran, said, “Well Mister Halter, how was your summer?” Jarrod did not do much of anything over summer break, but he responded “Good.” On that day, Mr. Tran wanted everyone to share what they did over summer break. “I went to the beach!” Said a boy named Charlie. “I went camping with my dad!” Shouted a girl named Emily. When it was Jarrod’s turn, he didn’t know what to say. After a while he finally said, “I went to the dog shelter about two blocks from here to look for a new dog.” Emily asked, “What breed do you want?” Jarrod had been thinking long and hard about this for a long time. “A chocolate lab puppy,” he responded. After everyone was finished sharing, Mr. Tran had an activity. “We all had an exciting summer, so I thought we could write stories about what we did this summer,” He explained. “Then you take turns hiding them in the classroom while the others wait in the hall.” “When you go in, you try to find your partner’s story from memory of what they said.” “The first partnership to find each other’s story wins.” Charlie and Jarrod were partners. They had been good friends for as long as they could remember. Both knew by heart what each other did that summer, since they spent most of it together. Charlie found Jarrod’s story first, so he went to his seat with it. Jarrod, on the other hand, was having a really difficult time trying to find Charlie’s. He grew tense when he saw Emily sitting at her desk. “I would have found this paper by now if I had a lab.” He mumbled. Emily’s partnership finished first, and Charlie was a little upset. The next day was a Saturday, so Jarrod slept in later than usual. When he went to the kitchen, Mom said “Today we are getting a new member of the family!” Jarrod looked like he had just won the lottery. “Really?” He asked. “Yes,” said Mom. “We are leaving in half an hour, so you better get dressed.” Jarrod ran to his room and got dressed as fast as he could. He went out to the car, where Mom was waiting for him. The ride to the shelter was absolutely silent. When they got there, Jarrod ran inside and went straight to the lab pen. “Are you sure you can take care of him?” “Owning a dog is a great responsibility.” Mom said. “Yes” He said. They stared at the labs in the pen for a while, trying to figure out which one they would get. “I think this one is the one we should get.” Jarrod said laughing. A female lab was licking him on the hand. “Agreed.” Mom said, laughing too. On the way back, they were trying to figure out a name that fit the puppy. The names that they had come up with so far were Rand, Flop, and Bean. “I have the perfect name!” Said Jarrod excitedly. “Daisy!” The lab perked her ears up. “It looks like that is the perfect name!” Said Mom laughing. When they got home Tina asked, “What is its name?” In an excited voice. “Her name is Daisy.” He answered. Jarrod knew that he had to train Daisy if he wanted her to find things or to hunt. He went outside with a rabbit skin. “Well Daisy, here it goes.” Jarrod dragged the skin across the lawn, while Daisy waited inside. Then he put a log at the end of where he dragged the skin and put the skin behind it. He then let Daisy out of the house. “Find the skin Daisy!” With excitement in his voice. “You can do it!” Daisy sniffed around until she found the trail. She followed the trail until she found the log and the skin. Then she wagged very hard. “Good girl, Daisy!” Yelled Jarrod. “Now bring it back!” Daisy did not move. Jarrod thought for a moment. “Okay Daisy, come!” Daisy immediately ran to him with the skin. They did that over and over again until Daisy could do it perfectly.

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Jarrod and Dad were going on a camping trip with Daisy. On the trip, Daisy would help them hunt. The campground they were going to was just ten miles away from their house. When they got there, they got out to set up the tent while Daisy wondered. Daisy was interested with the smoke from the fire. That night they were going hunting with Daisy. “If you want to get back before dark, you have to leave now.” Said Dad. Jarrod and Daisy went into the woods creating their own trail. Soon they saw a large buck. Jarrod aimed at the buck and shot it in the head. “Yes!” He said. All of a sudden, a huge bobcat pounced on the dead deer. It saw Jarrod and Daisy and turned his attention to them. They bobcat pounced at them with his full set of teeth showing. They started to run but the bobcat chased them. When they got back to the camp the bobcat was right behind them. All of a sudden, Daisy turned around and bit it on the leg. They told Dad and left. From them on, Daisy was a memorable part of the family and saving Jarrod. Jackson Gordon Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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Alien Invasion One day William, Thomas, and Finn were hanging out at Thomas’s house for tutoring. William was very tall. He was only eleven, but he was already five feet six! He had black hair in a buzz cut. He was very skinny and had long, lanky limbs. He was the smartest of the trio. Thomas, however was extremely short. He was twelve, but he was only four six! He had extremely long, blonde hair. He was very chubby and had short, thick limbs. His grades were the worst of the trio. Finn was average in every way. He was five feet, had longish brown hair, and had medium length limbs and a thick-ish body. He even had average grades! William always went to Thomas’s on Fridays to help Thomas with his homework. Finn always tagged along too. One day William was at Thomas’s house when an alien burst through the window! They were tall, as tall as William! They had large eyes that looked like a fly’s and had saggy yellow gizzards. Their bodies were red, and their heads were gray. They had eight long limbs that moved awkwardly. “Run!” William shouted, as the alien blasted away at them with heat guided lasers! They outsmarted the lasers by turning on the oven and hightailed it out of the house. Three hours later they were in front of the old warehouse on the outskirts of town. For some reason William knew where it was! The warehouse was lit up with alien tech. “They’ve been here a long time, and nobody realized!” Finn shouted. Thomas (who thought this was all a joke) said “Suuurrre,” just as an alien tackled him and dragged him into the base. “We have to save him!” Finn said. “Yep,” said William. They went into the base and after searching for about an hour, they finally found Thomas. But something was wrong… he was being turned into an alien! “Aaaaaahhhhh!” William and Finn screamed in unison. They ran as fast as they could and eventually found themselves in the alien armory. “Hey, we can use these weapons to liberate Thomas!” William exclaimed. “Yeah!” So, they stole some weapons and blasted away at the aliens. Finn didn’t hit any of them, but William hit them all. When they cleared out the room they put Thomas on a hoverboard and tied him up. They then went into the core of the base and rigged it to explode. Then they ran for their lives. Well Finn did. William just put on sunglasses and walked away. When they got out of the base, the Thomas alien freed himself from the ropes! Instead of attacking them he reached to his face and peeled it away, though he was human underneath. “The aliens made me put on a suit,” he explained. “I had to pretend as well,” William said. Finn said “William, what do you mean?” William peeled of his face! Underneath he was an alien! At that moment the moon disappeared, and all the lights went out. “We’re all going to die!” Thomas shouted. “No, we aren’t! Thomas, we will find a way out of this!” Thomas and Finn leaped into action. They both took karate but so did William! He parried all their strikes. Then a local boy named Jack Newton came in! “Jack, we’re so glad to see you!” “I’ve come to help!”

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“Wait, haven’t we been tricked the exact same way before?” Thomas said. Jack then promptly took off his face and ate Thomas. “Come on!” Exclaimed Finn “Don’t worry, I’m here to help!” It was Isaac Isaac, another local kid. “I’ve been fighting aliens all my life! I know just how to defeat them!” “How?” “For some reason, they blow up when they touch rubber!” “It kind of sounds like a stupid ending attempt that a fifth grader would write to get a story he’s going to enter in a writing competition over with!” “Yeah, when I first heard that I thought the same exact thing.” Putting their thoughts aside, they used some rubber bands and defeated the aliens. Hudson Hazlewood Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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Mysterious Dimension Hi, my name is Lendi. I have three best friends. Their names are Isabella, McKenna and Emma. One day, I was walking with my friends. We were gathering corn in my cornfield, but something absolutely terrible happened. McKenna fell in a huge, big, scary, deep hole! Me, Emma and Izzy tried everything to save her. We reached out our arms and cried out for help, but it was no use. “Wait! Guys, I’ve got her hand.” Emma yelled out. “Just a little farther,” said McKenna. Isabella and I grabbed onto Emma’s hand and formed a human chain, but moments later McKenna pulled us all into the huge, big, scary, deep hole! “Guys? GUYS?,” said McKenna. “What? Why’d you wake me and the others up?” (We had been unconscious for 3 hours) “Take a look around, it’s some kind of dimension. Look! It has purple trees? Yellow grass? Potato flowers? This. Is. Crazy!” Emma said. “Ow! I tripped over a tree root! I think I broke my ankle!” sobbed Isabella. “Emma, try to make some crutches out of the long, thick grass and branches” I said. “On it!” Emma exclaimed. As we traveled our feet started hurting and we were getting hungry. Then we saw a tree with chocolate chip cookies. The cookies looked so good. We were so happy! So, I climbed the tree, grabbed 4 cookies and slid back to the ground. “These cookies are amazing!” Isabella squealed, “It really makes me feel better after my ankle accident.” When we were finished, we kept walking. All the weird looking birds were so nice to us. They provided a home for us. The bed was very comfy. “Wait. Guys, what about our parents, our real home?” said McKenna. “Oh yeah,” the rest of us muttered. “Maybe one night won’t hurt. Besides, we don’t know what is out there.” I slowly said. Shortly after we all fell asleep, “Guys, guys…wake up” Emma whispered. “Do you hear that noise?” “What noise?” “It sounds like the wind blowing,” said Emma. Minutes after, we knew there would be a storm soon. We thought for a while about what to do when the storm came. Then birds had grabbed Emma’s shirt and tried to pull her away. Instead, they ripped a piece of her sleeve, so we ran after it, but the birds actually led us to a hollow tree. The storm was really bad! There was thunder, lightning, the wind was howling, and the raindrops were orange glitter! We knew we had to get back to normal life and out of this dimension. We had to think of a plan. “Are we going to get out of here?” Emma said sadly. “I sure hope so,” Izzy replied. “Wait. Guys, look up!” I screamed. At the top of the hollow tree, we saw a hole of light. “Do you know what this means?” I yelled “We can get out of here!” McKenna shouted, “But how will we climb a tree that’s so far up?” “I’ve got it!” Emma said, “we can make a human pyramid. Since I’m the tallest, I’ll be on the bottom. Lendi, you be in the middle and McKenna, since you’re the smallest, you will climb through the hole. Find something, like a rope. Izzy, you stand back and relax. Your ankle needs rest.” So, we did as she told us to. We made a human pyramid. When McKenna got to the top, she found a grapevine in my mom’s garden. She lowered the vine through the hole. Emma climbed first, then I did. Izzy was tricky, but we pulled her up through the hole. Find something, like a rope. Izzy, you stand back and

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relax. Your ankle needs rest.” So, we did as she told us to. We made a human pyramid. When McKenna got to the top, she found a grapevine in my mom’s garden. She lowered the vine through the hole. Emma climbed first, then I did. Izzy was tricky, but we pulled her up through the hole. We all looked around to make sure we were out of the mysterious dimension. We were in my backyard! “Lendi! Suppertime!” My mom called from the house. We looked weirdly at each other as if no time had passed at all. “Come eat supper at my house!” I said. We were all very hungry! The girls were excited to eat. I saw something on McKenna’s face and wiped it gently with my hand. “What was that?” McKenna said. “Oh, just some orange glitter.” Lendi Herron Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Diane Alosi

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The Fear of Tickens Fear. We all have it. Mine used to come in the shape of animals. Eventually, I got over it, but not before I was attacked by one. It goes like this… My parents and I were in Key West when I was three. I saw a rooster in the street. Right now, some of you are probably wondering, “Why is there a rooster in the street?” I don’t know why it was there any more than you do. At that time, I had loved birds and shouted, “Look at the ticken!” Yes. Not chicken, but ticken. I went up to pet it because it looked so soft. If you haven’t met a rooster they do NOT like to be petted. The rooster squawked at me while chasing me down Duval Street, no doubt enjoying my screams of terror. I’ve warmed back up to birds, but will never try to pet a “ticken,” which is actually a rooster. Sometimes you have to face your fear even if it is in the form of a “ticken.” Max Hickman Grade 5 The Bright School Ann O’Brien

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The Mystery of the Evil Sour Patch Kid Have you ever imagined an island created entirely with candy? If not, stop and think of blue clouds formed of cotton candy, lakes as sweet as sugar, large forest filled with gummy worms, chocolate plants, and trees made of every type of candy you can imagine! This my friend, is the story of Sour Patch Kid Island. The island is ruled by Queen Saylor, the kindest and most caring Sour Patch Kid of them all. Her royal assistant Sadie is equally sweet, smart, and particularly fun. There is a total of one hundred citizens on Sour Patch Kids Island, and Sweet is employed by Queen Saylor to ensure that all the sweets remain fresh, yummy and that the ingredients remain top secret at all times. All three girls work together to make sure that things run smoothly and meet weekly to discuss the island’s affairs. The meeting takes place at the Queen’s royal palace at 9:00 am each Monday over sweet tea, gumdrops, and cake. All was going well until the last meeting, just yesterday, when Sweet mysteriously failed to show up. “I wonder where Sweet is?” Saylor asked as she and Sadie looked at the clock at half past nine on Monday. “It sure is odd that she’s not here, and I have been meaning to tell you some strange things that have been happening,” replied Sadie. “In the past couple days, I have noticed that several of the rivers are not as sweet as usual, and the candy forest is not looking its finest,” said Sadie. What the Queen and her assistant did not know is that Sweet had not been working at all lately, in fact, she was secretly sharing the candy ingredients with the leader of War Head Island nearby. Knowing that her two friends would not ever suspect that she would betray them, Sweet had been acting kind but was secretly jealous of Queen Saylor and her power over Sour Patch Kid Island. It was only turning ten when the Queen and her assistant realized that not only was Sweet missing but that the War Heads were invading the Island! “Gather the troops, sound the alarm and draw up the bridge immediately,” Queen Saylor shouted. The Queen had trusted her neighbors, the War Heads, but she knew that they must always prepare for an attack on her Kingdom. The secret recipe was highly guarded, and the success of the Island depended on its safety. As thoughts ran through her mind, Sadie grabbed Queen Saylor and said, “Let’s prepare for battle and I sure hope that Sweet in not involved in this sudden attack.” As the War Heads began to climb the Queen’s fortress, hot molasses was poured on them and guards rode through the street attacking the evil intruders. Thankfully, they were united as a Kingdom and the War Heads were vastly outnumbered. Just as the battle seemed to be over, Sweet tricked the guards, slipped in, and tried to attacked Queen Saylor and Sadie. “All this time, you thought I was your friend,” screamed Sweet. Sweet’s roar turned to a crazy laugh as she told them that in exchange for power, she had given away all the secret ingredients to the War Heads. What Sweet did not know is that wise Queen Saylor had kept the most important ingredient under lock and key and that no one in the kingdom, except herself knew the secret location. “Ha, I have got you now,” Sweet said. “I have stolen all your secrets and I will now be the Queen.” Little did Sweet know that Queen Saylor hid the key secret ingredient under her seat cushion in her royal throne. “A wise Queen never exposes all her secrets,” Queen Saylor stated. She then told Sweet that she had not given away all the ingredients as she suspected and ordered her immediately and forever banished from the island. It hurt the Queen to do so, but traitors were a danger to all those living on Sour Patch Kid Island. Her main goal was to keep the island safe. From that day on, everything was as sweet as candy, and they all lived happily ever after! Saylor Jackson Grade 5 Chattanooga Christian School Lisa Tallent

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The iPhone C Introducing the brand-new iPhone C (100). It is an Emoji making machine. Now you can go to messages and take a picture of a person or thing and it turns it into an Emoji. You can also make them move. Of course, you cannot use this feature unless you buy it. It is listed at $21.00 a week. Also, if you want any apps you will need to buy all of that apps colors like Snapchat Red, Facebook Purple, and YouTube Green. If you want any sort of WIFI you will need to purchase the Apple Tower because we own all of the cellular companies which you can buy the Apple Tower from. By the way it is not portable at all and it won’t fit on top of your car unless it is pointed up. We also add two new charge ports which do not plug into the wall anymore, so you will need to buy are 3D MacBook to charge it. Oh yeah and a lot of people complained about how the iPhone 99 was too much like the iPhone 98, so we made sure that was not the case, so we made skipped from the dual came to the quad cam because the tri cam is a little too Samsung for us or a little to edgy and the last thing we want is for all the people to explode at us. Now if you are shooting one K you are now shooting four K. We also introduced new colors like matte black, shiny matte black, light skin brother black, Jack black, and Jack black on a hot day because black don’t crack. If you want any background light you will need to buy the iLight because we took all of the flash and lighting capabilities. If you want to type you will need the iBoard because we took out all of the typing capabilities. Also, unlike the iPhone 99 we found out a way to make it water proof all you need to do is buy our new case called the iAndroid. The best thing is that we are listing the iPhone C at exactly $1. That’s not including all the add-ons. So, the Emoji machine is $21, every color of an app $60 multiply that by as many apps as you get. It’s about $2010, the new charger is $120 and the 3D MacBook you will ne is priced at $12,100. The iLight, an add on, priced at $838.12. The iBoard is priced at $211.30, the android case price at $2867.12, and the Apple Tower priced at $12, 345, 677, 891, 011, 121, 314, 151, 617, 181, 920. So, if you buy all of the add-on’s it will cost about $12, 345, 678, 910, 111, 213, 141, 516, 177, 945.70. So, get your iPhone C today for $12, 345, 678, 910, 111, 213, 141, 516, 177, 945.70. So, buy your iPhone C today and get 1 iPhone 99 for $21. If you get Sprint or Verizon 8 GLT Internet, your iBoard is free. Sam Jones Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Jennifer Westcott

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White Wonder When I saw the blue pale eyes of the White Wonder, I couldn’t just let this rare sight fade from my mind. I call this beautiful long fur wolf the White wonder. The day I met this gorgeous wolf, I was leaving my father’s cabin in Alaska. I visited him during the winter. When i looked out the window, I always saw thick, glistening, flakes of snow. My mother lives in Ringgold, Georgia. The day I left, my father’s eyes glistened in the light. He was hugging me tight like I was a fluffy soft pillow and kissed me everywhere on my face. Father said in a shaky voice, “Do you want to go for a hike before you leave? Please?” I nodded my head and dashed outside with my dad following me. My feet crushed the snow and turned them into footprints beneath me. I walked near the tall, birch trees when snow started pouring like never before. It started hailing on my head. I was covering my head with my gloves so if the hail gotten any worse, it wouldn’t hit my head. Things happened so fast and after five minutes, I couldn’t see anything. I heard my dad calling through the thick snow “Abby! Abby! ABBY!” Then, all went black. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t speak. Everything was just black. When I finally opened my eyes, I could not see my dad. All I saw was a muzzle of what looked like a wolf’s muzzle. “DAD?!” I cried. When I looked at the snow I saw the roof of dad’s cabin. “Dad? Are you ok?” I pleaded. “Dad. Where are you?” I stood up, face to face with the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. This creature had fluffy, white fur and light, blue eyes. “Hello friend. Are you alright?” the wolf said. I was speechless when I heard this voice. Her voice sounded like a bird’s song. “I know you don’t understand me dear friend, but I am no harm to humans.” she grabbed my arm, softly, in her mouth. “Am I dreaming?” I said. “This is no dream my dear, this is reality.” the wolf said, smiling. “Wolves can’t talk!” I cried. “I must be dreaming!” The wolf carried me by the arm, into her den. “Rest…” The wolf suddenly ran out of the den with her paws gliding through the winter snow. “This is just a dream. This is just a dream.” I kept saying to myself. I pinched myself to see if I could feel pain. You cannot feel pain in a dream. Thus, I pinched myself and I felt it. A quick flash of pain. A branch fell above my head. “Help!” I cried. Suddenly, I could only see black. I could hear the wolf’s voice, but no sight of her. Then, I heard my dad. He called out to me more time than I could count but I couldn’t see him. “Dad….” My voice trailed off as I drifted off. When I woke up, I could see my dad. He put his hand on my chest and said, “Don’t ever do that again.” “What did I do?” I asked. “I found you in a wolfs den with a scar on your head. You could have been eaten up by a wolf!” dad laughed. As years went by, I have never forgotten about the White Wonder Rhiannon Kelsay Grade 5 Ringgold Elementary School Deanna Baker

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The Old Days I was driving down the road in my old Mustang GT 350 with the King sitting beside me. I saw the Duke boys coming up beside me out of my side mirror in their Dodge Charger, and we began to race. I was winning until the Duke boys hit a jump and flew over me. I thought at first it was a giant bird until I saw the smoke coming off the wheels as they landed. The race was back on as we passed each other time and time again. I was hoping I would be the first to arrive at the Johnny Cash concert in Tennessee. While we were racing I heard two more cars approaching and I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw Smokey and the Bandit racing Johnny Cash. Elvis said, “I thought we were going to his concert” which I responded we are he must be running late. Suddenly I noticed the gas gauge was blinking, and I screamed “oh no we are running out of gas”. We were in the middle of nowhere, so I pulled over to a side street. We saw a Pontiac Trans-Am fly by and I noticed it was Smokey and the Bandit. Elvis called one of his assistants to bring his Cadillac, but he did not have a spare key. After about an hour we hitched a ride with a man in a Chevy Bel-Air. I would tell you his name, but he asked us not to mention it, so I will keep my word. Anyway, back to the story. We decided to skip the concert and head to Elvis’s house and eat some lunch. Then he drove me around town in his Cadillac. He later took me to a party, which was really cool because we rode in a taxi. We never made it to the Johnny Cash concert, but we did listen to him on the 8-track player and that was pretty cool. I really like the old days. Don’t you? Tyler Leamon Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Diane Alosi

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Arengard Chapter 1 – Meet Justin Doonwa The place where I live is different. I do not mean my neighborhood. I am not talking about weird people, different grass, houses, or even the streets. The country I live in is abnormal. It has monsters. Well, it used to have monsters. The people use magic, special weapons, and there is a good chance you have powers, but that is only if you were born there. It is called Arengard. Everyone born here is special. Once you turn thirteen, you get to pick a special weapon of choice and learn what your powers will be, if you are going to have them. My two best friends and I will have powers soon. We all are excited to find out what is coming and to choose our weapons. We grew up together. Jason will be thirteen in two days; my birthday is in seven days; Lucy’s birthday is in ten days. We are all excited about what is in store for us. The history of Arengard is special to us all. I read a book not too long ago about the history that was exciting. It told about how Arengard came to be: “The battle was fierce. The people of Arengard were losing to the monsters. They were full of determination and did not want to lose. The Aregardathens had much determination as they remembered a warrior who gave his life for the country. They knew the monsters were too strong to keep them from the real world forever.” There is so much history here, but I had to study much more to learn about the monsters. Jason, Lucy, and I have always wanted to know more about the monsters, but our parents always just told us we had great imaginations. Chapter 2 – Carved Spears It was our thirteenth birthdays. My parents were finally taking me to the big city to get my weapon and learn what my powers would be. Jason and Lucy would be there, too. When we got to the city, it did not seem to be as big as I remembered anymore. I heard a familiar voice yell my name and saw someone run towards me. It was Jason, and I ran to tackle him, as I always did. I suppose that is what thirteen-year-olds do. We both missed, got up, and we tried to tackle one another again. This time falling to the ground, looked up to hear another voice, and find Lucy standing and waiting for us to stop with our tricks and walk into the building. We walked in together, and a man greeted us and asked when we were born. We were given a test that had questions about the monsters, the great war of Arengard, and other history questions. He pricked our fingers. This would be how he told us each our powers. In the next room someone showed us all the weapons that we would be choosing from, but he seemed to move out of the way as Lucy walked straight to the bow with unlimited arrows. Jason chose a sword. I saw a case in the front of the room that had two spears, a thin, four-foot pole with a blade that was slightly curved and almost a foot and a half long blade. He told me to take it before I could ask. Chapter 3 – Phantom The strangest thing happened when I chose my weapon. I went flying back. Jason’s sword went into the air pointed towards him, and the case broke into pieces. Lucy had her bow ready to shoot. The man in the weapon room said it was a phantom, and his eyes started to change to red. I picked up the spear, and something was suddenly grabbing me. I lost control of my arm, and it was aimed towards Lucy. I had to use my other hand to grab the spear and stab whatever was behind me. The man’s eyes turned back to normal. We ran trying to get out of the place, but we saw that the first man who had given us the test had red eyes, too. He began to run at us and knocked the spear out of my hand. I grabbed it, and we ran as fast as we could.

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Chapter 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Magic and War We ran until we made it to the forest. We had heard there was one person who had the powers to banish the monsters, but we did not even know our powers. We found a cabin in the woods, but when we walked in, we saw nothing. Suddenly, a lady appeared out of nowhere. I could not speak my name. She did not have to ask what we wanted before Lucy began to tell her we would like to banish the monsters. They called these creepy ladies Seers. I was never sure they existed. Now, I was not sure I wanted to know more. We told her what had happened. She then saw my hands, and her eyes widened. She then told me that we have special powers and knew exactly what our weapons were. This was incredibly creepy, but it was exactly what we had been told about Seers. She told us that we would have to battle the monsters, but we could use the portal to get rid of the monsters once and for all from Arengard. Chapter 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Portal to Save All As the suspense began to build, an army was preparing for battle. My friends and I never imagined that turning thirteen would mean war. We prepared our weapons, and the Seer prepared the portal. The monsters came, and we ran at them. Just as the Seer had instructed us, we ran at them fighting a very fierce and messy battle. As over 1,000 monsters came, we jumped into the portal. They followed. What they did not know was the way out, which we knew. The three of us looked around and saw they were gone. Cooper McLaughen Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Victoria Willcutt

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Twilight Twilight slinked through the forest, the shadows hiding her sable pelt and displaying her golden eyes as small rays of light. She lifted her thick-furred tail as she caught the scent of rabbit. Lowering her head, she followed the trail. She was surprised to find the trail led to where the pine trees thinned out, becoming oaks and beeches. The scent of rabbit grew stronger, until she finally saw the creature. To her dismay, it was beside a hole it could easily escape. She stood up to leave, deciding the rabbit wasn’t necessary; when she saw the rabbit run into a hole easily big enough for a cat. She pushed her paws against the ground, launching herself into the tunnel. She ran through the darkness, whiskers brushing against the sides of the tunnel as she followed the scent of rabbit. She ran through twists and turns, the scent growing weaker until it vanished completely. All she could do was continue. She picked up speed, running faster until she was running blindly through the tunnels. When she opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of light, she forced herself to move faster. She held her head up, staring at the bit of blue sky as she ran. Suddenly, she was engulfed by water. With no idea where up or down was, Twilight let herself fall limp, lowering her gaze as she became lost in thought. As Twilight blinked back into consciousness, stars edged her vision. She flashed out a hind leg, hoping she could find air somehow. Instead, her leg struck a sharp stone. The world went black. Twilight opened her eyes, finding herself in a mossy nest under a low stone roof. She had no idea how she had gotten there. Pain seared through her hind leg. She looked over her shoulder, seeing her hind leg wrapped in cobwebs and covered in the smell of herbs. Twilight turned back and saw a white she-cat. “Where am I?” She asked. “You’re in the Thunderclan camp; the medicine den, to be precise.” Came the she-cat’s kind voice. “Rednose found you on the lakeshore,” The she-cat recalled. “Echovoice and Willowstem helped bring you to camp.” She paused. “Oh, I just realized I haven’t introduced myself. I am Lightcloud… You are?” “Twilight.” the dark tabby mewed through gritted teeth. As Lightcloud returned, Twilight heard a new voice. “I’m Snailpaw, Lightcloud’s apprentice. We’ve been watching you for…2 days.” Twighlight was shocked. “I’ve been asleep for 2 days?’ “Yep.” Snailpaw mewed matter-of-factly. “Snailpaw, be polite!” Lightcloud mewed angrily. “Why don’t you show her around camp?” “Ok! “Snailpaw ran to the entrance to the medicine den. Now, Twilight got a good view of her. She had a cream pelt covered with light gray stripes. Her cyan eyes were alight with excitement. Twilight groaned as she stood up, hind leg aching. When she made it to the main clearing of camp, Snailpaw let her rest on her Cream shoulder. Twilight sighed with relief as she sunk into her nest in the medicine den. She had no idea so many cats lived in groups like this, And 4 groups! She had seen the entire camp, Snailpaw talking the entire time. Snailpaw had talked about something called The Warrior Code, Basic clan life and tasks, and 3 other clans. She remembered she was being cared for by Thunderclan, that was easy-these cats never stopped bragging! Snailpaw had told her about Riverclan, Shadowclan, and Windclan. The territory she usually hunted on belonged to Shadowclan. Windclan lived on the moor where she had expected the rabbit trail to lead earlier, and Riverclan was somewhere near a river.

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Twilight yawned. The day had left her exhausted, and she was grateful to sink into sleep.

Twilight padded through the forest behind Willowstem, Rednose, and Lionstripe. She remembered Willowstem and Rednose had helped bring her to Thunderclan camp after she had blacked out in the underground river, and Lionstripe was the Thunderclan deputy. She was probably put on his patrol because of the authority. They had continued to take Twilight on a tour of the territory, and she was shocked at how large it was. Though she had a great day and was full of exited energy, Twilight was happy to have some fresh-kill and talk to the clan. “May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!” Came the voice of the Thunderclan leader, Robinstar. “You all know Twilight has been staying with us for a while. She knows our borders, cats, and way of life. So, I think now is a better time than any to ask a certain question…” Robinstar paused, letting the clan talk in a low murmur for a while. After a while, she lifted her tail for silence. “Twilight, will you join Thunderclan as a warrior?” She asked voice low and serious. Twilight paused, shocked. She had been waiting, expecting Robinstar to ask this, but she had not realized it would be after this short a stay. “Y-Yes. I’d be honored, Robinstar.” She mewed, voice growing clearer as she spoke. Robinstar lifted her head. “I call upon my warrior ancestors, so that they may look down upon this cat. She has chosen to enter Thunderclan as a warrior.” Robinstar lowered her head, gaze set on Twilight. “Twilight, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?” Robinstar mewed Twilight paused before speaking. “I-I do.” She finally meowed. “Then Twilight, from this day forward, you shall be known as Dusktail. Starclan honors your courage and newfound loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan.” Robinstar’s voice rang a loud and clear, full of authority and certainty. “Dusktail!” “Dusktail!” The clan cheered Dusktail as a new warrior. The dark tabby lifted her head proudly, looking forward to her new life. Campbell Miller Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Sara Lisowski

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The Secret Life of Mr. Twinkles Yes, my owners have left. Oh! Sorry I must introduce myself. I am Mr. Twinkles, and no, I am not a dog. I am one of the most superior species on planet Earth. You guessed it, I am a cat. Anyway, when my owners leave, or PEEPS (Personal Everyday Enjoyable Pretty Servants) I play on their Nintendo switch. After I sleep then I become the amazing secret agent cat. I am part of an elite squad from The Freedom Fighters for Pets. I jump into my litter box which transforms into an elevator that leads to the headquarters of The Freedom Fighters for Pets. I see thousands of pets scurrying to their workspaces. My job right now is to find out how human technology works: The mysteries of the TV, why walking on pianos and computers is so much fun, and also why the species of snake named String is so darn evil. “Work is so hard,” I think to myself, so instead I log onto my cat device and turn on YouTube to watch funny human videos, but instead of human I find what?! Cat videos?! I click on the link and what I find is so terrifying that I faint. When I wake up, I sprint toward the Boss’s office and tell him what I saw. “My word, what is this”? The boss asked. “Well sir, apparently the humans have been filming us “ I replied. “You will lead a team to investigate this,” he said to which I replied, “WHAT?!” Clutching a piece of paper with a list of agent names, I set off to find them. After an eternity of searching, the team was complete. It consisted of Mike a mouse, Jeremy a turtle, Calissa a parrot, and Rogue a dog. We make our way to an exit and leave the building. We hop on a bus to the YouTube office. When we get off the bus we run into a problem, but we conquer it with an air horn and a frying pan. We obviously can’t go in through the front door, so get in through a window. Immediately we duck under a desk and listen to a human talk about filming. We sneak over to another desk, but then Jeremy hit the power button on a Roomba and Rogue, startled by the noise, jumped up, hits the desk, and a mug fell off the desk and broke. The humans, attracted by the sound, rush over and spot us. “Run!” Mike whispers into my ear. On cue Callissa flies away and out the door. After that, we all made a mad dash to the door. I just barely get out the door before a guard could catch me. I jump on a train headed to home, but when I look at the clock it was 2:45! My owners are almost home! I get off the train and run home. I barely get into the house when my owners walk through the door. I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that my owners know nothing about my double life. Kai Olson Grade 5 The Bright School Ann O’Brien

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141 Chartres St. The beginning of today was like any other day, until it wasn’t. It was my 14th birthday, New Orleans June 24, 1973. I lived in 141 Chartres St. in a decent size apartment called “Zillow’s Place.” My ma’ told me it was ‘bout time for breakfast even though I could already smell it. I came racing down the hallway and plopped on my chair and ate a flap-jack, two sunny side up eggs and a side of bacon. I got up and went to the door,

“Where you goin’, baby-cakes?” Ma’ yelled.

“Nia’s place,” I replied.

“No, no, no, no, no. She’s coming here. In case you forgot, it’s your birthday Janis, ok!” Ma’ exclaimed. I trudged back to my room and looked out the window. Then I saw a flash fire happening at this bar or something. I knew it was a flash fire because my ma’ told me what happens. The bar called “The Upstairs Lounge” was right across my window. I walk by there every day. Ma’ rushed into my room and took me to the living room. She hugged me tight and panicked.

“Are you okay?” I nodded and heard the doorbell ring. My friends were here!

I was so excited I almost forgot about what just happened. We had my favorite cake, chocolate. Before I knew it, the party was over. I heard the sirens of fire trucks that had already put out the fire. I told Ma’ that I was going for a walk, but instead I went to see what the fire did. There was police tape around where the fire had happened. I overheard that it was done by hand- someone set that fire on purpose. None of the police had an idea of who did such a thing. I was terrified.

“Why would someone burn this down?” I thought to myself.

Chills went down my spine as I thought this could happen to me. Thirty-two people died that night because they were different than most. I didn’t know then why someone would do this, but I do now. This kind of hate still happens today. The memories of that night have stuck with me my whole life. It all happened on June 24, 1973 at 141 Chartres St. New Orleans... Lily O’Neal Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Heather Murphy

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The Epic Adventurer of Hear It All Horn Lizard It was nighttime, John and his pet Hear It All Horn lizard are fast asleep in his cabin on the desert. Hear It All Horn Lizard heard a noise outside and went to check it out. When he got outside he saw a familiar figure creeping around. He soon realized that it was his friend, reclusive raccoon and he calmed down a little. Just then, the air got cold and reclusive raccoon had vanished. All Hear It All Horn Lizard herd was “mwuahahahahahaha” Then everything went black. The Lizard soon woke up in a dark dungeon of a castle. Then he heard footsteps coming towards the dark, humid dungeon. All of a sudden, the little Lizard was in an element ball of gas and floating out of the sell. Right into the hands of spooky sorcerer Steve. The little Lizard struggled to get away but couldn’t move at all. Then he remembered his special defense. He spiked Steve in the face. Hear it all scampered into a hole in the wall and hid, but that wasn’t the end of his troubles. He heard a noise in the hole, he realized he wasn’t alone. Scratching noises came from behind him and the next thing he knew, he was pinned to the hard ground and blacked out. He woke up seconds later to a sharp pain in his back. He had to escape quickly. So, he ran out of the hole where he came to a horrifying sight, the infamous terrifying tarantula man! The Lizard was trapped so he attacked with no mercy! He ripped, slashed, and sliced him to pieces! Then he ran out of there as fast as his little legs could carry him. He saw the door and bottled towards it. He skidded to a stop in front of his worst enemy. The lizard had to finally face Sandy Sand Boa! They both got into their fighting stances ready to lurch at one another at any second. Sandy was with his gang, the superstition Snakes! The lizard had no choice. So, he called in his super power futuristic meck and the jumped at each other and clashed. Horny instantly took out 3 out of 12 of the snake army and was knocked back by Sandy. That was the moment his meck came down, but it had too much momentum and exploded 2 more superstition Snakes. With his meck gone he pulled out his super special sword and chopped 4 more snakes up. Know there were only 3 superstition Snakes and Sandy Sand Boa left. He leaped at one of the snakes and knocked him out. Then he took out the other 2. Now it was him v.s. Sandy Sand Boa. The fight lasted for hours before ending with the lizard remaining. He walked out of the castle victories. John was so happy to see the lizard that he picked up the lizard and clutched him in his hands and held him there. John brought him inside and put him of the table. And the Lizard told him the whole story. Then John started crying and said “I am sorry. I am Spooky Sorcerer Steve, and I was so so mean to you.” “Will you forgive me?” The Lizard looked at him for a minute, and then nodded his head. Then Repulsive Ricky Rat burst through the door and was instantly punched in the face. Then he was thrown in jail for the rest of his life. Hear It All Horn Lizard looked out the window and saw a majestic sight. A giant golden eagle was soaring over the town. And in just a few flaps of its mighty wings and he was gone into the sun set. The next day, the Lizard went outside and ran through the grass. But there was a hole in the yard and fell into it. Down the hole there was a evil lab and there in front of him working on a contraption that could dominate the in tire regain. He had to do something! Then Tarry Turtle and his minion, know It All Nerd Man turned around to be kicked in the head and the world was saved...for now. Exhausted, he climbed out of the dirty hole and walked back into the house, crawled back into his terrarium and passed out. The end...for now Charlie Pate Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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The First One…And the Last Cosmo is a mix breed dog between a German shepherd and a Lab. Cosmo has one blue eye and one brown. Lexie Shepherd got Cosmo when she was 15 and now she is 27 with a newborn named Catie Ann Shepherd. Lexie is married to Hank Shepherd who is a doctor at Children’s East. Lexie and Hank were high school sweethearts. Hank and Cosmo are very close. But Cosmo is getting close to his final stop. So, this is Cosmo Shepherd’s life. Lexie had just gotten done with school when her mom dragged her in the car and said, “Lex, are you happy?” Lexie responded, “Mom, you and dad split up last week.” Lexie’s mom said, “Young lady, your father was terrible to me and you, look at your bruises.” The rest of the ride was silent. Finally, they got to this suburban house at the end of the block. Lexie’s mom walked Lexie up the stairs to the front porch, where a German shepherd named Lily greeted them. Lexie then figured out why she was there. She leaped into the air and rushed around the corner. Lexie’s mom said in a whisper, “I knew this would work.” Lexie started to cry when she saw a mixed breed double-colored eyed puppy. She picked him up not knowing he would live with her forever. Lexie and her mom just added a new addition to her family. Lexie had an early marriage, which came along with a baby, and Cosmo was along for the ride. Lexie and Hank loved their family to death. As Lexie and Hank raised Catie, they later found out Catie had a tumor in her head and had a very slim chance of making it to 10. Catie was 2 weeks old when Hank became ill with heart cancer. Lexie would almost never leave the house. Cosmo was coming around 9 years old when Hank died at 3:47 A.M. Four weeks later Lexie, Catie, and Cosmo moved to a studio apartment in Seattle. Lexie worked at a drugstore. It paid 12 dollars an hour which, was just enough for food. Catie was still struggling for survival. They were finally on welfare. Life was hard for Cosmo who hardly saw Lexie. One day Lexie took Catie to the doctor expecting her final visit with Catie. When a woman with a long old coat and dark hair came and took Lexie aside and said, “Catie is going to make it.” Lexie fell on her knees and cried her heart out. That night things started to look up for Lexie and Cosmo. Cosmo died at 5:00 A.M. that morning. Saylor Scearce Grade 5 Normal Park Museum Magnet School Regan Phillips

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The Overthrower In the only city left behind the border of Ogosh lived a warrior named Hunt. The Bashmus were attacking. They were held back by the great wall when the king of the nation turned and left his people. He also opened the gates to the Bashmus. They rampaged every town they could. It turned out that the king was the ruler of the Bashmus. He had all the keys to the weapon chambers, where all of the Bashmus could get better armor and weapons. The five wizards had taken the Jewel of Life and had hidden it from the king and the Bashmus, but the wizards no longer existed, and the jewel was forgotten by all. In another nation called Bashmus lived another warrior named Thesus. The Antilopps, the nation who stole the jewel from his people, shared the same king until now. He had opened the gate, and the army of Bashmus rampaged almost all of their towns except one. They call it Ogosh. The king had opened armour and weapon storages for Thesus. He was a well-known fighter in the Bashmus nation. His army had all men and boys over 18. He had killed more than any other. “Mr. Thesus, we are ready to start attacking the walls of Ogosh.” “Very well.” Thesus got up and grabbed his sword. He already had his armor on. As he went outside, he was surrounded by men. First bow, then swordsmen. As he looked up, the gates of Ogosh opened. Men ran out. Thesus yelled, “Get um!” Hunt was the first one out the gate. When he got out, he saw hundreds of Bashmus warriors. He had thought they would catch them by surprise and set fire to their tents and run back into the safety of the wall. He heard another man yell, “Let’s get um!” and the horses of warriors charged. Both nations’ metallic clangs echoed as swords or other weapons hit shields. Then Hunt smashed his sword into the shield of another warrior and cut the man down. When he turned, he was attacked by two others. Hunt cut the other two down, then engaged with soldier he had seen before. As Hunt’s sword clashed with the other man, a soldier was wounded beside Hunt, and he had to leave his fight with Thesus to pull the man to safety. Hunt rose and engaged fighting Thesus again. As faces yelled, “Let’s get him!” Thesus had to run to an army fort for his nation. He grabbed a helmet and ran off into the hordes of battling men. As Thesus cut down his first opponent, he was cut in the back with a knife. He twirled around to see a muscular man at least a half a head taller than him standing over him. Thesus dodged the man’s next stroke and plunged his battle axe into the man’s side. As the man fell, he turned to see a man about the same size as him with a massive sword. Thesus had to dodge Hunt’s first stroke, but then at the moment of combat, Hunt had to dodge away from the crushing blow from Thesus and pulled out a wounded man to safety. When Hunt got up, he ran at Thesus and smashed his sword into Thesus’s shield. Then Thesus had a counter stroke and smashed the hilt of his sword into Thesus’s helmet. The helmet that Thesus had grabbed had just saved his life from the crushing blow from the tip of Hunt’s grip on his sword. As the hit smashed into Thesus’s head, he fell to his knees and on top of his face, knocked out cold. Hunt thought Thesus was dead, so he left Thesus on the ground.

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As Thesus got up, he couldn’t see very well but he kept swinging his ax. He hit contact with five other forms that were blurry, but then he was knocked down by a crushing blow to the head again. Thesus was now knocked cold out, and he didn’t get up until the battle was over. When he did awaken, he found himself in a care of one of his nation’s infirmary beds. An old woman was pressing a cold cloth on Thesus’s head. “What happened?” Thesus asked. “I heard that you got knocked out by a boy the same age as you. They won that battle and ran back to the safety if the wall,” explained the old woman. Hunt was the second to last one out of the wall as he opened the gates. His people had decided to go out their secret getaway spot to reach safety. Before heading through the gates, they had staked a cave full of TNT as they were leaving. The cave was the size of their town, and it was under the city. They knew that when the Bushmus people came into their city, they could blow up half of their army. It was a dark night, but Thesus saw the gates open. He yelled as he turned to his people, “The gates are open!” After twenty minutes, about half the army was ready to move into action. Thesus was not allowed to join them because of his injury. That was the best decision he had ever followed. As half of the army ran in, the gates closed on them. Then the city lit up... Hunt was still closer than he wanted to be when the city lit up. The force of the blow sent him flying. All of the houses and stores were empty, and all of the livestock was gone. The Ogosh citizens had taken everything. They were heading for the Mountain of Mourners, where there was a cave the size of the Ogosh city. What they didn’t know was that the Bushmus were heading there, too. When the people of Bushmus got to the Mountain of Mourners, they were on the opposite side of the mountain as the Ogosh people. Thesus grabbed a pickaxe and started digging. The cave suspended all the way through the mountain except for 10 feet on each side. As Thesus and Hunt broke through the wall of dirt they made eye contact and saw it, the Jewel of Life. They sprinted...At the same time, they touched the Jewel of Life. Scout Schlosser Grade 5 St. Peter’s Episcopal School Sue Nelson

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The River God 1 Once upon a time, there was a king who lived on a distant island somewhere on a different planet from ours. He was a cruel king who hated everything, and he hated the river gods of the sea He then had a good idea. He thought he and his men could block the rivers. He wanted them to be at extinction very soon. But that wouldn’t need to happen beach use the water gods were never seen in that land for at least a thousand years. The king was happy when he figured out that the river gods were extinct. He thought, “Now that they are in extinction, we can block the river when they are asleep.” He didn’t think anyone could stop him, until on a distant island on that planet, a wizard of the water was born. His father was a great man who believed that his son could do it and destroy the evil men of stone who wanted not one river God to step on his kingdom, but that wasn’t all. 15 years after the King’s son was born, a God from the earth arose on the King’s son while he was out on a walk. The God was a giant human made of dirt. Ashton was awed. The God of earth had waited all along to tell the king’s son that he was a river God himself. And so, he did. Ashton was so surprised he yelled, “yahoo, I have powers of water!” He was so excited to tell his father he was God, but the God of earth pulled him back and said an important message. He said, “My dear friend, you must take an important job. You must defeat the men who blocked a river on the distant island somewhere near you. On this island, the river, in which the gods of the rivers became extinct, some hundred men of stone came and demolished the river and put a bridge there. You must destroy the bridge that blocked the home of the river gods. My friend, you must do this with bravery and use your powers I have given you.” Suddenly, the King’s son was thrown into the air. He just used his powers. It felt wonderful. That power he soon figured out was the power to smash anyone in his way. The second power was cool. It made wings of water that flew very fast, but the river God had one last word, “Ashton, you must be fast. The king has already called out his army on the bridge. The last stone is laid. You must hurry.” And Ashton said, “all right, I’ll try to do as you said.” He hated to tell his father on what he had to do, but he did it anyway. 2 As Ashton ran home to tell his father about the adventure he would have to take, except now he didn’t have to run home, he could just jet himself home with his new wings. When his father saw him, he stared up, his mouth wide open and eyes the side of plates and he ran toward Ashton and huge him. Ashton shouted, “I have powers!!” Then Ashton told his father the dangerous journey he was about to take that the earth God assigned. His father said, “well done, my boy, but please show me this god of earth. I want to speak with him and I need to say thank you for helping my son be like me.” Ashton took his father’s hand and used his wings to fly to the place where he met the God of earth. Ashton could see the earth God arise out of the ground. Ashton’s father fell to his knees and said, “thank you, old friend.” The word “old friend” hit his heart. Was his father thought by the god of earth? Ashton shoved his dad, while he laughed, “Ashton, did you realize I used to know this god?” Ashton said, “it struck me when you said, old friend.” Ashton then told his father his mission and as they headed back home, they waved to the earth god. When Ashton got home, Ashton told his mother. She said, “I’ll pack your things for your trip.”

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Ashton then stepped out of the door. He then turned around and ran back to hug his father. He did that with tears, turned back around and started his journey. He then said the magic words to make his wings come. 3 Ashton was already on his 5 day of his journey. He swooped over an abandoned island and sped his way toward the island of stone. He then swooped low over it, but then he heard a twang as an arrow hit his wing. It just went throw it, instead. He swooped over as another arrow struck his wing. He then landed on the ground with a loud THUD!! Two stone men ran toward him. He used his super water smash. The soldiers were thrown in the air he then rushed toward the huge bridge. He then threw a soldier in the water. He was surprised at how much more strengthened he was. He rushed toward the mammoth bridge and struck it. More soldiers rushed him. He struck once on the ground. A huge wave of water rushed towards them and smashed them. He struck again at the bridge. A crack shuttered, and a little bit of water leaked out. He struck it again. The whole thing crashed open, and water poured everywhere. Just then, a huge human of water arose. He saw the men of stone and laughed at the look on their faces. They rushed away in terror. Ashton then looked at the river god and bowed. The god then plunged toward the castle of the King and smashed it. Ashton knew the river god got the king. He rushed away on his wings of water and saw the god, and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;thank you.â&#x20AC;? Andrew Scruggs Grade 5 Thrasher Elementary School Karen Simpson

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Jimmy and the Magic Toothpaste It’s a cold morning in December, a young lad named Jimmy wakes up he gets his favorite clothes on, eats 4 Eggo waffles for breakfast and brushes his hair, he’s almost ready for school when suddenly he shrieks “MOM! I HAVE NO MORE TOOTHPASTE!” Jimmy’s shriek had woken up almost everyone in the house except for his lazy brother who always slept in till 2:00 in the afternoon now that he had graduated from high school. His sister, Tina came running down the hallway screaming “WHATS WRONG JIMMY? WHATS WRONG?” “I’VE RUN OUT OF TOOTHPASTE!” he replied. By the look on her face, his sister was now very angry that she had been woken up for nothing important. Jimmy’s mother, concerned about his teeth said, “Guess you’re staying home, at least until I’m able to get toothpaste.” This made Tina jealous, why did she have to go to school while Jimmy did not? His mother put the pedal to the metal to get to the pharmacy, when she got there she looked, but there was no more toothpaste on any of the shelves, but when she looked down on the floor she found one rectangular, white box with the label Mr. Gibb’s secret toothpaste for kids to adults. She quickly grabbed it, ran to the cash register, and used the last of her money to pay for it. When his mother pulled into the driveway, Jimmy started bouncing up and down excited to brush his teeth. As she came through the door Jimmy grabbed the bag, like a dog grabbing a bone and ran to the bathroom to start brushing his teeth immediately. It tasted like mint with a hint of cherries, strawberries, and apples. When his mother checked his breath she almost fainted because of how wonderful it smelled. After Jimmy got to school he started realizing the toothpaste had magic abilities. He was not asked for an excuse or given a tardy pass when he came through the doors, when he went to lunch he was given 4 cookies instead of the limit of 2 and when he got home he had a package waiting for him from a secret admirer; inside was 100 Lego sets and for the rest of the night he built only 49 of the 100 Legos given to him. The next morning, he put on his favorite clothes again, ate 4 Eggo waffles for breakfast and brushed his hair and when he went to the bathroom he looked for the magic toothpaste but to his surprise it was not there. He asked his mother she didn’t know, he asked his father, who had the day off, he didn’t know either. He then asked his sister and like his parents she didn’t know. Once again, his mother was off to the store. This time the shelves were full, and she was able to buy his old toothpaste again. And never again did mother see when she went to the pharmacy Mr. Gibb’s secret toothpaste. Since that day, every morning, Jimmy still wonders the same question, where did my magic toothpaste go? It is a mystery… The End Cian Syring Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Victoria Willcutt

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The Disguise of the Unicorn Evan looked up at his older brother, Josiah. Everything had changed when Josiah started high school and Evan was left behind in the ruckus of being in sixth grade. This evening, Evan knew immediately that Josiah had told on him for sitting on the couch before he did his homework. Well, better get it over with, Evan thought as he clambered up the stairs to his room on the third floor, lugging his backpack with him. Meanwhile, a random unicorn was randomly falling through a random portal that was randomly titled: EARTH-BEWARE! The random unicorn’s name was Charlemagne Christoff Caleb Camenstall (Charlie for short), and he was mad. F.Y.I.- you do not want to see a unicorn mad. Pretty much all they do is run around blowing stuff up, and if they don’t do that, they’ll just take out their anger on you and me, which means they’ll kill everyone in sight. Now you can fully comprehend what a unicorn is like when he’s mad. Charlemagne Christoff Cal- I mean, Charlie, was about to jump into Evan’s room, ready to cause some major explosions, when Evan began working on problem number 33 of his math homework (it was elapsed time, of course). “13 o’clock equals- 13 o’clock equals…” Evan looked at the apple on his desk and asked it why elapsed time was so hard. Then he noticed a rubbery pink unicorn tongue licking the apple and screamed, “WHY IS THERE A UNICORN IN MY ROOM?” Charlie looked around Evan’s room, frightened, and then at Evan. He narrowed his eyes. “Come talk with me,” he nickered. A few minutes later, Evan and Charlie were in a deep ‘conversation,’ but honestly, Charlie was doing all the talking about how to get back to his home. “…by sunset, or I won’t get back at all,” Charlie was saying, “And did I mention, it has to be in your backyard. I think it’s…” he looked down at his hoof, trying to remember what he was saying. “8 degrees latitude and 108 degrees longitude? Or something like that. Can you look it up?” Evan sighed. He tried to tell Charlie that he wasn’t great at geography, but Charlie insisted that he look it up in the textbook. It didn’t exist in the whole 1005-page geography book. Late that night, after Evan had hidden Charlie in the shower, he pondered what he could do to hide the huge unicorn until he could finally get back home. He reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out his notepad and a green marker. He scribbled, ‘Fountain,’ ‘Coat tree,’ and ‘Mailbox’ in his notepad, and giggled. This was gonna be fun, if it worked at all. When morning came, there was a new golden coat tree in the foyer of his house that was strangely carved to look like a unicorn. Mom obviously didn’t like it, but when Evan told her it was a gift to his friend Isaac, she softened up a bit. It was gone within the hour. Evan made a cover-up about this sneaky burglar by the name ‘Josiah,’ and Mom fell for it.

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The next day, there was a suspicious fountain that looked like a unicorn in the backyard. Mom asked if Evan had a newfound obsession with unicorns. Evan just shrugged. Technically, the way the fountain worked was pretty simple: make a unicorn drink so much water that he would literally spout water all day. Evan woke up to a sunny morning. He was tired because last night he had a strange checklist: 1. Spray paint unicorn. 2. Find box big enough for unicorn and spray paint that, too. 3. Make unicorn look like mailbox and put on side of road. He groaned. The mail would come soon, and he hoped Charlie wouldn’t bite the mail carrier when she put mail in his mouth. He ran outside, shivering in the December wind. He peered out to the street. Sure enough, the mail carrier had her hand jammed in Charlie’s mouth. “Shh,” he told her, and carefully un-jammed her hand. “You did not just see a unicorn as a mailbox.” She nodded, eyes wide, and drove away, not keeping her eyes on the road. She collided with a normal mailbox. Evan gulped. Yep, this was the weirdest weekend of his life. First, he met a unicorn. Second, he hid the unicorn for 3 and a half days. Third, he’d helped a mail carrier get her hand out of a unicorn’s mouth. Fourth, the mail carrier had driven away and collided with a mailbox. Not your typical weekend spent with a unicorn. At sunset, using a compass (is that logical?), he led Charlie to exactly 8 degrees latitude and 108 degrees longitude. He wrung his hands. This was it. He turned to ask Charlie what would happen, but he was already gone. He squinted, and lo and behold, there in front of him was Charlie, telling him thank you and good-bye. And since then, no one has seen a unicorn (because no unicorn wants to be around the portals anymore, which is fair enough, considering what I just told you. I hope you were listening). Sarah Beth Underwood Grade 5 Silverdale Baptist Academy Victoria Willcutt

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How Zebra Got Her Stripes A long time ago, there was an animal named Zebra. Zebra’s coat was a blanket of white snow. Long ago, Zebra was the color of a vanilla milkshake, and everyone loved Zebra. Cheetah was Zebra’s best friend because Cheetah’s body had nothing on it either. Zebra always played with Cheetah even though she knew Cheetah would win every time they played tag. Cheetah was the fastest in the savanna, and Zebra wanted to be fast too. Zebra zipped, and Cheetah zapped past Zebra zipping, but Zebra always said, “That was fun!” and smiled. Until today. Today was the day everything went topsy-turvy. The dandy sun had risen in the east, and when Zebra went to find Cheetah, she could not find him. She was about to go home, when she saw a cat the size of a cheetah, but it had spots. She went up to the spotted cat and said, “Hello! I’m Zebra! Have you seen a cat your size, but without any spots? If you find the cat I’m looking for, please tell me!” and she ran off cluelessly. (You see, Zebra didn’t give the cat time to answer.) The thing was, the cat was Cheetah! He had just gotten spots; otherwise he was the same. That night, Cheetah went to Zebra’s house. He knocked at her door and Zebra came to the entrance and with a huge smile she said, “Hello! Have you found the cat I need?” Cheetah looked straight into Zebra’s eyes while she said this. Cheetah tricked Zebra into not knowing it was him by saying, “No, but I want to tell you more about me. Where I come from, I am royalty.” “I will announce your sudden coming,” replied Zebra. Cheetah gulped and said nervously, “Everyone already knows of my coming.” Dash! Zig! Zag! Fffrrroommm! And off went Cheetah running. Dust scattered, and some went into Zebra’s mouth. The next day, Zebra went out and yelled, “Oh Spotted Cat! Spotted Cat! I need you!” Lion thought, “What in the world…” and pranced forward to ask, “Who is the cat you need?” “He looks like Cheetah but has spots!” Zebra wondered who this cat really was, she hadn’t asked for a name! “I know where he is, hide!” said Lion as his ruby eyes looked around. Then Lion called out “Cheetah!” And in a flash, Cheetah came. Zebra’s expression was indescribable! “Why would Cheetah do this?!” thought Zebra as she pounced out. “It was you all along! Oh, why did you trick me?” said Zebra, and walked towards him. “Oh Zebra! I’m sorry!” said Cheetah. “But you were too unwise to know!” and Cheetah looked at Lion. “I am fast, so while I was running, mud hit me. Zebra found me licking off the last speckles of mud and took me as a spotted cat instead of Cheetah.” “So, it was Zebra’s fault for not asking your name. Go home, you two,” said Lion angrily.

As Zebra walked away she called out to Cheetah, “I don’t want to be your friend anymore”. Then

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Zebra went home, sad because of what Cheetah had done to her.

That night, Cheetah was mad at Zebra and decided to get revenge. Cheetah then flew across the savanna plains and went to Zebra’s house, she scratched her all over then he put her in hot tar. Cheetah’s plan worked! Zebra suddenly woke up from the hot tar. Then Cheetah’s deep yellow eyes glanced everywhere around him, and he ran off into the spacey night. Zebra pounced awake and ran off rapidly, as fast as Cheetah running across the savanna plains. The scent of burning tar smelled like smoke and Zebra felt like she was on fire! The tar hugged around Zebra, and never let go, not even after the sun had set. The tar gave Zebra licorice stripes over her pure white coat, and the stripes were in an order that made her look (almost) like Cheetah! Zebra now wears her stripes boldly and will always remember Cheetah’s trick. And now when you see Zebra, she is with her herd running to prove to Cheetah that she can run faster than him...even if she cannot. The End. McKenna Webster Grade 5 St. Peter’s Episcopal School Hannah Maounis

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Running for a Dream I am a slave. I work as hard as I possibly can to survive. Some of my beloved friends have passed away from being whipped to death. I have seen it with my own eyes! I will not be surprised if that is me one day getting whipped to death. My name is Elizabeth, named after Queen Elizabeth. She is my idol. I want to be like her. My dream is to meet her. I would do anything to meet her. That is just a dream-it probably won’t ever happen. I am stuck here on the line of death. My amazing father just past away from being whipped so hard. That is the worst thing that has ever happened. I realized my dream will never happen. I would need a true miracle. My father was the best person ever, but as a slave that is not an excuse. I will just have to push the damage from my heart. As a slave, my owners are just going to push me harder, knowing that we want to escape the plantation. I would love to be free, but I do not want to have the chance of getting whipped to death like my father. I just realized that I slept in. Do you know what that means?! I am going to get whipped! I have never gotten whipped ever before in my whole life! They just knocked on the door. I am terrified. My mama said, “Honey, they here. I have to tell you this-you is going to be left alone here with yor’ baby sister. They are going to kill me. I LOVE YOU HONEY!!!” I screamed, “NO MAMA!!” as they took her away. I would never see her again. I grabbed my baby sister as I cried. My hopes of ever meeting my idol Queen Elizabeth are almost all gone. I cried almost the whole day. I would never let my little sister out of my hands. “We are the only people in our family now.” We slept all night in the same bed and many nights after. Then came that day (the day of joy) when we were sent to England. We were sent to an orphanage that was so much better than working as a slave. I was so close to Queen Elizabeth. “Maybe a miracle happened,” I said to my sister. We spent weeks and weeks there trying to find the right time and place to run away. The problem was that where would we go and what food would we eat. I whispered to my sister, “We are leaving at dinner time and find food and rap it in blankets, we have to leave,” I could tell my sister Lily was terrified, but she knew we had to leave. Then the time we were running away came very quickly. It felt like just yesterday when we were working as slaves. “A true miracle happened from the Holy God,” I said. We prayed the whole time until we ran away. We had no real home, no one to care for us. We were alone in the real world. My sister Lily said, “You are my idol. You have never left me behind, protected me when I needed it. I have a feeling that we will get through this one, too.” Those few little words made me feel like the queen of the world even though no one else cares about me. I remembered that every day that we tried to find Queen Elizabeth. Then one day we came upon a massive group of people a girl was giving a speech. We thought it was just a random person giving a speech… Then we saw signs saying Queen Elizabeth. I said to my sister, “We have to go up there NOW!!!” We ran up there so fast and got right on the stage and hugged her. (I realized we weren’t supposed to do that).

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She said to us, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Well, hello girls. What are you doing up her? Wait, I recognize you girls.â&#x20AC;? She looked at all her pictures. That took forever. Then she found a picture with our whole family and there we were with my beloved idol: Queen Elizabeth! She is my grandma! She left the stage and took us with her and we had a long talk it was amazing! I just had the best moment ever! I will not ever forget that one day, the day we meet our idol. Till this very day I think of that time as the most amazing time of my life. Remember when I said a while back I want to be just like her? Well, I am just like her today as Queen Elizabeth II. My sister and best friend will be Queen Lily I and she deserves that. This is a tip: always believe in your dreams. They will come true if you try. Callaway Wheeler Grade 5 Nolan Elementary School Heather Murphy

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The View Who knew that if you climbed 40 feet in the air and felt like you were going to die that a beautiful view would calm you down? I was at Camp Lookout on the high ropes course and I was afraid of heights. When I opened my eyes, my fear disappeared when I saw the red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple of the landscape. The tall blades of tan grass looked like snakes waving in the wind. My friends looked as if they were tiny black ants. Like soldiers in a line, the mountains and trees were protecting me. With my fears gone, I bravely went across the high ropes course and I thanked God for the beautiful view. Evan Yim Grade 5 The Bright School Ann Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

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